Normally light Florida produce shipments are much lighter this season due to excessive rains. If the weather trend continues it soon will be threatening the Florida spring shipping season that typically peaks in April and May.
Up to 8 inches of rain last week soaked fields of sweet corn, green beans, celery, radishes, leafy greens and other vegetables and flooded some areas, leaving crops underwater. Damage to crops is estimated to be 25 to 50 percent. Losses of crops and even lighter than normal shipments is a given. Now it’s a wait to see how bad the situation is.
The heavy rains mean vegetable shipments in general will probably be much lighter than usual through February and March. Belle Glade is the hub of Florida sweet corn and green bean shipments.
It’s been a crazy winter for produce shipments, not only in Florida, but elsewhere.
Mexican volume of bell peppers, strawberries and other items have been lowered by cold weather. California strawberry volume is down due to weather factors.
Meanwhile, Florida strawberry volume have suffered from heat; Florida avocado loadings are down due to a fruit fly quarantine; Florida tomatoes are off due to rains; Florida cabbage shipments are down as much as 40 percent from weather; Florida citrus volume is drastically off due to citrus greening disease.