Record heat and above-normal rainfall have played havoc with Florida produce shipments, making tighter supplies likely for at least the next couple of months.
Florida cabbage shipments are particularly lacking, with some of the vegetables growing to the size of footballs, while other heads are maturing too slowly, risking they won’t be ready by the prime shipping time leading up to St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th.
The situation is really serious in South Florida, which was deluged by nearly eight inches of rain in four days in early December. Afterward, shipments of cucumbers, endive, escarole, radishes, squash, grape and Roma tomatoes plummeted.
At the end of January, 14 of 15 shipments of different Florida vegetable crops were running behind, with celery, squash, cabbage, broccoli, strawberries, sweet corn and avocados among the hardest hit.