While strawberries may be seen more as a summer shipping item, good fall volume is seen for the months ahead.
Nearly 25 percent of total California fresh strawberry shipments in 2020 were shipped from September through December, according to USDA figures.
As of August 8, fresh strawberry shipments from California had totaled 137.7 million crates, down from 145.4 million crates the same time last year, but similar to 137.1 million trays two years ago. At the same time in 2020, about 31% of the of 210-million-crate 2020 crop remained to be shipped.
California fresh strawberry volume was running at 5.9 million crates for the week ending August 7.
Well- Pict of Watsonville, CA reports hot weather in the West has not affected strawberry production as much it may have had an effect on other crops. The weather in California strawberry growing regions had not been a hot as in other growing areas with the exception of a short hot period in May. Watsonville fields have been producing a steady crop of good color, size and tasting strawberries that is expected to continue into the later parts of October.
That crop will then be supplemented by Well-Pict’s summer-planted crop in Oxnard.
The California Strawberry Commission of Watsonville projected weekly volume in the fall period of summer-planted strawberries, grown in Santa Maria and Oxnard, is expected to be up about 5% compared with 2020. California’s total fresh shipments for the 2021 season will fall somewhere between the 202-million-crate crop in 2019 and 210 million crates packed in 2020.