The following week will see the supply of East Coast Blueberries slow up in the coming days, with the weather expected to be consistently wet in the coming days. Below is the forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology for the 23rd to the 29th, with a 50% likelihood. The forecast shows rain or overcast weather for most days this week, and we will see a very stop-start week. Premium Blueberry production in Southern Western Australia is moving towards the peak, and we expect this to continue for the next few weeks into mid-December. The additional volume has meant we need to hold the price another week vs moving up, but if demand exceeds supply, we will review again.
Strawberries continue to drop again in volume, pushing prices up for this week. Weather on the east continues to be mild, and until we see a change, we expect a slower production for the next 7-10 days across the East Coast. Warmer weather in WA will see some challenges, with extreme heat starting tomorrow in Perth. (see below). Southern production in WA is not going to get the same heat, but it will still pose challenges later in the week.
Raspberries have been growing exponentially in the last week, with volumes pushing hard across all states. We’re expecting the price to come back again next week, with Tasmania starting to ramp up volumes as well. NSW being 170g into Coles and Aldi has impacted the supply chain, but we expect this to improve after Xmas. Quality has been an issue across the board and is a major focus for them. If you haven’t, then we advise all growers to review their spray programs and cool chain to ensure they are on top of issues before they arise.
There are plenty of options for retailers for supply, so we need to ensure we are not impacted.
Blackberries are expected to continue with their substantial volumes. In the coming week, retail prices will fall below the price of all other berries. We will monitor the mix of products consumers will buy with an abundance of choice, which will continue to improve into Christmas as we expect cannibalisation between the categories in addition to less money being spent on berries due to the tightening of budgets.
