2024 Florida Strawberry Season Overview
Case Study Grapes, Weather and Sonora México
"Despite the damage caused to strawberry crops by Hurricane Milton in October 2024, the market offers new opportunities, and expectations for the season remain positive."
Due to the favorable climate for strawberry cultivation in the United States, Florida has positioned itself as the second state with the highest production (Graph 1), contributing about 10% of exports within the United States.
This positioning has generated a vast number of jobs for foreign immigrants, bringing economic benefits to producers in the region.
Historically, the strawberry production season in Florida begins in November and ends in May. Figure 2 shows that production volumes have remained constant during the last few seasons.
Graph 1. Global strawberry production volume, 2023 season (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Graph 2. Florida s reported volume of strawberry seasons is (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Case Study 2024 Florida Strawberry Season Overview
Hurricane Milton Hit Florida with strong winds and high relative humidity in October 2024.
Just one month before the strawberry harvest season, Hurricane Milton arrived, threatening production as strong winds affected all plantations, including those that had protected agriculture (Graph 3).
In addition, high levels of precipitation (Graph 4) cause floods that generate an increase in relative humidity, which affects the harvest season since the maximum value tolerated during this period is 70%.
Graph 3. Florida Climate Analysis, October 2024 (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Graph 4. Rainfall analysis in Plant City, Florida, October 2024 (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Case Study
2024 Florida Strawberry Season Overview
Challenges for Strawberry Growers
Due to the increasing probability of a decrease in strawberry production, derived from the damage caused by Hurricane Milton this season for Florida, the data suggest that California's and Mexico's production volumes may monopolize the market during the last months of 2024.
Graph 5. Strawberry seasonality in the 2023 season (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
In 2023, U.S. Strawberries Were Mostly Exported to Canada
U.S. strawberries are bought and exported to Canada, as it is positioned as the main buyer. Throughout the production season, Florida exports fruits. As a result of the imminent decrease in Florida's production volume, it is believed that California could corner the Canadian market in the coming months.
Graph 6. Importing strawberries from the United States to Canada (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Case Study
2024 Florida Strawberry Season Overview
It is known that the United States is the leading importer of strawberries produced in Mexico to meet the demand in the domestic market; despite the prominent decrease in the harvest of this crop in the United States, it is estimated that there will be an increase in the demand for Mexican strawberries during the last months.
U.S. Demand for Mexican Strawberries Could Increase Challenges and Opportunities for Strawberries in Florida
Due to the damage caused by the hurricane that hit Florida, there will be a delay in the harvest since some of the strawberry crops will have to be replanted. However, this replanting promises production volumes for June and July of the following year, months in which, according to the data (Graph 8), the production of California and Mexico decreases. So, it is estimated that this delay in the harvest of Florida strawberries will generate opportunities in the United States and Canadian markets during the summer months of the following year. Florida may corner the Canadian and U.S. markets and probably Europe for the summer months 2025.
Graph 7. Importing strawberries from Mexico to the United States (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Graph 8. Strawberry seasonalit y, 2023 season (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Case Study
2024 Florida Strawberry Season Overview
Challenges and Opportunities for Strawberries in Florida
The Procurement Quality Analyzer shows that strawberries produced in Florida are generally of good quality during June (Graph 9).
Price at Various Terminals for Florida Strawberry, Season 2023
During the last months of harvest in Florida, the price of strawberries hovers between $35 and $40 (Graph 10). If the production season is extended, those prices could be maintained for the summer months, especially if Mexico and California are reporting low volumes.
Graph 9. Quality analysis of strawberries produced in Florida (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Graph 10. Price at Florida strawberries ter minals, 2023 season (Source: Agtools, Inc.).
Case Study
2024 Florida Strawberry Season Overview
Conclusion
The damage caused by Hurricane Milton has generated a worrying delay in the harvest of strawberry crops in Florida. However, this delay offers the opportunity for the state of Florida to have its strawberries in high demand in the market in the months when the production volumes of California and Mexico decrease, giving the producers the possibility of recovering economically from the losses caused.