By Clint Thompson
The first week of April is usually reserved for Florida sweet corn production to spike. This year is no different, says Tori Rumenik, director of commodity services and supply chain at the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA). She discussed this year’s crop and the top-notch quality that is expected.
“March is when we kick off spring, but this week, first week of April, is when we start having a lot of volume come in. We’ll be promotable through Memorial Day. A lot of times we try to get out before Memorial Day, just because Georgia comes in,” Rumenik said.
“I asked (the growers) at a meeting, what would you want the market to know? What they told me was, we’ve got excellent quality on most of the crops down in South Florida, sweet corn included. I’m hearing they have excellent quality this year.”
Florida’s excellent quality is expected to meet a favorable market this week, which is a pleasant surprise for the region’s growers.
“Normally over winter we’ll have a big freeze that might shore up the market a little bit, but we didn’t have a freeze like that. We came into the spring with a little bit lower prices than normal,” Rumenik said. “But the last few weeks, a little bit of cold weather has helped slow down supply a little. We’re coming into a little bit better market than we expected.”