According to a USDA report, since 2020, U.S. farmers have received more than half of what consumers pay for fresh strawberries.
Average Prices in 2023
In 2023, the average retail price of fresh strawberries was $3.80 per pound (8.37 €/kg), a few cents lower than in 2022, but about 52 cents higher than in 2019 and 75 cents higher than in 2014.
Marketing Costs
Meanwhile, marketing costs, which include payments to companies for packaging, transportation, wholesale, and retail sales of fresh strawberries, have decreased since 2020.
Farm Prices
However, farm-level prices – which impact retail prices – have been generally higher. In the calculation of the farm share, the ERS – Economic Research Service of the USDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, estimates that about 8% of fresh strawberries are lost due to spoilage and trimming, so it is assumed that merchants purchase about 1.09 pounds (0.49 kg) of fresh strawberries from farmers for every pound (0.45 kg) sold at retail.
Farm Share of Retail Price
Using this adjusted volume, the farm share of the retail price – the ratio of what farmers receive to what consumers pay for half a kilo (0.45 kg) in grocery stores – was 53% in 2023.
Berry Trend 2024 Webinar
This is a piece of news that we will certainly discuss with the guests of the Berry Trend 2024 webinar on June 4th at 3:00 PM on the LinkedIn and YouTube channels of myfruit.it.
Source: Myfruit
Source: USDA
