Berry season is underway in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Grower-shippers are reporting excellent production and good-quality strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. Overall berry volume is expected to be higher than in recent years despite non-ideal and inconsistent weather patterns throughout the primary berry-growing state of the U.S. Southeast.

Abnormally cold temperatures in Florida and large amounts of rain throughout the southeast have been challenging, though more recent varieties of berries can bounce back after cold storms. Cold and rain can make berries sweeter, albeit slower growing. But weather isn’t the only challenge the resilient berry industry has faced. Inflation continues to impact berry growers with increased costs along the entire supply chain.

Read more on berry production here.