LAKE COUNTY — The effect of the recent freeze on local crops may not be known until Spring, but it will mean shoppers will be shelling out more doe for produce right now.
General Produce Manager Shane Rodriguez at Bruno”s Shop Smart which gets its produce from Chico said citrus prices have doubled since Tuesday.
“Overnight, oranges have doubled in price for case cost; avocados took a really big hit, too,” said Rodriguez. He said that leafy greens have also seen price hikes, including celery, lettuce, cabbage, kale and chard. “Luckily, that stuff bounces back a little quicker than avocados and oranges,” he added.
Rodriguez also said strawberries took a substantial hit from recent freezing temperatures, but that prices should be back to normal in a couple of weeks.
He noted that growers” assessment of crop damages won”t be complete until the end of the week, and that prices could be going up even further.
“My prices are changing almost by the hour, it seems like here the last couple of days,” said Rodriguez.
He said his two biggest concerns are oranges and avocados, and that he has about a five-day supply of oranges, including a two-day supply of bagged oranges left.
He said until the next crop shows up in the next three months or so, he could almost guarantee that prices would go up for oranges and avocados again.
“People are coming down here and shopping pretty hard for all this stuff, because the news is saying that they”re going to go up through the roof, and they are. If you want it, come get it. Get it while we got it,” he said, noting that once this supply is gone, shoppers will have to wait for produce from Austrailia.
The average cost of a case of oranges from Austrailia is $36 to $42, said Rodriguez. A case of California oranges costs him $39, up from $18.50 earlier in the week.
Assistant Manager Maureen Davy of organic food market Nature”s Food Center in Lakeport said that while she won”t know how far citrus prices will go up until the end of the week, she has already seen lettuce prices double and other greens, including winter greens, rise in price.
“For my lettuce, I was paying about $30; now they”re up to $55,” she said.
When Davy purchased citrus on Sunday, she said her San Francisco supplier warned her that the price for citrus could almost double from $25 per case to between $50 and $60. She also noted that availability has shrunk by about half.
“Currently, I”m still able to still sell (organics) at a very reasonable price, but this”ll be the last week (at this price),” said Davy.
One grower she buys from in Santa Rosa told her this has been the coldest growing year he has seen in 12 years, with night temperatures in the low twenties and days that don”t warm up enough to prevent stunted growth.
The Lake County Farm Bureau is being conservative about how the freeze will affect local crops.
“It”s too early to see if there”s been any winter kill damage,” said Executive Director Chuck March. “That”s not noticeable until Spring when things start budding.”
March noted that pears, grapes and walnuts are dormant, and that any winter kill would most likely affect the ends of tree limbs first. “It would be premature to state that we have any damage at this point,” he said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of disaster for California and has asked for federal assistance. That assistance, said March, will most likely take the form of low-interest loans for growers.
Agricultural Commi-ssioner Stave Hajik also recently expressed concern about danger to olives and nursery products, which are more susceptible to frost damage.
March said growers needing assistance should report crop damage to Commissioner Hajik.
“The biggest problem right now is the possibility of broken pipes and irrigation systems,” said March. Breakage might mean an increase in operation cost for growers, but would not translate to higher prices at the checkout.
Toni Scully, owner of Scully Packing Company offered words of warning about labor shortage contributing not only to the price spikes about to hit grocery stores now, but to the possible scarcity of growers down the road.
“When we say we gamble with the weather, this is what we”re talking about,” said Scully. She said in addition, farmers face the risks involved with market conditions and government regulatory measures. “We cannot add to those gambles the ability to get workers. We have got to have a dependable workforce, or the family farmer in this country is going to be an endangered species.”
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
