Strawberry prices

Each year we get data from our Auckland strawberry trial including the wholesale price received by the grower on picking day.  This is especially valuable as it allows us to generate a value per plant for each variety as well as an overall seasonal price.  We have been doing that for over 20 years, and it is interesting to track.  We call this price the weighted average and is based on Camarosa where we calculate the percentage of the total yield on each picking day times the price received on that day.  The trial normally only goes to Xmas so for consistency, this is the time period this price relates to.  The year we carried the trial on through January, the impact on this average price was surprisingly negative caused by low prices in January.

Wholesale pricing is highly variable through the spring and early summer.

Figure 1. Wholesale pricing started at $20/kg and bottomed out at $8/kg, with an overall weighted average (based on Camarosa yields and timing) of $10.16/kg.

The graph above perfectly illustrates the benefits to the whole industry of having a robust export market during November and December, when Auckland yields are peaking.

It is disappointing to note that the average price this year is the lowest since 2021.  Our data on plant numbers shows that there was almost a million more plants of NZBP varieties sold this past season and added to the other plant owners and their plant numbers, we would estimate there could have been as much as 2 million extra plants in production.  On this basis the price held pretty well.

Production number expectations for next season look even greater so unless exports increase, the prospects for next season’s prices are not looking great.

Domestic strawberry consumption is not fixed

The other thing to remember is that the “size of the domestic pie” is not fixed.  Our estimate of the average strawberry consumption per capita in NZ is about 1.5kg/head.   This compares with countries like the USA with reported consumption of 4.6kg/head and UK at 3.5kg.  This highlights the opportunity for increasing consumption.  Increasing the annual consumption per head by just one 250g punnet would take the production from an estimated 2 million additional plants.

Consumers’ purchasing choices are driven by price, by quality, and by consistency.  Those countries with high per capita strawberry consumption have reasonably priced strawberries of consistent quality available 52 weeks/year in the supermarkets.  We aren’t there yet in NZ, which means there is room for improvement, and room to “grow the pie” for the domestic market.



‍