Plant City, FL -
By ANUK Staff
02.11.13
It looks like Florida and Mexico are at it again, except this time it's over strawberries. The Florida Strawberry Growers Association have had their tempers flaring since the Walmart in Plant City offered imported Mexican strawberries, according to The Lakeland Ledger. The Strawberry Growers Association has been fighting for survival for two seasons against their Mexican competitors, reports state.
Andy McDonald, a Plant City grower and the Association President said, "Everybody on the (Growers Association) board was appalled and disgusted. It was a complete slap in the face." On the other hand, Danit Marquardt, a Walmart spokeswoman, responded that nearly all of the strawberries sold in its Florida locations since late November came from local growers. Harvest for Florida started in November.
"We typically only bring non-Florida berries into Florida when demand increases beyond the supply of local growers," Danit Marquardt said in an email to The Ledger. "Additionally, we have supported our Florida growers this season by sourcing hundreds of thousands of cases of Florida-grown strawberries for Walmart stores in 15 other states."
The conflict occurred as an oversupply of Florida strawberries came on top of a 19 percent increase in Mexican strawberries to the U.S.
The Association's Executive Director, Ted Campbell, sent a letter to Walmart conveying his opinion about the sale of Mexican strawberries in the heart of the Florida's strawberry-growing area. Walmart had announced a $50 billion initiative to buy more U.S. manufactured goods on on Jan. 15th.
Wholesale price of Florida strawberries began the season in December at $26 per flat but has dropped to $5.90 to $6.90 per flat over the past several weeks. In addition, strawberry acreage in Florida has increased in recent years.
