It’s spring, which means it is more difficult to grow organic brussels sprouts, so supplies decline and FOB prices tend to rise.
“It happens every year,” said Dave Hewitt, vice president of sales for 4Earth Farms. “Organic brussels sprouts are a tale of two seasons.”
Dave Hewitt, Vice President of Sales, 4Earth Farms
The robust commodity, which is often considered a winter vegetable by consumers with special Thanksgiving feast connotations, has quite a few seasonal suppliers at that time of year. But as spring dawns and the weather warms, Hewitt said it is more difficult to grow organic brussels sprouts and supplies decline. “There are very few growers once we hit May,” he said.
“Organic brussels sprouts are a tale of two seasons.” -Dave Hewitt
For the most part, suppliers were very aggressive on pricing organic brussels sprouts during the first quarter of 2022, Hewitt said. But as spring arrived, supplies dwindled and the FOB price shot up to unheard of prices. Though the market was fluctuating a bit in mid-April, the 4Earth sales executive expects the organic brussels sprouts market to stay strong through May.
While demand will tail off at that time, supplies will also tighten. Hewitt said 4Earth prides itself on being a consistent, year-round supplier of most of the commodities it sells, including organic brussels sprouts, despite their tighter availability in the spring.
David Weinstein, director of sales/marketing for Heath & Lejeune in Los Angeles, agreed with the seasonal nature of brussels sprouts production that plays out every year. “We have a lot of brussels sprouts all winter and then they get crazy every spring,” he said, speaking of the lack of supplies and rising FOB price.
David Weinstein, Director of Sales/Marketing, Heath & Lejeune
In late March/early April, brussels sprouts were as high as $70 for a 25-pound carton, Weinstein said, although few organic brussels sprouts are sold in such a large container.
“We have a lot of brussels sprouts all winter and then they get crazy every spring." -David Weinstein
Speaking to OPN Connect earlier this week, Weinstein said the price had come down quite a bit following the Easter holiday on organic brussels sprouts, which are typically sold in 10-pound packs. USDA’s National Specialty Crops Organic Summary listed the Los Angeles Terminal Market as offering 10-pound organic sprouts at a range of $20-$28 depending on point of origin, earlier this week, with product sourced fromBaja California at the top end of that range.
Also weighing in on the organic brussels sprouts situation was Hugo Raygoza, assistant sales manager for Lakeside Organic Gardens, who reported the item was still very highly priced at about $38-$40 for a 10-pound carton.
Hugo Raygoza, Assistant Sales Manager, Lakeside Organic Gardens
Lakeside, he said, will be starting to receive steady supplies of brussels sprouts from Mexico this week, which he expects will last through May.
Pricing will “normalize” in April and May before taking off again in June, Raygoza said, adding that Lakeside will have a June gap. He anticipates there will be short supplies of organic brussels sprouts until the valleys in the Salinas/Watsonville region start producing again in July.
Lakeside expects its Watsonville-area fields to produce good supplies for a significant portion of the final six months of the year, taking retail buyers into the heavy fall and winter consumption period for this cooking vegetable.
