NARBA conducted a survey of growers’ 2018 raspberry and blackberry pricing and sales strategies.
A few highlights from the report:
- 140+ growers participated; 100+ responses are included in the report. The other respondents indicated they weren’t growing caneberries in 2018 or did not finish the survey sufficiently. A climate of heightened concern over data privacy is believed to have hampered response.)
- 41.3% of respondents grow blackberries, 20.2% grow raspberries, and 38.5% grow both raspberries and blackberries. Most have been in business for many years.
- Responding growers averaged 4.9 acres with the smallest being 0.02 acres and the largest producing on 55 acres.
- U-pick was the most popular marketing method among responding producers, with more than half (51.5%) utilizing this retail strategy. Many producers sold their berries at retail through farm stands/prepick at the farm (41.7%), and farmer’s markets (33.0%). Almost 39% of producers sold through small wholesale markets (local stores, restaurants, etc.) and 27% percent sold through large wholesale markets (major marketers, supermarket chains, etc.).
- The average price for prepick raspberries was $6.46/pint ($8.42/lb). A majority (58.0%) of growers sold for $5.00-$8.00/pint.
- The average price for prepick blackberries was $4.86/pint ($6.46/lb). The lowest-pricing third of growers sold for $1.50-3.50/pint, the middle third for $3.75-5.50/pint, and the top third for $6.00-12.00/pint. There are strong regional differences.
- Averages prices have risen slightly since NARBA’s last survey in 2016, but individual growers’ prices tend to be stable over many years. 76.0% of blackberry producers were planning to keep the same prices, and 82.8% of raspberry producers reported plans to keep the same prices in 2018.
- Asked about barriers to success, weather was mentioned most (23 responses), followed by labor (21) and SWD (13). Responses for pests, non-SWD or not specific (12), disease (9), weeds (8) and wildlife/birds (5) were also common. The total of all pest/disease responses, including SWD, is 47.
To receive the full 10-page report, please fill out this request form. The full report includes a Table of Responses that lists the prices and units used by each grower in each region for each market, numerous other graphs and tables, and a compilation of text responses to the open-ended questions.
