U.S. strawberry producers get good prices

Since 2020, U.S. farmers have received more than half of what consumers pay for fresh strawberries. In 2023, the average retail price of fresh strawberries was $3.80 per pound, a few cents less than in 2022, but about 52 cents more than in 2019 and 75 cents more than in 2014. Meanwhile, marketing costs, which include payments to companies for packaging, transportation, wholesaling and retailing of fresh strawberries, have decreased since 2020. However, company-level prices – which impact retail prices – have generally been higher. In company share calculations, the ERS - Economic Research Service of the USDA, the US Department of Agriculture, estimates that approximately 8% of fresh strawberries are lost due to spoilage and trimming, so it is assumed that traders purchase approximately 1.09 pounds of fresh strawberries from farmers for every pound sold at retail. Using this adjusted volume, the ...