Good year for strawberries… despite a decline in sales

The 2022 season for summer strawberries in Quebec is practically over. The quality was there, in general, and the quantity too, but despite this, sales fell by about 15%, according to the Association of Strawberry and Raspberry Producers of Quebec. Why ?

Stephanie Berube
The Press

“Because we are comparing to last year! », specifies David Lemire, president of the Association, himself a strawberry and raspberry producer in Trois-Rivières. And last year was completely atypical, because, explains David Lemire, picking strawberries and visiting the kiosk was one of the only outings possible in the context of the pandemic.

Strawberry veteran André Cormier, whose farm is in L’Assomption, is satisfied with his season. If there has been a decrease, it will not be considerable in his case, and the price has been maintained throughout the season.

In fact, there has been the usual confusion over the price of strawberries at the start of the season, but it comes up every year, explains David Lemire.

“It’s certain that consumers who go to the grocery store and see two casks for $5, then ask questions at the kiosk when they have to pay $5.75 a litre,” he explains. But the president of the Association of Strawberry and Raspberry Producers of Quebec cannot be against the massive purchase of small Quebec fruits by grocers who make them loss leaders – and who therefore sell the fruits cheaper than they only paid them to the producer.

It’s excellent for promoting Quebec strawberries, says David Lemire, who believes that the enthusiasm for local products that grew during the pandemic is here to stay.

Quebec is the main strawberry-producing province in the country.

On the side of raspberries

The summer raspberry season is also drawing to a close and the balance sheet is comparable to that of strawberries. A slow start, in particular because of the much higher price of raspberries than strawberries.

Jocelyn Trottier, producer at Oka, understands that consumers have to make choices, particularly in the current context where overall expenses are increasing. At the start of the season, its box of 12 x 250 ml containers retailed for $45. The price then went down a bit.

The farmer indicates that the pressure is enormous on the producers who also have to deal with an increase in the price of inputs and supplies. Result: the profit margin decreases for the producer.

David Lemire confirms this meteoric rise in costs for berry producers. “The diesel has doubled,” he says. What cost me $25,000 last year is costing me $50,000 this year. »

Despite this, the producers believe that the 2022 season was still good, in this mid-season review, and that the raspberries and strawberries were of excellent quality.

Fans can now turn to the fall varieties, which will be available until mid-October.