‘Significant’ Price Drops Eating Away at 5 Key Vegetable Crops

Rumors are swirling in the agriculture industry of significant drops in some crop prices. Confirming the rumors can be tricky. The offers are private, between growers and brokers.

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However, a report from USDA this week on retail specialty crop prices gives some credence to the reports.

“Significant Decreases” to Note

In its report, USDA notes major trends. Some fruit crops are reporting strong increases, including both organic and conventional strawberries, white seedless grapes.

But when it comes to vegetables, USDA flagged five crops as experiences significant decreases:

  • Yellow squash (down 14%)
  • Bell peppers (yellow and orange down 11%, red down 10%)
  • Zucchini (down 11%)
  • On-the-vine tomatoes (down 10%)
  • Asparagus (down 17%)

Only organic grape tomatoes saw a strong increase at 15%.

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Regional Impact

Digging into the data a bit, some of these decreases likely stem from specific regions.

The Midwest and South Central regions look to be dragging down bell pepper prices. For squash, however, it’s the Western regions depressing national average prices.

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