LAKELAND – Nothing, not even a 20 percent crop loss this year, seems to hold back the Florida blueberry industry.
"Per capita consumption keeps going up," said Bill Braswell, a Bartow-based grower and president of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association. "Consumption still outpaces production in our market window, even globally. There's no reason not to be in blueberries."
Freezing weather during the weekend of Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 that came after an unusually warm winter and some production problems has destroyed about 20 percent of Florida's 2012 blueberry crop, Braswell said.
But the resulting shortage of Florida blueberries combined with even larger damage to the Georgia blueberry crop could push up farm prices for the state crop by 20 percent, he added.
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