Strawberry Shortage: Cold Temperatures Ruin Some of Florida's Strawberry Crop
Consumers buying strawberries should expect shortages and higher prices this year, especially in Florida and on the east coast. The Ledgerreports some bad news about strawberries. The cold weather in Florida this year has damaged much of Florida's strawberry crop.
The unusually cold weather in Florida this year has nearly arrested growth on the state's strawberry plants, which has cut fruit production by more than half, said Ted Campbell, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association in Dover, the industry trade group.
"It's absolutely a financial disaster for strawberry growers," Campbell said Thursday. "The fields are full of just green fruit and bloom."
WHIZ reports that Pick 'N' Save stores are already feeling the shortage and costs for strawberries have "more than doubled."
"Some of the crop that we had booked in from Florida was cancelled out. We had to go through the Mexican crop. Florida has less than half the crop that they were setting on a year ago. The cost has more than doubled for the same product, " says store manager, Rich Daugherty.
Daugherty says California's strawberry crop isn't any better because of the eight inches of rain the area has received. So, customers are going to have to pay more than they're used to seeing this time of year if they want to put strawberries in their grocery carts.
Fox 4reports that there are already strawberry shortages in Florida stores.
Consumers buying strawberries should expect shortages and higher prices this year, especially in Florida and on the east coast. The Ledger 
