Cranberry supplies are limited this season in the United States

Several events have contributed to the tight supply of cranberries.

In Carver, Massachusetts, Patrick Rhodes of Edgewood Bogs/Cape Cod Select says there were problems with this year's crop. "We had an extremely wet season, just like Canada, from spring through fall," says Rhodes. "Normally, that's better than no rain, but it created a moist environment that favors rot. Across Massachusetts, we've seen higher than normal rot on almost all varieties."

As for fresh cranberries, Rhodes believes supplies will run out earlier than normal this year. "We have enough to get us through Thanksgiving, but we probably won't make it to December, if at all," he says.

Labor is another factor. The problem has not always been the amount of fruit in the field but rather the volume that Cape Cod Select has been able to get into its processing plant with its limited workforce. "We would have liked to do more, but we could only get so much production in a shift," Rhodes notes.

Demand boost
And then there is the demand. In the frozen sector, the demand for cranberries has been strong throughout the pandemic. "Initially, it was because people wanted to make fewer trips to the supermarket, so frozen was a better option than fresh," shares Rhodes, adding that overall demand for both frozen and fresh is higher this year. "It also looks like there's going to be a shortage of cranberry sauce. We're not in that business, but I understand it's largely due to the availability of the cans that the sauce goes in. We've been contacted to increase our fresh and frozen offerings because the sauce is unavailable.

That said, cranberry prices have been stable this year. "We probably won't see the effects of this shortage on prices until next year," Rhodes concludes. "Between this harvest and the next is when the market will realize the lack of availability of whole fruit, which will be especially noticeable in the frozen market because the fresh market only lasts from October to December. The situation will have an impact positive in prices.

Cranberry supplies are limited this season in the United States PDF