Smaller Chinese Strawberry Crop Forecast

WASHINGTON - Nov 15/05 - SNS -- Fresh strawberry production is expected to sink 20% next year in China on account of a forecast 30% decrease in seeded area, according to a recent report from the U.S. agricultural attache for the country.

Market participants say area will fall because of a shortage of plants that resulted from the unfavorable weather during the seedling period; 2) some strawberry growers shifted to other crops in 2005 because of marginal returns in 2004; and, 3) a low survival rate of field plantings as a result of the unusually hot weather in some major planted regions, such as Jiande in Zhejiang Province.

Average yields would see production drop to a forecast 646,000 metric tons (MT). A smaller harvest will be felt more in the fresh market sector than the frozen, which normally accounts for 10% of production.

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