As the Oregon strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) season ends, you-pick services are intense with pickers buying the fruits from $1.85 per pound.

In the spirit of the times, the Salem Statesman Journal on June 13, 2024 reported various offers for you-pickers in the strawberry-rich Willamette Valley.

Most consumer self-picked and frozen strawberry offers are at the price range of between $1.85 and $4 a pound.

For those with an eye for quantity, there are also pint, basket, flat and crate options at wholesale prices.

A pint, equivalent to 0.47 kg, is going for $4, while a basket of unidentified weight capacity is costing $8. A flat, equal to around 12 pounds, is at a maximum price of $45.

Another popular option at the end of the Oregon strawberry season is frozen berries, available at $10 per 5-pound bag.

Early Strawberry Season Rates

These latest prices compare well with early season rates, per the May 23 update by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). ERS put the end May price at $2.9682 per pound for fresh strawberries in American retail markets. 

At the same time, a cupful of strawberries cost half that price at $1.0094 a pound in the wholesale markets.

Frozen strawberries, on the other hand, were available on May 23 at $3.3421 a pound retail and $1.1052 a pound wholesale.

On a yearly basis, wholesale prices of U.S.’ strawberries have increased by 7.89% in 2024 from their 2023 levels.

While they cost $114 per hundredweight (112 pounds) in 2023, they had inched up to $123 by June 5, 2024.  This means a current average wholesale price of $1.10 per pound vis-á-vis $1.02 per pound in 2023.

Ultimately, the current offers at the close of the Oregon strawberry season are approachable because of the self-picking quality guarantee. Besides, the blueberry season, which runs from late June through early October is just starting in the Pacific Northwest state. And as the following statistics reveal, Oregon is among the top 6 strawberry producers in the U.S.

United States Strawberry Statistics

The U.S. accounted for 15% of global strawberry production in 2022, at 1.39 million tonnes. Production is concentrated in California, which produces 90% of strawberries nationally and Florida, which produces around 8%. In 2023, California produced 25,700,000 cwt (hundredweight) while Florida harvested 2,820,000 cwt of strawberries. 

How does Oregon compare nationally in strawberry production? 

Oregon produced 11 million pounds (5,000 tonnes) in 2021, a far cry from the 2001 level of 40.2 million pounds (18,272 tonnes). Oregon was the fifth biggest strawberry-producing state in the United States in 2019 after California, Florida, New York and North Carolina. The Oregon strawberry season (May-June) falls between the peak seasons in Florida (December-March) and California (July-October).

What are the favorite strawberry varieties in Oregon? 

Oregon grows four popular cultivars, namely Albion, Hood, Shuksan, Seascape and Mary’s Peak strawberries.