Boosted by record prices for snap beans, Bell peppers, squash and strawberries; Florida vegetable farmers continued their slow recovery from mid-90s disaster prices with sales of more than $1.680 billion in 1997-98.

It was a modest increase in overall sales of $72.8 million (4.5 percent) over 1996-97, and was the third straight seasonal increase since prices bottomed out in 1994 with the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Price increases, ranging from 47 percent for squash to 20 percent for snap beans, more than offset declines or meager gains in the 11 other major commodities.

Bell pepper sales reached a record $272 million in 1997-98 after prices jumped 38 percent to a record $13.63 for a 28-pound bushel, surpassing the previous record of $12.09 in 1990-91. The $53 million increase in value (24 percent) topped the previous sales record of $219 million set the previous season. Pepper value has increased $87 million in the last three seasons, a jump of 47 percent.

Snap bean yields per acre, production, price and value all reached record highs in 1997-98. The value more than doubled to $127 million, an increase of 108 percent over the previous season sales of $61 million, and topped the old record of $79 million in 1995-96. The price increase of $2.95 a bushel brought bean farmers a record $17.66 for a 30-pound bushel, a gain of 20 percent over the $14.71 previous season. Boosted by an 11 percent increase in harvested acreage and a record yield of 215 bushel per acre, production rose 73 percent, from 4.1 million bushels in 1996-97 to 7.2 million bushels in 1997-98. The previous production record had been 5.6 million bushels in 1991-92.

Coupled with a 15 percent boost in harvested acreage and the record price, squash value rose to $54 million in 1997-98, an increase of 50 percent over the $36 million in sales the previous season. Prices increased by $5.44 for a 42-pound bushel, from $11.66 to $17.10, an increase of 47 percent. Both prices and value surpassed previous records of $13.54 a bushel in 1995-96 and the $50 million value in 1990-91.

Strawberry prices and value both broke records for the second straight year, reaching a price of $12 for a 12-pound flat, an increase of 21 percent over the $9.91 the previous season, and sales of $161 million, a 10 percent increase over the previous season sales of $146 million. Strawberry sales have jumped $87 million in the last 10 seasons, an increase of 118 percent.

The value of sales for tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, radishes, eggplant, escarole, and blueberries all had modest gains in 1997-98; while sweet corn, cucumbers, cabbage and carrots all showed a slight decline.

• Vegetable Production and Value --- 1997-98 Crop Year
• Vegetables Year-by-Year
• Beans (Snap)
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Eggplant
• Escarole
• Corn (Sweet)
• Cucumbers
• Bell Peppers
• Potatoes
• Radishes
• Squash
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes
• Watermelons
• Vegetable Planting and Harvesting Dates
• Produce Availability
• Florida State Vegetable Markets

Vegetables Year-by-Year

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