Lighter demand for rhubarb this season is against trend
As the season for domestic field rhubarb comes to an end, supplies look light. “Field rhubarb starts…As the season for domestic field rhubarb comes to an end, supplies look light. “Field rhubarb starts around April 1st and runs until mid-October while our hot house rhubarb goes from mid-January to March,” says Roger Knutson of Knutson Farms Inc. in Sumner, Wa.
This puts an end to a lighter demand for field rhubarb this year. “The demand for rhubarb is a little bit better now compared to the last few years this late in the season. But it has been light all season and I don’t know why demand was lighter this year,” says Knutson.
Demand going up
This goes against the trend somewhat of the increase in rhubarb consumption. “It has improved a little bit every year until this year. And sometimes in the produce business, you get some years like this. I expect next year to be back to normal,” says Knutson. “Overall though in the past 10 years, I’d say the demand for rhubarb has increased every year.”
While Knutson grows its rhubarb in the Washington valley and has a few competitors there, he notes that other growers are more seasonal. “A little bit of rhubarb comes out of Oregon and Michigan grows a bit as does Massachusetts,” he says. “Lots of places grow a little bit of it but they come in and out for two to three weeks.”
The local effect
In turn, that affects pricing somewhat when the local deals come in. “I think the price compares to what we saw last year and stays pretty steady,” he says. “When everyone comes in suddenly though with a bit of rhubarb, it knocks the price out a little bit but then it comes back up. And the fluctuation is only a few dollars a box.”
Looking ahead, Knutson expects to ship some 25-30 pallets/week of rhubarb until the first week of October and after that, supplies will lighten up significantly.