VINELAND, NJ — Persistent rains in many sections of the eastern United States, including New Jersey, have cut into volume and quality of many produce items so far this summer, according to Skip Consalo, president of The Fresh Wave.

“It’s been a challenging year,” Consalo told The Produce News near the end of August. “Weather across the whole East Coast” has been a challenge. “We’ve seen rainstorms one after another after another. Weather has been the story of the year.”

The rains — and periods of sizzling heat earlier in the summer — “affected items across the board,” he said, although “some hardier herbs, parsley and cooking greens held up a little better.”

With diminished supplies, prices were strong. “If you had product, you most likely got a premium for it,” he said.

Heading into New Jersey’s long fall produce season, Consalo was optimistic. “Right now the weather looks [better],” he said, as rainfall and temperatures seemed to be returning to more normal levels near the end of August. “We’re hoping to put this behind us. We’re hoping to see the same interest” from retailers and other distributors “as we always have. We’re hoping for a better fall.”

Headquartered here in southern New Jersey, The Fresh Wave handles a full line of fresh fruits and vegetables from all over the world, but blueberries are a key item. They are, in fact, the company’s number one item in terms of volume.

And as the popularity of blueberries with consumers has continued to grow, The Fresh Wave has worked to strengthen its blueberry program to the point where it offers the popular berries virtually all year long.

The company offers Chilean blueberries generally during January, February and March, moving to domestic areas in the spring and then British Columbia in late summer/early fall. Argentina completes the cycle from around October into mid-December.

Most recently, the company firmed up a deal in South America to enhance its blueberry program.

“We’ve added a significant amount of acreage in Argentina and Chile for blueberries,” said Consalo. That new acreage “should add another 250,000 to 500,000 cases” of blueberries in various-sized containers, he stated. They will be packed in both “The Fresh Wave” label and another independent label, he added.