September Rains Cut Minas Gerais Strawberry Supply and Push Prices Up 130%

Thirteen wet days devastate fields

Thirteen consecutive days of intense rain and fog in early September caused severe strawberry losses across Minas Gerais, Brazil’s largest producing state. N3 News reported that some growers in Senador Amaral, in southern Minas Gerais, lost their entire harvest, including the output of plantations containing 80,000 plants. Persistent moisture left ripe and green fruit moldy, waterlogged or spoiled, while conditions in the fields made harvesting impossible. Plastic covers and suspended cultivation systems, designed to limit contact with wet soil, were unable to protect crops from such a prolonged spell of rain.

Before the rain, growers in the area were harvesting between 1,300 and 1,400 one-kilogram boxes per week. At some farms, output fell from tens of thousands of boxes to fewer than 1,000 during the worst period. Producers who had previously experienced losses of as much as 50% said they had never recorded a complete crop failure. Strawberry plants had already been weakened by unfavorable weather earlier in the growing cycle, reducing their productive capacity before the September storms arrived.

Supply losses spread across producing areas

Damage was also substantial in Pouso Alegre, where a plantation of 12,000 strawberry plants had been expected to yield about 6,000 boxes during the season. Only 2,500 boxes were harvested, less than half the original target. In Datas, in the Jequitinhonha Valley, some farms were unable to send even one box to market for weeks because the fruit was completely compromised. Other regional crops were affected as well: losses involving tomatoes, Japanese cucumbers and zucchini were estimated at R$ 25,000 on some properties.

The weather hit during a commercially important period. Strawberry harvesting in Minas Gerais usually peaks between July and September, when the crop benefits from drier winter conditions, sunny days and lower temperatures at night and in the early morning. High humidity encourages fungal disease, damages fruit quality and prevents workers from entering fields. The risk can continue after packing because strawberries that initially appear marketable may later ferment or deteriorate before reaching consumers.

Wholesale prices more than double

The contraction in supply quickly reached wholesale and retail markets. According to N3 News, a box normally sold for R$ 17 to R$ 22 at Ceasa Minas, in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan region, reached R$ 41.66 on September 21. In Santa Luzia, Greater Belo Horizonte, prices rose by as much as 130%. Demand from confectioners also increased, particularly for larger, visually attractive fruit used in a popular strawberry sweet. At one point, a box of large strawberries reached R$ 60 at Ceasa Minas, but the demand increase coincided with the much broader weather-driven supply loss.

Recovery depends on new flowering

Minas Gerais accounts for more than 50% of Brazil’s strawberry production and harvested 157,300 tonnes in 2024, according to the latest Executive Report on Minas Gerais Agribusiness cited by N3 News. In 2025, Brazil’s gross value of strawberry production reached R$ 4.2 billion, with Minas Gerais representing 46.4%. Damaged or misshapen fruit can sometimes be diverted into jam or frozen products, although domestic processors also face competition from large volumes of lower-priced frozen strawberries from Egypt. For fresh-market growers, the immediate outlook depends on new flowering and a return to favorable weather. Until new fruit reaches maturity, restricted availability is likely to remain the main constraint for growers, wholesalers, retailers and confectioners across the state.