Fruit, vegetable prices up after rain floods crops | Online Athens

AUGUSTA — Expect to pay the cost of the summer’s above-average rain at the produce stand.

Fields throughout the Southeast were flooded, destroying crops and inflating prices for fruit and vegetables. Some produce sellers can’t get their hands on summer favorites, leaving customers to balk at the prices for the limited quantity available.

“When they come, they’re ready to buy. If we don’t have it, they get upset,” said Mattie Judge, who sells produce at the Augusta State Farmers Market on Fifth Street.

Like most of Georgia, Augusta received rainfall amounts far exceeding normal. In June, Augusta Regional Airport measured 10.83 inches of rain, the wettest June on record. July recorded 9.05 inches of rain, 4.72 inches above normal.

Produce seller Alex Kenner said business is slow at his stand. Customers aren’t buying as much produce this year because of the high cost and the poor quality.

When fields receive too much rain, the water dilutes the fruits’ sugar system, ruining the taste, Kenner said.

“We’re not making very much profit this year,” he said. “We’ve had too much wet and not enough sunshine.”

At Kenner’s stand, watermelons were selling for $4 to $8, peaches for $12 a peck and tomatoes $20 a case.

via Fruit, vegetable prices up after rain floods crops | Online Athens.