Dive Brief:
- Libby's, the leading U.S. producer of canned pumpkin, has reported that its 2015 pumpkin yields are down 50% as compared to last year due to record-high summer rainfall that damaged the crop, according to Nestle SA, Libby's parent company.
- Libby's usually produces about 80% of the country's canned pumpkin, but this year, it expects to produce enough pumpkin to make about 45 million 8-inch pumpkin pies, only about half of its original anticipated amount.
- Libby's said it would have enough pumpkin to get consumers through Thanksgiving, but after that would be a shortage until next harvest.
Dive Insight:
Pumpkin seems to have taken one of the biggest hits from this summer's record-high rains, which also impacted corn and soybean yields in the eastern Midwest.
According to Bloomberg, "The inclement weather meant delayed planting and germination and fewer blossoms turning into fruit, said John Ackerman, who owns Ackerman Farms in Morton, Illinois. Much of the crop that’s destined for processing was planted before June and had to sit in water-logged fields, he said."
The U.S. produced 1.31 billion pounds of pumpkins in 2014, government data shows. Sales of pumpkin-pie filling in the U.S. reached $134.1 million in the 52 weeks through Aug. 22, according to Nielsen data.