Cabbage shortage may curtail eating of the green

Green beer, corned beef and . . . broccoli? With the murmurs about a cabbage shortage around St. Patrick's Day, it seems only prudent to begin pondering a green substitute or two.

But cabbage growers in Florida and Texas, states that provide the bulk of the nation's cabbage this time of year, are saying it won't come to that.

Dale Greene of Hollar and Greene Produce Co. in Bunnell, about 15 miles north of Daytona Beach, said cold and rain have put a dent in his supply.

"We seem to be short on cabbage. Definitely short for the St. Patrick's week," he said.

Still, Greene said, he doubts anyone will have to do without cabbage for the traditional holiday recipe.

"The heads are not as large as usual, but there's good quality, good green cabbage," he said.

Curtis Debarry, president of Sol Fresh Produce Inc. in Weslaco, Texas, says there's definitely a shortage in the Rio Grande Valley at the state's southern tip and in the Winter Garden growing region near San Antonio.

"What's causing the shortfall," he said, "back in the planting season, which is Oct. 1 through Nov. 15, we had a period of about five weeks of continuous rain."

Add that to Florida's shortage, and there probably will not be the usual abundance of cabbage for St. Patrick's Day, he said.

"We will have some cabbage, but not sufficient to supply all of our normal customers. I don't think that there will be such a shortage that there wouldn't be enough for the consumer, but I think they'll pay more," Debarry said.

And the bad news is that cabbage will not be the only thing that will cost more this month. Les Harrison of the Florida Department of Agriculture says shoppers can expect to feel the effect of soaring fuel prices.

"This is figured into the price of produce," Harrison said.

"It's not the Florida grower that's getting it. It's the cost of business. There's no way around it."

Produce

This month looks good for temple and navel oranges, tangerines, tangelos, grapefruit, uglifruit, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, squash, beans, peas, sweet corn, eggplants, artichokes, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and pineapples.

Seafood

Today marks the beginning of Lent, and for seafood departments and markets that means a jump in sales as Christians observe the religious period with prayers and acts of penance. For some, that means avoiding meat.

"Our sales during Lent are probably up 30 percent," said Gib Migliano of Save on Seafood in St. Petersburg.

Sarma Reynolds of Dunedin Fish Market is looking forward to a surge in customers as well.

"It's amazing. With Lent starting, more and more people eat fish," she said. "I will have a lot of Northern fish, like cod, haddock and sole. A little bit of stone crabs is still coming in, so we hope we are going to have those. And we carry Floridian shrimp."

Save on Seafood also will carry a variety of seafood.

"The only thing that won't be available is red or black grouper," Migliano said. The red and black grouper season does not open until March 15.

Certainly the variety of seafood will be good, but prices are likely to match the season's increased demand.

"Everything is probably going to be a bit pricier during Lent," Migliano said.

At Save on Seafood, farm-raised salmon will sell for about $4.99 to $5.99 a pound, and red snapper from the gulf will cost about $9.99 a pound. The shop also expects to have halibut. Later this month, Migliano said, there should be pompano, kingfish and mackerel, if the weather is good. Until the season opens for red and black grouper, the store will have deep-water grouper for about $10.99 a pound, he said.

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