Pumpkins abound in state

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Pumpkins are plentiful in Ohio this fall, and the healthy crop is finding a receptive market, not only within Ohio but also in neighboring states where crops were devastated by Hurricane Irene and other foul weather, growers say. But the higher demand does not necessarily mean steeper pumpkin prices for consumers.

“We raised our prices a little this year but we hadn’t increased the price for about four years,” said pumpkin wholesaler Meade Huck, co-owner of Huck’s Produce Farm in Marietta.

“In this economy we don’t want to raise the prices too much,” Huck noted to The Marietta Times.

However, a pumpkin farmer in northwest Ohio’s Fulton County said he has been able to boost his prices by about 10 percent because the wholesale market is hungry for the gourds.

“I’m getting a lot of demand for my pumpkins,” grower Doug Keil told The Blade of Toledo. “I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls lately.”

Hurricane Irene hammered the Northeast in late August, dumping large amounts of rain that pushed rivers out of their banks and flooded fields along the East Coast and into southern Canada. Pumpkin patches were ruined in places such as western New York, eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey. Some Ohio growers are shipping product to areas that now find themselves with pumpkin shortages.

Even as wholesale prices come under pressure, Ohio consumers may not be forced to fork over much more for their pumpkins, said Lisa Schacht, president of the Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association. Merchants may not pass along any additional cost because they like to have pumpkins on hand at this time of year to lure shoppers.

“Without pumpkins, they may not get as much activity in their stores,” Schacht told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, adding that consumers may have to pay a little extra but are not likely to see skyrocketing prices.

At the Cleveland area Heinen’s supermarket chain, produce buyer Terry Romp said customers are not paying more than last year, despite slightly higher prices being charged by suppliers. Heinen’s stores are selling the gourds for between 29 cents and 49 cents per pound, depending on the size. Smaller, pie pumpkins cost more than the larger ones used for decoration.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com