Over the past year or so, I've noticed that strawberries have been really cheap to buy -- many outdoor fruit stands sell them for 2 large boxes for $5 dollars. (If I remember correctly, some nights, they were even on sale for 2 boxes for $3 dollars.) I don't recall strawberries being this inexpensive.
Regarding taste, it seems lower-quality -- specifically, the strawberries taste very "chemically", rather than sweet and tart.
Has something changed recently with strawberries that has made it significantly cheaper to buy -- and also made it taste noticeably worse?
My question is specific to New York City - in Manhattan - but perhaps the question could be generalized to include other areas of the United States; I'm not sure, though.