MARKET ALERTS GOOD BUYS. BERRIES (Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries) - ESCALATED LEMONS EXTREME. Cauliflower!

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1 . January 18, 2018 OVERVIEW Lettuce, romaine and leaf items are steady, and although they are improving, there are still quality issues. Lemons and oranges are in a very EXTREME market. Strawberry and raspberry supplies have also tightened up due to significant weather impacts, and we will need to watch closely this week to see if the fruit is further harmed in the fields. The squash market is firmer, but supplies are available. The tomato market has recovered. MARKET ALERTS ARUGULA AND WILD ARUGULA ESCALATED ASPARAGUS ESCALATED BERRIES (Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries) - ESCALATED LEMONS EXTREME MUSHROOMS ESCALATED ORANGES (Small sizes) EXTREME GOOD BUYS Cauliflower! What s crumbly, a cruciferous king, and crazy good for you? Cauliflower! Caulflower supples are killing it right now, showing excellent quality. All the more reason for us to crown it this week s PA good buy! With all the nooks and crannies in cauliflower, it s so important to wash and chop it properly. Our advice is to cut the head of the vegetable in half, then into quarters through the core, then wash thoroughly. From there, the famous veg will do the rest, as smaller florest will fal and break off with ease. Looking for a new way to add cauliflower to your menu? Cauliflower steaks may be your answer! When drizzled in the right combination of flavors and roasted to perfection, this side or main dish will become a quick go-to application and great addition to any spread. Thai Peanut Cauliflower Steaks Ingredients 2 heads cauliflower 1-2 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste For the sauce:

2 FRUITS & VEGETABLES AVOCADOS Overall volume will remain consistent; however, smaller sized fruit is still a challenge over the next several weeks. There is also the potential for a flush of #2 fruit on the horizon just in time for Super Bowl demand. BANANAS Demand remains firm and quality is good, but we are seeing short supplies across the country and expect a shortage to continue through 2018 due to virus impacts. GRAPES Quality is good on the offshore fruit and California is done for the season. Offshore varieties available out of Chile and Peru: Sugraone, Falmes, Crimsons and Globes through Philadelphia and New York. FOB port prices are $28.00 to $ KIWI California crops are now in full swing with ample supply available and showing excellent quality. This new crop will extend all the way through to February. We are now seeing Italian fruit available as well on the east coast. Market remains steady. BLUEBERRIES ESCALATED Availability is lighter due to the cooler weather and limited labor in Mexico; FOB prices are high and quality is fair. BLACKBERRIES ESCALATED Volume is light, quality is in question due to weather with the potential for rain on the horizon for this coming week. FOB prices are also high. RASPBERRIES ESCALATED Volume is very light due to weather impacts and FOB prices are escalated. STRAWBERRIES ESCALATED The market is VERY ACTIVE and FOB prices are much higher this week. We are also seeing quality issues due to rain in California as well as Florida with supply shortages eminent over the next week and potentially longer. Supplies are better through McAllen; however, due to logistics shortages, it s very difficult loading trucks out of the region. CALIFORNIA-ARIZONA CITRUS Demand exceeds supply on small navels, S. Most fruit is larger and fancy, peaking 72/56. The Q1 navel crop is expected to be down 30% on 113S and 50% on 138S compared to this time last year. Lemons remain tight on smaller sizes. District 3 is ending, D1 mid-season, and D2 is beginning - peaking 140/115/95S. GRAPEFRUIT Texas grapefruit is available. Florida Star Ruby/Red is available. California Star Ruby are available. LEMONS EXTREME This is a very active market, being tight on most sizes. Good quality is coming out of CA. New Zealand/Meyer lemons are available. LIMES (PERSIAN) Limes are available and quality is good. ORANGES EXTREME (on small fruit) CA and TX navels are available, 72/56 fancy. Organics are available. Florida Hamlins and navels are available as well. Specialties: Fairchild Tangerines, Orlando Tangelos, and Minneola Tangelos have started. Domestic Blood oranges and Cara Caras are available. New Zealand Meyers are available. Sunburst Tangerines are available out of FL. Halos and Cuties have started. Pummelos are available.

3 CALIFORNIA LETTUCE GREEN & RED LEAF Quality is good. Prices are good. BUTTER Prices are stable. Quality has improved. ICEBERG LETTUCE Supplies are good with no supply gaps forecasted. Quality is overall good and the market is steady. ROMAINE Supplies are good and quality is improving. We are still seeing some heavy rib and twisting. ROMAINE HEARTS Supplies will be good for the next few weeks. Quality has improved, as most issues with quality can be peeled off. EASTERN & WESTERN VEGETABLES This week, we are seeing some quality issues on vegetables in general out of the southeast due to last week s freeze in Florida. PEPPERS Green Bell Pepper: Supplies are very limited out of the east and showing freeze-related quality issues. We do not expect to see improvement in this market over the next couple of weeks. Out of the west, supplies and quality are very good. The market is stable through Nogales. Red Bell Pepper: Supplies are now shipping primarily through Nogales and markets are down. Quality is outstanding. Yellow Pepper: Supplies are unchanged loading through Nogales. FOB prices are mostly unchanged as well. Mini Sweet Pepper: Good supplies are available in the west and crops in the east have been damaged by Irma. Markets are mixed by region. EGGPLANT Supplies are lighter this week out of Florida and showing some quality issues due to the cold weather last week. Nogales is mostly unchanged. Markets are up slightly this week. CUCUMBERS Good offshore supplies are available out of Florida; though East Coast domestic supplies are limited. The markets are down slightly. Supplies are unchanged and are plentiful out of Nogales and McAllen. Pole cucumber quality out of the shade houses in Mexico are gorgeous, showing dark green fruit with very little blemish or defect. ENGLISH CUCUMBERS (EURO) There are excellent supplies crossing through Nogales and McAllen. GREEN BEANS Supplies will remain firm loading through Florida due to quality and production delays resulting from the cold weather. Supplies crossing through Nogales are improving. Markets remain firm in the east while they drop in the west. ZUCCHINI AND YELLOW SQUASH Supplies have decreased in the east on domestic as well as offshore production resulting in a jump in FOB prices. Import volume out of Mexico has also taken a turn due to increased cloud cover this past week and quality issues. Prices are up this week and expected to continue to rise. ACORN, BUTTERNUT & SPAGHETTI SQUASH Now available, good quality and good supply. MANGOES Good supply and good availability. MELONS Cantaloupe: Honduras cantaloupe production has started with primarily smaller sizes which has caused the market to settle on the 12/15s. This trend is anticipated to continue at least through next week. Supply from Guatemala has drastically decreased as production transitions from the Zacapa Valley to other regions of the country. We expect Guatemalan supply to be short during Week 3 in the east and Week 4 out west. Sizing that is coming from Guatemala has a good mix of bigger fruit (9s and larger) with some 12s. Quality remains strong with brix levels in the 10-13% range.

4 Honeydew: The honeydew market has remained very steady as we transition from Guatemala to Honduras. Mexican supply crossing through Nogales is winding down quickly on better quality fruit. We anticipate the market to remain steady over the next 7-10 days. Quality of the fruit has been clean and sizing has been primarily 5/6s. WATERMELONS Our seedless watermelon program will start small next week and will increase quickly over two weeks. HERBS Supplies of fresh herbs are starting to settle down a little. OPAL BASIL, LAVANDER and SAVORY: These will remain very limited or not available for the next several weeks. TARRAGON: Supplies have tightened a little but supply remains steady. BASIL: Produce is starting to recover. Look for quality to be very good and steady. The outside freezing temperatures during transit may cause some issues, but we are doing our best at increasing the packaging to meet the extremes. MINT: Product is starting to recover and supplies are starting to pick up. HERBS HERB SUPPLIES QUALITY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Arugula Light Fair USA Basil Improving Good USA/MEXICO Opal Basil Limited Good USA/MEXICO Thai Basil Good Good USA/MEXICO Bay Leaves Good Good COLUMBIA Chervil Good Good USA Chives Good Good USA/MEXICO Cilantro Light Good USA Dill Good Good USA/MEXICO Episode Good Good MEXICO Lemongrass Good Good USA Marjoram Limited Good USA Mint Limited Good USA Oregano Good Good USA Italian Parsley Good Good USA Rosemary Limited Good USA Sage Limited Good USA/MEXICO Savory Limited Good USA Sorrel Good Good USA Tarragon Good Good MEXICO Thyme Limited Good USA Lemon Thyme Good Good USA Lavender Limited Good USA Lime Leaves Good Good USA Hora Santa Good Good USA ARTICHOKES Steady market with higher prices. Quality is good. ARUGULA ESCALATED Supplies are limited and we are seeing quality issues due to cooler weather.

5 ASPARAGUS ESCALATED Supplies are limited but getting better and quality is improving BOK CHOY Quality is average and we are seeing some higher quotes on WGA cartons. BROCCOLI / BROCCOLI FLORETS Supplies have improved, quality is good, and the market is steady. BRUSSEL SPROUTS Markets are improving as additional inventory becomes available. Quality is good. CARROTS Due to the heat and rain, we are seeing some quality issues and a shortage on jumbo supplies as well as tables and cellos. This market is improving, but prices are still higher. CAULIFLOWER Supplies are great and quality is excellent with a wide range of pricing. CELERY Market is steady. We are seeing good quality and steady supplies. CORN Sweet corn markets have firmed up slightly out of South Florida; we are seeing some availability crossing through Nogales. Quality is good. CILANTRO Supplies have improved and we are seeing improvement in quality. FENNEL Supplies for the week will be good and quality is good. GARLIC: We have now fully transitioned from common storage garlic to cold storage product. Fortunately to date, our recoveries are faring relatively fine through the cracking/peeling process. Concerning the future/2018 crop, we are 85% completed with our planting season. Provided the weather (and that Mother Nature cooperates), we should finish planting within the next two weeks. In the coming months, we ll hope for cold enough weather and decent rainfall (similar to last year) to help facilitate the growth of the bulbs. GINGER Chinese ginger supplies are steady. Quality is good. GREEN CABBAGE Supplies have tightened and markets have firmed on both coasts, but quality remains good. GREEN ONIONS Prices have come down; quality has improved. JICAMA Prices are firming up and inventories are lighter. We are seeing some quality and shelf life issues in storage product. KALE (GREEN) Quality is average and supplies are improving. MACHE Availability is adequate. MUSHROOMS ESCALATED Mushroom growers have suffered damage in the South and Southeast, as well as Puerto Rico. Hurricane Harvey and Irma have resulted in a tightening market, and the American Mushroom Institute said it expects supply to be affected for several months. NAPA Supplies are steady and quality is good.

6 RAPINI Supplies have improved and markets are down. Quality has improved. PARSLEY (CURLY, ITALIAN) Quality and supplies have improved. RADISHES Quality is good and supply is slowing down. Expect to see stronger markets through the summer. RED CABBAGE Quality and sizing have been great with good color. The market is firming. SNOW & SUGAR SNAP PEAS Snow and sugar snap peas supplies are improving through Miami. BABY SPINACH Baby and clipped spinach supplies are good. We are seeing improvement in quality. BUNCHED SPINACH Supplies are good and quality has improved. SPRING MIX Supplies are good and quality has improved. ONIONS It is likely that we will see pricing remain elevated as demand continues to exceed supplies. Sizing is peaking mostly on mediums and jumbos with fewer big onions, but size overall has become better. Transportation in this region has been the largest factor keeping pricing where it is as trucks have been extremely tight. This is forcing heavier movement from regions outside of the northwest which has forced that area to keep pricing where it is at. POTATOES (IDAHO) Demand on 40ct./70ct. is very good, the remaining sizes demand is fair. Demand on consumer packs is fair at this time. The biggest factor in this potato market is the transportation part of the equation. The rail cars coming out of the state are still very tight and the truck side of the transportation issue is extremely tight. It appears we still do not really know the new normal freight rate that both the shipper and receiver can count on. We are coming to the point where traditionally the state would experience an eight-week slow down on demand and supplies. We can t really expect this to happen under current conditions. You should expect pricing to remain steady. TOMATOES TOMATOES- EAST Rounds: Markets have improved; however, this could be short-lived as several days of rain expected in South Florida next week could change this recovery. FOB prices are down this week. Quality is good. Romas: Markets have improved; however, this could be short-lived as several days of rain expected in South Florida next week could change this recovery. FOB prices are down this week. Quality is good. Grapes: Supplies are improving, though we certainly need to watch the next several days of rain in the forecast. FOB prices are down this week. Cherries: Supplies are improving, though we certainly need to watch the next several days of rain in the forecast. Prices are improving as is quality. TOMATOES- WEST AND MEXICO Rounds: Vine-ripe production is excellent out of Culiacan and cross through Nogales and McAllen. FOB prices are down this week and quality is outstanding. Romas: Volume continues to ramp up as production out of Culiacan crossing through Nogales and McAllen. FOB prices are down and quality is outstanding. Grapes: Crossings are good, quality is excellent, and FOB prices are down slightly from last week.

7 Cherries: We are seeing supplies improve out of Nogales and McAllen, FOB prices are down, and quality is very good. WASHINGTON APPLES, PEARS & TREE FRUIT Apples: PROMOTIONAL VOLUME AVAILABLE ON FOOD SERVICE/SMALL SIZED FRUIT! New crop now available we are seeing the pressure on the market decrease and shortages diminish. Excellent quality available on all varieties; however, we are seeing less production of Golden Delicious as the trees are being pulled and replaced with more favorable varieties. Please make note that volume orders on food service grade apples must be pre-booked to ensure they are not packed with PLU stickers. Pears: Bosc, Bartlett and D Anjou are available out of Yakima and Wenatchee Districts.