Weekly Produce Trend Report for Week Ending August 5, 2016

Weekly Produce Trend Report for Week Ending August 5, 2016 COMMODITY PRICE QUALITY PRICE TREND Mexican Avocados High Good VARIES BY SIZE Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries Moderate Good Grapefruit Moderate Good Lemons Moderate Good Limes High Excellent Pineapples Moderate Good Oranges, Navels Navels Good Green & Red Leaf, Romaine Moderate Good Iceberg Lettuce Moderate Fair Romaine Hearts Moderate Good Cucumbers Moderate Excellent Green Beans Extreme Excellent Bell Peppers (Green & Red) High Good Yellow Squash Low Good Zucchini Low Good Green Seedless Grapes High Good Red Seedless Grapes Moderate to High Good Plums Moderate Good Fennel/Anise Moderate Very Good Bok Choy, Frisee, Mache Moderate Good Cantaloupes Moderate Good Honeydew High Good Artichokes Moderate Excellent Arugula Moderate Good Asparagus Moderate Good Broccoli Low Good Carrots High Good Celery Very High Good Parsley (Curly & Italian) Moderate Very Good Cauliflower Low Good Peeled Garlic High Good Green Cabbage High Excellent Green Onions Moderate Fair Kale (Green) Low Very Good Napa Moderate Fair Red Cabbage Moderate Excellent Snow & Sugar Snap Peas Steady Poor to Fair Spinach (Baby & Bunched), Spring Mix Low Good Red Onions Moderate Good Yellow & White Onions Moderate Good Round & Grape Tomatoes Moderate Good Roma Tomatoes Moderate Fair to Good Potatoes Variable Good Red & Golden Delicious, Granny Smiths, Pinks Steady Good Golden Delicious, Fujis New Crop Steady Good Galas, Honeycrisp New Crop D Anjous, Bosc Pears High Good

Weekly Produce Trend Report for Week Ending August 5, 2016 MARKET OVERVIEW Avocados remain in a short supply, but are getting better. We are still facing high prices, but they are gradually coming down. Garlic is improving weekly, although prices remain high. 200ct lemons are in very short supply with high prices. All lettuce items, tomatoes, and oranges are steady. APPLE & PEARS The market is low. Sugar levels range from 11 to 14 Brix (sugar to acid ratio). Quality is excellent. New crop California Gala supplies are on the market. New crop Washington fruit will be available in late August/ early September. The California Bartlett Pear season is in full swing; the market will start inching down soon. Quality is excellent: flavor is sweet with hints of spice. New crop Washington Bartletts will hit the market in mid-august. ARTICHOKES We expect good supplies of artichokes this week. Supplies have increased. Better volume is expected for the next few weeks. Demand is off a bit, typical for the summer. Prices are steady to lower on some sizes. ARUGULA Supplies of baby and wild arugula are good. Quality is fair but improving. ASPARAGUS Expect steady prices for another three-four weeks, then the market will increase when production moves to Baja, Mexico. Quality is highest in Mexico: stalks are straight and flavor is mildly grassy AVOCADOS The market is starting to ease just a little; more Mexican grown fruit is crossing into the United States. The California season is winding down. Quality is very good: oil content is best in California. BANANAS Unseasonal strong demand has developed for banana growers in Central America, as supply has been disrupted from the Philippines. BERRIES: BLACKBERRIES Prices are level; stocks are adequate on both coasts. Quality is good: bleeding and bruising are minor issues. Sugar levels range from 12 to 13 Brix. BLUEBERRIES Although supplies remain sufficient, the market is starting to inch up due to weather-related issues. Quality is best in Canada and Washington; extreme heat is causing bleeding and softness in some lots. RASPBERRIES Prices are high; demand is strong and volume is low. Quality is average: high temperatures are causing softness in some lots. Sugar levels range from 13 to 14 Brix. STRAWBERRIES The market is rising after being relatively flat for weeks. Industry volume is down approximately 20%; however, overall supplies remain ample. The market will continue climbing into August. Quality is good: but heat is causing some bleeding and decreasing size. BROCCOLI Prices remain weak; domestic stocks are ample. Quality is highest in California; extreme heat is causing branchiness, discoloration, and hollow core in some supplies. BRUSSELS SPROUTS Supplies are steady, but we expect the market to tighten up. Quality is good, although there is the occasional insect damage and some discoloration. Regional inventories are depleted and this will drive the price up. CANTALOUPE Market is steady with good volume going out of the Westside, the overall quality is excellent and we are peaking on 12 s at this point, but making other sizes as well. The fruit is very nice with a clean net and beautiful internal color and sugar. We anticipate having nice fruit going forward barring an extreme heat situation, We will keep you posted if we see any damages. We should have good supplies of fruit through mid-october and then we will transition down to the desert until the first of December. This is also a great time of year to promote melons. Quality is excellent: sugar levels range from 12 to 14 Brix.

CARROTS Great quality and good supply! CAULIFLOWER The market is weak; supplies are abundant. CELERY California stocks are ample in Salinas and Santa Maria. Quality is very good: stalks are firm, straight, and zesty. CORN Sweet corn is starting to come in with Indiana coming in strong now. Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio are all just starting with volume increasing next week. Quality has been good but the yields have been down. Next week should ramp up more. On the East Coast, Delaware Virginia, and New York, are starting well. CUCUMBERS East- MI, NY and NJ are seeing strong supplies. Demand continues to be sluggish. Growers in MI are letting their older fields go due to the low market prices. FOB prices are steady at low levels with continued downward pressure. West- Supplies coming from Baja and quality is extremely variable. FOB prices are generally lower on all grades and sizes compared to last week. ENGLISH CUCUMBER Steady availability with Canada is the primary supplier. There are some new crops from California starting to become available. EGGPLANT East- Better supplies have put downward pressure on FOB prices. Quality of eggplant is very good. West- FOB prices are down again. Quality is good. FENNEL Supplies for the week will be good. GARLIC Extreme market. We are almost there! We are currently harvesting our California crop, we will be in 100% California crop towards the end of the month. We are still experiencing high prices, although they are improving weekly. We should see prices drop week by week. GINGER Chinese ginger is in good supply and is being offered at a substantial discount compared to the Ginger from Brazil. GRAPES The market is steady and strong as we are going here in the central valley and are going on flames, sugarones, princess, Thompsons and black seedless. The overall quality is very good as the fruit is strong and firm. We are seeing a wide range in sizing on the flames which is due to a heavy set and also some warmer temperatures in the spring and then cooler temperatures which had the fruit growing at an erratic rate. All other varieties at this time seem to be on track to be about the same size or a 16th smaller on average. We are anticipating some very high heat through the end of this week, which could cause us some damage but we will keep you posted. The overall volume this year looks to be about the same as last year which will allow us to go into December on California table grapes. Green seedless sugar levels range from 18 to 20 Brix; red seedless levels are 20 to 22 Brix. GREEN BEANS Escalated market. Prices are declining. We are still in an escalation situation, but feel this will continue to ease in the upcoming week or so. Supplies are plentiful in the East (Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, New York). Numerous districts in the West are now in production (Central & Southern California and Baja California, Mexico). Prices in the West will remain elevated as compared to the East. GREEN CABBAGE Green Cabbage is steady this week. Quality is good with some reports of insects. Prices are good. RED CABBAGE Quality and sizing has been great, with good color. Overall, the market is strong. GREEN ONIONS Supplies are plentiful and quality is good. We are seeing some reports of mildew and insect pressure in some product, this is due to the extreme heat. HONEYDEW We are going here on the Westside as well with good supplies of all sizes, the overall quality is very nice with a nice green to cream rind and a crisp interior with a tight cavity, we are seeing an occasional wind scar but overall a very nice piece of fruit. We should have good supplies going through mid-october as well and then we will transition to the desert through the first of December. Quality is excellent: flavor is sweet. Sugar levels range from 9 to 11 Brix. KALE (GREEN) Demand is steady and quality is very good. LEMONS Market strong with tight supplies, we are going on dist. 2 fruit and starting to see more arrivals on both coasts of Chilean lemons, we will start to see better supplies from Chile in the coming weeks and hopefully there is enough arriving that will help take some pressure off the domes-

tic market. The first arrivals on the Chilean lemons have been good, with some of the fruit on the green side but overall condition is good to fair as some of the arrivals this week were showing some decay and weaker fruit probably due to rains that they had in Chile. The overall quality on the Dist 2 California fruit is good with some lots showing some higher maturity and clear rot showing up as well. The Mexican lemon deal has started in a small way and volumes will increase weekly going forward hopefully quality is as good as it was last year, which will also help us on the supply side. We will keep you posted on the Mexican fruit going forward as they did have some recent rains in certain areas which could cause some issues with the humidity and moisture in the ground. LETTUCE: GREEN/RED LEAF Prices are low and stocks are abundant. Quality is very good: insect pressure and mildew are slight issues. ICEBERG Prices are slightly higher than last week; heat is reducing stocks. Quality is good, but insect pressure, internal burn, and mildew remain problems. ROMAINE The market is stable; stocks are ample. Insect pressure, light color, tip burn, and wind burn are slight problems. ROMAINE HEARTS Supplies have improved and demand has slowed. Quality is better, we are seeing some tip/fringe burn, and some insects due to the prior weeks of heat. LIMES Prices are low; supplies are ample in Mexico s Veracruz region (into South Texas). Quality is excellent: skins are smooth and flavor is pleasantly sour. NAPA Market is lower due to increased supply. Demand is strong, prices are lower. Quality is good with increased reports of internal defects primarily with seeders. ONIONS It s been very warm in New Mexico and more so in Southern California. NM has been steady in the middle 90 s while Southern Cal has been 105 plus. The heat has caused some supply issues with Super Colossal and Colossal coming out of New Mexico and to some extent Southern Cal. Excessive heat not only stops or slows growth but it also has a negative effect on good arrivals and shelf life once received. The supply situation on both of these will not improve until we move to Idaho sometime in mid-august. Quality to date has been pretty good and we expect that to be the case until the transition. There are some new crop onions currently coming out of Oregon in a very light way, Washington is now quoting sweets with more varieties coming in the next few weeks. ORANGES Market is steady with good demand on the 88 s and smaller and not as heavy demand on the 72 s and larger so there are deals to be made on the larger fruit. There is also some re-greening around the stem end and the bloom end as we are experiencing some hot temperatures and this can cause the fruit to re-green partially, which will have no effect on the sugar, juice or eating quality. Next week we will start to cool down a bit and get back to normal temperatures. We will have good supplies of Valencia s through the later part August and then the market will probably start to strengthen through October until the new crop navels around the first November. Our Valencia crop this year is about 15% heavier than last year but the juice market is excellent which will keep the market very strong as long as the juice price stays strong. Sugar levels have increased, ranging from 13 to 14 Brix. PARSLEY (CURLY, ITALIAN) Prices are normal and quality is excellent. GREEN BELL PEPPER East- Good supplies and weak demand is causing FOB prices to fall again this week. Supplies continue to be fragmented with supplies coming from NC to MI. Quality is generally very good. West- Supplies continue to be weak but demand is even weaker. FOB prices are down on all grades compared to last week. JALAPEÑO PEPPER East- FOB prices are down this week. Quality continues to be generally good. West- FOB prices are steady with upward pressure. RED & YELLOW PEPPER The market remains elevated; stocks are limited. High temperatures in California s San Joaquin Valley growing region are reducing shelf-life. Quality is good: dehydration is a problem. PINEAPPLE Prices are stable; Costa Rican stocks have increased to average, yet will decrease in August. The Mexican season is winding down; large sizes are tight. Quality is best in Costa Rica: fruit is firm, yet juicy with sweet tropical flavor. Sugar levels range from 13 to 16 Brix. IDAHO POTATOES Demand continues to be good but not overwhelming. The market is steady but the bottom of the range has moved up. This indicates that some of the excess supply

on the 90 s and 100 s that has been available in Idaho over the past few weeks is getting used up. Supplies are still good on 40 s and 50 s with load volume available. RADISHES Market is good and prices are low. Local deals started making an abundant supply. Quality is average with reports of insect damage. SALADS & BLENDS Prices are steady. Industry-wide quality issues persist in romaine raw product stocks, shortening shelf-life. Fringe burn, insect damage, internal burn, and mechanical damage are problems. Iceberg quality is better. SNOW AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS Snow and sugar snap peas are still in high demand. Quality is good. SPINACH (BUNCHED) Supply is good and demand is strong. Quality has improved. We are still seeing some sun scalding and tip burn however, we expect to see an improvement in quality this week. There have been some reports of insects, but this is improving. SPINACH (BABY) Baby and clipped spinach supplies are light. Quality is fair to good. Prices are good. Some reports of insects. SPRING MIX The market is unchanged. Quality is good: insect damage, mildew, premature pinking, shorter than- normal shelf-life, and wind damage are slight issues. GREEN SQUASH East- Strong supplies continue and FOB prices are generally steady with downward pressure on both grades. We continue to harvest fields in SC, NC, MI and the Northeast. Quality is very good. West- FOB prices are generally steady this week. Supplies are coming from Santa Maria and Washington fields. Quality is good. YELLOW SQUASH East- Supplies, demand and FOB prices remain generally steady from last week. Quality is generally good. West- Slight upward pressure on FOB prices this week. Quality is variable but continues to improve. TOMATOES East Rounds Supplies in the east continue to be fragmented and light. Demand is also relatively light which is keeping supplies and demand in equilibrium and FOB prices steady from last week. In the near future we may be some upward pressure on prices to keep in step with the western market. The east continues to have to go west to meet demand. Due to the heat and afternoon storms quality continues to be only fair to good. AL, AK, VA, SC and NC fields continue to produce. Romas Like the rounds, roma supplies are light and fragmented in the east. Quality is variable and weaker this week due to the heat and storms. Oftentimes, shelf-life becomes suspect under these conditions. FOB prices are steady on XL and L sizes and up slightly on the medium size. Grapes Good supplies are being harvested from our NC and VA eastern shore fields. FOB prices have continued to drop this week and quality continues to be good. Cherries Supplies and demand continue to generally light. FOB prices are down slightly compared to last week. Quality is good. West/Mexico Rounds Vine-ripes continue to cross at Baja and McAllen. CA mature-green growers continue to harvest but are currently picking only three days a week. It has been extremely hot for the past seven straight days with highs between102-108 each day. We expect day time highs to continue to exceed 100 degrees through Friday. Quality of the mature greens is variable and continues to deteriorate. However, the real effects of these extreme temperatures will not be seen for another 45 days. We expect both quality and quantity to suffer around the first of September. There is currently a wider than normal range in FOB prices corresponding to the quality being sold. Romas Supplies continue to come out of Baja and CA. Demand is sluggish. Like the rounds, quality is not as good as it has been and is much more variable. There is a wider than normal range in FOB prices and are generally down from last week for all sizes. Grapes Supplies continue mainly out of Baja with very good volume. We continue to see a wide range in quality. FOB prices are variable (depending on quality) but are down again this week. Cherries FOB prices are steady this week. Quality is fair to good.

TREE FRUIT The market is low. Domestic nectarines, peaches, and plums are ample; the season will remain at its peak through mid-august. Quality is very good: fruit is juicy and sweet. Sugar levels range from 12 to 14 Brix. Mango supply is abundant and prices are low. Quality is good. WATERMELON Prices are inching down; stocks from California s San Joaquin Valley are abundant. Quality is excellent: flavor is at its peak. Sugar levels are averaging 12 Brix.