Weekly Produce Update NORTHWEST Apples We continue to add new crop varieties to the manifests almost weekly now that harvest is in full swing. We now have a few Braeburn, Rome, Cameo, Jonagolds, Gala, Goldens, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, a few early Fuji, & new crop Red Delicious. Movement has come to an end with c.a. storage Red Delicious. Shippers have worked through the last of them. Pricing is still strong on most varieties on larger sizes, but the best pricing & value is in 100's & smaller. We are now seeing c.a. storage qualified fruit for export in gala & now golds too. Pears NW pears are in good supply. Condition is good on all varieties. Bartlett, D'Anjou, Bosc, Seckel, Comice, & various Red Pears are available. Pricing continues to be on the stronger side, but have seen a small downward trend as all the shippers are packing. Seeing a few deals on lower grade fruit & a few regular storage Bartletts. Shippers have begun packing C/A storage Bartletts. Onions WA/OR prices are fairly steady whereas Idaho markets have dropped for no apparent reason. Onion supplies this season are down nationwide- that is a fact. Simple economics dictate a higher price to make up for lower yields...except this does not seem to be the case. October saw slower movement and with it came lower prices from nervous marketers. This is a discouraging trend that many growers do not understand or agree with.
Most likely prices will rise given the obvious shortage of Larger onions and overall short supplies for the season. Yellow sweets available; ORGANIC are now available - all colors. This will encourage a firm steady season. Yellow sweets available. ORGANIC are now available-all colors. Colored Potatoes Most likely prices will rise given the obvious shortage of Larger onions and overall short supplies for the season. Yellow sweets available; ORGANIC are now available - all colors. This will encourage a firm steady season. Yellow sweets available. ORGANIC are now available-all colors. Mt. Vernon District Red, Yellow, White and Purple colored potato supplies remain steady. Movement in October is nearly double last years pace. This is reflected in a very strong and steady market on all colors. Most growers are reporting sizes peaking on the large side. Quality and color is excellent. Prices remain strong and steady with few overall price adjustments so far this season. Yellow and Red Fingerlings are available. Eastern WA colored potatoes-reds and Yellows only-are still available. Prices are steady and supply, color, quality are good as well. Potatoes Harvest is complete in WA/OR while Idaho is still digging. Demand is picking up as Thanksgiving approaches. The pull is on smaller sizes which will in turn produces an abundance of large cartons. Prices remain fairly steady with underlying strength. Look for this market to take off in December if not in January. The reason; supplies are markedly down compared to last year. Prices must go up to slow movement. Burbanks are available with prices slightly higher than Norkotahs. Organic Russets are available. CALIFORNIA FRESNO Oranges Most likely prices will rise given the obvious shortage of Larger onions and overall short supplies for the season. Yellow sweets available; ORGANIC are now available - all colors. This will encourage a firm steady season. Yellow sweets available. ORGANIC are now available-all colors. Growers are picking and packing NAVELS (finally). The fruit is requiring about 96 hours to bring on color. Market has came out strong with limited supplies which should improve a little each week. Fruit is packing out nice; heavy to fancy (90/10).
Stone Fruit Wonderful are finishing up harvesting. Give us a ring we can do single layer/volume filled or Arils for your eating pleasure. Domestic Arils are now packing. Persimmons are showing finally seen some cool nights to bring on the color. We should have supplies until Christmas. Lemons District 3 desert Lemons continue to peak 140/165/115. Larger fruit will remain on the tight. Quality looks very nice. Market is fairly steady at this time. Desert supplies are light this year as is District 1, central Calif. This is going to cause the market to move up faster than normal. Expected to change over the next few weeks especially on the larger sizes. Grapes Growers continue to pick Grapes. Look to see the market go up over the next few weeks as weather and color come into play a lot more. We will see more split markets as the season starts to wind up. Don t forget we have supplies going now of Red Institutional grapes. Specialty Citrus TX Ruby Grapefruit is going now and as normal have excellent color. Look for most of the fruit from here on out to ship from TX and should have good volume by mid Nov. Market is up and will stay this way through the winter. Satsuma Mandarins are peaking on jumbo sizes but also packing med/large. Color is nice. Fruit can be packed up for you in 25 Lb. bulk/bags and 4x5 Lb. Pummelos are sizing up 10/12's with strong demand on larger 6/8's. Supplies are cleaning up almost as fast as they are packing; market is steady. We will have product through Dec. Carrots Processed supplies are steady and moving well. Continue with issues on Rainbow supplies which are very light and will remain this way until early Nov. Conventional shippers are struggling to get those Jumbo sizes. Shippers are starting to prorate orders to aid in getting everyone a little something... as well as increasing the market to slow movement. Potatoes California New Potatoes are starting back; shipping and packing out of the Bakersfield area.
Whites are demand exceeds supplies at this time and as such that market is very strong. Reds and Yellow supplies are improving and the market is steady. Melons Cantaloupe/Honeydew Cantaloupe market is still strong but supplies out of the desert are finally improving so we should see prices adjust by end of the week slightly. Sizing continues 12's and larger; heavy to 9's. Fruit is currently harvesting Desert and Nogales which is helping. Quality and condition are good and the fruit eats well. Watermelon Seedless Watermelons supplies continue to tighten down and the market is increasing. MX is the supplier, struggling to fill all the demand. Quality is very good although some fruit is showing age so have product checked. Avocado Mexican Avocado supplies are crossing with very good numbers. Look for this to continue. Market is down with good supplies 40/48/60/70; large fruit 36/32/28's still tight and stronger. Look for the market to start to move up around Thanksgiving and continue up through the holidays. Now would be the time to put together holiday ads. Larger sizes should become available as the year winds down. Kiwi Calif Kiwi supplies are looking good... market is slowly adjusting with fairly good supplies. This fruit is hard; so be prepared. All sizes and packs are now available. SALINAS Cauliflower Supplies are still extremely tight with past weather issues in all growing areas and increased demand. Defects include rough curd, irregular sizing, soft shoulder and yellow cast. Weights are ranging from 25 to 28 Lbs. Berries Strawberries- Salinas/Watsonville volume is at the very end. Rain today and tomorrow will end the season. Production is mostly Oxnard and Central Mexico. Raspberries- Weather issues have caused a gap in production in all areas. Central Mexico should increase in the next 2 weeks.
Blackberries- Production is now mostly from Central Mexico, supplies will remain light the next 2-3 weeks. Blueberries- Weather again in Central Mexico has slowed production down, increasing in the next 3 weeks. Light supplies arriving from Peru and Chile. Iceberg Lettuce Supplies remain moderate as Salinas begins to wind down. Huron is seeing light weights and variable quality. Yuma scheduled to begin Nov 13th. There is a possibility of rain this Sat/Sun which could affect quality. Trucks are an issue at this time as well. Leaf Lettuces Leaf item supplies have improved. Seeders and insect damage are still showing up here and there. Fringe burn and dehydration are also reported. Weights are generally 18 to 22 Lbs. on red leaf and green leaf with romaine ranging from 32 to 38 lbs depending on grower and field location. Broccoli Supplies are extremely tight and will remain that way until the desert regions start production at the end of November. Bunch sizing averages 2-4 per on 14's depending on location and shipper. Stalk sizes are ranging from 25 cent to 50 cent diameters. Some samples continue to show up with a branchy appearance. As far as defects are concerned hollow core, spread, brown bead, cat eye, pit rot and purple cast continue being reported. Celery Supplies are very tight. Larger sizes continue to be harder to get. Seeders continue to be an issue here and there. Some other common defects include bow, flagging, and insect damage. MCALLEN Mexican Lime No harvesting on limes so, less supplies are expected due to the Day of the Dead in Mexico. Mango Brazilian mango supplies are good this week. Good quality overall with high prices. No Mexican Supplies.
Pineapple Mexican pineapple continues coming in with good volume and quality in all sizes. Prices are lower. Good supplies coming from Costa Rica as well. Mexican Avocado Good supplies on Avocados on small fruit. 48's, 60's, 70's and 84's. Less supplies on big fruit 32's, 36's, 40's. Higher prices are expected to remain. Good quality overall. Mexican Tomatoes Market is going up with limited supplies on Roma tomatoes and Round Tomatoes. Good quality overall. Higher prices. Mexican Chili Peppers We're expecting good supplies on Jalapeno. Limited supplies on Serrano, Poblano and Anaheim. Higher prices. Variable quality. Melons Market is good. Mexico season has just started. Good supplies of Cantaloupes crossing through Nogales, AZ. Movement is expected to increase seasonally. Good quality overall. Mexican Onions We're expecting good supplies of Yellow onions from Michigan, Oregon and good supplies on White onions from Colorado. Watermelons Mexico season has started, good supplies of Seedless and Minis from Mexico. Good quality overall. Market is good. Quality is variable. NOGALES Roma Tomatoes Roma prices are steady this week. Product is available in San Diego and McAllen. There are a few starting to cross through Nogales, supplies are limited. Round tomatoes are up this week. Product is available in California. We should start seeing some tomato products cross through Nogales around late November.
Peppers Green Peppers are up this week, supplies have tightened up. Supplies available in California. Nogales should starting crossing Green Bells in a week or two. Red and Yellow peppers are also available, supplies are steady. Nogales should start crossing red, yellow and orange bells in November. Grape Tomatoes The grape tomato market has moved up this week. Supplies have tightened, product is available in San Diego. Nogales production will start in December. Cucumbers Cucumbers are down this week, supplies have improved. Product is crossing through Nogales and San Diego. English cucumbers and mini cucumbers should start in a couple of weeks. Beef Steak Tomatoes We should start seeing some product cross through Nogales in November. SOUTHEAST Eggplant Limited supplies and colder weather Sweet Potatoes Start of season. Good quality overall. Green Beans End of season. Higher prices. Green Bell Pepper Good supplies. Higher prices. Cabbage Limited supplies/higher prices Corn End of season. Higher prices Yellow Squash and Zucchini Limited supplies. Good quality overall. visit us: www.superiorfoods.co