Weekly Produce Trend Report for Week Ending November 6, 2015 COMMODITY PRICE QUALITY PRICE TREND Mexican Avocados Moderate Good VARIES BY SIZE Blackberries, Blueberries Extreme Good Raspberries High Good Strawberries High Fair Grapefruit Moderate Good Lemons High Good Limes Moderate Excellent Pineapples Moderate Good Oranges, Navels Some CA/Chilean Navels Poor-Vals Good-Navs Green & Red Leaf Lettuces Moderate Good Iceberg Lettuce Moderate Fair Romaine Lettuce, Celery Moderate Good Romaine Hearts Moderate to High Good Cucumbers Moderate Good Green Beans Moderate to High Good Green Bell Peppers Moderate to High Good Red Bell Peppers High to Extreme Fair to Good Yellow Squash, Zucchini Low Excellent Green & Red Seedless Grapes, Cantaloupes, Honeydews Moderate Good Plums DONE DONE DONE Carrots, Frisee, Spring Mix, Mache, Arugula Moderate Good Bok Choy, Napa High Fair Artichokes Moderate to High Excellent Asparagus, Cauliflower Moderate to High Good Broccoli Moderate to High Good Parsley (Curly & Italian) Moderate to High Very Good Fennel/Anise High Very Good Peeled Garlic Extreme Good Green Cabbage High Excellent Green Onions High Fair Kale (Green) Low Very Good Red Cabbage High Excellent Snow & Sugar Snap Peas High Poor to Fair Spinach (Baby) Low Good Spinach (Bunched) High Good Yellow, White Onions Moderate Good Red Onions Moderate Good Round, Grape, Roma Tomatoes Moderate Good Potatoes Variable Good Red & Golden Delicious, Granny Smiths, Pinks Moderate Good Golden Delicious, Fujis New Crop Higher Good Galas, Honeycrisp New Crop, D Anjous & Bosc Pears High Good Bartlett Pears High/Moderate Good
Weekly Produce Trend Report for Week Ending November 6, 2015 MARKET OVERVIEW Extreme weather conditions (rain, heat) continue to be the dominant factors influencing quality and availability for many items. Rain in Mexico, Southern California and the Carolinas has resulted in quality issues and delays in harvesting for tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, eggplant, squash and peppers. Continued above-average temperatures continue to disrupt growth cycles, in addition to heat-related quality issues, for row crop items in the coastal districts of Central California. With the prediction of the developing El Nino, we can likely expect to see abnormal weather extremes through early 2016. We also have our eyes on a storm, in the tropics. We are seeing quality issues as well as shortages with green onions, napa, lettuce, leafy veg and berries. Most Growers will be transitioning over to the desert within the next week or two. Most transitions dates start at the beginning of November. We will keep you updated as to when the transition is complete. APPLES & PEARS The market is weak. New crop stocks are abundant; this year s harvest is dominated by 100- through 138-count sizes. Sugar levels are high, measuring 14 to 18 Brix (sugar to acid ratio). The Pear market is low. Both Bartlett and Anjou varieties are available; 90- to 110-count sizes are most plentiful. Quality is excellent: fruit is sweet, yet slightly spicy. ARTICHOKES Volume is low. Most of the volume this week is expected to be 12 s, 18 s and 24s. Quality is excellent. Most sizes are higher in price. Volume will drop as the weather cools. ARUGULA Supplies of both baby and wild arugula are good. Quality is good with minimal yellowing and thick stems. ASPARAGUS Volume is a bit lower this week in Baja, Mexico, but overall prices are holding steady. Peruvian supplies are adequate. Feathering is a minor quality problem in some of the warmer production areas. AVOCADOS The market is low. Mexican stocks are ample, particularly large sizes (48-count and lower). Quality is very good: texture is creamy and flavor is slightly nutty. The Chilean season will start next month. BANANAS Supplies are much better, and quality is good. BLACKBERRIES Prices are elevated. The Salinas/Watsonville season is ending. Mexican harvests are being delayed due to the effects of Hurricane Patricia. Quality is fair; bleeding, bruising, and soft texture are problems. Sugar levels range from 12 to 13 Brix. BLUEBERRIES The market is high. Domestic production has ended. The offshore season has been delayed due to poor weather conditions. Expect shortages for at least another week or two. Overall quality is average, although over-ripeness, shriveling, and softness are problems. BOK CHOY Availability has tightened due to continued hot weather, causing yellow leaves and reduced yields. BROCCOLI California prices are slightly lower than last week, while the Mexican market is up a bit due to rains from Hurricane Patricia. Quality problems include hollow core and knuckly branches. CANTALOUPE Market strong as we have finished here on the west side and are going out of the California and Arizona deserts,
with descent volumes. The overall size structure is very large fruit due to warmer than normal temperatures and keeping the 9 s and smaller very tight and strong with Jumbo 6 s and Jumbo 9 s in better supplies. The overall quality of the fruit is excellent with very high brix and excellent internal color and nice clean netting with a green to straw color. We expect to be going out of the desert through November and then you will see the offshore fruit arriving and we do not expect to see any supply gaps through the transition. Sugar levels range from 11 to 12 Brix. CARROTS Availability is good for jumbo carrots in the Cuyama Valley of California, located at higher elevation southwest of Bakersfield. Quality is good. CAULIFLOWER Expect prices to ease through this week. Stocks are increasing in both regions. Quality is very good. CELERY The market will remain high until growers begin harvesting in Oxnard, California (approximately one to two weeks from now). Demand will increase for Thanksgiving. CILANTRO The Cilantro market has continued to drop. Quality is good. Demand has gone down reducing FOB prices. All shippers are seeing issues with yellowing and decay. Currently, all cilantro is out of the U.S. CORN Late-season corn (yellow, white) from California is in limited supply; prices are at extreme levels. CUCUMBERS EAST: Immokalee fields have started. FOB prices are lower on all grades WEST: Good volume is crossing at Nogales. FOB prices are lower. ENGLISH CUCUMBER Availability is improving, with better growers in Mexico gradually increasing production volume. EGGPLANT EAST: FOB prices are steady to higher. Quality is good. WEST: FOB prices are steady to lower with good quality. FENNEL Supplies for the week will be average. Demand continues to be decent and should increase in the coming weeks. GARLIC We are now about 80% done with our harvest, and unfortunately, the situation has not improved (actually slightly worsened). We will not know where we will be with garlic for another few months due to the weather in California. The winter didn t get cold enough and the summer was too hot, so the bulbs on the garlic have not bloomed. We will be watching this weekly as the crop is very behind schedule. GINGER Chinese ginger is in good supply, offered at a substantial discount compared to ginger from Brazil. GRAPES Market is steady to strong as we have had some rains that has caused some damage and there will be fruit that we will not be able to harvest due to the damage from rains. The overall movement has been excellent and overall quality has been very good as well with high sugars and good fruit strength. We do still expect to have fruit around through mid to late December, but expect the market to continue to strengthen. The green grapes will be the first to see higher prices and reds will then follow suit. You will see a two tier market which the lesser priced fruit will probably be rained on fruit that will show some slip skin and overall weaker strength. Green seedless sugar levels average 18 Brix; red seedless levels range from 21 to 22 Brix. GREEN BEANS Availability has improved in the West, with new crop beans now available in the Coachella Valley of California; quality is excellent in this new district. The harvest in Northern Mexico (Obregon, Sonora) will become available in Nogales around mid-november. Georgia is now the primary district in the East, with good supplies. GREEN CABBAGE Green cabbage supplies remain below expected volume, due to smaller sizing and lighter weight heads in fields. Quality is an issue, prices are high. RED CABBAGE Quality and sizing have been great, with great color and very little discoloration. Overall market is strong. Expect good supplies through the end of October. GREEN ONIONS Iced: The market remains very tight due to light volume crossing the border. We will most likely see pricing remain well above normal for a few weeks. Quality is poor. Iceless: The market remains active due to light supplies and quality issues.
HONEYDEW Market strong as we have finished here on the Westside and the California and Arizona deserts as well as Mexico are our regions now. The overall size structure is large with 3 s 4 s and Jumbo 5 s being a majority of the volume keeping the smaller fruit very tight and high priced. We expect to be in this situation for the next few weeks and will see some smaller fruit coming from Mexico hopefully in about 2 weeks. The desert region will continue to have large fruit, the overall quality of the fruit is excellent with very high sugars and a nice deep green internal color and a green to cream clean exterior color and overall very strong fruit. Sugar levels range from 10 to 12 Brix. KALE (GREEN) Demand is steady, and quality is good with some occasional yellowing present. Supplies are good. KIWI The Chilean season is quickly winding down; new crop California kiwi is now available. Prices have firmed. Although heat has caused moderate damage to the crop in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, adequate production is anticipated for the upcoming California kiwi season. LEMONS Market steady and strong especially on 165 s and smaller as the fruit out of dist. 3 (California Desert) is peaking on 115 s, 95 s and 140 s and we have started in a very light way out of dist. 1 (Central Valley) and that fruit is also very large as are size picking to get the larger fruit off the tree to allow the smaller fruit to size up. We expect to be in this tight situation on the smaller fruit for the next month and possibly longer as the dist. 2 fruit is on the smaller side. The overall quality of the fruit is good out of both districts but we are gassing the fruit which will cause some spotting and also you will see some green tinge due to the fact. We are overall about 20% lighter in volume out of Dist. 3 and Dist. 1 so market should keep very strong going forward. GREEN AND RED LEAF Supplies are below average on Green and Red leaf this week. Green and red leaf are both weighing 22-24 lbs. per case and are 9-10 long. Green leaf and red leaf are seeing fringe burn and and wind burn. ICEBERG LETTUCE Supplies for the next two weeks will be extremely tight. We are getting very close to the end of the Salinas season. Huron is projected to start 10/26. Yuma is projected to start 11/2. Markets are high and quality is poor, including issues with mildew, weak tip and insects. ROMAINE Supplies are expected to be below average this week. We are expected to be on the lighter side the next few weeks; 10-13 days ahead of schedule. Product is being sorted through so only the best quality gets packed. Quality has improved overall with nice coloring this week. Product is weighting 37-38 lbs. and 12-13 long. ROMAINE HEARTS Supplies are expected to be average. Quality is fair, we will continue to see some of the issues that result from the past heat. For example: fringe burn, occasional twisting and seeders. The product is clean inside. Please note as a result of harvesting two weeks ahead of schedule during the end of the Salinas season, there will be gaps and shortages in supplies. LIMES The market is up. Rain from Hurricane Patricia has delayed harvesting and reduced stocks. MANGOS Supply is getting tight, and prices are high. Brazil has very light supplies, and Ecuador will not start until November. NAPA Supply issues out of Salinas will continue to be extremely low, demand exceeds supply in some circumstances due to lower than expected harvest yields. We are seeing quality issues of internal rot and discoloration due to weather related issues. ONIONS Prices are mostly steady with excellent quality. Overall demand is fairly light. ORANGES Market is keeping very steady and strong as we are picking navels in a light way and have not really stated going full steam ahead. We are experiencing some cooler nights which will help color break, but are expecting some rain today which will drop our sugar tests and keep us out of the field for a few days as fruit will need to be completely dry in order to pick and gas, if we pick fruit with any moisture we will have some spotting and staining issues. The overall crop looks very good and we are expecting some very good volume going forward and the fruit does eat very good for this earlier than normal start with good sugars and low acid counts. You will still see fruit with some green splashes and light to med orange color due to our gas hours which are around 120 hours.
PARSLEY (CURLY, ITALIAN) This week there are average to light supplies of curly parsley. Italian parsley is plentiful. Overall quality and appearance continues to be very nice on both. GREEN BELL PEPPER EAST: Supplies continue out of GA and we continue to see some quality issues, mainly in the form of stem decay, out of those fields. Our Immokalee crop is starting. FOB prices this week are steady to lower on all sizes and grades. Demand has been weak. WEST: We are seeing good volume this week from the desert growers. FOB prices are lower this week compared to last week on all grades and sizes. JALAPEÑO PEPPER EAST: FOB prices are slightly higher and quality is generally good. WEST: FOB prices generally lower. The Baja region finished earlier than normal this year. Quality is good. RED AND YELLOW PEPPER The market will remain elevated for several months. PINEAPPLE The market is elevated. Costa Rican volume remains low; Mexican supplies have tightened due to last weekend s Hurricane Patricia. Sugar levels average 16 Brix in Costa Rica and range from 13 to 14 Brix in Mexico. IDAHO POTATOES Most shippers have made the transition to storage potatoes on both varieties. Potatoes coming out of the sweat will have a better skin set which gives them a better appearance and improved shelf life. The fob markets are calmer this week as the middle sizes held steady combined with a minor increase in the bigger potatoes. 40 s and 50 s are still plentiful and would be good sizes to promote. RASPBERRIES The California market is weak, but starting to inch up due to the season ending. Rains from Hurricane Patricia have delayed some new crop Mexican harvests. Quality is very good. Sugar levels range from 13 to 14 Brix. SNOW AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS Snow and sugar snap peas are in short supply, with California shippers unable to fill orders in full; this will continue until the harvest transition to Mexico occurs in November. Prices continue to advance, including prices for imports from Peru. SPINACH (BABY) Baby Spinach and Clipped Spinach supplies are good. Quality is good with some thicker stems, some occasional weaker texture and inconsistent leaf-sizing. SPINACH (BUNCHED) Steady volume. Quality is good. The market has come off a bit but still staying strong. SPRING MIX Prices are level; supplies are abundant. Quality is very good, but burn and mildew remain minor problems. Growers are preparing for the end of the Salinas season in mid-november and the move to Yuma that follows. GREEN SQUASH EAST: FOB prices are generally lower this week and quality is improving. WEST: Market prices steady to lower in the west as good volume continues to cross at Nogales. YELLOW SQUASH EAST: FOB prices are generally lower this week. Quality continues to improve. WEST: Good volume continues to cross at Nogales. FOB prices on fancy grade product are lower and mediums are steady. STRAWBERRIES Prices remain high; stocks are extremely limited. Weather continues to affect quality; issues such as bleeding, bruising, mildew, and soft texture persist. Sugar levels range from 14 to 15 Brix. We recommend maintaining the cold chain at all times to maximize shelf-life. SALADS & BLENDS The market is inching up as growers prepare for the transition to Yuma for the fall/winter months over the next few weeks.
TOMATOES EAST Rounds Weak demand and a few more supplies out of Florida fields have caused the FOB prices of all sizes to fall slightly. We look for prices to continue to fall during the month of November as more supplies come on-line out of the Palmetto/Ruskin fields. Quality is improving but shelf-life is still suspect. TREE FRUIT The California season is quickly winding down. Late season peach varieties and large-sized red plums are available. WATERMELON The market is up; stocks are tight in all areas. Supplies from Florida and offshore will become available in December. Sugar levels range from 11 to 13 Brix. Romas Quality continues to be variable. Weak demand and slightly more supplies have caused FOB prices to fall on all sizes. Grapes Weak demand has caused FOB prices to fall on both bulk and pints. Quality continues to be variable but is improving. Cherries Supplies continue to be tight as they have been for several months but demand has been weak. FOB prices are currently down slightly from last week. Quality is variable. WEST/MEXICO Rounds All but 4 CA growers have finished harvesting and are only selling product from their rooms. FOB prices are generally steady for good quality 5x6s and are down on 6x6s and 6x7s. 5x6 sizing continues to be on the small side and Mexican product must be used for 4x5 and larger sizes. Vine ripes continue to cross at Otay Mesa, McAllen and Nogales. Volume at all crossings points is generally light. Demand is weak. Romas Demand is weak. Supplies continue from CA but are tight. Crossings continue at Otay Mesa and McAllen. FOB prices are lower out of CA fields and at MX crossing points. Grapes We are still seeing a very wide range in quality and corresponding FOB prices. However, weak demand has caused FOB prices to be generally lower this week. Cherries Supplies continue to be tight with a wide range of FOB prices depending on quality. FOB prices for quality product are generally steady compared to last week.