June 29, 2017 OVERVIEW Celery, and lemons are still in a very EXTREME MARKET and we are seeing a shortage in supply with oranges as well. The melon market is in an Act of God. Garlic will be pulling from the US in another week or two. Lettuce is stable. MARKET ALERTS APPLES - EXTREME AVOCADO - ESCALATED CELERY - ESCALATED CUCUMBERS (SELECT) ESCALATED GREEN BEANS - EXTREME GARLIC - EXTREME GREEN PEPPERS (CHOICE AND MEDIUM) ESCALATED LEMONS - EXTREME MELONS (CANTALOUPE AND HONEYDEW) ACT OF GOD ORANGES - EXTREME TOMATOES (ROMA) - ESCALATED GOOD BUYS SOUTHEASTERN SEEDLESS WATERMELON Seedless watermelon is becoming quite popular, mostly due to their delicious taste. Seedless watermelon actually outsell seeded watermelon! Despite the name, seedless watermelons do contain seeds, however, they are small and edible. Try making Watermelon Mini Wedges! Ingredients: 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 1 lime 1 small seedless watermelon, cut into wedges Directions: In a bowl, mix the the sugar, salt and lime zest. Sprinkle onto the watermelon wedges and serve. TRANSPORTATION & WEATHER Trucks are in good supply in California, Arizona, Washington and Texas. Freight rates are firm. Availability has tightened in Florida; also Eastern Oregon. SOUTHEAST: Expect a mix of clouds, sun and rain through the holiday clearing by mid-week. BAKERSFIELD/ CENTRAL VALLEY: There will be plenty of sunshine and a return to average temperatures. It is too soon to see the impacts on crops in the Central Valley. CENTRAL COAST: Normal weather patterns will return to the region for the holiday week. FRUITS & VEGETABLES AVOCADOS ESCALATED - On the immediate horizon, we expect to see a dip in production after the fourth and could see markets turn again. Long term market forecasts call for lighter volume crossing through Laredo, TX. Volume is anticipated to be 30 million pounds next week, down 10 million pounds from the current week. This is a result of the transition to the For Loca Crop. California volume will also begin to dip while Peru is increasing. We anticipate a very inconsistent avocado market over the next several weeks. BANANAS Demand and quality are good and inventories are lighter this week. GRAPES Good volume out of Nogales and Coachella. Peaking on large sizes crossing through Nogales. Seeing some deals on small sized flames. Large/XL peak sizes in Coachella, seeing quotes in the high teens to low 20 s on larger sizes. Arvin is on the horizon. KIWI Supplies are good. Prices are good and quality is average. BLUEBERRIES Production is increasing in Baja California and Oxnard; prices have come down. Prices are varied throughout the region, quality is good. BLACKBERRIES Blackberries are good in supply through the month. Quality is good. RASPBERRIES Good quality and supply. Central California growers are now harvesting as well. STRAWBERRIES Availability has tightened and prices are a bit higher. Quality is average to good.
CALIFORNIA-ARIZONA CITRUS The lemon and Valencia markets remain tight. Large lemons, sizes 79-140S, are the most difficult and anything over contract will not get booked. Import lemons have started arriving on the east and west coast, although market price remains high. Mexican lemons are expected to be available next week. GRAPEFRUIT California Star Ruby and White grapefruit is available. Organic is also available. LEMONS EXTREME Supplies of large sizes continue to be very tight. South American lemons have started to arrive. Mexican lemons will be available in July. LIMES (PERSIAN) Limes are available. Great quality and color. ORANGES Navels/Valencias: EXTREME Navels are done for the season. Valencias are tight, as temperature has affected picking. Quality is good. Organics are available. Some imports have arrived already. PINEAPPLE Supplies are good, loading at the ports as well as forward distribution centers. Fruit is cutting nicely with good brix. This is a good substitute for Cantaloupe and Honeydew. CALIFORNIA LETTUCE GREEN & RED LEAF Quality is improving. Prices are down and supply is good. BUTTER Prices are down and supply is good. ICEBERG LETTUCE Supplies are good. Quality is good, prices are normal. ROMAINE Good supply. Quality has improved. ROMAINE HEARTS Supplies are good, prices are down. Quality is good, with occasional mildew. EASTERN & WESTERN VEGETABLES PEPPERS Green Bell Peppers: ESCALATED Pepper supplies are hit and miss due to quality even though North Carolina is now in full production. We are seeing a lot of rain related quality and shelf life concerns post-harvest. Bakersfield, Somis and Oxnard are ramping up, and there is heavy demand from the east. We still need to evaluate production once temperatures return to normal and a fair assessment of how the crops performed during the heat wave. Choice and Medium packs are demanding a premium this week. Red Bell Pepper: Extremely light supply. Bakersfield production is hit and miss and quality is questionable due to the effects of the past heat wave. Somis and Oxnard are ramping up. Supplies are also crossing through Otay. FOB prices are up and will be very active for the next 7-10 days.
Yellow Pepper: Extremely Light supply crossing through Otay. Coachella is out and could be done due to the heat wave. Mini Sweet Pepper: Light supplies loading in San Diego CUCUMBERS Escalated Georgia is done for the season. North Carolina is now in production, however there are persistent quality issues due to the recent rain. East coast production will remain light and prices firm through next week. We expect our Michigan growers to begin production on July 2. Baja California is now in full production. FOB prices are up from last week due to short supplies in the east. Quality in the west is outstanding. ENGLISH CUCUMBERS (EURO) Supplies from Eastern Canada are good. GREEN BEANS EXTREME Supplies are very short across the entire Southeast this week due to heavy rains. Light supplies will continue in the west due to the excessive heat in the west harming crops and delaying production. We will continue to see delays in west coast production until after the 4 th of July. ZUCCHINI & YELLOW SQUASH GREEN Domestic supplies are still good in the southeast but we are seeing price pressure due to rain related quality issues. In the west, Fresno and Santa Maria production continue to ramp up. Overall FOB prices are unchanged on green however YELLOW is getting active across the country. We could see further increases, particularly in the west, should there be any heat related issues in the fields. ACORN, BUTTERNUT & SPAGHETTI SQUASH Not in season MANGOES Good supply and good availability MELONS Cantaloupe/Honeydew- ACT OF GOD Many grower/shippers from the Imperial Valley are now finished as their fields have burned up in the desert due to 120 degree temperatures. We are seeing supply GAPS over the next 7-14 days until the west side has begun production. As of now, we expect to see a demand exceeds supply situation on all sizes of cantaloupe and honeydew. Georgia Cantaloupe market is seeing supply and quality issues due to excessive rain. WATERMELONS Good supplies are now available out of Texas, the Carolinas and Georgia. California supplies will remain light through the middle of next week. Fruit is cutting beautifully, deep red and sweet! A good substitute for cantaloupe and honeydew over the next 7 to 10 days. HERBS Fresh herbs are very steady. HERBS HERB SUPPLIES QUALITY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Arugula Good Good USA Basil Good Good USA/MEXICO Opal Basil Good Good USA/MEXICO Thai Basil Good Good USA/MEXICO Bay Leaves Good Good COLUMBIA Chervil Good Good USA Chives Good Good USA/MEXICO Cilantro Good Good USA Dill Good Good USA/MEXICO Episode Good Good MEXICO
Lemongrass Good Good USA Marjoram Steady Good USA Mint Good Good USA Oregano Good Good USA Italian Parsley Good Good USA Rosemary Limited Good USA Sage Good Good USA/MEXICO Savory Good Good USA Sorrel Good Good USA Tarragon Good Good MEXICO Thyme Good Good USA Lemon Thyme Good Good USA Lavender Good Good USA Lime Leaves Good Good USA Hora Santa Good Good USA ARTICHOKES We are seeing prices come down. Quality is good. ARUGULA Supplies of both baby and wild arugula are light and quality is fair. ASPARAGUS The market is improving, however small, standards ard larges are slightly higher in price than normal. BOK CHOY Quality is good and we are seeing some higher quotes on WGA cartons. BROCCOLI Prices and availability are back to normal. Quality is good. BRUSSEL SPROUTS Higher prices and tighter supplies remain but are leveling out. Quality is improving. CARROTS There is a good supply with solid quality. CAULIFLOWER Market is good, supplies are on the lighter side. Quality is good and prices are rising. CELERY ESCALATED- Oxnard is done and we are now in Salinas for 100% of supply. Prices rebounded and went back up. Supply is tight and prices are higher. CORN Georgia Sweet Corn is plentiful with promotional pricing available. White corn loading in the Central CA District is now available with good volume available.
FENNEL Supplies for the week will be light. GARLIC: EXTREME The extremely hot weather the past 7-10 days is helping us significantly. The 2017 crop is dying down. We hope to start bringing in decent amounts of 2017 CA product on tunnels to prepare for the cracking/peeling process sometime late next week. At this time, we think we will begin shipping 2017 California peeled in about two weeks. GINGER Chinese ginger supplies have tightened up putting upward pressure on prices across the country. This is still a better dollar value than ginger from Hawaii, Brazil, Thailand and Costa Rica. GREEN CABBAGE Green cabbage has improved, supplies are good and quality is good in the east and west. Volume incentives are available out of Georgia, however we have reported some quality issues in eastern cabbage due to the heavy amount of rain. GREEN ONIONS Iced: Prices are good and there is plenty of product. Iceless: This market is steady with good volume. JICAMA Normal prices and quality is good. KALE (GREEN) Demand is steady and quality is better. MACHE Availability is adequate. NAPA Supplies are normal. Quality is good. PARSLEY (CURLY, ITALIAN) We are seeing prices that are still higher but improving. Quality is average. RADISHES Quality is good and supply is slowing down. RED CABBAGE Quality and sizing have been great, with good color. Overall, the market is strong. SNOW & SUGAR SNAP PEAS Snow and sugar snap peas are in high demand with good quality. BABY SPINACH Baby and clipped spinach supplies are good. Quality is good, with good prices. There are some reports of mildew. BUNCHED SPINACH Supply is good, quality has improved. SPRING MIX There is plenty of product with good quality. ONIONS Pricing has seemed to have leveled off on all sizes and colors of onions. The Imperial Valley growing area in California is now finished and the San Joaquin growing region has started. Size profiles are a good mix across the board with most of the production occurring on Jumbo Yellows. We anticipate plentiful supplies for the month of June, which should help control pricing. There are gaps expected in both New Mexico and California for July, so it is anticipated we will see a spike in price during this time. POTATOES (IDAHO) Demand in the state is moderate now. We have finally gotten to a point where the large carton market has stabilized and you can actually place an order and get it out in a timely fashion. Deals are available on the smaller counts. The consumer market is still very low, we do not see any change in this
market for the foreseeable future. Idaho s new crop appears to be progressing at a good pace. No major weather issues at this time to hinder the crop in the ground. At this time, we do not expect an early start date on the new crop, certainly not as early as last season. Truck transportation appears to be adequate at this time. TOMATOES TOMATOES- EAST: Rounds Supplies in the east will continue to improve as production in South Carolina is now in full production. We will see new regions come on over the next several weeks adding to availability. South Georgia and Quincy are through for the summer. Quality seems to be improving with drier conditions throughout the east coast. Roma- Escalated Still seeing short supplies through the 10 th of July. Quality is hit and miss. Grapes- Supplies are mostly unchanged out of the Carolinas. Demand is flat and FOB prices are unchanged. Quality is becoming an issue as the region continues receiving precipitation. Cherries-Demand is mostly unchanged as quality has improved and FOB prices are down. TOMATOES- WEST/MEXICO: Rounds- Vine-ripe production is now in full swing through Otay and McAllen in addition to increased California production on greens. We are seeing some heat related quality issues on these crown picks which could last 7-14 days. FOB prices are currently down across the west; this could change if there is any heat related plant or bloom damage. San Diego County is expected to start late next week! Roma-ESCALATED- Supplies are down sharply through Otay and McAllen due to cooler weather this past week. Still seeing a few crossings through Nogales but expect that to cease this week and be finished for the season. Prices will remain elevated this week but expected to fall by July 10. Grapes-Crossings are good from Baja. Quality has also improved. FOB Prices are unchanged this week. Cherries-Supplies are improving and quality is good. FOB Prices are down this week. WASHINGTON APPLES, PEARS & TREE FRUIT Apples: Apples- Extreme: Demand from retail is extreme causing shortages industry wide. Golds and Grannys remain extremely short causing a shift in demand to all other varieties. We expect to see this continue through the rest of the season. Offshore deals are also very active due to the shortages in the Pacific Northwest. Pears: Bosc and Anjou are readily available domestically out of Washington. We expect to see California begin in July. Offshore Bosc and Packham supplies are steady. Stone Fruit: Domestic Loading Reedley, CA Stone Fruit: Domestic Loading Central Valley, CA (Cherries- Washington) Cherries: Hit and miss supply out of California while Washington begins to ramp up. Nectarines: Yellow and White Available Yellow Peaking 50s-80 s, Whites Peaking 50 s, 60 s and 70 s Peaches: Yellow and White available- Yellow Peaking 50s, Whites Peaking 60 s and 70 s Plums: 40 s, 50 s, 60s and 70 s available. Apricots: Hit and miss out of California.
Atlanta 5400 Laurel Springs Pkwy Suite 1002 Suwanee, GA 30024 Phone: 678.947.3000 Nashville One Vantage Way Suite B-440 Nashville, TN 37228 Phone: 615.259.0290 Buffalo Grove 100 Lexington Drive Suite 201 Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 Phone: 847.808.3030 Chicago 230 W. Huron Street Suite 200 Chicago, IL 60654 Phone: 312.573.7610 Salinas 60 West Market Suite 130 Salinas, CA 93901 Phone: 831.455.7800