January 31, 2018 LOCAL ITEMS VEGETABLES Harmony Valley - Viroqua, WI: Organic shallots, turnips, rutabagas, celery root, soup mix and sunchokes Hill and Valley - Hillsboro, WI: Organic green cabbage, yellow onion, turnips and rutabaga IGL Farms - Antigo, WI: Organic red potato, yellow potato and russet potato Driftless Organics - Soldiers Grove, WI: Organic green cabbage, red beets and parsnips Open Hands Farm - Northfield, MN: Organic cello carrots St. Croix Valley - Woodville, WI: Organic green cabbage, yellow onions and red onions Hugh s Garden - Moorhead, MN: Organic red potato, yellow potato, russet potatoes and purple potatoes Asparagus: Demand has picked up over the past week. We expect to see steady volume for the next several weeks. This is a great time to promote asparagus. Broccoli: Broccoli 14 s will slightly decrease in market price for next week whereas crowns will slightly increase. Supply continues to exceed demand due to recent favorable growing conditions. Now is the time to promote! Cabbage: Texas is shipping with excellent quality. Market prices are stable and projected to stay that way for a couple of weeks. Carrots: We appear to be back to normal on carrots. We are seeing some processing issues at loading, but overall we are back to the normal. Cauliflower: Cauliflower will see a slight decrease in market price for next week. The industry remains in good supply overall, although a handful of shippers are stating they are selling out on a daily basis. Celery: Sleeved celery will drop in market price for next week whereas celery hearts will hold steady. Overall supply remains good with promotable volume available. russdaviswholesale.com 800.332.7104 crazyfreshproduce.com
Cooking Greens (Glory Foods): Green kale, collard greens, mustard greens and turnip greens will be very tight for the next several weeks. The southeast growing region has experienced freezing temperatures and snowfall over the last couple of weeks, resulting in crop damage that will severely limit overall supply. Corn: Quality is very nice. Market price is stable. Cucumbers: Mexico continues to ship the best quality. Nogales supply and markets are stable on good quality product. Eggplant: We are loading in Nogales with slightly deceasing markets. Green Beans: Florida supplies are projected to improve at the end of this week and markets will start to soften from their current high levels as more volume becomes available. Green Bell Peppers: Nogales is shipping with good availability and quality. Markets are stable but projected to increase slightly in the upcoming weeks. Green Onions: Green onions will decrease in market price for next week. Overall supply is good with promotable volume available. Green/Red Leaf Lettuce: Red leaf lettuce will decrease in market price for next week whereas green leaf will hold steady. Overall supply remains good with promotable volume available. Hard Squash: We are loading in Mexico. Market prices are slightly increasing as some northern Mexican growing areas are finishing. Iceberg Lettuce: Iceberg will see a slight decrease in market price for next week. Overall supply is very good. Now is the time to promote! ONIONS: The onion market has remained relatively steady. The biggest issue continuing to affect onion pricing is the truck shortage. This is restraining movement across all shipping areas, as well as holding down FOB prices. Growers in Mexico are just beginning their season, while most regions with storage crop onions still have supplies available. Supplies of colored onions Washington are expected to dwindle over the next month. Sweet: Steady supply, steady pricing, solid quality on both NW Sweets and Peruvian Sweets. Both remain promotable. NW Sweets should be around until the end of March and Peruvians will wind down the end of February. Mexican sweets have started to trickle in. Supplies will increase in the coming weeks. POTATOES: Idaho Russets: Demand for Idaho russets is holding steady. Currently there are supplies of both Norkotah s and Burbanks but the Nork supply will wind down the end of the month which will push pricing on 60ct and larger. Burbanks continue to demand a slight premium. Local Russets: Supplies are tight from growers in Wisconsin, Washington, Colorado and the entire Northeast. The market has climbed a bit as growers try and stretch supplies to prevent gapping this summer. Supplies of russet potatoes continue to trend below both last year s and typical supply levels by 10 to 15 percent. Local Reds: The red potato market remains steady. Growers from all regions are shipping with ample supplies. Red River Valley quality is good. Promotable pricing. Wisconsin reds are finished with WI suppliers transitioned to repacking programs. Growers in Southern Florida are anticipating a strong crop with first shipping in mid Feb. Local Golds: Supplies of yellow potatoes remain very strong from growers in Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado and Idaho. Pricing remains steady with very little change, making yellow potatoes a great option for promotions. Red, Yellow, Orange Peppers: Mexico continues to have good production with great quality and availability. Markets are slightly increasing. Romaine Lettuce: Romaine and romaine hearts will both decrease in market price for next week. Overall supply remains good with promotable volume available. Sweet Mini Peppers: Western supply is improving and markets are on the way down. Time to promote! Sweet Potatoes: Promote with confidence. russdaviswholesale.com 800.332.7104 crazyfreshproduce.com 2
Zucchini and Yellow Squash: Mexico continues to ship the best quality. Nogales supply and markets are stable. VALUE ADDED DOLE: Iceberg: Abundance of supply and good quality. Romaine Lettuce: Abundance of supply and quality is okay (fringe burn). Red & Green Lettuce: Good supply and quality on both. Conventional Spinach: Good supply and quality. Conventional Spring Mix: Good supplies and quality is better. MANNS: Organic Veg Trays: Organic Veg Trays maybe hit and miss this week due to availability of Organic Baby Peeled Carrots. EARTHBOUND FARM: New Chopped kits will be available to ship on February 12th. 12x3 Romaine Hearts: 12x3 Romaine Hearts will be in very good supply for the next 6 weeks. Raisins: Boxed raisins to be available next week. Mangoes: Mangoes should be available next month. FRUIT Apples: Wisconsin is finishing up on Macintosh and we will transition into Michigan product. Washington is experiencing smaller fruit this year so 100ct size is very promotable. Organic Tray Pack Pink Lady apples are gapping right now and we should have them back in by mid-february. Avocados: The avocado market has become steady the last week or so, we expect to see this continue for the next few weeks. Blackberries: Mexican blackberries are coming in steady for supply. Blueberries: There is good volume on Chilean Blueberries. Prices are holding steady as we are in a normal production year. Cantaloupe: Cantaloupes from offshore suppliers are available on both coasts and there is a good distribution of sizing as well. Deals are to be had on smaller fruit as supply is heaviest on 12s and 15s. Look for regular supply to be available this week and next week. Citrus: Florida citrus will be very hit and miss this winter due to all the recent rains as well as the effects from the Hurricanes. Sunburst tangerines are out and done for the season. Grapes: Volume is increasing on both coasts and there should be ample opportunity for promotions throughout the month of February as supply increases and pricing becomes more aggressive. There is a good balance of red and green which is keeping pricing close to the same for both colors. That could change as more fruit from Chile begins to arrive as the early indications are that Chile has more red than green. Crimson and Flame varieties are still driving the volume on red grapes.green volume is driven by the Thompson and Sug varieties and more premium varieties. Honeydew: Honeydew supply is good. Honeydews are coming from Honduras will enter the U.S. in Florida and California. We should see decent supplies for the balance of this week and into next week. Quality overall is nice with good sugar. Mangoes: Peru plans to have fruit for the week of 2/5 and 2/12. The 10ct are the tightest size. The weeks of 2/19 and 2/26 looks like there will be a gap. Pears: Washington Bartlett Pears are finishing up and we will be gapping until Imports arrive which will be around the 3rd week of February. Anjou Pears out of Washington are available and are peaking at the larger size. russdaviswholesale.com 800.332.7104 crazyfreshproduce.com 3
Pomegranates/Persimmons: Small sized wonderful pomegranates remain available and are expected to be available in to next week. Raspberries: Raspberries are ramping up over the next 2 weeks, but we expect numbers to start falling again in early February as we will be on the downward side of the next production cycle. There is good quality and good condition on all three commodities. Strawberries: The Valentine s Day pull will begin at the end of the week and there should be supplies available in all growing areas. The spring crop is just starting up in Santa Maria. Oxnard, California is reporting occasional bruising, white shoulder, seedy, misshapen and bronzing with counts averaging 20 to 22. Oxnard is forecast for mostly sunny skies with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. Santa Maria is seeing occasional bruising, misshapen, overripe and decay. Counts are averaging 26 to 28, occasional higher. The spring crop is nice quality and 14 to 16 count. Santa Maria is forecasted for mostly sunny skies, highs in the upper 70s to low 80s and lows in the upper 40s to low 50s. Zamora, Mexico is forecast for showers Wednesday and Thursday and partly cloudy balance of the week with highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s. Plant City, Florida is forecast to be partly cloudy with highs in the 70s and lows Wednesday in the 50s. TOMATOES: Roma: Currently, availability is very good. Quality is also very good from Mexico. Markets are projected to stay low for the coming weeks. Grape/Cherry: Markets remain low. Mexican production is creating plenty of product keeping the market low. Quality is excellent. WATERMELON: Steady volume out of Mexico with good quality. Price will stay steady in the next couple weeks. Mini Seedless: Market is steady and quality is good from Mexico. ORGANIC New Items: Up Next: Blood Oranges will be loading next week. Ataulfo Mangoes in a couple weeks. Organic Acorn Squash: We will have limited organic acorn squash next week, and sizing will be very small. Organic Asparagus: Mexican asparagus is here. Organic Baby Bok Choy: Baby bok choy will be out for 2-3 weeks due to insect damage. Organic Bell Peppers: Red, Gold and orange bell peppers in good supply. Organic Blueberries: We have Californian 6oz blueberries. California berries will be promotable for Valentine s day. Organic Broccoli: Broccoli is looking a lot better. Our orders have been filled in full. Organic Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts are from Mexico and California. Organic Cucumbers: We have added another grower on cucumbers and should have great supply here on out. Organic Grapes: Organic red and green grapes are done for the season. There may be some very limited import red grapes next month, otherwise next season isn t until May. Organic Grape Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes in better supply now, just sticking with DelCabo label. Promotional supplies available for February. Organic Jalapeños: Should have solid availability on organic jalapeños for a couple of months now. Organic Kiwis: California kiwi is here in 1# bags, 1 layer and volume fill. Organic Mandarins: Both bagged and bulk murcotts are here! Season should go through April with promotions available all season. Organic Mangoes: Tommy Atkins mangoes are done for a bit. We now have fair-trade Kents out of Peru. Ataulfo mangoes will be in a week or two. russdaviswholesale.com 800.332.7104 crazyfreshproduce.com 4
Organic Minneolas: Bag and bulk are here. Organic Radishes: Weather has slowed down the sizing up of radishes. Bagged radishes will be out for another week. We do have green top now. Organic Spinach: Cold weather is holding the leaves back from being large enough to harvest. We will have intermittent supply for a couple of weeks. Organic Strawberries: We have very nice strawberries from EBF now and coming in for a while now. Should stay pretty consistent with the EBF label. Organic Sweet Onions: Local organic sweet onions are done for the season. We have one left, but that will be it until Vidalia onions start in April. Organic Turmeric: We are back into Hawaiian turmeric. russdaviswholesale.com 800.332.7104 crazyfreshproduce.com 5