Weekly Market Review April 3, 207 Overview This month has been very unstable for the industry. We are experiencing EXTREME MARKETS on ALL lettuce commodities, broccoli and cauliflower. We are also experiencing extreme markets with avocados, blueberries, celery, cilantro, garlic, and lemons. Market Alert Avocados EXTREME Blueberries - EXTREME Broccoli - EXTREME Cabbage (Napa) - EXTREME Cauliflower - EXTREME Celery- EXTREME Cilantro - EXTREME Garlic - EXTREME Lemons- SIZING Lettuce All Varieties - EXTREME Good Buy Corn: Corn is one of the most popular vegetables because of its sweet flavor! It is a great source of many vitamins like vitamin B, vitamin B5, vitamin C, phosphorus, manganese, folate and dietary fiber. Corn is the great spring and summer veggie. Sweet corn can be used to make sweet corn muffins, added to a tossed salad after being grilled, or in a garden couscous salad. Supplies are good on corn right now and quality is excellent! Transportation Transportation availability has tightened in all regions during Easter. Trucks are in very short supply in Texas, Florida and Eastern Oregon. Freight rates are moving higher. Weather Below-average temperatures and light rain are in the late-week forecast for Central California and are expected to continue through Monday with temperature highs in the 60 s & 70 s and lows in the 40 s. There will be intermittent periods of clouds and sunshine that will continue into next week for Southern California Coastal Districts. Desert growing regions, including Southern California, Western Arizona and Northern Mainland Mexico, will experience warm and sunny conditions. Highs will be in the 80 s & 90 s through the weekend and Northern Mexico will see a high close to 03 by Wednesday. Warm weather will continue in Central Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, with highs in the 70 s & 80 s. There also may be an occasional shower in various districts. Fruits & Vegetables Avocados: EXTREME MARKET We are seeing a tight market and an increase in prices again on avocados. Bananas: Demand and quality are good and supply is steady. Grapes: Supplies are improving and demand is lighter than expected. Sugraones and Flame pricing is down this week. Kiwi: Supplies are good. We are still seeing slightly higher prices with quality being average. Berries Blueberries: EXTREME MARKET Availability has tightened due to the freeze damage that occurred during mid-march in Georgia and North Carolina. Tight market conditions continue in the west, as production volume is on the decline in Central Mexico. California is not yet in full production. The spring harvest transition will result in continued tight availability through May. Blackberries: Production volume in Mexico has dropped and availability has tightened considerably.
Raspberries: Raspberry production is steady and prices remain firm. Central Mexico is the primary district. Oxnard production is slowly increasing. The harvest in Mexico will continue through May. Strawberries: Oxnard is now the primary growing area, followed by Santa Maria. Driscoll has the entire line-up of mixed berries available to load in Oxnard. The trend for increasing production volume will continue. California / Arizona Citrus Navels: Small navels will be very limited for the rest of the season through May. Quality is okay, expect some creasing and puff. Late season variety, 72/88/56. Season expected to continue through May. Valencias are available, but limited. Lemons: Volume is expected to be low for the next couple weeks. Very tight on 65S and 200S. Shippers have been subbing 40S and 235S on contract orders, when necessary. Meyer lemons are available. Good quality and price. Mostly large, fancy grade fruit. Limes: Limes are available and are packing in Texas. Great quality and color. Grapefruit: Texas grapefruit is available. California grapefruit is very limited at this time. Specialties: Minneola Tangelos and Mandarins are available, great quality and color. Blood Oranges are in good supply, great color. Cara Caras are available, excellent color and quality. Ojai Pixie tangerines and Golden nuggets are available. Halos will be available through May. California Lettuce Butter: EXTREME MARKET Prices are still moving higher and supplies are very light. Green and Red Leaf: EXTREME MARKET/EXTREME SHORTAGES We are seeing a lot of dirt due to the heavy winds, seeders and tip burn. We are seeing very short supply on green leaf, as well as very high prices, quality is good. Red leaf is now in very short supply and some growers are seeing a gap in supply. Iceberg Lettuce: EXTREME MARKET/EXTREME SHORTAGES Supplies are tight. Quality is average although we are starting to see improvement. Expect some rib light, cracked rip, and pale color. Romaine: EXTREME MARKET/EXTREME SHORTAGES - Very light supplies. Quality is hit or miss with epidermal peeling and very light color. Please substitute this item with Iceberg if you can. Romaine Hearts: EXTREME MARKET/EXTREME SHORTAGES Supplies are VERY light. Prices are very high, we are seeing a very short supply. Eastern and Western Vegetables Green & Red Bell Peppers: Demand is strong for the new crop of green bell peppers in the Coachella Valley of California. These bells are priced at a premium compared to those in Nogales. There is a wide range in size and quality for green bells from Northern Mexico (shipped from Nogales), with the largest sizes commanding premium prices. Large, medium and choice are all in adequate supply. Green bells are in adequate supply in Florida; prices remain firm in the east and west. Availability has improved on red bell peppers from Mexico and Coachella will have red bells in late April. Cucumbers: Availability will be very tight in Nogales for late-week shipping, as harvest activity in Mexico will decline as field workers observe Easter. Shippers will be working from accumulated inventory through early next week. Prices have strengthened in both the east and west. Quality is good. English Cucumber: Availability is plentiful in Nogales. Hot-house production will continue through April. Green Beans: Beans are in adequate supply in Florida with tight availability and higher prices in Coachella. The season in Mainland, Mexico is winding down quickly. Zucchini & Yellow Squash: Supplies are tight as we move into the weekend in Florida, Coachella and Nogales. Prices are moving higher. Quality is generally very good, although scarring is present in the yellow squash in Florida.
Herbs Supplies are steady and quality is good. 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 Melons Cantaloupe: The market remains very strong with good volumes coming in. There are very large retail promotions that continue to drive the market. We do not anticipate much change in the market over the next 7-0 days. Quality has been at optimal levels with higher color and consistent internal quality. Honeydew: Supply is peaking mostly on larger sizes (5s and bigger) with small fruit being limited. Volumes should remain mostly consistent for the next two weeks with pricing showing a little stronger. Watermelon: Seedless varieties remain steady with regards to supply and pricing. We will begin to see a decline in supply next week as the offshore melon season begins to wind down. We anticipate about three more weeks of arrivals.
Mixed Vegetables Artichokes: We are seeing very high prices and very short supply. Quality is good. Arugula: Supplies of both baby and wild arugula are light due to mildew. Asparagus: Prices are normal and quality is good. Bok Choy: Quality is good and we are seeing some higher quotes on WGA cartons. Broccoli: EXTREME MARKET / EXTREME SHORTAGES Quality is better. Brussel Sprouts: Higher prices and tighter supplies. Quality is improving. Carrots: There is a good supply with solid quality. Cauliflower: EXTREME MARKET/EXTREME SHORTAGES Quality is improving. We expect to see prices increase and supplies to shorten up. Some growers are already in a gap and have no supplies at all. Celery: EXTREME MARKET / EXTREME SHORTAGES Unfortunately, we have not seen much improvement in this market. Prorates have been ranging between 35 %-50% this week. We are done in Yuma and the Oxnard crop is behind schedule. Quality is just fair. There will be issues for another 4-6 weeks. Corn: Florida Sweet Corn is plentiful out of Florida and pricing is fair to good, making it good for promoting. Quality is outstanding and the outlook should hold steady all the way through Memorial Day. Cilantro: EXTREME MARKET/EXTREME SHORTAGES Quality is variable as there is still yellowing with some decay. Price are high and we are seeing shortages. Fennel: Supplies for the week will be light. Garlic: EXTREME MARKET The supply of domestic garlic remains tight. Pricing on domestic peeled 4x5s is still high. Ginger: Chinese ginger is in good supply. It is being offered at a substantial discount compared to ginger from Brazil. Green Cabbage: Green cabbage is in light supply and should be steady this week. Quality is good. Green Onions: Iced: This market has leveled off with steady crossings last week. The crossings should remain at current levels with good supplies to promote for Easter. Iceless: This market has leveled off and should remain steady. Contracts and pre-commitments are holding the market firm. With good supplies for the Easter pull coming up. Jicama: Normal prices, however, we expect this commodity to go up in price next week due to Easter. Quality is excellent. Kale (Green): Demand is steady and quality is average. We are seeing some mildew. Mache: Availability is adequate. Napa: EXTREME MARKET Supplies are very tight. Parsley (Curly, Italian): We are seeing prices remain high and supplies being short. 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 and Sugar Snap Peas: Snow and sugar snap peas are in high demand with good quality. Spinach (Bunched): Supply is average, quality is only fair. We are still seeing some mildew in this product. Spinach (Baby): Baby and clipped spinach supplies are light. Quality is fair to good, with good prices. There are some reports of mildew. Spring Mix: There is plenty of product with good quality. Onions Pricing has increased significantly this week on yellow onions. More growers continue to finish in the Northwest. Mexico is just about finished crossing through South Texas. The Texas crop is yielding mostly small onions due to diseases that hit the fields. They are expecting to finish their crop within the next two weeks. We will see Imperial Valley, California start on Monday which should allow for relief on supplies and should allow pricing to level off. Potatoes Demand by consumers is poor. Demand on larger sizes cartons is still very strong. We have seen an uptick in larger carton prices with the smaller cartons following in line. You can expect larger carton prices to continue the upward steady movement, no large jumps are anticipated. The plantings of the new Idaho crops continues on the western side of the state. They have had a few days of rain, but planting appears to be on a normal path. The eastern side of the state should start in 0 days, as long as the weather continues to cooperate. At this time we have no clear indication as to an increase or decrease in acreage, but we should be able to give a forecast in a few weeks. Transportation has no issues to report at this time. Trucks seem to be adequate with some days a little tighter than others. TOMATOES East: Rounds Supplies in the east are gradually decreasing as the transition from Southern Florida to the Ruskin area begins. We do not foresee any supply interruptions however, there could be a shift in the sizing as the larger fruit lessens. Pricing will remain steady this week, but we do anticipate gradual increases over the next few weeks. Roma Harvest forecasts are mostly unchanged and quality is good. Pricing is moving up slightly this week. Grapes Supplies are easing and prices are beginning to fall. Quality remains very nice. Cherries Demand is up as quality product is difficult to find in the west. FOB prices are mostly unchanged. West/Mexico: Rounds Vine-ripe production is lighter this week through Nogales as the season winds down. McAllen and Otay expect to see good volume this week. FOB prices are unchanged with good quality expected. Romas Supplies are good through Nogales, McAllen and Otay with great quality expected over the next several weeks. Volume is down slightly causing an up-tick in pricing. Grapes Crossings are extremely light, and prices are up. Quality is deteriorating. Cherries Supplies are good but quality is a struggle. This is a major issue in the west. APPLES, PEARS, & TREE FRUIT Apples: Demand and movement is steady with supplies readily available in most sizes and grades with the exception of golds and grannys. Supply remains tight on 00s and smaller on all grades except premium. 25s and smaller sizes in all varieties will continue to be tight all season. Pears: Demand and movement are steady. Most supplies are now coming out of California. Prices remain high on D Anjous, 00s and smaller whereas Bartletts have a much better value.