January 30, 2008

ICEBERG LETTUCE:

Last week unusual and persistent cold temperatures lingered in the desert lettuce growing regions, slowing growth. In addition, cooler daytime temps, and morning ice, had helped to keep supplies light. Fortunately demand has been low also, helping to keep the market in check. Most suppliers are now reporting good supplies available. Quality reports identify epidermal peel and leaf blister in nearly all lots and labels. We still may see lighter weights, pale color and smaller head sizes as issues. Cool weather again will hit the Yuma area beginning Feb 3, holding day time high tempts to mid 60’s. 25 % chance of rain on Sunday. With any increase in demand, or difficulty in harvesting, we could see potentially higher prices heading into early February. Weights are running 44 – 50 lbs per case. Florida is experiencing fair to good supplies with demand and supplies expected to being steady. Weights reported in the 38 – 44 lbs per case range. Ten day forecast calls for weather with daytime highs of 80+, but with a chance of showers off and on all week. Mexican supplies of iceberg are steady.

ROMAINE & LEAF:

Once again desert Romaine, green leaf and red leaf lettuce are in a similar situation as Iceberg. Romaine does have some challenges that include growth, cupping, and peel as quality issues. The fact that prices have eased over the past two weeks can be attributed to ample acreage under production. Florida romaine is seeing improving quality with the cooler weather. Supplies are quoted as good and expected to be steady. Weights are in the 38 – 42 lbs range.

BROCCOLI:

Despite light demand for broccoli, desert production is even lighter. The persistent cool temperatures are expected to continue at least through Feb. 5, which will prolong the stretch of light supplies. Buyers can expect continuing expensive prices well into early February. Florida supplies are available and there are very heavy supplies available from Mexico right now.

CAULIFLOWER:

Supplies are light, but so is demand keeping this market in check. There have been some reports of rain causing spotting and mold issues. Supplies from Mexico are very light at this time.

CARROTS:

Carrots supplies have tightened up with the cold weather in California. Demand continues to be strong, spurring the market on. Quality and color of carrots are excellent. Georgia is still going strong. Quality and supplies are good and the market remains steady. Canadian carrots supplies have tightened up just a bit. Quality continues to be good.

CELERY:

The celery market has slipped just a bit this week and supplies are steady. Larger sized supplies on celery are heavier now, but shippers are said to be dealing on all sizes to keep product moving. Demand looks to remain good through the week. Celery is shipping out of Oxnard, Yuma and Coachella. Texas and Florida are supplying the east coast.

BERRIES

Strawberries:

Strawberry growing areas in California received 1” of rain Saturday and Sunday in addition to the 3” to 4” they received over last week. Most shippers are stripping their fields with a few trying to pick and strip at the same time. Volumes that will be harvested for the fresh market will be low and kept close to the West coast due to quality. Most of the large fruit and ripe fruit will be stripped off the plants. This will have a major affect on Long stem strawberries for the Valentine’s Day pull. Production this week will be reduced by a minimum of 35%. The forecast is for mild/cool weather for the balance of the week, which will not help the ramp up for next week loading for Valentine’s Day pull. There is a chance of more rain again this weekend. Market is firm. Quality is fair at best. Florida strawberry growers are slowly recovering from the wet cool weather they have had over the last week. Harvest numbers are still light with the quality slowly improving. Market is firm. Cool weather in both Florida and California is also not helping the growers. This is causing a demand exceeds supplies situation. Harvest is going to be very light out of Florida and California for the next 10 days. Strawberry supplies for the upcoming Valentine’s Day pull looks to be limited. Plenty of Mexican berries available.

Raspberries/Blackberries:

Raspberry supplies from Chile and domestically look to very limited for the next 10 days due to a natural down cycle. Demand is very good. Market is very active. Quality is good. Chilean and Mexican Blackberry supplies are also in a natural down cycle and will limited for the next 10 days. Market is active. Quality is good with a few fair lots.

Blueberries:

Market is steady. We could see the market start to firm up as the week moves on due to good movement. Quality is great out of Chile.

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POTATOES:

Temperatures have warmed up a bit but the wind chill factor is still causing havoc on pack out numbers. A very short window of time to transfer potatoes from storage to packing exist before potatoes freeze, this can happen at 20 degrees within a 10 mile trip, and this is putting a severe strain on available cartons. Burbanks are dominating the pack out, as Norkotahs continue to dwindle, and sizing continues to the smaller side. Norkotahs will finish up in Idaho in the next couple of weeks, which will put the large size product in even shorter supply. Western’s are in good supply on big potatoes. Washington and Colorado have excellent supplies of Norkotahs and are peaking to the larger sizes. Deals can be made on straight load volume 50ct and larger from Washington and Nevada currently has good supplies of large size Burbanks. The colored potato market remains steady. New crop California colored potatoes are going strong with excellent quality supplies. Mount Vernon, WA product is still available with very good quality and supplies. There are still good supplies coming out of North Dakota on all colors as well. Cold temperatures continue to have an impact on supplies and prices in Idaho.

ONIONS:

The Idaho yellow onions continue with very good supply and excellent quality. Very little export demand continues to keep this market down in the cellar. Some shippers are even saying they are not covering cost of growing onions. There are deals to be made on load volume jumbo and larger sizing. Red onions are holding steady with lighter supplies and good quality. Washington has good supplies of all colors. White onions are continuing to see some activity with light supplies but light demand as well. Mexican white onions have started with light supplies loading out of Texas. New crop Mexican yellow are set to start within the next 2 weeks in February with light supplies. Reds will follow a few weeks later.

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APPLES & PEARS:

Demand remains as strong as ever, especially on Reds, Granny Smith, and Galas. Red Delicious pricing continues to firm and Granny Smith remain extremely tight. Pear demand is solid with an increased interest on smaller-sized Anjous.

There is some poor weather in WA State that has impacted the trucking scene and will most likely cause delayed deliveries.

BANANAS:

Contract needs are being met but shippers are holding buyers to weekly averages and there is very little excess market fruit available. A lot of fruit is delivering more green than usual as shippers and ripeners try to catch up to demand and push fruit through the supply chain. We expect this tight scenario to last for the next 3-4 weeks. Overall quality is good.

SPECIALTIES:

Chilean stone fruit supplies continue to gather strength and weaker demand has led to softer markets. Overall quality is good to very good.

Pineapples are now tight on all sizes and significantly improved availability is not expected until the end of February. What availability there is is now shifting to larger counts. The excess supply of 8’s that existed over the past couple of weeks is totally gone. Quality is still good.

AVOCADOS:

The Super Bowl pull is basically over. CA rains have significantly impacted harvesting, inventories are light, and FOB’s are steady. There is better availability on larger-sized Mexican fruit and Chilean volume continues to dwindle. Regarding quality, CA is good to excellent, Chilean is ripening evenly, and Mexican shelf life is still not optimal once fruit is ripened.

ASPARAGUS:

Due to much improved Mexican-sourced supplies, west coast markets have dropped but should stabilize by the end of the week. With the exception of some possible strengthening for Valentine’s, we expect markets to remain fairly stable. At best, current demand is just fair.

CITRUS

EAST

Grapefruit markets this week are steady with firm prices. Quality is good and the best availability is on 36’s and 40’s.

The Juice market is firm on 100’s and 125’s due to limited volumes. Any excess supply from last week has dried up; quality is good.

Honey Tangerine markets are softer this week and will probably bottom out by the weekend; quality is good.

WEST

CA Navel markets are steady. Recent rain is cleaning up any excess floor inventories. Significant rainfall can lead to puff and crease and clear rot. Color is very good and eating quality is excellent.

Lemon markets remain strong and smaller fruit continues to be extremely tight. Overall quality is good.

Lime markets also remain strong but should ease shortly; the best availability is on 200’s and quality is good.

GRAPES:

Seedless markets have eased on still-improving volumes and slower movement. Berry sizes are still skewing on the small to medium side. Quality remains fair to good.

MELONS:

Cantaloupe markets are strong as we are in a demand exceeds situation. Import volume should improve over the next month with significant increases expected in March and April. Quality is variable but should stabilize shortly.

Honeydew markets are stable but firm due to tight import supplies. Demand is beginning to show signs of weakening due to high prices. Quality is good to very good.

Watermelon markets are fairly strong due to decent demand and limited supplies caused by wet and cooler weather in Mexican growing areas.

CUCUMBERS:

Eastern

Due to much improved off-shore volume and slightly lower demand, markets are down compared to last week. Quality is consistently good to very good.

Western

Expect Nogales markets to be on the weaker side for the next 7-10 days due to generally good availability. However, total volume may begin to tighten back up next week. Quality is good to excellent.

GREEN BELL PEPPERS:

Eastern

Markets have strengthened due to good demand and inconsistent volume & quality caused by freezing temps at the beginning of the month and significant rainfall at the end of last week. Quality is now fair at best with bruising an issue. Choppers are currently on the tight side. Many growers and shippers are taking a “wait & see” attitude regarding availability and markets.

Western

We expect lighter volume over the next 7-10 day period mainly due to cooler temps. Because there is less production on both coasts, markets are firm, but steady. Quality is good to excellent.

RED BELL PEPPERS:

Western

Current Nogales supplies are decent but are on the decline. Compared to volume over the past two weeks, some major growers are now down 30-40% in production. Quality is wide ranging from fair to very good.

SQUASH:

Eastern

Yellow markets are somewhat more stable than Zuke markets that have strengthened. Mediums are currently much harder to find than Fancy. Quality is mostly fair to somewhat good. Yellow sourced out of Homestead and most of Immokalee has decent quality but there are issues with product sourced out of some areas of Immokalee and Clewiston with scarring and even some decay.

Western

Zukes are in lighter supply and Yellow will follow the same path within the next 7-10 days due to a bloom drop at the beginning of the year. Anticipate stronger markets by the weekend. Quality is ranging from fair to very good.

TOMATOES:

Overall FL production volume continues to decline with the exception of Grapes. The full impact of the bloom drop caused by the freeze earlier in the month will be felt within the next couple of weeks and overall volumes will be tight until around mid March when Immokalee and Naples begin their spring crops.

Mature Greens in the east are slightly stronger as FL volume dwindles and Puerto Rican supplies can not significantly impact the overall market. Western Mature Green supplies are also tight causing buyers to switch to much more readily available Vine Ripes. In the east, smaller sized Rounds will be more expensive than larger sizes.

Roma markets are steady to slightly easing in the west but stronger in the east where availability is limited, especially on larger sizes.

Grape markets are steady but have weaker undertones, especially out west where there is some variable quality.

Cherry markets on both coasts are fairly stable.