Potato
Idaho is completely done with the harvest. This year the only state that has fewer potatoes then last
year is Washington. All other states have a surplus of potatoes. The market on all colors and sizes of potatoes seems to have settled in for now. We are not expecting any big market changes until mid January. Burbanks and Norkotahs are being offered by most suppliers. Quality is good on all potatoes. Now is a great time to be promoting potatoes. In North Dakota they were not able to harvest around 3,000 acres of potatoes because the weather has turned. We will see in the next week how the red market settles from this.
Lettuce
Lettuce is transition from Salinas Valley to Huron (San Joaquin Valley.) Harvesting palletized lettuce in Huron has begun. Quality is fair to good, a few misshapen heads and weights are a touch on the lighter side (averaging 43-45 pounds.) Vendors will be in Huron for about 4 weeks and then transition to Yuma. Prices have been slowing increasing. This is mainly due to the transition to Huron and finishing up the Salinas crop. Overall supplies are a little lighter than normal. The Romaine and Green leaf markets are still pretty slow with low demand. Quality is good on the leaf items. Romaine and Green do not move to Huron like iceberg does.
Tomato
The rain and cooler temperatures in California are pushing prices of tomatoes up. This is creating a bigger gap in supplies. On the east suppliers are also very light and will continue to be so until the central and southern Florida crops come in. Those regions are a couple of weeks behind where they normally are due to excessive night time heat back in September. Better volume and quality will be coming from these regions by the 3 week of November. Romas are being sourced primarily out of Mexico but the quality is inconsistent.
Onions
Report on the onion crops are showing a nationwide decline on onions compared to last year. Ontario, Oregon, and Washington State hold 60 percent of all the remaining onions in storage. There is a wide swing in sizing but the average is about normal. In Washington the yields and sizes are less than expected. Many of the smaller sized onions will be exported to Asia. We have already seen the market start to climb this week and this trend will continue in for a few weeks.
Citrus
Limes- The lime market remains steady. Availability on the limes has remained steady on the
larger sizes (110's, 150's & 175's) with some lighter volumes on the smaller sizes (200's, 230's & 250's). We will see this trend continue as we move away from the new crop. We will continue to see color improve as we move into fall and away from the high heat of summer.
Oranges- Valencia’s are finishing this week and will navels will be on the market going forward. The new navel crop looks to be of very good quality, the first few weeks the fruit will be a little pale on the interior and exterior due to the gassing hours we need to bring on the color.
Lemons – Market is all over the board as we have lemons. The color and condition of the fruit is excellent and peaking on 140’s and 165;’s and we will be going with good volume for the next few months. Expect to see the market stabilize in the next few weeks.
Vegetables
Peppers- Majority of peppers are being sourced from the Carolinas but mainly southern Georgia
with good supplies available. The West expects lighter supplies on large fruit as growers are sizing down on current fields and transitioning to other districts. Quality is good.
Broccoli & Cauliflower- Supplies are back to normal numbers and quality looks good. With the rain that the west has been experiencing pink rot and brown bead may result. Supplies for Thanksgiving maybe lower than usual as the Salinas deal was accelerated by the heat. The heat lead to 3 weeks in a row of over budget supplies and depressed prices. This week, supply and demand should be more closely aligned.
Celery-Supply is very good for celery out of both Santa Maria and Salinas growing regions. Oxnard harvest is expected to start earlier than expected creating a surplus in supply. Quality is good with occasional leafy stems being the main defects. Demand is moderate and the market is steady.
Squash- The markets in the east are stable as supplies meets demand, with most of the product coming from Georgia. Quality issues seen are mainly scarring with straight neck yellow and spaghetti. Acorn, butternut, and spaghetti squash are readily available throughout the country.
Cucumbers- Georgia is finishing up and the quality is poor. Florida will start up in a week to ten days,
which will ease market pressure. New shippers are coming online in the West and product is starting to cross at Nogales. Prices are decreasing because demand has decreased.
Fruits
Apples & Pears- The temps are great for getting color on the apples but we don't expect much more
size at this time. The lows are from the low 40's to the low 30's. The high temps for the past week and forecasted for the next week are 45~65. If it starts to rain in all harvest will stop. Harvesting is currently happening for Fuji, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Reds & Cameo. All of these varieties should be pick and in storage by November 10th. Harvesting for Golden, Gala, most of the Granny Smith and pears is done. One of the issues that is slowing down the picking of the apples is the shortage of harvest workers.
Grapes- Market steady to strong as we have been slowing down on harvesting, but will continue to harvest through November depending on weather. The overall fruit quality is excellent and sugars are high and condition is very good. Expect the market to stay steady going forward through November.
Honeydews – Market very strong as production out of the desert is light, but will continue to get better
which will help ease the market in the next week. The overall quality is good with mostly a green cast, and good interior color and good sugar. Expect to see some ground scar and uneven netting due to the desert growing conditions. We expect to have availability through November and then start the off shore fruit.
Cantaloupes- Market is steady with supplies out of Mexico and the California and Arizona desert, the overall quality is very good with a green to cream cast and very good interior condition and sugar content. Expect to see better supplies of honeydew in the next week as all regions ramp up their volume. We will have good supplies going forward out of California and Arizona through November.
Raspberries - Mexican quality is very good and comparable to California fruit in the market. Both
regions are expecting good volumes for the upcoming weeks.
Blackberries- There are good supplies coming from Mexico, as they are starting the first peak periods for the season. California does have some volume left, but it is affected by weather and needs to stay local. If it does rain in California again this weekend blackberries will be done for the season.
Strawberries- Rains in Salinas/ Watsonville areas have brought harvesting to a halt. With more rain expected over the weekend several growers are in the North are contemplating calling it quit for the season. Decent production down in Oxnard, but with rain up north product will be short for market demand very quickly. This is leading to price increases.
Blueberries- The market is short on product and prices are increasing. Weather has been affecting the blueberry market as well. Rain in Argentina has kept imports down some compared to original forecasted amounts and more rain is expected this weekend in Argentina. Chile has started a little early as some of Argentina’s bigger regions may be done early if they get more rain.
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