Fresh From The Farm Produce Market Update

April 10, 2013

POTATOES

The larger sized Idaho Russets have increased slightly in market prices due to large quantities being pulled from a large retail establishment. In addition to this Norkotahs are finishing up. There are still large quantities of Burbanks in storage but the quality issues continue. Some of the issues to look out for are pressure bruising and internal black spot.

 Red potatoes have increased in prices as demand exceeds supplies. Storage red crop is expected to wrap up in June. Red potatoes from Florida are of excellent quality. The demand on the Florida red crop has been so strong that there may be a gap in supplies before the product is available from Florida’s Hastings area. Yellow potatoes are very limited as the storage supplies dwindle. New crop yellow potatoes are on the market from Florida and California but the market prices are very high.

 LETTUCE

The lettuce markets have finally returned to normal range. Iceberg and Romaine is now being harvested in the San Joaquin Valley, CA.  The weather patterns have been good and conditions have been favorable for quality.  Iceberg and Romaine will transition out of San Joaquin (Huron) and to the Salinas Valley at the tail end of next week.  Carton weights, field yields and quality all look good and are having a positive impact on supply which is plentiful. Outlook on supply and quality for the next couple weeks looks good.

Iceberg lettuce – Good overall quality and supply with weights averaging 46-48 lbs

Romaine Lettuce – Good overall quality and supply but still the very occasional tip burn is being seen. When the products are being harvested they are peeling back the leaves that are affected.

Green & Red Leaf- Good quality and supplies are on the market.

Spring Mix & Spinach- Good quality and supplies on the market.

ONIONS

Idaho continues to ship storage crop. Texas is now in full swing but the crop is much smaller than previous years. Product is still crossing over in good volume from Mexico. Quality is very good from all three of these regions. Demand on the market has decreased slightly. This has reduced the pressure on whites enough for the prices to decrease slight. Red remain very limited and the market prices reflect this. We are expecting the reds to remain limited for a few months. Vidalia onions are starting to ship.

TOMATOES

Tomato supplies are short in comparison to market demand. Products are coming from Mexico and Florida but both areas have been affected by cold weather which has slowed crop growth. In addition to this the tomatoes coming from both areas are limited on the larger fruit. South Florida is finishing up. Central Florida will start harvesting in the middle or late April. Quality on rounds in Florida is good but Mexican product varies per load. Romas are mainly being supped from Mexico and the Romas are also lighter in volumes. Roma market prices have increased this week. Quality on Romas is very questionable so quality inspections are a must. The grape tomato situation is almost the opposite with the volume coming from Florida. Roma prices will decrease in May when the Florida crop has good volumes on the market. Mexico is very limited with grapes due to the weather that drastically damaged the crop. The market has reacted by placing extra pressure on cherry tomatoes and the Florida crop, which has lead to steep price increase.

Fruit

STRAWBERRIES

Prices have eased this week and demand is weak. Expect a stable market all the way up until Mother’s Day pull begins in a few weeks.

Salinas/Watsonville – Harvesting has begun in No Cal. Small volume to start as they begin to get underway with production. Look to see volume increase by mid April, we anticipate both good volume and quality.

Santa Maria – Weather and market issues have brought Santa Maria to start up earlier than normal. Product has been harvested in Santa Maria, and looks to be showing great quality on good numbers. Look to see this remain prevalent throughout the month of April.

Oxnard – Coming out of the last couple weeks, we have seen the market drop and Strawberries had started to flood the market. Heading into next week, we expect the market to come back and remain firm into the month of April. Some growers have begun to clean up some fields in Oxnard. We still seeing good quality fruit in So Cal.

RASPBERRIES

This market is also recovering after all suppliers were experiencing oversold conditions. Mexican production has increased nicely and quality of fruit from Mexico and California very nice right now. Market trends moving forward:  Expect pricing to remain constant and drop a small amount over next 2-3 weeks.

BLACKBERRIES

This market is recovering with some better volumes and Mexican production should be peaking in next 2-3 weeks. Market trends moving forward pricing will begin to drop a small amount each week and flatten in 2 weeks.

BLUEBERRIES

The majority of Chilean arrivals will be done the end of this week.  Florida- Domestic blueberries season has started and we are seeing production starting off with good volume. Quality is top notch, and we look to continue at this pace with weather continuing to help. To start we will have mostly 6oz clams, and will move into Pints by mid April.

GRAPES

Due to the strike causing issues at Chile's ports, grape supplies are threatened to be very limited. Suppliers still have containers coming in that should maintain them till the approximately the 20th or so. Incoming and current supplies will be held for distributors that have been purchasing consistently. Red seedless prices are stable, but the green seedless market is inching up due to discoloration problems. Green seedless sugar levels are high, ranging from 22 to 23 Brix; red seedless levels are moderate, ranging from 18 to 19 Brix. New crop Mexican fruit will be harvested in May but the biggest issue is coming from Chile and the workers being on strike. Sourcing grapes late in the month may become difficult unless the strike is quickly resolved in the next few days.

APPLES / PEARS

Washington Apples – Movement for the week was still below targeted volume but not as dramatic as weeks previous. Total overall targeted volume was 2,913 truckloads and only 2,759 loads were shipped last week, 154 loads less than projected.

• Golden Delicious – Market is somewhat steady, seeing a little softness in price especially on larger sized fruit. Gold’s are off YTD target by 342 loads.
• Granny Smith - Market unchanged but we should see some action here soon as import Granny’s have started to come in. Granny Smiths are off YTD targets by 254 loads.
• Galas – Market steady but once again, increased import volume will impact this moving forward, especially when down YTD by 1,166 loads from target.
•  Red Delicious – Seeing some softness in the market, there are deals on some of the larger sizes. Targeted movement was off 121 loads last week and off 1,753 loads season to date!
• Fuji’s – Market steady but….Deals on lower grade larger, fruit. Plenty of fruit and attractive pricing are making this a promotable piece of fruit …
•  Honeycrisp- No flex in the market on these. Prime sizes are very tight and these are one of the few apples that is trending ahead of projected targets! A few more shippers will be done mid April.
• Braeburns- Movement is right on target, ahead of YTD target by 22 loads. Market is steady  but may be a few deals out there. Pressures are quite varied between lots.

Pears – Anjou market in WA. is showing strength, those who are still in business continue to push up the market due to demand. Movement on Anjou’s is exceeding targeted volume YTD by 682 loads. WA Bartlets are all but done and WA Bosc are in the hands of very few. Import Bartlets are showing their age, seeing some color break in some lots as these wrap up. Import Packhams are in country and are your best bet for firm, green fruit.

AVOCADOS

The market has experienced decline on small sizes and there has been a slight decrease on large fruit.  Supply from Mexico is very good and production is expected to remain heavy for the Cinco de May pull that will start the week of 4/22 and run through the week of 4/29.  California supply continues to increase each week and there are no expected delays in production over the next week. Demand is forecasted to be very heavy for the Cinco.

ORANGES AND LEMONS

Navel Oranges -   As we move more into summer navels we starting to see the sizing structure change.  Peak sizes at this time are 88, 72, followed by 56s.  Prices have started to settle in and don’t expect much change in the FOB in the next couple of weeks.  Fancy to choice ratio is 75% fancy and 25% choice. 

Lemons – Most of the product is coming from district two and a little volume from district one.     Fancy to choice ratio is 50% fancy and 50% choice.   Volume on the 115s and larger is starting to get very tight and we expect this to be the case for the next few weeks maybe longer.  Best deals at this time are on 165 and 200s.

W. Murcott – It looks like the industry has peaked on volume and it is starting to slow down.  At this time we expect the season to last until the end of April or maybe the first part of May.    Peak sizes now are 36s and smaller.  The 32s and larger are tight and will be the rest of the season.

Grapefruit – Grapefruit has started up with the Rio Star.  The peak sizes at this time are 32, 36, followed by the 40s.  These will be available until the end of May and we will then move into the Star Ruby.

Cara Caras –   Are coming off in good volume, with peak sizes being 75, 56 followed by 88s. Expect to have volume through April.

Minneola’s –   Sizing is peaking on 80 and 64s.    Some have already started to finish up for the season while others may go until the end of April or the first part of May.

California Grapefruit – Now available in CVF label!  Harvesting out of D-3, peaking on 36, 40, 32s.  Fancy to choice ratio is still around 60/40.  Movement should pick up when Texas finishes up.

TEXAS

Grapefruit – There are plenty of supplies available at promotable prices. Large fruit will continue to be tight and demand higher prices. Expect another 4 to 6 weeks of fruit left with deals on choice bags.  4/5

Navel Oranges – Tight due to rains and lack of harvesting

Valencia Oranges – light supplies.

FLORIDA

Grapefruit – Coming to the end of the season, few weeks left.

Valencia orange – They are up and running with a pretty good run of sizing.  Peak sizes running 100 and 80s.  Expect these to be around until the middle or end of May.

LIMES

Expect lime supplies to get back to normal next week, we will see many small sizes 230/200, with medium and large fruit demanding a premium for the weeks to come.

CANTALOUPES / HONEYDEWS

Volume is expected to become more consistent as we enter April and expect good volume the 8^th-22^nd.  We are entering into some newer fields not affected by the white fly disease in Guatemala that will allow for good supplies on 9s/12s.  Honduras is started to rebound also with steady supplies expected in April.  I am expecting the remainder of the season on imports to be a difficult one, limited supply and availability.  Growers are very reluctant to price fruit out in advance until their harvest estimates get back in line.

WATERMELON

Watermelons – Mexico supplies are still steady, although border crossings have dropped dramatically through this weekend due to holy week. Expect crossings to pick back up on Monday, and continue picking up through the end of April. 60ct are a little tight as that is where most of the demand is. Nogales and Texas both have supplies form Jalisco (MX).  Florida continues packing, though volume is still spotty, and they’re expecting a premium to the imports, which should continue through April. We did receive a good freeze in GA, and reports are still coming in. The extent of the damage will vary by location, and will range from a complete loss, to not being affected at all. The silver lining is that we estimate only 25% of the crop was in the ground. It’s a wait and see, but there’s still a good chance the damaged areas could get replanted, and this will just push the start date back.

Personal Melons – Supplies should slow down for the next two weeks on Mexican grown product into Nogales and Texas, but pick back up after that as new fields begin. Overall peak sizing continues to be 6cts.  Imports from Honduras and Panama continue to be spotty with mixed quality.

  

BANANAS

Unchanged, demand is steady and the market will probably be flat to slightly lower this week. Supply remains good.

PINEAPPLE

Unchanged, demand is good and the market should maintain the pace or even go up slightly.  Supply is down slightly and will probably stay that way for the next 1-2 weeks.

Vegetables

CUCUMBERS

The market is appearing to be stable.  However, volume continues to be somewhat light.  More supplies are being harvested in Florida, while off-shore product is finishing up.  New Crop is starting to come out of Mexico and is supplementing for light volumes out of Florida until volume pickup.  Overall, quality is fair to good.      

EGGPLANT

The market remains strong.  Supplies have improved over last week.  Product continues to come out of Mexico and Florida.  Quality out of both areas is fair to good.

   

BELL PEPPERS

Again, this market is still active.  Supplies continue to be tight.  Mexico is finishing up early, and supply is light as production transition to California, which is anticipated to be up and running 2 weeks out.  Florida still suffers from the effects of the cold weather.  Supply is also light and quality is fair.  Getting Green Bells in the Southeast is going to be a challenging.  However, volume is anticipated to get better as the weather improves and new plantings get underway.     

JALAPENO

The market is the same as last week, with supplies being limited out of Florida. Volumes are expected to improve when Central Florida comes on within the next 5 to 6 week.  Mexican product continues to assert downward pressure on prices in the West. Mexican product has fair quality.  Demand is good.

SQUASH       

Zucchini is finishing up in Mexico.  However, supplies are good.  Florida’s product has been slowed due to the cold weather it experienced last week.  Yellow Squash production has been trailing Zucchini volumes over the last 2 week, but is now starting to gain momentum out of Florida and Mexico.  Market is steady.

CABBAGE

This market has pretty much topped out with the Easter pull being over.  Florida will be finishing up in a couple of weeks, as well as Texas.  Georgia’s supplies are anticipated to fill the gap.

BROCCOLI

The market is starting to stabilize.  Production is now in Salinas.  Supply and demand are good.  Volume is expected to pick up over the next couple of weeks.  Again, quality is fair and is anticipated to improve as production gets into full swing in Salinas. 

CAULIFLOWER

The Cauliflower market is stronger.  Pricing is anticipated to become more active this week.  Supplies out of Yuma are nearing its end.  At this point, production is out of Salinas and Santa Maria and supply is light, and remains below weekly averages.  Demand and quality are good. 

 

CARROTS

Carrots supplies continue to be light.  Demand remains good.  The market remains strong and continues to be steady. 

CELERY

The Celery market is firm.  Good supplies are coming out of Oxnard.  Demand is strong.  Quality remains good.  Yuma is basically finished. Salinas has not begun production yet.

GREEN ONIONS

As with last week, there are no changes in this market.  Supplies continue to be good.  Quality is good.  Suppliers will begin transitioning to new growing areas shortly.

ASPARAGUS

This market is a little depressed.  Supply is out pacing demand due to product from the Easter pull hitting the market.  California, Mexico and Peru continue to be the producing areas.   Peru product is mostly going to IQF, while California and Mexico product is used to service the U.S. Quality is good. 

GREEN BEANS

The market is starting to come down.  Supplies have improved.  Demand is good.  Florida is the central area of production with spotty quality as a result of the bad weather.