The Source - February 22, 2017

Washington - red delicious are mostly steady on all sizes. Reds are still peaking on extra-fancy 64-88s and have only limited supplies of 113s and smaller. Golden delicious are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on 72/80/88s. Small Goldens are also very short. Granny-smith are steady but strong on 72s and smaller in all grades. The fruit is still peaking on 72/80/88's. Granny 100s and smaller are exceptionally short and supplies are still extremely limited. Most shippers are still subbing up in size and grade on anything smaller than an 88. The Gala market is steady on all sizes. Galas are still peaking on 80/88/100/72s and they have good volume in the larger sizes. Gala 125/138s are limited right now. Fuji's are steady on all sizes and are still peaking on 72/80/88s. Fuji volume is generally light right now especially in 113s and smaller. Honeycrisp are steady to higher due to light supplies and they are still peaking on 80/88/100s. The quality for all varieties has been good. Most of the other varietals have finished for the season.
Idaho---red delicious, Red Romes, and Pink Lady's are still the bulk of the current production and all are steady. Most of the Idaho varieties are peaking on 64-100s. The quality has been good.
Michigan--McIntosh and Empires remain steady but strong due to light supplies and strong demand. Golden delicious, Jonathans, red Romes, Galas, red delicious, and Fujis are all fairly steady. The Galas, Red Romes, and Jonathans are still peaking on smaller fruit while the Golden delicious, Red delicious, Fujis, and McIntosh are heavier to medium fruit. The quality has been good.
New York---Empires and McIntosh are steady but remain strong due to light supplies and strong demand. Red delicious, Galas, Fujis, and Red Romes are fairly steady but the market is starting to show strength on the smaller sizes. All varieties are peaking on larger fruit. The quality has been good.
Pennsylvania---red delicious, golden delicious, Red Romes, Pink Ladys, Fujis, and Granny-smith are all steady and are all peaking on 80/88/100s. They are producing more US#1 and US fancy grade but the quality has been good.

Alerts:
Washington is still extremely short on Granny-smith 100s and smaller.

New York and Michigan have limited supplies if Empires and McIntosh.

Peak Seasons:
All areas are in the peak of their seasons.

We had rain over the weekend in the Caborca region, but production remained heavy. Market remains sluggish with the season peak, and poor weather in other parts of the country. We should see it peak for another 4 weeks, then it should taper off. All growers are now mostly packing 28 lb asparagus, and the 11 lbs are being packed to order.

Transitions:
California production will start at the end of this week, consistent supplies will not start until the beginning of March.

Mexico has gone from 45 to 50 million pounds per week to 30 million per week. They are telling us that we are to expect only 25 to 30 million per week through the end of this crop ending in June. The Avocado industry need 45 million per week to just maintain some normality for demand and price levels. Mexican growers continue to raise field prices and US shippers are agreeing to these price increases and are still falling short of fruit need to fill demand. Market prices continue move up across to board and all sizes and grades of fruit.

Alerts:
Mexico shipments have dropped drastically, and look to stay at a much lower volume than was expected. Markets continue to surging upward.

Green bell Pepper has dropped in supply and will show a gap in production, prices have jumped up and will continue for the near future with larger sizes on number one grade being more limited.

Colored Bells ( Red, Yellow and Orange) continue with slightly improved supply on both blocky and elongated varieties. Good quality and condition will continue, supply has remained steady with market and demand improving some. Packing 25# 15# and 11# units.

The weather continues to be a limiting factor on blackberry production. Although harvest numbers are slowly trending up in Mexico, the volume has still been under demand and supplies remain snug. The forecast for central calls for warmer temps moving forward and harvest should increase over the next week. California has been under sever rain storm bringing all production to a halt. Again, once the weather cooperates, we should see better production in all areas. Shippers are reporting better availability by late next week.

Alerts:
Blackberry supplies are still limited out of Mexico. California production has been slowed by rain.

Blueberry supplies will be light but steady this week. Chilean harvest continues to decline, but fruit is still available to load on both coats. Quality seems to be holding steady, with occasional soft berries being reported. The Chilean season is expected to last another 2-3 weeks. The Peruvian season has come to an end and we do not expect any more fresh production. Mexico's volume has started to increased gradually. We anticipate better production this week and harvest to ramp up moving forward into March. Quality is being reported as very good on the Mexican fruit. Florida harvest is expected to begin with very light volume at the end of this month. We expect to see production increase gradually as we move into March.

Transitions:
Peru is finished. Chilean harvest coming to an end. Mexican production is expected to gradually improve moving forward. Florida is expected to start with very light volumes by the end of the month.

Raspberry supplies have improved. Starting late last week and into this week, Mexico production increased. We expect to have consistent supplies moving forward with heavy volumes estimated 3-4 weeks out. The quality is being reported as strong. Market prices have stayed steady. California production is being delayed due to rain, but is expected to ramp up as the weather clears.

Transitions:
Mexico production is ramping up. Better supplies expected moving forward. California harvest is still delayed by weather.

Strawberry supplies will to be light in all areas this week. The heavy rainfall in California has had a drastic impact on production and quality. Oxnard and Santa Maria fields were flooded over the weekend. Harvest will remain limited all week. The strawberries in CA have been hit hard with rain and the quality is fair at best. Soft berries, occasional bruising, water damage and white shoulders are being reported. The weather forecast calls for clear skies and cool weather for the rest of this week with a chance of light rain again on Monday. CA availability will continue to be a struggle and market prices will remain firm for the next week. Mexico production has passed it's peak and has begun to slow down this week. Lighter volumes of fruit will be available in Texas and market prices have firmed up. Mexico production is expected to last another 2 weeks before coming to an end. Florida will also have lighter supplies this week. Light rains followed by warm tropical temps have caused much of the strawberries to ripen quickly. Shippers are now having to walk past acres due to over ripe fruit and poor quality. As a result, FL supplies will be lighter and market prices will firm up this week.

Alerts:
California strawberries will continue to be extremely limited due to the heavy rains.

Transitions:
Mexico is approaching the end of their strawberry season.

Oxnard strawberry quality

The broccoli market is once again on the rise. Limited supplies in Yuma and Mexico are causing this market increase. Also the rain in Santa Maria continues to hamper supplies and quality. This trend will last into next week. Processors will also start to look for acreage to cover raw product needs. Quality in Yuma and Mexico have now turned the corner and are fair at best. Yellow to brown bead are showing up industry wide. In Santa Maria, pin rot and rain damage seem to be the repetitive conversation.

Alerts:
Once again we are experiencing a supply gap in Yuma and Mexico. This is causing a drastic increase to the market. Santa Maria is still have supply and quality issues due to the recent rains.

Transitions:
The Salinas growing region will start harvesting even with the severe storms we have been receiving the week of March 6th.

We continue to see ample supplies from Mexico. But domestic supplies out of Oxnard have been depleted due to the rain in that growing region. The markets are relatively flat with aggressive pricing. Quality has been really good despite a couple arrival issues with yellow to brown discoloration of the sprouts.

Peak Seasons:
We are currently in the peak season for brussel sprouts from the growing region in Mexico.

Carrot supplies remain good and look continue so, with jumbo, cello and value added product.

The cauliflower market is extremely active. This is due to a 10-14 day supply gap in Yuma. Santa Maria has had excessive rain which is causing quality issues such as bruising, black to brown spotting, and yellow discoloration. Yuma has also had it's share of bruising and brown discoloration. This trend will continue well into next week. Also there will be possible averages on both commodity and processed based orders.

Alerts:
Extremely limited supplies due to a 10 to 14 day supply gap in Yuma. The poor quality in Santa Maria is not worth the risk shipping due to excessive rains. The market will be extremely active well into next week.

Heavy rains in Oxnard and Santa Maria has been causing havoc for growers in this region. After today, no rain is expected for five days. This market is active. Processors will be limited in production numbers for the next two weeks. Yuma production is moderate at best. All sizing continues to be available. Quality issues have arisen. These issues include waterlog and translucency, which leads to pith and decay. To put into prospective, the normal rainfall in Oxnard is usually around 18 inches of rain per year. The current harvest of transplants in the Oxnard region have been exposed to 20 inches of rain.

Alerts:
Alot of rain in Southern California has hurt production of this commodity.

Pablano - Excellent size and Quality will continue with slightly lighter supply.

Tomatillo-Heavy supply and excellent quality on fresh crop, both peeled and husked. Sizing is good. Color and condition will continue to be great.

Jalapeno- good quality on new crop pepper, Excellent Size color and condition with huge supplies. Many number 2s are being shipped.

Anaheim- good quality, condition and size are expected to continue as supply have improved.

The severe rainy weather in Oxnard and Santa Maria are really putting a damper on supplies. Also the acreage in Yuma and Baja Mexico are not enough to meet demand. The quality has been fair at best when sourcing from Oxnard and Santa Maria. We have had issues with yellowing of the leaves, rain damage, black spotting, and brown discoloration. this will continue well into next week with rain on the way for this weekend.

Alerts:
The excessive rain in Oxnard and Santa Maria has created serious quality and supply issues. The market is extremely active. The rain is also scheduled again for this weekend which will further continue this trend.

Central Valley crop is faced with limited production with the on and off rains they are getting. Clear weather coming for the balance of the week. With this rain comes size growth, with more 95s/115s/140s and less 165s/200s. The Ventura crop has just began some limited harvest of their crop, but they also have been getting rains, so harvest has been limited. Over all supplies are beginning to tighten with the lack of harvest due to the rains.

The lime market is steady to higher on all sizes. The higher market is due to an overall increase in demand and shorter supplies especially on 110's through 175's. The old crop harvest is in the larger size profile 110/150's while the new crop is 200/250's. The supply of old crop limes is dropping off faster than the new crop is producing. The quality is good with very few problems being reported other than an occasional stylar end breakdown. Rain is being reported in the growing region so we may have disrupted supplies and quality.

Alerts:
March is generally one of the lowest producing months of the year. The market is tightening up across the board.

Peak Seasons:
We are out of peak season and are heading into the lowest point of production which is generally during the month of March.

Rains last week and this week and little to no harvest has growers behind in picking. Clear weather comes again beginning Wednesday and look to stay so through Friday. There is a chance of showers returning this weekend. Growers will begin picking as much as the can to fill the demand and try to get bin inventory built back up to help fill in for more forecasted upcoming storms.

Alerts:
Rains and limited harvest of California's Navel orange growing has the availability very limited.

Good supply on cucumber coming out Mexico, Excellent color, quality and condition on all grades sizes and pack styles. Supply will continue with slightly less volume for the next week.Euro cucumber is also available in very limited supply, both #1and #2 both single layer and bushel boxes.

Good Quality and condition with good size are currently being shipped from Nogales, mostly 24 size are available as volume drops slightly. Many number 2s being shipped.

Supplies of green grapes have been good on both coasts. Quality is being reported as very good however some lots are coming in with brown stems and occasional amber color. Market prices are steady to higher. Large and extra large packs are where the main volume is. The near future looks to have steady supplies and excellent quality with normal small market adjustments happening. Lower quality grapes are selling at a discount.

Red grapes are not as plentiful as they had been. Good supplies are available on both coasts. Quality is excellent overall but low quality grapes are being sold for steep discounts. The lower quality grapes have a variety of defects with the worst being decay. The market is steady and it feels like we have seen the bottom on acceptable quality grapes. Growing conditions are good so we shouldn't see many disruptions to the current environment for red grapes. Promotional opportunities are available on grapes.

The overall green onion market remains aggressive on iced product. Although the iceless green onions are commanding a premium price. Quality on the iced green onions has been really good. There have been minimal complaints. Iceless green onions quality has been sporadic with some lots showing up with brown to yellow discoloration. Supplies will be plentiful well into next week.

The kale market varies from shipper to shipper. Supplies are also sporadic depending on the loading region. Oxnard continues to receive rain causing delay in supplies. Although supplies from Mexico and Yuma are steady. There does not look to be any supply gaps in the near future to cause any markets. Quality has been excellent with full cases, dark green color, and minimal yellowing.

This market has fallen off on demand. Processors for this week are allowing extra cases to be purchased over weekly averages, as supplies have increased with most shippers. The quality issues continue, however. These issues include discoloration, pink ribbing, misshapen heads, and mildew. These defects are being reported from many shippers. No rain in the desert is in the forecast for the entire week. Pricing looks to be steady for now.

Romaine as well as all leaf items are softer in the marketplace. Demand is off. Quality issues continue on romaine as well as all leaf items. Blister and peel, twisting as well as light fringe burn is seen on romaine. Similar defects are seen on all leaf items as well.These defects are industry wide. The better quality is in the desert, as southern California has been getting pounded by rainfalls. Not much is expected in terms of heavy demand for the rest of the week.

Demand continues to match supplies. Supplies are steady from Honduras and Guatemala. The peak size is 12ct and we are receiving decent amounts of 15's now. 18's are still really short supplied but demand for them is light so it's not an issue. The market is steady across the board. The quality is excellent right now and for the long term outlook too. Weather has been ideal in the growing regions .

Honeydew supplies have leveled out and are continuing to increase slowly. Mexico is exporting very nice looking honeydews up to us and their supplies are light for the next few months. Offshore dews have excellent quality and are peaking on 6's with 8's being available now. Offshore dew volume is at slightly above normal levels for this time of year. Demand is beginning to increase. The market is currently steady for offshore and Mexican dews.

Production from Southern Mexico ( Jalisco/Colima) is improving. Quality and condition are good with high sugar all sizes are available in both bins and cartons . Personal seedless is available in limited supply peaking on smaller sizes.

Market and Demand is light. Supplies are good coming out of storages in Washington and Idaho. New crop is coming out of Mexico loading in McAllen, Tx and a few growers have started packing Texas sweets for the retail market. Quality is still being reported as good out of all areas. Storage supplies should go into late April with a few growers going into May. Look for the markets to stay fairly steady into March if not longer.

Washington -- Large Bartlett pears remain steady with good availability and they continue to peak on US#1 70/80/90s. Bartlett 110's and smaller are steady but strong due to light supplies. The storage quality has been good. D'anjou 90s and larger are also steady with good supplies. 110 and smaller D'anjou's are still very short and the market remains firm. Many packers have switched their consumer bag business from Bartletts to D'anjou's and that is taking up much of the smaller fruit. D'anjou's continue to peak on US#1 80/90/100s. The quality has been good. Bosc pears are steady and continue to peak on US#1 80/90/100s. The quality has been good. Red pears are steady and they are still peaking on US#1 45/50 half cartons. The red pear availability is still very light and the quality has been good.

Chile - Chilean Bartlett pears are steady on both coasts and they are still peaking on larger fruit with mostly 90s and larger. The quality has been good.

Alerts:
Expect the Danjou and Bosc pear markets to get a lot stronger once Bartletts finish in 7 days or so, especially the smaller sizes.

Peak Seasons:
Washington is in the peak of its D'anjou and Bosc seasons.

Chile is in the peak of its Bartlett season.

Supplies are light and look to be very tight through March due to a period of heavy rains at the end of November of last year.

Demand is light to moderate on most sizes of cartons which is keeping the market steady out of all growing areas. Retail demand is very light with a weaker market. Idaho supplies are transitioning from Norkotah to burbanks. Quality is good on both varieties. I don't see the markets changing anytime soon.

Bakersfield California - red and gold potatoes are steady on all sizes and are still peaking on A size. White are steady but firm due to light supplies. The Bakersfield supplies are finishing faster than anticipated due to California's recent rain and supplies in Washington are limited. Bakersfield product will last another 5-7 days and then the California suppliers will have to source from Washington or Florida. The quality has been good.
Idaho - red and gold potatoes remain steady. The red potato sizing is still split between A and Bs while the golds are heavier to A-size. The quality is good.
Western Washington - reds and golds are steady and they are both peaking on A size. The quality has been good.
North Dakota - red and gold potatoes are mostly steady on all sizes and they are also still peaking on A size. Some suppliers are flexing on reds and golds to beat the Florida shippers. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - reds and golds are steady on all sizes but the market remains high and strong since most shippers there are sourcing from other areas. Most are sourcing from North Dakota or Washington so they can finish the season. The quality is good.
Florida - they continue to pack all colors and all are fairly steady on most sizes and colors. Reds are still the bulk of the volume and they are still peaking on A-size. The whites and golds are heavier to B size but supplies are more limited. The quality has been good with minimal skinning.
Canada - reds, golds, and whites are mostly steady. The quality has been good.

Alerts:
When the Bakersfield, California whites are finished expect a mush stronger market as they source from other areas.

Peak Seasons:
Western Washington, North Dakota, Idaho, and southern Florida are all in the peak of their seasons.

Volume is improving after 2 weeks of extremely short supply, Italian and yellow squash have improved in supply and quality. Many number 2s are being packed because of the immediate demand Quality and condition are also improving. Hard squash is also very available with all varieties being offered.

Stone fruit supplies are steady and once again the market steady. Demand is the normal amount for this time of the year which is light. Peaches and nectarines sizes are coming in on the larger side of the scale. Plums have most sizes available. Kiwi's are plentiful and very nice also. We don't foresee much happening with any of the markets here for a number of weeks.

Southern Florida is past their peak production of tomatoes and has began their seasonal decline winding down until Spring crops proved a fresh fruit in March. Demand hasn't been real strong allowing markets to remain low however things are expected to tighten slightly over the next few weeks. Cool temperatures and wind in January will slow the yields of plants over the next 2-3 weeks. As supply begins to shrink, the market may start to move upward the rest of the month. New crops in Palmetto are expected to be in full production by the end of March, however there are reduced planting and less acreage over all amongst growers. Steady volumes out of Mexico are expected well into April helping to offset the deficit of fruit regionally, however it is unknown how quickly markets will strengthen in the east.

Mexico continues to supply heavy volumes of rounds and roma tomatoes trending towards larger sizes. Quality has been good and there is no slow down expected through the rest of the month. Adequate volumes of grape tomatoes are crossing from western and central Mexico with mixed color and quality. The overall market is low forcing growers to pick fruit early in the hopes that it buys them time to sell the product, so there is also a lot of mixed colored or light colored fruit.