The Source - November 12, 2015

California - Pink Ladys are steady to lower and continue to peak on the smaller sizes. Most shippers are in clean-up mode. The quality has been good.
Washington - Red Delicious remain large and are steady to higher on 100's and smaller while 88s and larger are steady. Most suppliers are still heavier to 72/80/88s and have very few 125s and smaller.
As a state Washington red delicious volume is down by 30% so expect supplies to remain limited. Golden delicious are steady and still producing mostly premium grade 100/113s. Large Goldens are very short. Washington golden delicious is down by 25% from last year. Granny-smiths are steady and are still peaking on 88/100/113s. Most Granny shippers don't have much larger than an 88-size but are also short on 125's and smaller right now due to strong demand. Galas are steady on all sizes. Most Gala shippers are still peaking on 100/113s and don't much available on 88's or larger. Fujis are steady and are peaking on extra-fancy 80/88/100's. Honeycrisp are higher and still peaking on 64/72s. Some shippers still have volume buys in the lower grades but most suppliers have not packed in a couple weeks so supplies are low. Honeycrisp demand is stronger in Washington now because the east coast and midwest shippers are finishing up. Jonagolds and Braeburns are both steady and continue to peak on 72/80/88's. The quality for all varieties has been good.
Michigan - Red delicious are steady on all sizes and are still peaking on 72/88s. Empires are steady on all sizes and still peaking on 125/138s. Some suppliers will finish with Empires in early December. McIntosh are higher and they are heavier to 125/138s. Galas are steady on all sizes and are now heavy to 138s. Golden delicious are higher due to heavy bruising and they are peaking on 125/138s. Honeycrisp supplies are light and many packers are finishing up for the season. Jonathans are steady on all sizes and they are peaking on 150/138/125s. Fujis are steady and they are also peaking on 125/138s. Cortlands, Red Romes, Ida-reds, and Jonamacs, are all still available.
New York - Red delicious, Macs, Galas, Macouns, Empires, Cortlands, and Golden delicious are all steady. McIntosh and macoun volume is good and some shippers will flex on certain sizes and grades. The Macs are peaking on 100s and the galas are heavier to 100/113s. Some suppliers are finished with Honeycrisp. The quality has been good on all varieties.

This market is firm. Large sizing, jumbo packs in particular are extremely light in availability in all areas of production. Supplies on standard packs are steady out of the Peruvian growing region. Southern Baja is moderate to light in availability and this will likely continue all week. Good quality continues to be reported.

Short supplies exist as more rains at the end of last week halted harvest. We should start to see supplies getting caught up by the end of the week. We are now into the new crop and are stating to see a more normal range of sizes, peaking on 48s and 60s. Limited volume on #2 fruit as quality is very good. This new crop fruit is lower in maturity and will take longer to ripen and not darken as much when ripen. Ripe fruit could still be green in color as the skin isn't mature enough for it to darken. Color is not an indication of ripeness, pressure is.

The blackberry crop continues to decline out of CA and should end major production by mid-late November. Mexico should be ramping up production weekly as we move into their season. Quality issues with soft fruit, red cell and juicing have been reported in CA and MX fruit. Availability has been sporadic as quality issues continue to pose a challenge and fruit is being transferred from growing regions to all coolers to fulfill orders.

South America and Mexico have struggled with inclement weather that has affected both production and quality of shipments bound for the US over the past several weeks. Growers have been shipping less fruit overall due to the amount of fruit being discarded because of poor quality. Arrivals have been sporadic to the West coast as much of the fruit is arriving into Miami and has to be trucked over to the West coast for shipping. However, we are seeing more fruit on the west coast than in previous weeks. Availability has been better loading out of the port cities on the East coast in New Jersey and Florida. Depending on the weather, we could be working through production and supply issues all the way through Thanksgiving. We should see more blueberries arriving from Chile at that time which will help with overall supply. Prices remain high as availability is still limited.

California crop continues to decline out of both northern and southern growing districts. Supply will be limited in CA this week and we will depend on fruit transfers from all growing regions to provide fruit to the coolers. Central Mexico should be ramping up production but continues to face challenges with weather and logistics to get the fruit to the U.S. Quality has suffered some with wet, leaky fruit but harvesting crews are focusing on diverting subpar product to pack quality.

Demand exceeds supply in all growing regions. Availability has decreased drastically and will continue to decline throughout the month of November. The Northern growing regions (Salinas, Watsonville, Castroville) have ended production for the season. The Southern districts (Santa Maria and Oxnard) are past the crop's peak production and will continue to decline in production weekly. We have also seen rain and cooler weather in the growing regions which have posed another set of challenges with delayed growth and disrupted harvests. Mexico has been very slow to get started with their season and the fruit crossing into the U.S. has been very minimal so far. Florida production is still several weeks away and projected to begin around the end of November, beginning of December. This current supply gap is projected to last for 3-5 weeks.

Alerts:
Demand exceeds supply in all growing regions. Availability has decreased drastically and will continue to decline throughout the month of November. This current supply gap is projected to last for 3-5 weeks.

This market is stronger and a few shippers are sold out until the end of the week. This commodity will get stronger throughout the week. Yuma has not begun production as of yet. Crown production will be light all week. Broccoli issues will include yellow beading, hollow core, pin rot, light green color, as well as a rubbery texture. The main production continues to be out of the Salinas Valley, with light production in Southern California. This will continue for the rest of the week. There continues to be production in Mexico as well as McAllen. Yuma will not have production until approximately Thanksgiving. There is light production on crowns in Phoenix Arizona if needed.

Bakersfield crop is in full production. Size in the fields is good and the percentage of jumbo size carrots is good.

This market is active. Demand exceeds supplies. Escalated pricing is in effect. Yuma will not begin production until approximately after Thanksgiving. Salinas and Santa Maria are the main growing regions associated with this commodity currently. The overall quality is reported to have slight spotting sporadically. Heavy rains earlier in the week has altered production severely. Pricing looks to rise steadily throughout this week.

Demand exceeds supplies on this commodity. This market continues to gain strength. Expect this to continue all of next week as well. Escalated pricing is in effect. Large sizing continues to be light in availability. Oxnard has begun production. Supplies will be light in all of the growing regions throughout the week. Production in Salinas is almost finished. The quality continues to be reported as good in all growing regions.

This market is firm with most shippers. The Baja region of Mexico as well as Southern California continue to be the main growing areas for this commodity. Supplies have tightened up dramatically compared to the past couple of weeks. Rains in California will likely alter production numbers. The overall quality for now is reported to be good.

Demand remains very good. The Desert crop is 30% lighter in volume than last years. This crop is producing a larger proportion of fancy grade and is peaking on 140s and larger fruit, which is in good availability, but leaving us in a demand exceed supplies on 165s and smaller fruit. Expect this shortage on smaller fruit to continue through January.

Alerts:
Demand exceeds supply on the smaller sized fruit 165s/200s/235s. Expect shortages to go through January.

The lime market is higher on all of the sizes now. Hard rains in the last few days have temporarily disrupted harvesting in the growing area but current production should be back to normal by mid next week. Bigger fruit is the result of the rains. Holiday demand from Europe has started and they prefer smaller sized limes. The increased size of the fruit and increased demand is putting upward pressure on the small sized fruit. The overall quality is very good on the new crop. We continue to have good demand on limes.

All shippers have began to pack this years California Navel crop this week. Rain is some on the growing areas yesterday and today has halted harvest for growers in the rain areas, but many of them do have inventories under cover and ready into the gas rooms. We are starting to back into a more normal flow of fruit. Sizes are peaking on 113s/88s/138s. Larger sizes of 72s and 56s are very limited as fruit has not sized up yet. Volumes will continue to pick up over the up coming weeks, if weather cooperates.

Green grape markets are climbing as supply continues to drop. The effects of an early start and some rain are bringing the CA grape season to a close quicker than expected. The results of the last two storms are becoming more evident as growers break new harvest. Green grapes will be done by the end of the month, perhaps even Thanksgiving. Imports are expected to start by the end of the month. Quality of the remaining crops is being reported as good.

Alerts:
CA Green Grape season coming to an end quickly. Possibly out by Thanksgiving.

California red gape supplies continue to lessen. The market is expected to remain firm with slight increases as we move forward. Due to the recent weather, the red grape color has been on the lighter side. Availability should be consistent through December and may last into the new year. Import fruit is expected to start trickling after Thanksgiving . Outside of the lighter color, quality is good.

This market is active. Demand is stronger. Temperatures in the Mexico region have been ideal; 70-80 degrees. Production is expected to be moderate but demand will likely start to exceed supplies by the end of the week. Salinas' production will be light all week. The main sizing continues to be in small and some medium packs.

Demand is light. This market is steady on this commodity. Supplies out of Mexico as well as California are good. The Baja region as well as California continue to be the main growing regions at this time. The overall quality continues to be strong. Pricing is expected to be competitive for the entire week.

Demand continues to exceed supply. Production in Salinas is finished. Escalated pricing is in effect including value added items. Huron and Santa Maria production is limited. Seeder and light weights are the big issues in all the growing regions. Quality issues include small and irregular head size, lightweights, seeder, decay, puffiness, insect damage and internal burn. The defects are directly related to past and current high temperatures. Yuma has begun production but quality is only fair. Defects again include light weights, seeder, puffy, misshapen heads and overall heat damage. These defects are industry wide and will continue throughout the month.

This market continues to gain strength. There continues to be light production in Huron and Yuma on romaine. The quality issues continue in all the growing regions. These issues include fringe burn, small and irregular sizing, insects, dehydration, seeder and internal burn. Green and red leaf are active as well. Fringe burn, mildew damage, internal burn and insect pressure continue to be defects associated with these commodities. There are light supplies of green and red leaf in Yuma. Butter will continue to be very light in availability all week. This is industry wide. There will continue to be gaps in pricing among the different shippers on all leaf items.

The desert has been producing good volumes of large sized fruit with nice color and sugar content with a peak size of 9ct. Lope 18ct are very scarce currently and 15ct are in very light volumes with 12ct being a little short overall too. Mexico is crossing small volumes of cantaloupes with very small quantities of 15ct. The current market is steady. The large size fruit trend will continue for the near future. We are experiencing decent demand for cantaloupes at this time. Offshore melons are arriving in Florida and volumes will continue to increase weekly. Initial reports show good quality lopes peaking on 9ct.

Transitions:
The desert is finishing up next week. Offshore lopes have been arriving on both coasts now.

Peak Seasons:
The desert has passed it's peak and offshore melons have a while to get to their peak since they have just began to arrive.

The peak size is currently 6ct with more of all sizes coming in than previously. Our honeydew market is steady on all sizes. Honeydews are now finished in the West Side district. Mexican dews are shipping out of Nogales AZ and domestic dews are being packed in Maricopa AZ. Demand is good on all sizes. The quality and sugar contents from both regions continue to be good and this looks to continue. Offshore dews are set to arrive during the later part of November.

Transitions:
Offshore honeydews are beginning to arrive now.

Peak Seasons:
Honeydews are past their peak and offshore honeydews have just began to arrive.

Washington - the market is steady on all sizes and colors. Jumbo availability is generally good while mediums are limited. Some shippers will flex on jumbo yellows. The quality for all colors has been good.
Idaho/Oregon - they are quoting steady on all sizes and colors. Volume deals for jumbo and larger yellows remain and the demand has been fair. The quality for all colors is good.

Washington - Bartletts are steady and they continue to peak on 110/120s. Large size Bartletts remain very short. Bosc are steady and are continue to peak on 90/100/110s. D'anjou pears are steady and they are peaking on 90/100s. Most shippers are short of D'anjou 80s and larger. Red pears are steady on all sizes and are still producing mostly half carton 45/50s and full carton 90/100s. The quality has ranged on the bartletts as some suppliers are between regular storage and C.A. The D'anjou, Bosc, and red pear quality is good.

Washington - the market remains mostly steady although there are some volume deals on various sizes. The norkotah quality has been good.
Idaho - prices are being quoted steady on all sizes but there are volume deals in the larger counts and number-twos. Small counts and consumer bags are still short. The burbank and norkotah quality has been good.
Colorado - the market is steady on all sizes with the occasional count-carton volume deal. The norkotah quality has been good.
Wisconsin - they are also quoting steady but have some deals available. Wisconsin still has an even size distribution. Some suppliers are limited on 90-count and smaller. The norkotah quality has been good.

Bakersfield, California - all sizes and colors are steady. Premium size reds and golds remain short. The quality has been good.
Western Washington - all colors are steady and they are also peaking on As. The quality has been good in all colors.
Central/Eastern Idaho - Reds and golds are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on A-size. The quality is good.
Wisconsin - Reds and golds are steady on all sizes and both are peaking on A-size. Number-two Bs, Premium and baker reds, premium and baker golds, and gold Cs are all still short. The quality has been good.
North Dakota - Reds and golds are steady and still peaking on As. B-size #1 and #2 red volume is still short. Premiums and bakers remain limited. The quality has been good.

Rounds - The market is steady. Florida is receiving warmer weather and better volumes. Although colder temps are forecast for the weekend. Demand is steady. Rain out west has finished off the last crops. Quality is Good.
Roma - The market is higher. Winter crops are still a few weeks off and supplies are very low this week. Shippers are selling out in advance on a daily basis. Rains continue to slow things up in Mexico. Quality is good.
Cherry/Grape - Cherry market is lower. Florida growers are in full production with plenty of supplies. Out west is a different situation. Very few supplies and market higher in the west. Quality is good.
Grape market is steady. Florida is seeing more supplies. Mexico is crossing grapes out west, but the market still a bit stronger. Quality is good.

Rounds - The market is steady. Rains have finished off the last bit of crops in Northern California. Supplies a bit lighter, which is keeping the market steady. Florida is bringing in good supplies, due to warmer weather in most areas of production. Mexico continues to be lighter in supplies. Quality is good.
Roma - The market is higher. Supplies are very low this week. Market continues to rise and shippers selling out daily. Mexico is still a few weeks away from their winter crops due to weather conditions. Florida continues to produce more supplies, however demand is still exceeding supplies. Quality is good.
Cherry/Grape - Cherry market is higher. Lighter supplies in the west. Mexico is crossing a few, however market continues to be strong. Florida cherrys have come on strong in the east. Quality is good.
Grape market is steady. Mexico is crossing grapes, but the market continues to be steady/higher. Florida has good supplies on grapes. Demand continues to be consistent. Quality is good.