The Source - April 1, 2015

New York continues to pack McIntosh, Red delicious, Empires, and Romes. The demand has been light for all variety's.

Michigan is still packaing Idareds, Jonagolds, Jonathans, McIntosh, Red delicious and Romes. All variety's are steady and demand has been light because of spring break.

Washington continues to pack mostly Red delicious, Golden delicious, Granny-smith, Gala's, and Fuji's. There are a few varietals left as well: Braeburns, Honeycrisp, Jazz, Jonagolds, jonathans, Opals, Lady Alice, and Pink lady's. The reds remain large and there are some volume deals on 88's and larger. Golden are steady on all sizes. Granny's are steady but there are some volume deals on 80's and larger. Gala's and Fuji's are both steady to higher due to lighter supplies. The varietals are steady except Honeycrisp which are very limited. Most packers will finish Honeycrisp by the end of April.
- John Tole

This market is steady, overall as demand has fallen off. Standard and large sizing are the main packs available on both 11lb. and 28 lb. cases. Salinas and Mexico are the main growing regions for this commodity. Extra large and jumbo are very light in availability and a premium price is put on these sizes. Peruvian product is available to load out of Miami direct. Standard and large sizing is light in availability as well.

California Growers are increasing production weekly, but supplies still remains light. Maturity of fruit is good.
-Tim Kelley

Mexico supplies are steady, but still peaking on smaller fruit. 48's and larger remain very tight.
-Tim Kelley

The weather that hit Central Mexico in recent weeks has been limiting harvests, overall production volume is down significantly, and quality issues are showing up in the packs as well. Crews returned to the fields after the hail, rain and high wind to assess the fruit and plants. Sub-par fruit was stripped, plants were cleaned-up but not all issues could be diverted. Fruit is weaker overall with soft and mushy fruit, red cell, some mold. Besides the overall amount of fruit crossing into the U.S. being much lower, much of the fruit is also being red tagged and rejected for quality when it arrives to our shippers. We will be short throughout this week at least. Soon after, we should see a quick recovery to this shortage as we are coming upon peak season for Mexican blackberries.
-Tom Smith

Alerts:
BLACKBERRIES:
Overall availability is very limited with quality issues present in most packs.

Chilean season is winding down and the arrivals are lessening weekly. CA blues have been very limited so far but looks to be increasing with small volumes next week. FL blues are available but most are staying on the east coast with program business or being packed for controlled atmosphere. FL pricing is higher to begin the season. Mainland Mexican supplies have been limited by rain and cooler weather but looks to increase next week as weather has cleared. One of the larger issues with blueberries right now has been with Baja Mexico production. Farm worker protests during peak season have left too much ripe fruit on the bushes going to waste, stopped harvests, fruit transport, and severely decreased production and crossing of Baja Mexico blueberries. This has affected all other availability and increased demand from all other areas.
-Tom Smith

Raspberry volumes continue to decline out of both Mexico and Oxnard, CA growing regions. Santa Maria, CA volumes have ramped up some but with increased demand for Easter pull, availability is light throughout this week.
-Tom Smith

There will be increased demand again this week as we continue into the Easter pull. Availability is varying on a daily basis by shipper. Some Oxnard shippers will be ending their seasons by mid-week and we must begin shifting orders into Salinas/Watsonville and Santa Maria for coverage. Fruit is rating fair to good in most areas. A cooling trend moves into both Central and Southern CA Monday through Friday this week. With the Oxnard season ending for some and the cooler temperatures this week, we expect the market and availability will remain stable.
-Tom Smith

This market is steady, but looks to get softer by the end of the week. Demand has fallen off as the Easter pull is over. Bunched product continues to be lighter in availability compared to crowns. Yuma will have light production this week, and by next week there will be no more availability from this region. The best quality remains in the Salinas valley. Santa Maria is an option if needed. Production in Phoenix is light but crowns are available in this region as well. The quality overall in the growing areas are reported as being good.

California desert crop is going well. Size is only fair coming out of the fields. Jumbo size remains snug.
-Tim Kelley

This market is stronger with all suppliers. Yuma is all but finished in production. Salinas and Santa Maria have light supplies available. Expect supplies to be on the lighter side for the rest of the week. There have been reports of brown spotting and yellowing being seen upon arrivals. The quality is expected to improve next week as Salinas' production is expected to pick up. Demand is moderate.

This market has remained unchanged. Small sizing continues to command a higher price. Large sizing, twenty-four counts in particular is where shippers are offering the best deals for volume type orders Shippers will offer loading out of Salinas but they are charging a delivery fee. Loading in Oxnard/ Santa Maria is your best price. Yuma production is all but finished. The quality is reported as being good. Supplies look to be steady throughout the week.

Crop is peaking on 140's and larger. 165's and smaller are tight with spring time demand picking up for these sizes.
-Tim Kelley

The lime market is currently holding steady at these high prices. Supplies are looking to increase on smaller sizes and decrease on larger sizes starting this week though the next few weeks. Less than favorable weather in the growing regions has slowed down production. The forecast of lower supplies from April through mid May will more than likely keep the high market going although it could be a choppy ride. The overall quality continues to be acceptable.
-Jim Murphy

California Navel crop is in it's peak eating quality. Sizing is peaking 72's/56's/88's. Demand smaller fruit, 113's/138's is making these sizes very tight. California Valencia's should be ready toward the end of the month in limited volume.
-Tim Kelley

Alerts:
ORANGES:
Small oranges,113's/138's are in very tight supply.

The off shore cucumber deal is officially finished and much of South Florida is now working domestic cucumbers. They are packing heavy to the select grades with precious few carton 24 packs available at the front of this week. As those growers ramp up their production and Plant City area kicks in toward the end of the week, there should be greater availability across the board on cucumbers. For the front part of this week, the market will remain steady. The market will soften as the week progresses.

The green grape market continues to firm up as quality issues on the fruit now available is pushing many suppliers into their storage crop. We are seeing a wide range of price and quality now available. This strengthening will continue in the short term as supplies on good quality fruit are limited. Brad Tremblay

The red seedless market is steady as supplies of late season fruit are more than adequate to meet demand. The effects of the late season storms in Chile have yet to be felt here as all fruit now available was shipped prior to the rain event. We should see some strengthening mid to late April as supplies and quality will be impacted somewhat by the rains. - Brad Tremblay

This market has remained unchanged, overall. There have been reports of yellow discoloration that has been seen upon arrivals sporadically on this commodity. Most product is coming out of Mexico. Small and medium sizing continues to be the main packs available. This market is steady with most suppliers. Expect supplies to be moderate to good throughout the week.

This market has remained unchanged. Supplies look to be good throughout the week. Demand is light to moderate as the Easter pull is over for the most part. Temperatures are very warm in the growing regions of Yuma and Huron. Bugs and gnats continue to be an issue on this commodity. The weights are ranging from 41-46 pounds. Blister, misshapen heads, mildew, weak tip, and epidermal peel continues to be seen sporadically upon arrivals. Santa Maria has not had as many issues, however production is much lighter from this region. Supplies look to be good throughout the week.

The romaine market is steady. The issues of bugs and gnats on the product still continue. Warm temperatures in the mid 9o's in Yuma and mid 80s in Huron continue. Salinas has production but the issues of bugs are little to none. Overall, this market is steady. Mildew issues are all but over. Weights on romaine are ranging from 30-35 pounds. Green and red leaf pricing is steady. Shippers continue to spray as much as possible to minimize plant defects. Supplies are light in Yuma on all leaf items.

Cantaloupe supplies are continuing to increase slightly over previous weeks. Demand is lower than previous weeks which is causing the market to decline slowly. Cantaloupe 9's are in tight supply with sizes peaking on 12's and 15's. Arrivals of offshore melons on the west coast continue to arrive in limited volumes with 12's being the peak size with some 9's being available. Quality is good on all lopes.
- Jim Murphy

Honeydew supplies are lighter than previous weeks. Demand is remaining steady which is causing the market to perk up a bit. The peak size is 6's on both coasts. Rainy weather during the planting stages and abnormal overcast weather has caused low yields. Supplies out of Mexico have not been large enough to cause the market to move in any one direction but they should increase over the next month. Quality has been good overall with a few issues scattered around and looks to stay this way.
- Jim Murphy

Idaho/Washington - The market is steady on Yellow and reds with limited supplies of white onions. Quality is fair to good depending on the lot. Supplies out of this area will finish up the end of April.
Mexico - Supplies will be limited till the middle of next week due to East holiday. Market is steady. Quality is fair.
- Mike Gorczyca

Washington continues to ship D'anjou pears and a few red pears. The D'anjou's are still peaking on 80/90's in the US#1 grade.

There are Argentinian Bartlett pears on both coasts and the fruit is peaking on 100's and larger. The Bartlett market is strong. We also have Chilean Bosc & Packhams and they are also peaking on the larger fruit. The markets for both are also strong.
-John Tole

Idaho - The availability of 40-60 count potatoes are extremely limited due to the small size profile of this years storage crop. Customers are switching to the next size up to get covered with their needs. This has put even 70 count into demand exceeds situation. Market on 70 count and larger are very active with 80 count and smaller steady. Quality is fair to good depending on the lot.
Washington - Has good availability of all sizes of cartons 40-80 count. Quality is good.
Colorado/Wisconsin - Carton potatoes are limited due to no retail demand. This has most sheds only running limited hours. Quality is good.
- Mike Gorczyca

Alerts:
Potatoes:
Idaho Large Cartons 40-60 count are extremely limited

Florida continues to pack all three colors. Red are steady to higher on B-size due to strong demand and steady on all other sizes. Golds and whites are steady but gold A's are limited due to strong demand. The reds are still peaking on A-size while the whites and golds are peaking on B's.

North Dakota continues to pack and ship reds and they will continue through the month of April. The quality has ranged from poor to good.

Bakersfield, California continues to ship Washington product and they will through this week. All markets are steady. One supplier will start packing new-crop whites on Thursday this week . Next week Bakersfield will begin packing new-crop reds and gold's.

Idaho is still shipping a few reds and gold's but their season is coming to an end.
- J. Tole

The Chilean crop is winding down rapidly with the market strengthening in the face of lighter supplies of peaches, nectarines, and plums. Quality continues to be reported as fairly good with few arrival issues. The California domestic crop now looks to be coming in about mid-April on peaches, nectarines and apricots. Cherries are estimated to begin in a light way the first week of May. Plums should follow the cherries a few weeks later. - Brad Tremblay

Florida’s round production will be somewhat lighter over the next few weeks as farms work through weather-affected lots. Size will continue to drop with fair quality until Spring crops begin in a few weeks. Also winding down the Winter season and starting up with Spring crops are roma tomatoes. Supply is still light, but should gradually increase until late April. Spring crops of Grape tomatoes have also began with plenty of volume and great quality available to ship.

Quality is challenging on some fruit, as most has been through a lot of rain during the growing cycle Mexican growing areas are seeing improved weather and expect supply and quality to improve over the next few weeks. Improving weather conditions in Mexico are bringing more romas to market this week. Mainland Mexico growers are seeing quality challenges and reduced volumes on grapes as the result of weather conditions and seasonal decline. Texas producers have been dealing with bad weather, but should see production increase over the next week. Baja is also bringing grapes across as growers kick off the Spring season.