The Source - April 10, 2019

Eastern Region:
Suppliers in the Midwestern and eastern regions continue to wind down while some have concluded packing for the season. Although some areas continue to provide product to customers, size and variety availability have lessened.

Washington:
Many shippers have communicated that this season’s overall crop has trended toward bigger sizes - 88ct and larger. With schools back in session for another 6-7 weeks and Midwestern/Eastern regions shifting their demand to the west (local growers/shippers are winding down or done), many Washington shippers are feeling the pressure to fill orders calling for smaller sized fruit (125ct/138ct). Further impacting the availability of foodservice sizes is the retail demand for bagged apples which require smaller sizes.

To help maintain order fulfillment, please send Apple/Pear orders earlier rather than later. Size substitutions may be necessary for the remaining season or until demand eases.

Not much has changed from last week. Supply out of Mexico is above than what we have seen in previous years which has caused prices and demand to be lower than usual for this time frame as we head into Easter push. We are anticipating movement to start to increase this week as some ads have started for Easter. Growers out of Caborca are finishing up closing fields due to seasonality. Obregon is still producing good numbers, we should see Obregon in thru May.

We are seeing more California fruit available on the market. We are seeing some #1 and #2 grade options. Early season fruit will stay green externally when ripe. Always good to gauge ripeness by touch. Numbers are still down from last year at 90% as of last week.

There are delays at the border as trucks are just waiting to cross into the US on all commodities. There are trucks at the border with fruit that should have arrived last week. That being said, suppliers are seeing a leaner inventory. Demand continues to be very strong as we are in a demand exceeds supply situation. Limited on all sizes especially 48s #1 and #2 grade fruit. Expect suppliers to offer sub-options on all sizes, as they struggle to cover orders. Next week there will be little to no harvest for Holy Week. Market conditions are active and will remain high into May.

Alerts:
Current market conditions remain active and high throughout the month of April. We are seeing less fruit crossing into the US from Mexico as there are major delays at the border.

Bell Pepper is in tight supply, some new fields have started in the central part of the state but there is not enough volume to ease the pressure from the lack of supply crossing the border from Mexico. The largest supply is still coming from south Florida, Immokalee, and Pompano, the transition to Plant City is just starting and will continue to increase in volume until late April. Quality has been good for the most part, some older fields are showing signs of wear and tear from wind and harvesting. California is late and Mexico is winding up early so we expect the market to stay escalated until late April.

Transitions:
Bell Pepper is stating to Transition to the Central part of the state.

Green Bell Pepper- Moderate volume of green bell pepper arriving in Nogales this week. Better sizing being harvested from both Mexican growing districts. Quality on the green bells from the Sinaloa district is mostly fair to good. The quality from the Sonora district is mostly good. Green bell pepper supply has started to exceed demand this week. The bell pepper supply from the Sinaloa growing region remains steady. Supply from Sonora is increasing Lightly. Market on green bells has started to decrease on Choice grade, small and medium size. Market on larger size is remaining steady.
• Red Bell Pepper- Steady supplies of Red bell pepper continue to arrive in Nogales, AZ from Mexico this week. The market/price on red bell pepper is holding strong/steady. Consistent volume on Hot House variety and all hothouse pack styles. Moderate volume on elongated variety. Steady volume on both varieties is expected through the week. Quality on Hot House and Elongated bell is good.
• Yellow Bell Pepper- Moderate volume of Yellow Bell pepper continues to arrive in Nogales. Both elongated and Hot House varieties being pack in 11lb/15lb and 1 1/9-bushel carton. Quality on both varieties is good. Yellow bell pepper supply meets demand. Market on yellow bell is still strong/ steady.

Blackberries will continue to remain tight. Mexico is the primary source at this point. California is just beginning to scratch the surface with only pallet quantities being harvested daily out of Watsonville and Santa Maria. This volume should pick up gradually in the coming weeks providing the weather cooperates with warmer temperatures.
Quality has been good out of all areas.

Blueberries continue to be in light supply. Mexican fruit is crossing in lower numbers primarily supplying the west coast. Florida is gaining momentum on the domestic front providing the East coast with fruit but freight costs prohibit distribution to western destinations. More domestic production is expected in the coming weeks out of the northwest in May. Markets will continue to be steady with higher undertones. Quality is fair out of Mexico while Florida is producing excellent larger sized fruit.

Raspberries are very light in supply with Mexico being our only source. Domestic West Coast product should begin to contribute better numbers out of the Watsonville and Santa Maria areas within 2 to 3 weeks time. We will continue to see firm markets through the next 2 weeks. Quality is fair with some leakers and light mold being reported in some older lots. What little new crop fruit that is coming out of California is very nice so far.

Transitions:
Watsonville and Central California will begin to produce more significant numbers in 2 weeks

The Easter pull for strawberries begins this week with only 11 days left before the holiday. Good demand has helped to move the more than adequate supplies in Oxnard and Santa Maria. Shippers are hoping the added demand for the holiday will help defray what is sure to be an excess in supplies in the coming week. The Salinas and Watsonville areas have already begun in a light way but will be increasing numbers steadily as we approach Easter. Markets are easier and quality is very good at this point.
Promotable volume is available. Weather is expected to be cooler than normal but should not hinder harvest yields.

Alerts:
Strawberry yields are up. And there is promotable volume for the Easter pull

Transitions:
Salinas and Watsonville have begun producing limited numbers which will add to the volume being produced by Santa Maria and Oxnard.

The broccoli market has come off a bit with the nice weather in Yuma and Mexico and with Salinas underway. This warmer weather the next several days in Yuma and Mexico is helping to spur growth. Look for supplies to stay steady with the improved weather. Quality is good with slight purpling, some mechanical damage, and occasional yellow cast.

The Brussels Sprout market continues to remain snug with supply being affected by the recent and current rains in Salinas and Oxnard. The quality has been affected by the rain and cold weather and sizing tend to run smaller due to this recent colder weather. Look for the Brussels Sprout market to remain tight going into next week.

The carrot market continues to remain steady. The quality is good, and supplies are adequate to meet current demand. We see no change in the carrot market going into next week.

Cauliflower continues to stay steady this week with more supplies coming on in Salinas as Yuma comes to an end. Overall, the quality is good with minor bruising and yellow cast with weights in the 25 to 28-pound level. Look for the market to stay steady going into next week.

This market continues to be in a demand exceeds supply situation with all shippers. Unprecedented pricing on a daily basis continues in this marketplace. Escalated pricing at its highest continues to be in effect. Carton business is being filled by a variety of suppliers. Yuma is all but finished. Supplies in Mexico are light. Production in Oxnard/Santa Maria simply is not enough to meet the demands of the marketplace. This will continue throughout the month of April at a minimum. The quality is fair. Common defects include insects, mechanical. pith and leafy tops.

• Jalapenos- Good supply of Jalapeno continues to be available to load in Nogales, AZ from Mexico. Growers continue to harvest jalapeno out of the Sonora and in Northern/Southern Sinaloa. Quality is good out of both growing districts. Mostly medium to large size continue to be available from both growing regions. Market on jalapeno continues to be in the mid-teens.
• Pasilla- Good supply of Pasilla peppers continue to be available in Nogales, AZ from Mexico. Good volume is expected to continue through the week. Quality on Pasilla is good. Size on the pepper currently ranges from Medium to Extra Large. Market on Pasilla is currently steady. Pasilla crossing through Nogales is being harvested in Sinaloa. Quality from Sinaloa is good.
• Anaheim- Good supply of Anaheim available to load in Nogales, AZ from Mexico. Steady Anaheim production expected to continue. Anaheim crossing through Nogales continues to be harvested in the Mexican states of Sinaloa. Quality of peppers from Sinaloa is good with mostly large size being packed. Market on Anaheim is steady/lower.
• Serrano – Good supplies of Serrano peppers available to load in Nogales, from Mexico. Supplies are expected to remain steady throughout the week. Supplies currently meet demand. Price on Serrano pepper is currently in the teens and should remain the same through the week.
• Tomatillo – Husk and Peeled tomatillos are available to load in Nogales, from Mexico. Quality on both varieties continues to be good. Good supplies on both husk and peeled tomatillos are expected to continue through the week. The tomatillo market is expected to remain steady. Both Husked and Peeled tomatillos are in the low teens.

The Cilantro market has come off a bit in Mexico with the recent warm weather and now production has started in Salinas. The cilantro quality is good and has been affected a bit by the colder weather at the beginning of January. Look for the cilantro market to continue to stay steady going into next week.

District 1&2 (Central Valley & Southern California Coastal Region) continues to peak on 75ct/95ct/115ct. The foodservice sizes 165’s and smaller are tight, expect limited availability moving forward. Prices are firming up and looking to remain steady in the high $20’s low $30’s on choice and fancy fruit. The rain and cold weather brought on the larger fruit and smaller fruit is staying limited on sizing and green on the trees. Markets will continue to gradually climb on the small fruit as they become more limited.

The lime roller coaster continues through the second week of April. Suppliers are thinking prices will go back up by the end of this week, and into next week. Realistically it’ll be day to day deal if that happens. Current supplies are dealing with border delays plus with next week is Holy Week in Mexico, supplies, and inbounds will be light. Suppliers will be doing their best to load up their coolers to have product available.

Navels continue to be plentiful on volume with promotional opportunities on most grades and sizes. Quality is looking great and markets are looking steady. On Specialty Citrus, we still have plenty of Delite Mandarins that are peaking on 15’s & 40’s. Pummelos Sunkist grade is peaking on 12/14/18/23 size, quality looks great. Cara Caras & Blood are moving along, steady supplies are available. Golden Nugget Mandarins and Ojai Pixie Tangerines are coming along nicely, quality is looking better each week and taste is excellent. Please reach out for pricing.

Cucumbers are in peak season in Florida, most of the supply is coming from Pompano and Immokalee with new fields starting in Plant City. Honduras is all but finished, one shipper is importing cucumbers through this week. The volume and quality in south Florida are good even with the wind that has been persistent in that area of the state. Plant City is picking up in volume as the week progresses, weather is warmer than normal, with some scattered showers. Production should be at its peak by this weekend and continuing for at least a week.

Transitions:
Cucumber have transitioned from Honduras to south Florida and now moving to the central part of the state.

Peak Seasons:
cucumbers are in peak season.

Good supplies of cucumber’s continuing to cross through Nogales, AZ this week from Sinaloa, MX and Sonora, MX. Quality out of both growing districts continues to be good. Good growing temperatures are expected to continue through the week. Currently, all cucumber sizes are being packed in 1 1/9-bushel pack and carton cucumber. The cucumber market is currently steady and is expected to remain steady throughout the week. The quality of both growing regions is good. Mexican cucumbers are also available in San Diego from the Baja growing district.

Supplies of eggplant are good, demand has been very week. There is a wide range of quality and pricing around south Florida. With growers still harvesting older fields and high wind throughout the state, quality issues are showing up. Some new fields are starting and producing moderate volume but with very weak demand pricing is at a season low. Volume and quality should pick up next week and more growers in the central part of the state start their harvest.

Alerts:
Wide range in price and quality

Eggplant continues to be harvested in the Mexican State of Sinaloa. Moderate supplies of eggplant are being harvested from this growing district. Both fancy and choice grade being packed. Market on eggplant is steady and expected to remain steady through the week. Quality from Sinaloa on fancy and choice pack continues to be mostly fair to good.

No major changes from last week other than supplies are becoming increasingly limited. No new arrivals of fruit are expected for the remainder of the season. All shippers are utilizing storage crop to fill the demand. As volumes are low and being controlled closely, market prices continue to increase weekly. We saw another jump in price this week and expect it to climb moving forward. As we continue to move through the storage crop and look toward transition, we can expect quality to become a challenge. Currently, reports are good. However, with age, comes issues. We can expect fair quality, limited supplies and higher prices for the remainder of April. New harvest is expected to start in Coachella and Mexico by mid-May.

Alerts:
Green grapes will become increasingly limited moving forward. Market prices are climbing.

Transitions:
Mexico and Coachella are expected to start mid May

Import red grape supplies are fairly steady, but we are seeing smaller sizes becoming limited. Demand has been consistent and markets are steady with occasional higher prices being quoted. As we move forward, we do not expect any major disruptions in supplies, but we will see prices try to inch up. Quality has been good with occasional wet berries being reported. We expect Mexico and Coachella to start production by mid-May.

Transitions:
We expect Mexico and Coachella to start production by mid May.

Green Onions supply continues to be plentiful with the recent nice weather in Mexico. The cooler weather in February is causing occasional leaf minor and mechanical damage. The green onion market will continue to stay steady going into next week.

The kale market continues to stay steady this week as more supplies have come on with the recent nice weather in Yuma and now in Salinas. Quality is good with full bunches, and only an occasional yellow leaf being reported.

Yuma will be all but finished by the early next week with this commodity. Huron production is expected for another 2-3 weeks pending the weather. Production in Salinas has begun on the light side but numbers are expected to improve next week. The market is up and demand has risen. The weights on lettuce in Huron varies from 38-43 pounds. Some defect being reported out of the growing regions include small heads, ribby, mechanical, puffiness, and misshapen heads. Warm temperatures in the growing regions will continue. Expect some insect damage and visibility upon arrivals. This is industry wide. Salinas currently has had a minimal insect infestation.

Yuma is expected to be finished by the end of this week to early next week. These plants are tired. Huron and Salinas, as well as Santa Maria, will be the growing regions producing romaine as well as all leaf items. Overall demand has picked up and this market is stronger. The quality of romaine is fair, as well as all leaf items. Common defects reported include insect damage, mildew, light fringe burn, and discoloration being reported upon arrivals. Average quality will continue through the month of April, then expected higher quality will follow in the month of May.

The Tender Leaf market continues to stay steady on spring mix, arugula, baby spinach, and cello spinach. Quality is good with minimal yellowing and bruising of the tender leaves. Look for these items to be steady going into next week.

Supplies have tightened up this week for both east and west, even more so on small sizes. (12,15,18). Higher market prices due to light supplies on offshore fruit. Mexico will start to harvest cantaloupes in about 2 weeks. Domestic fruit will be available mid to late May. Solid internal and external quality.

The honeydew market is flat this week due to heavier supplies on both the east and west. Good run on all sizes. On the west, we are seeing more Mexican fruit versus offshore fruit. Domestic desert honeydews will be available mid-May. Mixed melons will also be available in mid-May.

Light supplies of watermelon continue to be available to load in Nogales, AZ this week. The watermelon crop from Sonora, MX continues to arrive in a very light and is expected to continue through the week. Better supplies of seedless watermelon are expected to arrive in Nogales, AZ next week. The market on seedless watermelon is currently steady/high and is expected to remain steady/high until better supplies start to arrive.

Yellow onion markets in the Northwest are lower as supplies are good and shippers look to keep storage supplies moving as we approach the end of the season. Red onions remain limited with white onions scarce in the Idaho/Washington region. Texas has started up this week with domestic supplies and all three colors available. Markets are strong on yellow with reds slightly higher than the Northwest. White onions are limited with slightly lower markets this week. California desert is still expected to start up the week of April 22nd with some possibly showing up late next week. As we get closer to new crop expect the Northwest region to continue dropping in markets, in particular on yellow. Idaho/Washington late storage onions will exhibit some translucency, especially in the larger size super colossal and colossal. Texas new crop will have a thin, flaky skin.

Alerts:
Quality from Northwest will show translucency towards end of storage crop.

The pear market remains steady. Smaller sizes are not as plentiful, but there are ample supplies (overall) on D’Anjou and Bosc in Washington.

Tight supplies on pineapples this April are looking to affect the Easter pull this year. Usually, Easter at the end of April always seems to drum higher demand than when Easter falls earlier. With that being said the overall pineapple industry seems to be slightly tighter than estimated a month ago. Pineapples from all sources have not matured at their typical pace due weather-related issues. Our suppliers will be doing their best to help fulfill normal business orders. We do anticipate higher demand for Easter pull but will make sure to communicate any shortages or subs.

Russet potato markets are slightly lower as consumer demand has increased for the Easter holiday along with some suppliers finishing up Norkotahs for the storage season and transition into Burbanks in Idaho. Larger sizes are becoming more readily available with the increased carton production but the overall size profile is still leaning heavily to smaller counts. Other areas in product are Washington, Colorado, and Wisconsin. Late storage Norkotahs will exhibit some internal/external bruising, light hollow heart, light peepers, and occasional soft rot. Continue to send orders in advance with larger sizes as we transition from Norkotahs into Burbanks.

Red potato markets remain relatively steady as we approach the seasonal decline storage crops up in the Northwest. Yellow potato markets are increasing slightly on the A's and B's with the small creamer supplies being the tightest size and high markets. White potatoes are scarce as California is hitting a short gap until the end of April/early May putting Florida as the only game in town for the whites. To summarize, you can find reds and yellows in Idaho, Washington, California, North Dakota and Wisconsin (ND repack). All three colors can be found in Florida and will exhibit the best quality and color. Mt. Vernon Washington has just a couple of sizes left this week with sporadic supply and will be done until the new crop starts back up in August.

Squash supply is very good from south to central Florida. For the most part, quality is good, yellow squash has had a few issues with scaring and discoloration from high winds that have been persistent in south Florida. While the southern part of the state will continue shipping through the end of the month, Plant City is coming into volume this week and Georgia will start the third week of April. There should be no supply gaps in the near future, we expect demand to pick up this week and next leading into the Holidays.

Transitions:
Squash is transitioning from south Florida to central Florida.

Peak Seasons:
Squash is in peak season.

Good supplies on both Italian and Yellow S/N squash crossing through Nogales, AZ. Majority of soft squash from Sinaloa has finished. Harvest on both Italian and Yellow S/N continues from the Mexican state of Sonora. Crop from Sonora is producing all sizes. Market on soft squash is steady and expected to remain steady through the week. Quality on squash from Sinaloa is mostly fair. Quality on squash from Sonora is good on both varieties.

The import stone fruit season is coming to an end and supplies will become increasingly limited. Nectarines and peaches are already finishing up. Very little residual fruit is left in the market and is expected to be gone by next week. Plums will continue to be fairly steady, but sizes will be large and mostly in tray packs. Plums are expected to last through the end of the month. Market prices and quality have been consistent. Domestic production is expected to start later this month. Early harvest will start with nectarines and peaches and it will most likely be utility grade fruit. Harvest will increase as we move into May.

Alerts:
Peaches and Nectarines are finished, Plums will last through the end of the month.

Transitions:
Domestic production is expected to start late April.

Florida tomato growers have begun their seasonal transition amidst rising demand and reduced imports from Mexico strengthening the market, partially. Immokalee is coming to the end of their season with crown picks forecasted through April 27. During that time, Palmetto/Ruskin crops will begin in force as soon as next week with some coming online already. Favorable weather has strengthened demand resulting in a mild increase of round tomato FOBs. Roma tomatoes have also strengthened by a couple of dollars because of national concern for reduced imports from Mexico and diminished supply. With the warm weather trend in Florida, grape and cherry tomato fobs have continued to slide a few dollars as harvests increase.

Alerts:
There are 2 political/economical influences to consider in both the immediate and consequential markets, spanning the next 30 days; The impact of reduced Customs personnel at the US-Mexico border, and the termination of the current Tomato Suspension Agreement.

A warm weather trend has helped boost production in new crops harvesting in Sinaloa to start the Spring season, however, demand exceeds the supply of imports resulting in nearly a 50% increase in the price of rounds this week. Roma tomato supplies are also short out of Mexico and have increased by a couple of dollars this week. Demand for Roma tomatoes has increased specifically from the threat of having to buy out east if imports are halted. Grape and cherry tomatoes remain widely available and remain at or near price minimums.

Alerts:
There are 2 political/economical influences to consider in both the immediate and consequential markets, spanning the next 30 days; The impact of reduced Customs personnel at the US-Mexico border, and the termination of the current Tomato Suspension Agreement.