The Source - April 24, 2019

Eastern Region:
Volumes continue to decrease for Midwestern and Eastern regions. A few areas continue to provide some product to customers (mainly contract business), but availability on size and variety have become increasingly difficult.

Washington:
It’s that time of year for the Northwest. Prices are slowly climbing now that Midwestern/Eastern demand has shifted to the Northwest. Many shippers are feeling the pressure to fill orders that call for smaller sized fruit (125ct/138ct). Further impacting the availability of foodservice sizes is the retail demand for bagged apples, which creates a type of ‘tug-o-war’ for the smaller fruit.

Please continue to send Apple/Pear orders earlier rather than later. The more time shippers have to pack product (before load dates), the better chance we have of receiving the product requested. Understand that some size substitutions may be necessary for the remaining season or until demand eases.

We continue to see steady supplies out of Mexico to start the week. We are expecting to see lower volume going into next week and markets start to firm up on price. California product is now available however prices are relatively more expensive compared to Mexican product as production is just starting up for the season. We should see prices come off as production increases over the next couple of weeks.
Markets out East and West are up this week compared to last week as there is more demand than previous weeks.

No rain in the forecast this week as the harvest has been consistent in the Oxnard/Ventura growing region. The market is holding steady this week with moderate demand. California FOBs will remain high regardless of the Mexican market price swings. Overall numbers are down as of last week 77%.

Overall crossings from Mexico are up as of last week. We start this week off with a light demand but expect better movement by the end of this week for the Cinco De Mayo pull. There really is no telling where this market is going. Pricing is all over the place and inconsistent. Quality has been pretty solid as we are in late season and avocados ripen a lot quicker this time of year.

Bell Pepper supply has been very good in South and Central Florida. The market has been much lower for the last two weeks and movement is starting to rebound. Over the next week, shippers in South Florida will start to wind down for the season and central Florida is not a large growing region so expect supplies to get tighter until Georgia begins in mid-May. Quality is holding up in all areas so far, size and volume are starting to go down but south Florida has been fairly dry keep issues to a minimum.

Peak Seasons:
Bell pepper is in peak season.

Green Bell Pepper- Good volume of green bell pepper arriving in Nogales. Good sizes being harvested from both Mexican growing districts on both fancy and choice grade. Quality on the green bells from the Sinaloa district is mostly fair. The quality from the Sonora district is fair to good. Green bell pepper supply exceeds demand in Nogales. The bell pepper supply from the Sinaloa is coming to an end. Supply from Sonora is steady. Market on green bells is steady on both fancy and choice grade and on all sizes. Green bell harvest has also started and continues out of the Coachella Valley.
Red Bell Pepper- Light supplies of Red bell pepper arriving in Nogales. The market/price on red bell pepper continues to hold steady. Steady volume on Hot House variety and all hot house pack styles. Elongated variety coming to an end. Steady volume on Hot House variety expected through the week. Quality on hot house bell pepper is good.
Yellow Bell Pepper- Light volume of Yellow Bell pepper arriving in Nogales. The elongated variety coming to an end. Hot House variety is expected to be pack in 11lb 1 1/9-bushel carton. Quality on Hot House variety is fair to good. The yellow bell pepper demand exceeds supply. Market on the yellow bell is still steady/High.

Blackberries are in good supplies right now, all production is coming out of Mexico. West Coast production will pick up the second to the third week of May. Quality has been good with the occasional red cell showing up on some fruit. The market will remain steady through the weekend.

Blueberries are in abundant supplies. Mexican blues dominate the East Coast and Georgia and Florida blues are prevalent in the East. Pricing has declined as the different areas flex to accommodate freight charges and vie for market share. Quality is good out of all areas. Expect steady to lower pricing through the end of the week.

Raspberries are in steady supplies and the market remains fairly firm as we move into May. New West Coast fruit is still a few weeks away and Mexico remains the primary production region for any accountable volume. Quality has been good. Look for the markets to remain steady with possible higher undertone due to the expected higher demand as we go into the spring and the Mothers day pull.

Transitions:
West Coast regions should be producing numbers un the upcoming few weeks ,weather providing

The strawberry market remains soft as we close in on the end of April. Production will be increasing out of the Watsonville and Salinas with Santa Maria increasing as well. Oxnard is on the decline giving way to the new crop fruit farther north. The quality is reportedly good in all areas except for Oxnard where quality is just fair due to the age of the plants and exposure to the heat. There are volume buy opportunities leading up to the main Mothers day pull which will begin May 1st. Look for the market to remain steady with higher undertones as we approach the Mothers Day pull mid to late next week.

The broccoli market has started to pick up a bit with the rain we've had during the growth process in Salinas. This wet weather has caused a small gap in Salinas. Look for supplies to be a little snug going into next week. Quality is good with slight purpling, some mechanical damage, and occasional yellow cast.

The Brussels Sprout market continues to remain extremely tight with supply being affected by the recent rains in Salinas and Oxnard during the growing process. 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.

The cauliflower market is currently in a demand exceeds supply situation. Yields are extremely down due to the wet weather we experienced in the Salinas Valley over the last few months. 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.

Alerts:
Yields are way down due to the wet weather in the Salinas Valley the last few months.

The market continues to be very active with this commodity. Supplies are not meeting demand. Pricing is firm and a few shippers have increased pricing. Escalated pricing continues to exist with all suppliers. Small pallet orders have been available on mixer orders but load volume is non-existent. Supplies in Mexico are light. Production in Oxnard/Santa Maria is minimal compared to demand. This will continue throughout the month of April at a minimum. The quality continues to be fair. Some quality issues include leafy tops, mechanical, pith, bruising and slight insect damage.

Jalapenos- Moderate supply of Jalapeno continue to be available to load in Nogales, AZ from Mexico. Growers continue to harvest jalapeno out of the Sonora and in Northern Sinaloa. Quality out of Sinaloa is fair to good. Jalapeno from the state of Sinaloa is expected to finish over the next few weeks. New crop quality from the Mexican state of Sonora is good. Mostly medium to large size are available from both growing regions. Market on jalapeno remains steady in the high-teens.
Pasilla- Good supply of Pasilla peppers available to load in Nogales, AZ from Sinaloa, Mexico. Better volume is expected to continue through the week. Quality on Pasilla is good. Size on the pepper is mostly medium to Large and the market is steady.
Anaheim- Light to Moderate supply of Anaheim available to load in Nogales, AZ from Sinaloa, Mexico with light to moderate production expected to continue. Quality of peppers is fair to good with mostly medium size. Anaheim also being harvested in Sonora, Mexico.
Serrano – Moderate 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 tomatillos are available to load in Nogales, from Mexico. Quality of husk variety is good. Good supplies on husk tomatillos are expected to continue through the week. The tomatillo market is expected to increase, particularly on peeled tomatillos. Both Husked and Peeled tomatillos are increasing in the teens.

The Cilantro market remains steady in Mexico with the recent warm weather and now production has started in Salinas. The cilantro quality is good with an occasional yellow leaf. Look for the cilantro market to continue to stay steady going into next week.

Lemons supplies continue to peak on the large sizes 75ct/95ct/115ct. The foodservice sizes 165’s and smaller are tight, continue to expect limited availability moving forward. Prices continue to climb 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.

Limes supplies are expected to improve this week. Harvest crews are back in picking and we are expecting better numbers on inbound trucks. The market is still expected to stay strong in the low $40’s until supplies improve. Suppliers are still holding off on taking on open market orders. They’re doing their best to cover normal weekly volume as best they can. Cinco De Mayo pull is upon us and we’ll take it week to week to see if the market will soften up.

Steady supplies to start off the week. Moving forward, we will be harvesting late season navels. The foodservice sizes 113 and smaller will get snug heading into May. It’s advised to place orders in advance to help fulfill orders in full. Quality is looking good and markets slowing climbing. On Specialty Citrus, we still have plenty of Delite Mandarins that are peaking on 15’s - 40’s. Cara Caras & Blood are moving along, steady supplies are available. Golden Nugget Mandarins and Ojai Pixie Tangerines are coming along nicely, quality is looking great and the taste is excellent. Please reach out for pricing.

Cucumber supplies are very good in south and central Florida, the market has been very reasonable for the past two weeks and movement is getting better. Quality is good in south Florida with a few issues starting to show up as days are longer, temperatures are higher and the color is not quite as good. Central Florida is also in good production with very good quality and Georgia will start in light supply later this week. Expect the cucumber supply to be steady for the rest of the week with reasonable pricing.

Peak Seasons:
cucumbers are in peak season.

Good supplies of cucumber’s continuing to cross through Nogales, AZ this week with quality out of Sonora growing district reported as good. 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. The quality out of Sonora is good and Mexican cucumbers are also available in San Diego from the Baja growing district.

Eggplant supplies are very light at the moment, south Florida is finishing for the season with a few growers harvesting late plantings and central Florida has not started yet. The Plant City area will start spring pantings this weekend or early next week with some of the best quality the east has seen in months. Weather in the region for most of the growing season has been very good, temperatures are getting warmer and there has been little rain. Quality on what is still coming from south Florida is only fair with fruit mostly being harvested from older fields. The market on fancy eggplant has risen over the past week and may continue through the week, choice eggplant has remained reasonable and we expect that to continue.

Light supplies of eggplant arriving from the Mexican State of Sinaloa. Eggplant supplies will continue to decrease as the month of April comes to an end. Light supplies of eggplant are being harvested from this growing district. Mostly choice quality being packed. Market on eggplant is slightly increasing this week. Eggplant from California is expected to be harvested as soon as next week Quality from Sinaloa on fancy and choice pack is mostly fair.

Green grapes are still limited in availability as only import storage fruit is available. Because we are running a little behind on the Mexican start date, the industry is forced to fill demand with what is available. Unfortunately, that means utilizing older storage crop. We are beginning to see a split market develop between "premium quality" green grapes and "storage quality". There are limited amounts of strong green grapes that are being sold at escalated prices; above and beyond the current reported market. For the "premium quality" grapes, I am seeing prices approaching the $50 mark. On regular "storage quality" grapes, the markets continue to gradually climb and are in high 30's to low 40's. What we are seeing on this fruit is high amber and the occasional soft and wet berries. Please see pictures below. We can expect this to continue to be the case until we transition into new Mexican / Coachella harvest by the second week of May. Due to the delayed harvest in Mexico, it looks like both areas will be starting up at the same time this year.

Alerts:
Supplies are limited, quality is fair and prices are higher. Expect high amber color and occasional soft berries.

Transitions:
Mexico is delayed slightly. We expect both Mexico and Coachella to start at the same time; around the second week of May.

Import red grape supplies continue to be steady. All sizes are available. The quality has been holding strong and market prices remain fairly flat. We do not expect any disruptions or major changes between now and transition. The Mexican and Coachella harvest are expected to get started the week of May 6th. Transition should be smooth, but we may see an increase in price on the new harvest at first. As the summer continues, we expect to have good availability and great quality.

Transitions:
Mexico and Coachella are expected to start the week of May 6th.

Green Onions supply continues to be plentiful with the recent nice weather in Mexico and Salinas underway. The cooler weather in March 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 as supplies look steady with the recent nice weather in Santa Maria and now in Salinas. Quality is good with full bunches, and only an occasional yellow leaf being reported.

Good supplies of lettuce are expected for the rest of the week. Warm temperatures in the growing regions are bringing on production faster than normal. With Heat comes insects and this has been seen upon arrivals. Other issues include ribby, mechanical, puffiness as well as some growth crack. Production currently is in Santa Maria/Oxnard, and Salinas. The current demand is fairly flat as other commodities have been much more active compared to lettuce. The weights on lettuce vary from 37-42 pounds.

The market is steady on romaine as well as all leaf items. There have been some complaints upon arrivals. Romaine issues include ribby, mechanical, slight insect damage as well as some fringe burn. The market has become more active. Issues on green and red leaf as well as butter are similar to romaine. Availability looks to be steady for the rest of the week for romaine as well as all leaf items. Supplies even with the defects mentioned will be plentiful for the week. Huron is finished with production for the most part.

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.

We are in late April and quickly watching this offshore melon deal taper off. Growers are reporting they will be completely done for the season by mid-May.
The cantaloupe market remains strong and higher on both east and west as open market fruit is becoming harder to come by. Very light offerings on all sizes, especially smaller fruit. Majority of the fruit on the market is Guatemalan, Honduras and followed by Costa Rican. Prices have increased and have hit a $20 range as of this week. Mexican cantaloupes should start crossing into Nogales by the end of next week.

We are in late April and quickly watching this offshore melon deal taper off. Growers are reporting they will be completely done for the season by mid-May. Honeydew market is holding steady but trying to get stronger on both east and west. Very light offerings on smaller fruit. Melons will get tight as we transition from offshore to domestic. Fruit out of Mexico is showing improvement on quality as harvest in new districts come into play. New crop domestic fruit out of the desert will start off with cantaloupes around the week of May 5th. Honeydews will follow on the week of the 22nd.

Better supplies of watermelon available to load in Nogales, AZ. Mostly 2/3 bins being packed. Few seedless melons being packed. Watermelon crop from Sonora, MX is being harvested with better volume. Better supply of seedless watermelon is expected to arrive in Nogales, AZ next week. The seedless watermelon market is currently decreasing and is expected to remain steady with better supplies.

Yellow onion markets from the Northwest are steady with some load volume deals floating around as suppliers look to clean out storage prior to the end of the storage season. Quality is good in most lots with some showing translucency and light sprouting. Red and white onions are steady as well with limited volume available for the remainder of the season. We will see supplies available over the next 2-3 weeks. Texas is in full swing with all three colors available. Markets are lower this week as shippers look to pull order business in their direction. California will start yellow onions Tuesday 4/23 with red and white onions starting up late this week. Supplies will be limited and expect to see volume by May. Both Texas and California onions will have a thin, flaky skin.

The pear market is getting active with smaller sizes seeing increased demand/prices on D’Anjou, Red D’Anjou, and Bosc pears. Chilean and Argentinean pears are still available for loading in Los Angeles.

Pineapples supplies are expected to be snug for another two weeks. The overall pineapple industry seems to be slightly tighter than estimated. 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. Markets remain steady $12-$14 depending on the size.

Russet potato markets remain steady. 70 count and larger are in better supply as consumer demand keeps cartons moving in packing sheds. Burbanks are the main variety with Norkotahs still available with a few suppliers. Washington, Colorado, and Wisconsin continue to produce Norkotahs; Wisconsin quality is fair. The remaining late storage Norkotahs will exhibit some internal/external bruising, light hollow heart, light peepers, and occasional soft rot.

Red potato market is holding steady in all regions. Yellow potato markets are showing some strength as North Dakota finishes up and sourcing from Idaho and Colorado. Wisconsin repacks for yellow are done for the season until new crop begins in August. White potatoes remain limited with higher markets as California will begin with limited supplies this week and Florida being the main source of supply. Southern Florida is winding down with transition into northern parts of Florida that will take place at the end of April/early May. Florida quality is excellent.

There are good supplies of squash coming from Homestead, Immokalee, and Plant City. Quality issues are showing up in Homestead as they are nearing the end of their deal, Immokalee still has good supplies of zucchini and the quality is holding up, yellow squash in that area is about finished for the season. Plant City has good supplies of both colors but demand for good yellow squash is exceeding supply. Georgia started light supplies this past weekend and more shippers will start as the week goes on. Georgia has had cool temperatures for the past week so there will be a slow start to the season and zucchini will begin a few days before yellow squash. Expect supplies of yellow squash to remain tight through the week, movement of zucchini is getting better and pricing could get higher as the week goes on.

Alerts:
Yellow squash supplies are still tight.

Transitions:
Squash is starting to transition to Georgia.

Peak Seasons:
squash is in peak season

Good supplies on both Italian and Yellow S/N squash crossing through Nogales, AZ from Sonora, Mexico. Harvest on Italian squash is currently better than Yellow S/N. The crop is currently producing sizes from extra fancy to medium. Very few large sizes are available at this time. Market on soft squash is steady and is expected to remain steady through the week. Quality on squash from Sonora is good on both varieties.

Domestic stone fruit is getting started this week in a very light way. There are a couple of growers in the central valley, CA that have started to pick very limited volume of White Peaches and Yellow Nectarines. Sizes are limited (mostly large fruit) and only tray packs are being packed. This early harvest fruit is typically not the best quality and prices are always very high. Starting next week, we will see harvest volumes increase on the white peach and yellow nectarine as well the beginning harvest of yellow peaches and apricots. Moving forward, as we get into May, we expect to see overall volumes, quality, varieties, and sizes to improve drastically. As harvest increases, we will see markets start to decline into normal ranges. We continue to have availability of import Plums and markets have been flat. We expect domestic plums to get started mid-May.

Alerts:
Domestic fruit is just getting started this week. Very light volumes are available. Market prices are high.

Transitions:
We will see better availability of domestic fruit as we move into May.

Favorable growing conditions in Florida are helping growers begin the Spring season with quality fruit. The Immokalee district in the southern part of the state is finishing up this month while Spring crops are proving to be bountiful further north in the Palmetto/Ruskin growing regions headed into May. Round tomatoes are on the larger size, however, this is enough volume in the market this week that FOBs are nearly between XL and Med sized fruit. Overall, the injection of fresh tomatoes this week has resulted in a $2 - $3 dip in the round market. A steady flow of Roma tomato imports across the southern US border influences Florida Roma offerings which remain unchanged this week. Roma tomatoes are light in production with more growers starting this week. Grape and cherry tomato harvest has slowed a bit as some of the hot weather in the region has subsided. Markets are unchanged with plenty of availability.

Mexican grown tomatoes are on the cusp of transitioning however, markets are steady this week near minimums on all varieties. Mainland Mexico will be wrapping up production in Sinaloa over the next 2 – 3 weeks. During that time, Northern Baja is expected to break ground in San Quintin, Mexico. Roma tomatoes are in good supply out of mainland Mexico with more programs beginning in Baja in the next couple of weeks. Grape tomato offerings are steady and expected to contract a bit in the next 7-10 days with supply lessening amidst transition in the short term.