The Source - April 28, 2016

Washington - red delicious remain steady and continue to peak on 72/80/88s. Most suppliers are still subbing up to the extra-fancy grades to cover volume orders of fancys. Golden delicious are steady on all sizes and grades and continue to peak on Wash-Extra 100/113s. Most suppliers don't have much larger than an 88-size Golden. Granny-smith are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on 88-113s. Most suppliers still don't have much larger than an 88 or smaller than a 125. Galas are steady on all sizes and grades but the market remains firm. Most Gala suppliers still don't have much fruit larger than an 88. Fujis are steady on all sizes but the market remains firm due to light supplies. Washington Fujis continue to peak on extra-fancy 80-100's. Pink Lady's are steady but firm due to strong demand. The quality for all varieties has been good.
Michigan - Red delicious are steady on all sizes due to lighter supplies. There are volume deals available in 113s and larger. Reds continue to peak on 80/88s. McIntosh are steady to higher but supplies remain limited. Galas are steady to higher on all sizes due to light supplies. Golden delicious supplies are getting really short as one supplier is finished and the other has very few. Jonathan supplies are light but the market is steady. Red Romes are steady on all sizes but supplies are very short. The quality for all variety's has been good.
New York - Red delicious, Red Romes, Empires, and McIntosh are steady but small fruit is very short. The remaining Macs are large and Rome supplies are very limited. Galas have finished. Empires are nearly finished for the season. The fruit quality has been good for all.

Weather in the Salinas Valley has affected supplies this week. The heat followed by cold and rain put a few setbacks last week in harvesting. And the rain today is holding back harvest in Salinas. The market has started to take an upward trend. Asparagus from Washington is in full swing as well and their market steady. Quality from both areas is excellent with little spreading of the tips.

California harvest has picked up and are now seeing good volume coming in to he packing houses. Volume looks to continue to build into May. We still continue to see more smaller fruit than we would typically would see this time of year.

Volume from Mexico is starting to drop, but still has good supplies coming in. Fruit is coming from higher elevations with good quality and oil content. The size curve is peaking on 40s/48s/60s.

Green bell pepper continue to improve with supply. Product is mostly large and extra large. Most growers in Mexico are finishing in the south and are starting production in the north with California shipping as well.

Red pepper is becoming less available every week. Quality with mostly number one product being offered in both the blocky and elongated variety. Many shippers winding down on volume offered in 25,15 and 11lb units.

Yellow pepper volume is lightening with some growers finishing. Quality and condition are good on both number one and number two product.

Mexican production has already reached peak for this season for several growers and will begin to decrease over the next several weeks. CA production will begin later May or early June. We are seeing less issues with red cell and soft, broken berries.

Domestic production regions are finally seeing an increase in the harvests and availability out of CA, FL, GA and the Carolinas. It will take some time to supply all the pipelines but higher volume is coming in the next weeks. Central Mexico and Baja also continue to produce steadily. Availability has improved overall and quality has remained good in all areas.

Central Mexico continues to be the largest production area. CA will be increasing production as we move into May. Quality has been fairly consistent, availability remains somewhat limited.

Demand is exceeding supply. We received more rain in CA growing regions last Friday and light rain on Wednesday as well, along with 30-40 mph winds this week. The quality and supply had not yet recovered from the previous rain event and some quality issues could increase such as pin rot, bronzing, bruising and decay. As Mother's Day pull period is underway this week and runs all the way through next week, we will have very limited availability. High temperatures are staying fairly mild and low temperatures are dipping down into the 40s so strawberries are not coming on with the expected volumes for this period in Santa Maria, Watsonville or Salinas. We do have a sharp warming trend showing this weekend with highs possibly reaching 90 degrees. Harvest estimates are not showing large volume increases until mid-May (after the Mother's Day pull period is over.)

Alerts:
Demand is exceeding supply and we expect limited availability throughout the first week of May. Quality will remain suspect following recent weather events in all CA growing areas.

The broccoli market has firmed up. Supplies are a little lighter to start the week. This is allowing shippers to firm up their prices. Quality is still really good with nice green color and decent crown size. Product from Mexico still quoting hallow core.

Brussel Sprouts supplies have increased in limited quantities. This has caused the market to drop a little. Decay, yellow leaves, worms, and brown discoloration have been reported upon arrivals today. The market remains extremely high with no relief in sight until Late June / Early July with the start of the domestic crop.

Alerts:
Brussel Sprouts remain limited and Quality is fair at best

We still are not seeing size is coming back as we had hoped in the Coachella and Imperial Valley crop. Carrots are still small, and still not getting much supply on Jumbo size carrots. Jumbo size still very tight, and still looks like it will be awhile before any real improvement of size is seen. Supplies baby peeled carrots are is good.

The market has taken a turn upward with this cold weather we are experiencing. Supplies have tightened up for the end of this week. There have been minimal quality issues upon arrivals. Nice color and weights in the 25-30 pound level.

This market is firm. There are a few shippers with large sizes, twenty-four count sizing in particular that are flexing on volume type orders. Small sizing continues to demand a higher price. Seeder continues to be the biggest issue with this commodity. The sizing and weights are meeting the standards, overall. Production in Florida is steady, as well as pricing. Demand is moderate. Oxnard and Santa Maria are the main growing areas for this commodity.

Domestic cherry supplies are increasing, but the severe weather over the weekend has taken it's toll on a good portion of the early harvest; creating a split market. There is a lot of fruit with issues being sent to the local markets and being prices accordingly. Where as the high quality fruit is maintaining firm market prices. Growers are reporting increased volumes next week. If the weather holds, we can expect to see bigger sized fruit with better pricing starting early next week. For the remainder of this week, we can expect mostly smaller sized fruit and market prices to remain steady. Shippers are looking for advanced orders and expecting promotable volumes moving forward.

Peak Seasons:
Domestic cherries will increase in size and volume quickly. Promotional opportunities available.

Serrano; Some growers are finishing and others are starting new fields. Quality remains good with better demand.

Anaheim; Sizing and quality remain good, more product being offered.

Pablano; Slightly lighter supply, good quality and condition expected to continue.

Tomatillo; Very good supply and quality ,extra large sizes available.

Jalapeno : new fields and good supply are starting in northern México

Cilantro supplies to start the week are light but expect to see better supplies by Wednesday. The market varies from supplier to supplier due to supplies mainly. Quality issues have been minimal with some yellowing of leaves and dehydration.

The central valley crop is winding down their season, and the Ventura crop is our main supplier. Very strong demand for 140s/165s has them cleaning up daily.

The lime market is steady to higher on all sizes. Demand is good on all sizes across the board. The peak size has shifted back towards smaller sizes. This is the time of year where overall supplies are low and will remain at lower levels until the first or second week of May. The overall long term upward market trend will likely continue with the lower supplies through to first part of May. Quality is excellent overall. The overall supplies are decreasing slightly.

Bin inventory of small fruit was low. Shippers have good supplies of large sizes as crop is peaking on 72s/56s and starting to lighten up on 113s/138s. Demand for the 113s/138s is very good and supplies are cleaning up daily.

Supply on cucumber has increased. More supply from the northern district. Quality is better on all sizes and pack styles. Peaking on Super Select and Select.
Color is good with very few quality issues. Euro cucumbers are available with limited supply in number one and number two pack styles.

Eggplant will continue with lighter supply from both central and northern Mexico. Excellent color and condition will continue
with many number two product being offered. Many growers in the south are finishing and supply will lighten.
New crop has started in southern California with good quality and availability.

The remaining Chilean green grape supply continues to be very limited and quality is a big concern. Regardless of the heavily inflated price, the quality of the storage crop is very sporadic. We have had multiple reports of fruit arriving wet, soft and showing early decay. Mexican harvest is expected to start with light numbers next week. Although early estimates indicate lighter than normal volume projections, we can expect to get much better quality and increased availability as we transition.

Alerts:
The remaining Chilean green grapes are showing heavy quality issues.

Transitions:
Mexican green grape harvest is expected to begin next week with light numbers and increase as we move forward.

The remaining Chilean red grape supply has tightened up slightly and we did see a small increase in market prices, but as a whole availability and price is expected to remain steady as we transition into Mexican harvest. Quality has held up well with very few reports of issues. Next week, Mexican harvest will start in very light numbers are will increase as we move forward.

Transitions:
Mexican harvest will start next week and gradually increase as we move forward.

Good supplies of green onions are coming out of Mexico. Now would be a good time to promote. Quality has improved with minimal arrival issues. The market is also steady with increased supplies.

Kale supplies remain steady from all growing regions. Quality is excellent with little yellowing and minimal dehydration. The market has increased slightly due to the Mother's Day pull. Last week there were some isolated issues of insect presence but that has subsided.

Demand exceeds supply for this commodity. The Mother's day pull is in effect. Suppliers continue to have issues at the time of harvest. Defects on this commodity include pale color, misshapen heads, lightweights, and insect damage. These defects are occurring in Santa Maria and Salinas. The weights are averaging 35-39 pounds on wrap lettuce. Production in Salinas is expected to be light all week. Suppliers will be watching contracts closely.

This market continues to gain strength. Fringe burn, tip burn, insect damage, mildew, and lightweights are common defects associated with all leaf items. Salinas and Santa Maria have very similar issues with one another . Demand is active due to the Mothers day pull. Expect pricing to be active all week. Rain , winds and high heats are weather factors that have been a direct cause to these crops having multiple issues. On romaine, the outer leaves are not holding up well. There has been complaints on chopped romaine. The green and red leaf has had the fringe and tip burn issues.

The quality is good overall with some lots being overripe. The peak size is currently 9ct. The current market has turned higher on all sizes. Demand has increased and supplies are lighter than last week causing it to rise up. Very few 15ct lopes are being packed now and virtually zero 18ct are coming over. Mexico has started shipping light supplies of Cantaloupes. The offshore supplies will be finished by the middle of next month and the desert will be shipping good volume.

Alerts:
supplies to the west coast of offshore lopes are very light and some shippers have finished up. Mexico has some lopes crossing into Nogales and the desert is starting to ship a light amount in the next week with supplies building momentum from here until the end of June.

Transitions:
The desert has just started in a small way and is building momentum from this point.

Demand has picked up on honeydews and supplies have decreased causing the market to come up. The peak size for the offshore is 5ct and very few 8ct are available. The Mexican dews are peaking on 6ct. Honduran and Guatemalan grown honeydews are good. Mexican dews shipping out of Nogales AZ are picking up in volume but not enough to effect the market yet. The Mexican dews are also very nice. The market is higher across the board. The offshore dews are going to finish by the middle of next month and supplies to the west coast are drying up.

Alerts:
Offshore supplies will be done by the middle of next month.

Transitions:
The desert region will start up in the middle of next month and the offshore will be finished

Spring crop is bringing big volume. Product is now being shipped from southern and northern Sonora Mexico.
The supply has increased and the availability will be increasing everyday. Shippers are promoting to increase the movement.
Quality condition and brix are all very good. All sizes being offered in both bins and cartons peaking on larger fruit,36s, 45s some 60s.
Personal watermelons are being offered in all sizes, good quality and condition.

Growers in Pacific Northwest and Mexico are winding down in supplies while growers in Southern California and Texas are building supplies. Demand is moderate which is keeping the market steady to slightly lower. Market can get quite volatile as they transition growing areas resulting in day-to day price fluctuations. Quality is being reported as good out of Southern California and Texas and fair out of the Pacific Northwest.

Washington - D'anjou pears are steady for now but are slightly larger peaking on US#1 70/80/90's. US#1 grade 110-count and smaller remain limited along with all sizes of the fancy grade, in fact many shippers are out of fancy's. C.A. rooms have what they have in them so expect small pears to get really tight. Bosc pears are steady and continue to peak on US#1 90/100/110s. All sizes of the Fancy grade Bosc remain short. Most packers will ship C.A. Bosc pears for the next week or two before finishing. The quality on domestic D'anjous and Bosc have been good.
Chile - Argentinian Bartletts are steady and continue to peak on US#1 70-100s. Chilean Packhams are steady and continue to peak on US#1 80/90/100s but there is some smaller fruit on the west coast. Chilean Bosc are also steady and they are peaking on 100-size and larger. The quality on all of the imported varieties has also been good.

We are now see some shippers back off on supplies increases until later in May. Supplies from these shipper are beginning to tighten back up. Others will see some increased supplies in early May.

Idaho- Most shippers are almost finished with the Idaho Norkotahs for the season. The last shippers are close to transitioning over to Burbanks if they haven't already done so. This is both good and bad, we won't have to worry about who wants what burbanks anymore but the size profile for the Burbanks is smaller and the pack-out percentage will be lower. Pack-out percentage can be defined as the number of potatoes that make the #1 grade as a percentage of the total. Our suppliers are having to run more bulk product over the lines to get the same number of cartons, so it will take longer to cover orders. Larger counts have been getting tighter and if the size-profiles stay the same then 70-count and larger will remain short. The overall demand for russet potatoes out of all areas remains steady. All growing regions appear to have ample supplies until the arrival of the new crop as long as the quality holds up in the storages.

Bakersfield, California - new crop red and gold potatoes are steady while the whites are lower. Golds and whites are peaking on A-size while the reds are heavier to Bs. Many suppliers are short on red As now. The availability for all colors is good with most suppliers but some have limited supplies of reds. Premium and Baker sizes are limited in the reds but we have a few golds. The new-crop quality has been good.
Phoenix, Arizona - red potatoes are steady and they are peaking on A-size. The quality is good.
Idaho - reds and golds are steady to slightly but supplies are shorter now. Both colors continue to peak on A-size. We have two suppliers left and they expect to pack through April. The quality has ranged from fair to good.
North Dakota - Reds and gold supplies are very light and getting into fewer and fewer hands.
S. Florida - reds are steady to higher and the market remains strong. Some shippers are finished and the rest are close. Many suppliers have finished with golds and whites. All colors are still peaking on A-size. The quality has ranged from good to fair.
N. Florida - Supplies of new-crop reds are limited and most shippers are peaking evenly between As and Bs. The quality is reported as good. They are scheduled to start new-crop whites and golds at the end of next week.

Transitions:
Pearsall, Texas should start packing red potatoes the week of May 9.

Hard Squash will continue to lighten in supply. Acorn and butternut are becoming more scarce. Spaghetti and Kabocha is becoming less available.

Yellow and Italian squash are being harvested with large volume and deals being offered, great quality on most volume from all growers. Many lots of yellow showing scarring on arrival.

Domestic stone fruit is ramping up quickly. Harvest is in full production as more fruit and bigger sizes become available daily. Apricots, peaches and nectarines are currently available from multiple shippers. Plums are expected to get started in 2 weeks. Sizing has been on the smaller side with ample opportunity for school business. As we move forward, volumes and sizes will continue to increase and prices will adjust accordingly. We are expecting a strong season with excellent fruit.

Peak Seasons:
Domestic stone fruit volumes are expected to ramp up quickly. Plenty of promotional opportunities available.

Rounds - The market is steady. Supplies continue to be strong in Florida with Palmetto / Ruskin underway. Initial crown picks reveal a hearty tomato. Mexico is also in good supplies, with plenty of vine ripe and gas green crossing. Look for supplies in all areas to be strong. Demand in consistent, however, could peak a bit with Cinco de Mayo and Mother's day's just around the corner. Quality is Good.
Roma - The market is steady. Supplies in Florida also continue to be good, with all sizes available. Mexico is also flourishing with supplies. Look for the market to possibly tick up with Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day as well. Quality is Good.
Cherry - The market is steady. Florida supplies continue to look better and better. Mexico is also looking good with supplies, with plenty crossing. Demand looks to be consistent. Quality is Good.
Grape - The market is steady. Supplies continue to be good out of Florida. Mexico also has good numbers, with supplies crossing. Quality is Good.

Rounds - The market is steady. Supplies on the west continue to look good, with product crossing on vine ripes and gas green. Supplies back east also continues to be strong with Palmetto / Ruskin underway. Demand is consistent, but, look for a slight spike due to Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day just around the corner. Quality is Good.
Roma - The market is steady. West Coast supplies are plenty, with Mexico into their season. Florida also has plenty of supplies, with all sizes available. Demand is consistent, however, look for a spike due to Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day's soon. Quality is Good.
Cherry - The market is Steady. Supplies in Mexico are better. Florida is the driver on cherry's, and has plenty of supplies. Demand is consistent, and Quality is Good.
Grape - The market is steady. Supplies continue to look strong. Florida and Mexico have good supplies, in all areas. Quality is Good.