The Source - April 6, 2015

New York is still packing McIntosh, Red delicious, Empires, and Romes. The demand has been light for all varieties.

Michigan continues to pack Idareds, Jonagolds, Jonathans, McIntosh, Red delicious and Romes. All varieties are steady and demand has been light.

The main Washington varieties are still 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 the volume deals on 80's and larger are still available. 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 the month or early May.
- John Tole

This market is active. Demand has proven to be stronger after the Easter pull. Supplies out of Mexico are moderate at best. The quality is strong. Production in Peru and Salinas is average. All the growing regions are producing good quality at this time. Standard and large sizing are the main packs available on both 11lb. and 28 lb. cases. Extra large and jumbo packs 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.
-Mike Pacheco/Gabe Romero

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

Mexico supplies are steady. Crossing to begin the week will be lighter as there was no harvest or packing Friday through Sunday for Holy Week of Easter. Size still peaking on 60's, 48's and larger remain very tight.
-Tim Kelley

The pepper market appears to finally be gaining some strength. As growers move between fields in South Florida, supplies of the larger, crown pickings have disappeared. Volume is now heavy to the choice grades only with that quality being marginal at best. Central Florida is still weeks away from working pepper. Expect this market to strengthen in the coming weeks with crown sizing becoming more difficult until Plant City starts in 10-14 days.
-Janine Baird

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. Soft berries, red cell and mold are being reported. 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. 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

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 this week, mostly 4.4oz clams. FL blues are available out of Miami, Dover and Plant City. Mostly 4.4oz and 6oz clams though some larger packs are being packed at request. Mainland Mexican supplies have been limited by rain and cooler weather but looks to increase this week as weather has cleared. Varying levels of pricing and quality based on country/region of origin. Domestic fruit is demanding premium pricing.
-Tom Smith

Raspberry volumes continue to decline out of both Mexico and Oxnard, CA growing regions. Santa Maria, CA volumes have ramped up some. We should begin to see Watsonville fruit by the end of April with decent volume. Some reports of soft berries but quality is improving.
-Tom Smith

A cold front has arrived on the Central Coast of California bringing brief periods of light rain yesterday and unseasonably cool temperatures to follow. Valley low temperatures are expected to be the lowest of the past month with the coldest spots dipping into the high 20s and the coastal regions ranging from the mid-upper 30s to low-mid 40s. Another very strong front is forecasted to arrive in the Monterey Bay area around 2:00AM Tuesday spreading occasional heavy showers southward down the coast. Accumulations are projected to reach up to 1.50” in the Watsonville growing region and decreasing toward 1.00” into the Santa Maria growing region. Temperatures continue to cool Wednesday through Thursday with another good chance of rain across the regions coming Friday night, up to another 1.00” of precipitation. Chances of precipitation continue through Saturday before a very brief warming and dry period Sunday into Monday. The models are showing the next storm system arriving on Tuesday April 14. We will continue to watch this front as it develops.
With rain and cool temperatures in the forecast for both of our primary strawberry growing regions (Watsonville and Santa Maria) and with many shippers pulling out of the southern district (Oxnard) after last week, we very likely will be looking at a disruption in production and decreased volume overall this week. By late week, we could also be seeing water related quality issues within the berries being shipped from these regions.
-Tom Smith

Alerts:
STRAWBERRIES:
With rain and cool temperatures in the forecast for both of our primary strawberry growing regions (Watsonville and Santa Maria) and with many shippers pulling out of the southern district (Oxnard) after last week, we very likely will be looking at a disruption in production and decreased volume overall this week. By late week, we could also be seeing water related quality issues within the berries being shipped from these regions.

This market has begun the week steady, overall. The availability is better on crowns in comparison to bunched product. Demand is off on bunched product and crowns are moderate at best. Supplies in Yuma are finished The best quality remains in the Salinas Valley. Santa Maria has light to moderate supplies with good quality. Production in Phoenix is light but crowns are available in this region as well. The quality in all of the growing regions is favorable.
-Mike Pacheco/Gabe Romero

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

This market is gaining strength in the marketplace. Yuma production is finished. Salinas and Santa Maria production is moderate to light. The quality has picked up, however. Demand is up. Expect supplies to be moderate to light throughout the week. Pricing should be active. Supplies are not expected to be stronger for at least two weeks, minimum.
-Mike Pacheco/Gabe Romero

This market is expected to be stronger by the end of the week. A few suppliers have attempted to take up pricing after the Easter pull, but demand is only moderate at best. Production continues to be stronger on large sizing, twenty-four count in particular. Some shippers are still offering deals on volume type orders, so take advantage of this. This market looks to change again by the end of the week once inventories clean up. Small sizing is commanding a higher price. Shippers are loading out of Salinas if needed but a higher cost is being tacked onto the fob price so please be aware. Loading in Oxnard/ Santa Maria is your best price. Yuma production is finished.
-Mike Pacheco/Gabe Romero

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

The lime market is coming down from the previous high prices. High prices curbed the demand and caused the market to break. 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 its peak eating quality. Sizing is peaking 72's/56's. Demand is exceeding smaller fruit, 113's/138's. 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. As those growers ramp up their production and Plant City area kicks in, 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.
-Janine Baird

The market on green seedless grapes continues to strengthen as the Chilean supply winds down. Quality will increasingly become an issue as we move into the older storage fruit. Typically the quality will decline as we approach the ultimate end of the season and this year is no exception. The very first Mexican and California (Coachella) fruit is still expected to come off the last week of April with light supplies. Better volume should be available by the 5'th of May. Early quality reports are for good quality to start with these growing regions.
- Brad Tremblay

The red seedless market is unchanged from last week with adequate supplies of good quality grapes available. We expect this to continue through this week. Any market change due to last month's weather event in Chile looks to be felt the week of the 13'th onward. Supplies currently appear to be adequate until the new Mexican / California deals start at the end of April.
- Brad Tremblay

This market is up from the previous week. There continues to be sporadic reports of yellow discoloration that has been seen upon arrivals. Most of the production on this commodity is coming out of Mexico. Very light supplies are being produced in Salinas. Small and medium sizing continues to be the main packs available. Supplies will be moderate to light all week out of the Mexico growing regions. Expect pricing to slowly climb throughout the week.
-Mike Pacheco/Gabe Romero

This market is steady to start the week. Bugs and gnats continue to be an issue in Huron on this commodity. The weights are ranging from 41-46 pounds. Blister, misshapen heads, mildew, weak tip, and epidermal peel continue to be seen sporadically upon arrivals. Santa Maria has much better quality but light supplies. Production has begun in the Salinas Valley, and availability should be stronger by the end of the week. Overall, supplies on this commodity look to be good throughout the week. Yuma production is finished.
-Mike Pacheco/Gabe Romero

The romaine market is steady to start the week. The issues in Huron include flies and gnats on all romaine and leaf items. Strong winds in this region have created fringe burn and a dehydrated texture to this crop. Yuma is finished with production. Salinas is the best growing area for romaine and all leaf items. Weights on romaine are ranging from 31-35 pounds. Green and red leaf pricing is steady. Suppliers will continue to spray in the Huron region to combat the gnat and flies. Purchasing these commodities in Salinas is the prudent move at this time. Huron will finish up production within the next two weeks or less.
-Mike Pacheco/Gabe Romero

Cantaloupe supplies are level this week. Demand is somewhat better than previous weeks, which is causing the market to perk up a bit. 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 again lighter than previous weeks. Demand is remaining steady which is causing the market to perk up a little bit more than last week. 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.

Idaho - Demand is good with lighter supplies. The market is trying to move higher on all sizes and colors. Quality is good with most shippers but there is some problems showing up as the smaller shipper finish for the season. Mexico should start to get into better supplies over the next couple of weeks. All colors are currently shipping out of McAllen, Texas. California and Texas should start to break ground the third week of April.
- Mike Gorczyca

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

There are Argentinean 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 remain strong.
-John Tole

Idaho - Supplies are in a demand exceeds supply situation on 40-50 count. This has started to tighten up supplies of 60-70 count as everyone drops down a size to get covered. Market is very active on large cartons. 80 count and smaller have good supplies and a steady market. We are down to only a handful of shippers still packing Norkotahs which have a little better size than the Burbanks. Quality is being reported as good. Watch for the large carton market to continue to rise.
Washington - Supplies of the larger cartons is much better out of this area. Demand is very good as Idaho shippers are buying large cartons to keep their customers supplied. Quality is good. Market is firming slightly on all sizes.
Colorado/Wisconsin - Supplies are limited due to light retail demand which is making hard for the sheds to run full days. Market is firm. Quality is good.
- Mike Gorczyca

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. Whites are steady to lower on all sizes. Gold's are steady to higher and A-size 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 has stated packing new-crop in all colors. All markets are steady but the size-profile is smaller so the Premium and Baker sizes will be limited in all colors.

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

Florida has now entered into its seasonal two-tiered market as growers in Homestead look to clean up supplies on poor quality product. Plant City area is now working both colors of squash but are still not into good volume and are demanding higher prices for what is a superior quality product. This two-tiered pricing should continue for another 10-14 days.
-Janine Baird

The Chilean Stone Fruit deal is essentially done with only a few stragglers left on peaches and black plums. California is scheduled to start in a small way April 13'th; with promotable volume available by the first week of May. Early reports on quality are good.
- Brad Tremblay

Immokalee's round production will be somewhat lighter over the next few weeks as farms work through weather-affected lots. This may limit availability over the next few weeks, until Ruskin begins full force production. Volumes are lightening up on rounds and romas as growers get into 2nd picks but quality remains above average to good. Grape tomatoes are widely available with quality reported as mixed depending on lot.
-Aaron Aliotti

Mainland Mexico is expected to continue production until May when Baja gets underway. Availability should remain good on rounds and romas through the transition pending no significant weather events. Quality is challenging on some fruit, as most has been through a lot of rain during the growing cycle. Improving weather conditions in Mexico are bringing more romas to market this week with mixed quality and color. Grape tomatoes are a little short out of Mexico, as crops are ending sooner than expected. Quality is only average with some reports of shrivel and ripening issues. Baja is expected to start grapes in two weeks, which should improve the situation.
-Aaron Aliotti