The Source - December 21, 2016

Washington - red delicious are steady on all sizes but some suppliers are still flexing for volume. Some shippers are still looking to move non-qualified CA fruit. Most red suppliers are peaking on extra-fancy 88s and larger and have promotable volume in the larger sizes and higher grades. Golden delicious are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on 72/80/88s. Small Goldens remain very short with very few if any 125s and smaller. Light December packing could cause more size and grade subbing especially in the smaller fruit. Granny-smith are steady and are still peaking on 72/80/88's. Granny 100 size and smaller supplies are still short. Light December packing could cause more size and grade subbing especially in the smaller fruit. The Gala market is fairly steady on all sizes. Galas are still peaking on 80/88/100/72s. Fuji's are still heavier to larger fruit and are steady o n all sizes. Honeycrisp are peaking on 80/88/100s and are steady to higher due to strong demand and light packing. Honeycrisp availability will improve in January when there is more packing scheduled. The quality for red delicious, golden delicious, granny-smith, Galas, Fujis, and Honey Crisp has been good. Braeburns, Jonagolds, Red Romes, Cameos, and the other varietals are available but only limited numbers.
Idaho---red delicious, Granny-smith, Galas, Fuji's, Red Romes, Pink lady's, and Braeburns are all fairly steady. Idaho is packing more Pink Lady's and red delicious currently. The volume for all others is light with a peak on 64-100s for most. The quality has been good.
Michigan--McIntosh, Golden delicious, Jonamacs, Jonathans, Empires, red Romes, Galas, red delicious, and Fujis are all steady. Galas, Red Romes, and Jonathans are all still heavier to the smaller sizes while the Golden delicious, Red delicious, Fujis, and Macintosh are all heavier to medium size fruit. The quality has been good.
New York---Red delicious, Galas, Fujis, and Red Romes are all steady. The sizing has been medium to small with a larger percentage of smaller fruit than other areas. The sizing is going to change on red delicious as more shippers get into C.A. fruit and it is larger. McIntosh are stronger due to less volume. Last springs hail knocked out a lot of volume so expect a stronger market with only light volume coming from C.A. The Empire market is going to strengthen as export demand comes on. It hasn't hit yet because to export the fruit must 90 days of C.A. storage but we are reaching that threshold. The quality has been good to fair with more US#1 grade fruit.

Alerts:
Washington---Small golden delicious and granny-smith remain very short and might need to be subbed into a larger size. Light packing for December will make the availability for both varieties even tighter.

New York---McIntosh supplies are light and will remain so due to last springs hail damage.

Peak Seasons:
Washington, Idaho, Michigan, and New York are all in the peak of their seasons.

Weather in San Luis is mid 40s in the evening and mid 60s during the day. Volume is very light from this region. Market is up across the board on all sizes. We are in the process of the San Luis transition.

Weather is good in both the South/North of Peru. Volume is good, market is sluggish with the holiday right around the corner. Air freight is still up due to holiday demand.

Alerts:
The amount of freight space will be extremely limited for the next 10 days due to the holiday rush.

Transitions:
Transition to San Luis is delayed.

Shipments from Mexico this week and next are expected to be off as much as 20 percent due to harvest labor taking time off for the Christmas holiday. Mexico has raised their field price again. 48ct demand remains the greatest and still seeing some upward pressure on the market price of 48s and 40s. Look for this to continue into next week. Harvest may not start to come back to normal until the first week of January.

Alerts:
Shipments from Mexico this week and next are expected to be off as much as 20 percent due to harvest labor taking time off for the Christmas holiday.

Good supply on cucumber coming out Mexico, Excellent color, quality and condition on all grades sizes and pack styles. Supply will continue to be good as we move into the month.Northern Mexico (Sonora) will continue and (Sinaloa) have start next week. Euro cucumber is also available in very good supply, both #1and #2 both single layer and bushel boxes.

Supplies are steady and demand is fairly light. Favorable weather in Central Mexico is leading to good production volume and more fruit being sent to the US. There have been some challenges with quality as red cell, decay and mold have shown up on recent inspections. Order for quick turns and maintain the cold chain through transportation and storage.

Blueberries are plentiful. Opportunities available with increased volumes coming from Chile for the next several weeks and promotable pricing. Central Mexico production is steady and there's also still production in Peru. With large volumes available, blueberries are being packed into larger packaging with more availability in 18oz, pints and 6oz clamshells. Quality is good.

Supply is steady and demand is fairly light. Quality is good. Central Mexican production has already peaked this season and will continue to decline from here on. However, overall availability still looks to remain fairly steady over the next several weeks.

California production was disrupted after significant rainfall at the end of last week. Water and wind damage have shown up in the fields this week including soft bruising, decay, soft tips. A lot of fruit has been discarded in the fields early in the week. The colder, shorter days have slowed growth and maturation at the beginning of the new Oxnard crop as well. We are getting a late start in this region. However, warmer clear weather returns this week and the higher temperatures should begin to bring on sizing, color and improvements in quality as well. While we've continued to face production challenges out west, Florida has seen near perfect growing conditions all season thus far. Long-range forecasts and models show continued favorable weather and production volume continues to increase week over week. The fruit from FL continues to look great with full red color, sizing in the low-mid twenties and generally firm to the touch. Mexico is also still steadily producing with more favorable weather over the next week. Production will increase over the next 7-10 days. There will be promotable opportunities from both Florida and Mexico (loading in TX) as volume continues to increase and demand has been light.

Alerts:
Production will continue to be light out of CA as the area recovers from rainfall and disrupted harvests last week. Quality will be fair with this post-rain fruit as well. On top of this, there's another weather system moving into California this weekend with potential to bring 1.00"+ rainfall to the area.

Transitions:
Supplies are very good in FL and loading Mexican strawberries in Texas.

Florida Strawberries

The broccoli market was trying to firm up and follow cauliflower in suit, but unfortunately we have too many growing regions with supplies and little demand. Shippers are offering deals to move excess volume. Quality is really nice with excellent crown size, tight beads, and good weights. There have been a few arrivals with some yellowing and branchiness but that is few and far between.

The brussel sprout market tried to establish itself on a higher level expecting increased demand for the holiday pull. Well unfortunately that didn't happen as supplies continue to remain abundant from both California and Mexico. Quality is excellent from California and hit & miss from Mexico. Mexico is showing signs of holes in the sprouts to black discoloration.

Carrot supplies remain good and look continue so, with jumbo, cello and value added product

The cauliflower market is trending lower as a direct result of the lack of demand. Supplies remain limited with shippers walking in sold out for the day. This trend will last into next week. Although the market could continue to decrease. Quality has been suspect with off colors of cream to yellow. Black bruising has been reported upon arrivals as well.

Alerts:
Decreased demand has trended the cauliflower market to lower levels and it is not due to a supply increase. This trend will last into next week.

The celery market is steady at current levels. The extreme cold around the nation has helped to dampen demand across the board despite the onset of the holidays. Supplies are still predominantly coming out of Oxnard as the cooler weather has slowed the start of celery out of the Yuma region. We are anticipating a steady market as we move into next week with a possible weakening after the first of the year. Quality is reported as generally good on all with sizing spread fairly evenly between 24's, 30's and 36's.

Although cherry supplies continue to be good on the east and west coasts, quality has become a real concern. Shippers are repacking fruit to eliminate bad product. Pitting, scars, splits and soft fruit is being reported. Markets had started decline, but due to the additional labor of repacking, prices are still trying to hold firm. Supplies are expected to last through mid January before coming to an early end.

Alerts:
Quality is a concern on the current cherry supplies.

Transitions:
Chilean season may come to an early end by mid January.

Pablano - Excellent size and Quality and color will continue with steady to lighter supply.

Tomatillo-Heavy supply and excellent quality on fresh crop, both peeled and husked. Sizing is good. Color and condition will continue to be great.

Jalapeno- good quality on new crop pepper, Excellent Size color and condition with huge supplies.

Anaheim- good quality and condition and size are expected to continue as supply improves.

The cilantro market has remained fairly steady depending on the growing region. Quality for the most part has been good, with the occasional yellow leaves, to black decay around the bands. But there has been minimal dehydration and full bunches. This should trend into next week. I do not see any issues 3 to 4 weeks out.

Over all supplies remain good. The desert crop is 64% harvested and with size growth, larger sizes predominate peaking 115s/95s/140s making 165s and 200s short. The central valley crop is still lightly being harvested and peaking on 140s/115s/165s and short on 200s and smaller. Meyer lemons are in good available in all growing districts.

The lime market is higher on all sizes. The rising market is due to lower volume caused by the new crop harvest being in the larger size profile. The other factors causing our elevated prices are the rains that happened two weekends ago, cool weather, great demand across all channels and retail ads. The quality is very nice currently with no reports of any issues. No more adverse weather is being reported for the near future so we should experience normal market fluctuations as we come in and out of holiday demand and export shipments to other countries.

Navel oranges are in good supply and flavor. Cooler night time temps are bring on better color and reduced gas times on the fruit. Sizes are peaking on 88s/113s/72s with heavy percent of fancy grade. Cara Cara navels as well as Blood oranges have started in a light way and availability will increase weekly going forward.

Good supply on cucumber coming out Mexico, Excellent color, quality and condition on all grades sizes and pack styles. Supply will continue to be good as we move into the month.Northern Mexico (Sonora) will continue and (Sinaloa) have start next week. Euro cucumber is also available in very good supply, both #1and #2 both single layer and bushel boxes.

Excellent Quality and size are currently being shipped from Nogales, mostly larger sizes are available in large volume.

The domestic green grape season will be done by the end of this week. Very little inventory remains and what is available is poor quality. Import fruit is available to fill demand.

Import green grapes are in good supply on both the east and west coasts. Most of the product available is Peruvian with limited availability of Chilean product arriving. As we move forward, supplies will continue to improve. Quality is being reported as strong. Market prices did drop slightly this week. All sizes are available to load on the east coast with Large and Extra Large available on the west coast. Availability is expected to continue to improve as we start January. However, the recent rains in Chile may have an impact on fruit expected to arrive late January. As production continues, we will learn more details on the possible effect of the rain.

Alerts:
Recent rains in Chile may impact green grape supplies late January.

Domestic red grape inventories are still strong and shippers are looking to move through this product in the next 2 weeks. These grapes are being looked at closely and quality is being monitored. All fruit being shipped has been repacked and shippers are well aware of the recent arrival issues. They have assured us that they are taking all necessary precautions prior to loading product in an effort to avoid any further problems. Market prices have been steady with value buys available.

Import grapes continue to be in good supplies on both the east and west coasts. Chilean product has recently become available in limited amounts, but Peruvian fruit is steady. Quality has been good. Market prices are firm with little room for flex at this point. Supplies are expected to improve as we begin January and we will see market prices begin to decline. However, recent rains in Chile may have an impact on supplies expected to arrive late January. As harvest increases, we will have a better idea on the possible implications of the weather. More information will be available as we move forward.

Alerts:
Recent rain in Chile may have an impact on supplies expected to arrive late January.

Green onion supplies are a major factor with this current market taking off. The labor to harvest in Mexico will be limited causing a serious gap in the supply chain. quality has been excellent with minimal arrival issues. we have seen strong green tops, minimal yellowing, and a full mix of sizes.

Alerts:
Due to the Holidays there is a major lack of labor to harvest the current acreage. The markets are trending higher and this will be the case for the next 2 weeks.

Kale supplies have remained plentiful over the course of several weeks. The transition from Salinas to Yuma was a smooth one. Kale being the super food that it is, has created a buzz nationally. And the suppliers have done a fantastic job keeping up with demand. Thus the market has followed in suit being steady at current price levels. Quality is excellent with little dehydration, yellowing, and full cartons.

The iceberg lettuce market has weakened as the current hard freeze around the country has stalled demand. The "Arctic Blast" coupled with a lack of demand attributed to the Christmas shopping season has impacted all shippers. Additionally, the weather in the desert has been nearly ideal recently so supplies have been abundant. Quality is still somewhat of an issue as the last vestiges of the seeder, tip and fringe burn clean up. We expect to see this over supply situation continue until about the middle to end of January. Most shippers are predicting a supply gap at that time as a result of the current flush of product.

Alerts:
Current over supply of iceberg lettuce indicates a future gap in supplies.

The leaf lettuce and romaine markets have weakened. We are currently experiencing a lack of demand due to the extreme weather covering most of the nation. At the same time we have had an abundance of supply resulting from nearly ideal growing conditions. This supply exceeds situation should continue through the end of the year. Quality is still suffering from some issues (burn, twist, seeder) but is generally better than it has been the last few weeks. The long term view of most shippers is for the market to strengthen with lighter supplies forecast for the middle to end of January.

Demand is good on all sizes. Supplies are steady at the moment. 12's continue to get increased demand due to substitution for 9ct. The 15ct are not available anywhere and are extremely short in supply with a grim availability outlook over the next few weeks. Offshore supplies in Florida and are in full swing. Arrivals in California are steadily increasing in volume. The market is steady right now across the board. The quality is excellent on the offshore melons.

Supplies of honeydews are steady overall and we can continue to expect adequate supplies and good quality to be the pattern for a while longer with a moderate range of up and down movement. Mexico is exporting very nice looking honeydews up to us and the supplies are getting smaller which is causing their prices to go higher. Mexican dews are now the same price as the offshore dews. Offshore dews have excellent quality and are peaking on large sizes such as 5's and 6's with 8's being extremely short supplied for several weeks. Offshore dew volume is increasing which is covering the lower volume of Mexican dews. The market is currently steady on offshore dews and higher on Mexican dews.

Transitions:
Mexican shippers are nearly done exporting to the U.S. for the season.

Northern Mexico is winding down on supplies which will raise the market some, we expect a slight gap as the production region moves south. Quality is just fair as the old district is finishing and waiting for new districts to start. Personal seedless is available in good supply.

Onion market is steady at historical low levels on all sizes and colors with volumes heavier to jumbos and larger. Typically, the onion market slowly firms up as we get into the second half of January as demand increases. Only time will tell if this will happen this year. Transportation availability is limited and will be into the first to second week of January. The cold, snowy and icy conditions has further slowed transportation both in=bound and out-bound. Quality is very good. We should start to see strength in the White Onion market as we get into the first of the New Year as supplies seasonally winds down out of the Northwest. The next growing area to come into play will be Mexico which starts out with White Onions the first part of February.

Alerts:
Cold, snowy and icy weather is slowing transportation

Peak Seasons:
Northwest Yellow and Reds onions are in peak season

Washington -- Bartlett pears are steady and continue to peak on US#1 70/80/90s. Light packing for December will limit the availability for all sizes but especially the smaller ones. Bartlett 100s and smaller remain limited. D'anjou pears are steady and they are peaking on US#1 80/90/100s. D'anjou 100s and smaller are also limited. Light packing in December will hinder the D'anjou availability for all sizes. Bosc pears are steady and continue to peak on US#1 80/90/100s. There is generally better volume available for the smaller Bosc but light packing in December could limit that. Red pears are steady and still peaking on US#1 45/50 half cartons but the availability is light. The quality for all varieties pears has been good.

Alerts:
Small Bartlett and D'anjou pear supplies are light and will remain so into January.

Peak Seasons:
Washington is in the peak of its pear season.

Supplies are goods and so is holiday demand and shippers will be cleaning up weekly through the end of the year. Supplies from the tropics will drop off for the first few weeks of January due to the lack of labor to harvest during the holidays.

Market on all sizes and packs is steady out of all shipping areas(Idaho, Washington, Colorado and Wisconsin). Quality is being reported as good. Very cold temperatures this week with highs in the teens to low twenties is hitting all shipping points. Shippers that don't have on-site storages will have limited pack times with some not being able to run at all, as it will be too cold to haul bulk potatoes from storages. Temperatures need to be in the 20's to be able to haul without damaging the potatoes. Luckily demand is light which is keeping the markets steady. This could change over the next two weeks with the limited run times and the short weeks due to the holiday's. I would recommend staying ahead of your Potato and Onion Inventories. Transportation is moving very slow due to the ice and snow in the area, which isn't helping.

Alerts:
Very cold temperatures slowing production and transportation

Peak Seasons:
Russet potatoes are in peak season

Bakersfield California - the red, white, and gold potato markets are steady on all sizes. All colors continue to peak on A size. Continue to plan ahead as the golds and most of the reds are being transferred down from Washington. The whites are from Bakersfield and are peaking on A size but there is good volume of B and C size as well. The quality has been good for all.
Idaho - both the red and gold potatoes are steady and are peaking evenly between A & B size. The availability is good.
Western Washington - reds and golds are both steady and continue to peak on A size. White potatoes remain limited and the market is firm. The quality has been good.
North Dakota - red and gold potatoes are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on As. The demand remains light but the packing schedules have been light as well. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - reds and golds are steady on all sizes and both are still peaking on A-size. They have also had only light packing. The quality has ranged from fair to good depending on the lot.
Canada - reds, golds, and whites are steady on all sizes. Sacks are still more available than cartons. The quality has been good.

Transitions:
Florida will start packing light volume of red, gold, and white potatoes in early February.

Peak Seasons:
Western Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Wisconsin are all in the peak of their seasons. Bakersfield is in the peak of its winter white potato season.

Heavy supply on both Italian and S/N Yellow squash continue to pour in from Mexico both from Northern and central Mexico. Quality is very good on all sizes, grades and pack styles. Hard Squash is also being harvested in very good supplies ,Mostly larger sizes and number one grade.

Chilean stone availability is improving every week. This week, multiple shippers are quoting prices on peaches and nectarines. Plums and apricots are still fairly limited with fewer options. However, as we move forward and more vessels arrive, we can expect supplies of all fruit to improve. Quality is being reported as good. Market prices on the peaches and nectarines are starting to gradually decline. Apricots and plums are still firm. Next week we will see better supplies and more variety in sizes in the peach and nectarine categories. Starting January, we anticipate much better supplies of all fruit and we will see prices adjust quickly.

Peak Seasons:
Peak season for the Chilean stone fruit will be mid January.

The eastern tomato market is steady this week with ideal growing conditions allowing supplies to flourish. Weather has allowed Immokalee to bring lots of excellent quality fruit to market injecting larger sizes into the supply line softening prices this week. Roma tomato volumes are increasing slightly each week as growing areas are moving further south. There is steady supply of cherry tomatoes with grape varieties even more available. We can expect markets to remain steady going into next week.

Volumes continue to be light out of Mexico with better crossings into Nogales from new growing regions in Mainland Mexico. Florida continues to be the national producer of gas green rounds while Mexico imports vine ripened rounds. Vine ripes and roma varieties are both sizing down and supply is tightening under fair demand showing little to no change in the market this week. Also relatively stable this week are grape tomatoes remaining in good supply with deals to be had for older, less desirable fruit. Cherry tomatoes remain to be mainly an East coast grown item, however light numbers are showing up from baja at the border and remain a regional item. By the end of next week, overall volumes are expected to start increasing as winter crops transition to mainland Mexico bringing new supply to the market.