The Source - July 14, 2016

Washington - Red delicious are steady to higher depending on the supplier. Most shippers continue to peak on extra-fancy 72-88s. Golden Delicious are steady but firm and still peaking on Wash-Extra 100/113s. Storage golden supplies are limited so expect some suppliers to gap between C.A. and new-crop. Most suppliers still don't have much larger than an 88. Granny Smith are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on 88-113s. Most shippers still don't have much larger than an 88 or smaller than a 125. Galas are extremely short and will be finishing up over the next few days. Fuji supplies are also extremely short and will be finishing up shortly. Pink Lady's are steady to higher and the market remains firm due to very strong demand. The quality for all varieties has been good.
Chile - Chilean Braeburns are peaking on 70-90s and they are steady on all sizes but supplies are limted. Chilean Pinks Ladys are steady and peaking on 70/80s. Chilean Fujis are also steady and peaking on 80-size. The import quality has been good.

Alerts:
Washington Fujis and Galas are extremely short and they are about to finish up.

Transitions:
California could start packing Gala apples as early as next week.

Asparagus supplies are still steady from Mexico and Peru. Quality is good from both regions.

California has peaked on their harvest and is on a slow decline to mid August, when the next big drop looks to happed as its season begins its final seasonal harvest.

Alerts:
Demand exceeding supplies.

Mexico is harvesting once again and fruit is beginning to move from Mexico to the States. The void in the supply line and demand is so great, that it will take several weeks for supplies to build. We will be in this Summer Crop (Flora Loca crop) of Mexico’s for the next 6 to 10 weeks and should have decent supplies going forward, unfortunately about 80% of this crop will be 60s/70s/84s. Not many 40s/48s and we don’t see this size curve changing much, maybe 25% 48s and larger by September. We will also see very limit supplies on #2 volume, being it’s early in the season, and fruit is very clean.

Alerts:
Limited volume start hitting the US shipping points. Most of this fruit will be 60s and 70s, with a very small percent of 48's. Demand exceeding supplies.

Bell pepper has moved up to the Central and Southern San Joaquin Valley. Better supply and size on both Green and Red Varieties, Sizing is good on Both colors.
Reds are still showing the effects of the heat with some condition defects, quality is expected to improve.

Supply is steady with production out of CA, OH, IN, WA and OR. Some growers are gapping in between varieties out of Oregon. Georgia and North Carolina season has pretty well wrapped up production, much smaller volumes. Demand has increased slightly out west due to GA and NC production coming off. Quality is good out of all areas. There have been some isolated instances of wet and leaky berries.

Transitions:
GA and NC are winding down for the season.

Supplies remain steady with production in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Indiana, Michigan. New Jersey is wrapping up their season as some growers made their last picks last week. The southeast region has wrapped up major production although you may still find some GA and NC blues in circulation. Promotional opportunity will be available for the coming weeks and volume will then begin to decrease some. Quality has been good in all areas.

Transitions:
GA, NC and NJ are all wrapping up production for the season.

CA raspberries passed peak production and will continue to decrease in volume moving into the summer. We will be in limited supplies from here on. The CA crop hit peak production numbers in early June. Central MX production has pretty well finished for the season. Quality has remained good out of all regions, some isolated instances of wet, leaky or off-color berries.

Alerts:
We will be in a demand exceeds supply situation for the next several weeks. Mid-July will likely be our lowest point. Production should ramp back up in both CA and Baja Mexico by early-mid August but we will remain in short supplies until then.

Transitions:
Central Mexico has finished major production for the season. Oxnard and Salinas are winding down as Watsonville and Santa Maria will increase production over the coming weeks.

Peak Seasons:
CA crop peaked in mid June. Overall volume will decrease from here on.

Supply and demand are both steady. Quality is good with pickers paying extra attention to pack quality and avoid bruised and overripe fruit. There have been a few reports of sun scald and white/green tips still showing up in the packs. Sizing remains smaller with berries running 18-22 per 1 pound clamshell. Weather has been cool leading to a reduction in harvest estimates. Labor is becoming more of an issue heading into the summer.

Broccoli supplies continue to be steady for the end of the week. The markets vary from each growing region even though supplies are steady. Mexico supplies are steady but they have increased prices across the board. Salinas and Santa Maria have steady prices. Quality has been really nice with minimal yellowing.

There are good supplies of Brussel Sprouts coming from the Salinas Valley. Mexico is also still harvesting acreage as well as Oxnard. The market is steady at competitive levels. Quality is excellent.

The Bakersfield crop is in full production. Growth is good and starting to yield good percentage of Jumbo size and supplies are getting much better. Supply of baby peeled carrots are good.

The cauliflower market has a downward trend with increased supplies as we move into the end of the week. There have been a couple complaints of off colored cauliflower upon arrival. But overall quality is really nice.

This market has remained unchanged. The tightest availability continues on small sizing, thirty-six count and smaller. Shippers continue to flex on large sizing. Demand is off. Michigan production is stronger. Santa Maria and Salinas continues to have good quality and production numbers. This will continue throughout the week. Until school business begins again, this market should remain very competitive in pricing.

Dark sweet cherry supplies continue to gradually decrease in the Northwest growing regions. The good news is the recent cooler weather has slowed down production allowing the window of harvest to be extended out to the end of the month. Quality has been very strong. Although the window of harvest time has been extended, the volume is still far below demand and market prices continue to increase daily.

Anaheim - Sizing and quality remain good. More product being offered. Excellent size and color.

Pablano - Slightly lighter supply with some growers finishing. Good quality and condition expected to continue.

Tomatillo - Good supply of tomatillo shipping from California.

Jalapeno- good quality on new crop pepper, mostly large sizing with good color.

The cilantro market is on an upward trend. The main reason is some quality issues in Mexico, such as burn and black spotting from the heat. This has put pressure on supplies in the Salinas Valley and Oxnard growing regions.

Alerts:
The cilantro market is active due to quality issues in Mexico.

The Ventura crop is our main supplier. Demand is stronger than normal and continues to build. We are seeing 165s/200s235s supplies tighten clean up daily.

The 110ct & 150ct continue coming down and are nearly the same price as the smaller ones. Demand is good on all sizes across the board. The peak size is in the smaller 230ct but it's beginning to change towards larger sizes. Quality is good overall. The overall supplies are increasing. The market is steady on the 175 - 250ct limes.

Shippers have good supplies of Valencias and peaking on 88s/113s/138s. California Navels are now done.

Good quality and condition on cucumbers coming out of Northern Baja coast. Better production has picked up from multiple grower's this week. All sizes are being packed in 1 1/9 bushel boxes. Also 24's-36's-42's being packed. Color is just fair due to hotter temps

With temperature's dropping, eggplant is showing improvement in quality and condition. Fresno showing good quality and good volume. Cosmetic issue with egg plant are improving.

Green grape supplies continue to gradually increase out of the San Joaquin growing regions. Quality is excellent with sizes peaking in the large to extra large range. Market prices have remained steady this week but are expected to slightly drop at production increases next week.

Red seedless grape production continues to increase in the San Joaquin Valley growing regions. Quality has been strong, but sizes continue to run on the smaller side. As we move forward and the weather continues to be warm, sizes and sugar levels will continue to increase. Market prices have been steady this week and are expected to remain fairly consistent next week.

Steady supplies is the story here. Both Mexico and California continue to have plentiful supplies. The market is competitive and unchanged. There have been minimal quality complaints.

The kale market will be steady for the rest of this week. Supplies are plentiful from all growing regions. Quality is excellent with little dehydration and yellowing.

This market has softened considerably. Warm temperatures has brought this commodity on in terms of production and demand has fallen up. Shippers are very open to making deals for volume type orders. Defects continue to be reported. These defects include pink ribbing, spotting, light weights and puffiness are common defects. Supplies will be strong throughout the week. Schools are expected to begin in August.

The market is flat and shippers are looking for business. Romaine heart supplies have picked up dramatically due to lack of demand and ideal weather to accelerate growth in all the growing regions. Green leaf continues to be the most abundant leaf item, but there is plentiful amounts of all leaf. Expect this trend of production to continue throughout the week. Demand is off. Defects continue on leaf items. These defects include tip and fringe burn. The defects , however are considerably less than in past weeks.

The West Side started shipping a couple of weeks ago and supplies are steadily increasing. Quality out of the West Side is reported to be excellent. The desert is finished now. The market is steady right now.

Growers are harvesting dews in the West Side and the volume will steadily increase. The desert honeydews are finished up for the season and Mexico will be done this week. Quality in the West Side is very nice. The market is steady right now. Quality has been reported as excellent.

Demand for Western Watermelon has curtailed. Watermelon is being shipped from Western Arizona, Southern and Central California. Quality is good with mostly Large sizes being harvested. Extreme heat has increased the sizing to mostly very large fruit,30s,36 and 45s

Onions are coming out of Central California and New Mexico and have started in a very light way with new crop yellow and reds out Washington. Markets are firm with supplies of medium and jumbo onions starting to balance out pushing the pricing on large sized onion. Look for the markets to stay steady into the end of this month. Additional supplies will start coming out of Washington and Idaho as we move into the middle of August. Expect pricing to fall considerably once we get into September.

California - Bartlett pears are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on 100/110/90s. The quality has been good. Crimson pears are also steady and they are peaking on half carton 45/40s but supplies are limited so expect a firm market. There are a few full carton Crimsons available as well. The quality has been good.
Washington - D'anjou pears are steady but supplies are very short and their season is almost over.
Chile - Chilean & Argentinian Bosc are both steady to lower and they continue to peak on 70-100s. The quality has been good.

It's rainy season in the tropics. We are starting to see some water translucency show up in the pineapples and a greener shell color. Shippers will picking the fruit a little earlier to help prevent the water translucency, this leads to the greener shell color. Shell color is not an indication of ripeness. Supplies are tight and are expected to be so through July.

All growing areas are starting to see the end of their storage crop which is lining up perfectly with new crop russet potatoes coming to market. Idaho continue to experience a slightly weaker market on the larger cartons. Washington, Colorado and Wisconsin have steady markets. Quality is still being reported as good out all areas.

Bakersfield California - supplies are short and the season is almost finished, don't expect much after this Friday from most shippers. The shippers that have product are steady. The quality has been good.
Stockton California - reds, whites, and golds are all steady and all are peaking on A size. Baker whites and reds are limited but there are a few golds. They have good quality with good maturity.
Alabama - Red potatoes are steady and they are peaking on A-size. There are no creamers packed in Alabama. The quality is good.
North Carolina - reds and golds are steady on all sizes but supplies are more limited in both colors. Whites are finishing so only light supplies of them. All colors are peaking on A-size and larger. The quality is fair to good.
Muleshoe Texas - red and gold potatoes are steady on all sizes. The quality has been good.
Missouri - they are steady on all Reds. The quality is reported as good.
Washington - eastern red and gold potatoes are steady and both are peaking on A-size. Bs and smaller are limited in both colors.

Heavy production on both zucchini and yellow squash are being offered in volume. Sizing is mostly larger due to warm weather. Quality is mostly good but some scarring on certain lots.

Large size peaches, nectarines and plums continue to be in excellent supply. Smaller volume fill fruit continues to be limited due to the warm weather. Overall quality has been good with a few reports of softer fruit in certain lots. Markets have been split. Larger tray pack fruit has been dropping in price as production continues to increase. Smaller size fruit, on the other hand, has been limited and market prices have been on the rise. This will continue until the weather cools off in the next 7 - 10 days. Apricots are available but volume is light and prices are firm.

Round tomatoes are dwindling in the eastern growing regions of the U.S. Florida and Carolina have finished producing for the season and Arkansas has began to taper off. The market will be substantially higher until Virginia and Tennessee get started in the next week or so. The roma market is mixed based on scattered quality fruit being shipped from the west. Expect to pay premium for larger sizes. Grape and Cherry tomatoes remain short this week due to a gap in production along the eastern shore. There is light harvests underway, but not nearly enough to cover the demand. Volume should increase in the coming days as new crops get started.

California still has an abundance of tomatoes and the market is very reasonable at this time. The roma tomato market is up, especially for bigger, higher quality fruit. With mixed quality reports circulating, expect cheaper fruit to show cracks and sun scars from excessive heat. Overall, larger romas are short in supply and harvesting in several areas including Baja, Mexico, mainland Mexico, and central California. In the west there is very heavy demand for grapes, keeping their markets strong. Cherry tomato supplies are coming from Baja, Mexico, central California, and mainland Mexico. None of the areas have heavy volume and the market is all over the board, depending on the area.