The Source - June 17, 2015

Michigan is still packing McIntosh and Red Delicious, but this is the last week for Macs. The Red Delicious continue to peak on 100s and larger while the McIntosh are heavier on 100s and smaller. Availability is generally light for both varieties.
Washington Red Delicious are being quoted as steady but the price-flex for 80s and larger is still available. Most packers are still peaking on 88s and larger in the premium and Washington extra #1 grades and have limited supplies of 100s and smaller. Golden Delicious are mostly steady on all sizes. 125s and smaller Goldens are still more limited than the other sizes and are priced at a premium. Granny-Smith are steady and still peaking on 72s and larger. Granny 100s and smaller remain very limited. Fujis are steady and continue to peak on the larger sizes. Fuji volume is low as the end of the season approaches and small Fujis remain limited. Galas are steady and are still peaking on 88/100s. The Galas have better availability in the smaller sizes than most other varieties but the Gala volume is also down as the end of the season is getting close.
Imported Cripps-Pink (Pink Ladys) are still available on both coasts and the markets are steady. They are peaking on 70s and 80s.

This market has remained unchanged. Salinas' production is expected to last another two-three weeks then be finished. The pack sizes are heavier to standard and large sizes. Jumbos are scarce. Good supplies are being produced in Mexico this week, with the majority of packs coming in small, standard and large sizing. Jumbos are less available in this growing region as well. Peruvian product is available in Miami, heavy to standard sizing. Overall, the quality has reported to be good in all of the growing regions.

California is harvesting good volume. We are past peak volume for the season and lower volumes are beginning to come out of the fields. Still peaking on 60s, with good supplies on 48s. Overall volume of this year's California crop looks to be lighter than first projected due to the drought. Quality and flavor are both excellent. Demand very good.

Mexico is over 90% harvested for their season. Supplies continue to be still heavy to 60s, with 48s in better supply. Starting to see seasonal decline in supplies. Demand is very good.

Blackberries have been very limited since last week as Mexico’s season ended and the central / southern districts of CA continue to decline. Salinas / Watsonville area is not putting out enough volume currently to offset the shortage created from the other regions declining volumes. We expect to be short throughout this week and the demand to remain steady with good markets for quality CA fruit. There is some better availability out Georgia and out of Oregon if you can use these areas. Some quality issues being reported with blackberries are red cell, soft berries and occasional mold. Expect for quality to clean up as we continue the transition into the new areas of CA and volume picks up.

Alerts:
Blackberries:
Seasonal supply gap expected to continue as we transition into the Salinas/Watsonville district for blackberries.

Transitions:
Blackberries:
Transitioning out of Central Mexico and into the Salinas/Watsonville districts of CA.

Supply is very good with multiple areas now producing good volumes and quality. Demand has been steady. We are shipping fruit out of California, Georgia, Oregon, North Carolina, Washington, British Columbia and New Jersey began picking today. These new areas will continue to increase with volume weekly as we move throughout the month of June. All areas are reporting good quality and this is an excellent time to be promoting fresh blueberries.

Transitions:
Blueberries:
New Jersey began picking blueberries today!

Limited supplies expected throughout this week as we continue transition into California fruit and Mexico continues to decline to its seasonal end. Quality has been reported as good overall. Market is steady to higher over last week, demand is good. Lighter numbers forecasted for the week and I expect we will see shortages on a day to day basis. The Watsonville/Salinas region will continue to increase in volume weekly throughout the month of June. Some fruit available is out of South Carolina if you have the option for loading this area.

Alerts:
Raspberries:
Seasonal supply gap expected to continue as we transition into the Salinas/Watsonville district for raspberries.

Transitions:
Raspberries:
Transitioning out of Central Mexico and into the Salinas/Watsonville regions of CA.

Salinas and Watsonville are the main growing/shipping regions for California strawberries currently. Several shippers ended their Santa Maria fresh production early due to the decreasing markets after Memorial Day and the good pricing for freezer/juice contracts. Demand is good this week with many retail ads in place taking a good percentage of available fruit and keeping demand steady, possibly continuing to strengthen and keeping supply on the short side as we move throughout this weekend. Warm temperatures in the recent week(s) brought on ripe, red fruit. Fruit is smaller in size due to it ripening before the fruit has an opportunity to grow into mature size. Fruit flavor is good and very sweet currently. Some quality issues to look out for will be soft spots, over-ripeness and bruising.

Peak Seasons:
Strawberries:
Salinas/Watsonville crop is in peak production!

Good supplies exists on bunched product as well as crowns. This market is steady. Crowns continue to be plentiful and suppliers are listening to offers. The main production is out of the Salinas Valley. Crown availability is expected to be strong all week. The Southern California region will have decent production as well. Production out of Mexico looks to be steady all week. Texas could be an option for some customers as freight savings could come into play. The quality however is not as strong compared to California product.

Bakersfield crop is now in full swing on production. Weather has been warm and size is coming on and we're seeing much better production of Jumbo carrots.

This market is softer as demand has fallen off. A few suppliers held onto high pricing for too long. The quality is good with only slight discoloration occurring. Insect damage is minimal. Southern California and Salinas continue to be the main regions for production of this commodity. Expect moderate to good supplies for the rest of the week. There will be price gaps among the different shippers in the Salinas valley, so please keep in mind.

Good supplies of product are being harvested in Salinas. This coupled with Oxnard and Santa Maria production has made this commodity readily available. Small size availability has increased and this is reflective of lower pricing with most suppliers. The best deals continue to be with twenty-four count packs. Good quality is being reported from all the regions.

Transitions:
Celery:
Salinas has good supplies being harvested for this commodity.

Rainier cherries are currently peaking on supplies with excellent quality. We expect to see good volume through the 26'th of June with supplies dropping off and finishing around the 10'th of July. Red cherries are still struggling for supply and look to remain tight but steady through first week of July. Quality is reported as excellent on all.

Peak Seasons:
Cherries:
Rainier cherries are at peak volume now through the 26'th of June in Washington.

Crop is peaking on 140s and smaller. Demand is exceeding supplies on all sizes and grades of fruit. Very good demand and drought conditions in growing areas means production of less fruit and no size growth are the major factors for the demand exceed conditions.

Alerts:
Lemons:
Demand exceeds supply. Summertime demand and lighter production caused by the California drought. Expect lighter supplies throughout the summer and into the fall.

The lime market has leveled out at the current levels. The prices are nearly the same now on all sizes whereas in the past the spread has been several dollars. Growers are harvesting less due to low market conditions. Lower prices have helped spur demand on all sizes. The overall quality is very good on the crop that is being harvested. Growers are starting to get into old crop limes now. We should start seeing thinner skin with lighter color in some lots coming up. Scattered rain showers are in the forecast over the next few weeks in the growing area of Veracruz Mexico.

California Navel crop is coming to it's end. Still a few left and peaking on 72s/56s. California Valencia oranges are going in good volume on 72s, 88s, 113s. Quality on Valencias is very good.

The green seedless grape market is steady with adequate supplies for generally flat demand. Quality is mostly good although the excess heat in some regions is slowing down growth and limiting harvest. Some areas are showing more shatter in the bag as we move towards the final weeks of the season.

The red seedless grapes out of Mexico are finishing. Harvest should be complete by the end of this week (some suppliers are already done) and all should be cleaned up on inventory by the 26'th of June. Quality out of Mexico has suffered recently due to the excess humidity in the growing regions (resulting in some mold in scattered lots). The Coachella region is running at full speed with the Scarlet Royals. Quality is reported as excellent. Demand in all regions is just fair.

Transitions:
Red Grapes:
The Arvin region is starting on red grapes as early as June 22'nd.

This market is steady. Strong production continues out of the Baja region of Mexico with excellent supply. Supplies continue to exceed demand. The storms that have hit in the Baja region did not affected this crop. All sizing is available. Light supplies are being harvested in Salinas. The heavier abundance of product is coming in small and medium size packs.

The market is firm on this commodity. A few shippers were sold out in the middle of the week as supplies tightened up. Expect this commodity to be on the light side of availability for the rest of the week. Common defects continue to include puffiness, insect damage and ribbing. This is showing up during harvesting. Weights on palletized lettuce are ranging from 38-44 pounds. Salinas and Santa Maria are the two main growing regions at this time. The heaviest supplies continue to be produced out of Salinas.

The romaine market is unchanged. Although a few shippers have attempted to raise pricing, the market is steady, overall. The romaine has not been as strong due to past weather conditions and this has limited the chopped romaine's shelf life. There have been reports of pinking and simple breakdown of product. Romaine hearts continue to be in a demand exceeds supply situation. Escalated pricing is in effect. Quality issues on romaine continue to include some tip burn, insect damage, wind burn, decay and mildew. These are common defects with this commodity, especially in the Salinas Valley. The weights are ranging between 29-34 pounds. These same issues are also evident in green and red leaf items. Butter supplies are light to moderate.

The desert has finally caught up to the current demand and the market is steady for now. Overall supplies are not as heavy as they were during their peak production a few weeks ago, but they are currently satisfying demand. The peak size is split between 12 and 15ct. Overall quality is good with some growers in the Brawley, Holtville and El Centro areas experiencing 50% lower yields than expected due to a crop disease called Fuserium, brought on by the past rains followed by excessive heat and humidity. The condition was aggravated further by the lack of wind which would have dried out the fields. The "west side" is set to start the week of July 6th.

Transitions:
Cantaloupes:
Production is set to start July 6th in the San Joaquin valley the "West Side" as it's called. The desert will be supplying demand up to this point and shortly afterwards too.

The desert supplies are slightly less this week, which has caused the market to increase a little. The domestic dews have excellent quality and are commanding a premium compared to the product from Mexico. The quality on Mexican and domestic dews is very nice and they all have high sugar contents as well. The peak size is 6ct on the domestic dews coming in right now. Supplies out of Mexico remain at low levels with 6s and 8s being the main sizes coming in.

Central California and New Mexico are packing and shipping all colors and sizes as fast as they can with the high yet steady markets. The California and New Mexico size profile on the yellow onions is peaking on Jumbos and larger with very few mediums being packed. Red and white onion markets and supplies are steady out of both growing areas. Next week, the red onion market could gap with a few grower as they switch fields, which could cause this market to firm up. Vidalia Sweet Onions are now coming out of storage. Sizing on this crop is small and store-ability is fair due to wet weather and cloud cover during their growing season. Expect the Vidalia season to end mid July. Walla Walla Sweets just started harvest last week. Adverse weather during the growing season has the sizing on this crop small with low yields. Look for a strong market with light supplies most of this season.

Washington is still shipping D'anjou pears but most suppliers have finished with red pears. The D'anjous are steady on all sizes and are still peaking on US#1 80-100s. Most packers are out of all sizes in the fancy grade. Washington will have D'anjou pears through July.
On the import side we still have Chilean Packhams and Bosc. The Chilean Packhams are steady to lower and the Bosc are steady. The Packhams are still peaking on 100s while the Bosc are heavier to 100/110s.

Transitions:
Pears:
California will start packing Bartlett pears the week of July 6-10.

Idaho - Demand is moderate at best. Market is steady to slightly weaker on 70 count and smaller. Large carton market is still firm with slightly better availability due to lighter demand currently. Quality is still fair with a few good lots. The main issues showing up in the packs are pressure bruising, internal black spots and occasional decay. I feel this will continue though the balance of the storage crop which will finish up the end of July through the first part of August.
Washington - Demand and market is steady on all sizes and packs. Quality is good. Washington looks to have good availability on large cartons through the end of their storage season.
Colorado/Wisconsin - Market is steady on 70 count and smaller. Supplies of larger cartons are limited with most shippers holding a firm market. Quality is good.

Bakersfield, California continues to pack reds, golds, and whites. All colors are both peaking on A-size and the markets are steady for all. Both the reds and golds are short on premium and baker size. The quality has been good.
Phoenix, Arizona continues to pack reds and golds and the markets are steady to higher. Both colors continue to peak on A-size and they will be available for two more weeks. The quality has been good.
Northern Florida (Hastings) is packing light supplies of reds and whites and they will continue through next week. A couple shippers have golds left but very few. The reds are being quoted higher and there is no gold market. The white market is steady. The Florida red and white quality has been good.

Transitions:
Colored Potatoes:
North Carolina will start packing white potatoes next week (6/22) and will start packing golds and reds the following week (6/29).

The peach and nectarine markets are about steady with some play in the larger tray pack sizes showing up. Quality is very good on both. The plum markets are also showing steady with some prices softening on the larger sizes with select shippers. Apricots are more available as the growers move into their next varieties to harvest. Price has moderated somewhat with quality being reported as generally very good.

Rounds - Northern Florida is in full swing with volume and quality good. Volume may start to taper off sometime next week. Weather in the region has been warm and thunderstorms are forecasted for later this week. Demand is low/steady and expected to remain that way through the rest of the week.

Grape / Cherry - Cherries in the region are starting to come around in volume. This should help the market settle a bit. Grapes are in a better situation and are good in volume and quality is improving but still suspect. Demand is low for this reason but there are deals to be made.

Romas - The supply is similar to the rounds on the Romas. Product should remain with good quality and volume through the end of next week.

Rounds - Mexico production is continuing to increase and quality remains good. Market is holding steady. Central California product is available and at good prices. The transition is continuing to pick up its pace. The product report in Central California shows good size and quality.

Roma - Tomatoes out of Northern Mexico is still holding steady in volume and quality. Availability should remain steady with additional growers coming on. California fruit will start soon in the South.

Cherry / Grape - Product is steady. With product coming on in the east and Nogales most of this product will remain local. Central Mexico's product going into Texas is still consistent and the quality is good. The market should hold steady through the end of the week.