The Source - March 31, 2016

Washington - red delicious are steady on all grades and sizes and they continue to peak on 72/80/88s. Lower grade reds remain limited and most suppliers are still subbing up up to cover orders. Golden delicious are steady on all sizes and grades. Goldens continue to peak on Wash-Extra 100/113s and most suppliers don't have much larger than an 88-size. The Golden market is steady on all sizes and grades. Granny-smith are steady on all sizes and are still peaking 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 is firm due to strong demand. Most Gala suppliers still don't have much fruit larger than an 88. Fujis are steady on all sizes and the market remains firm due to light supplies. Washington Fujis continue to peak on extra-fancy 80-100's. A few Jonagolds and Braeburns are available but supplies are very limited. The quality for all varieties has been good.
Michigan - Red delicious are steady on all sizes but there is some volume flex on 100s and larger. Reds continue to peak on 80/88s. McIntosh are steady on all sizes but supplies are light. Galas are steady to higher on all sizes but supplies remain very light. Golden delicious are steady but the market is firm due to light supplies. The Goldens are still peaking on 125/138s. Jonathans are steady to on all sizes due to lighter supplies. Jonathans are still peaking on 150/138/125s. Fujis are steady to higher due to light supplies. Red Romes are steady on all sizes but supplies are low on them as well.
New York - Red delicious, Red Romes, and Empires are all steady. Gala supplies are light and the market is firm. Empire volume is hit and miss but there are occasional deals. The quality has been good on all varieties.

The Asparagus market is firming up on both California and Mexican product. Colder weather in the California growing region has slowed growth and limited the supplies out of Salinas and the Central Valley. Also Caborca Mexico is slowly finishing with supplies over the next couple of weeks. Quality is still excellent with nice green color and little spreading of the tips.

Alerts:
The market is starting to trend higher due to lack of supplies in all growing regions.

California harvest picked up a bit last week and looks to be consistent this week. Volume looks to build through April. We still continue to see smaller fruit than we would typically would see this time of year. Fruit is just not sizing up as growers had hoped due to the lack of water in the southern growing area.

Volume from Mexico last week crossing into the US dip down with the limited Easter holiday work week schedules in Mexico. This dip in volume has tighten supplies just slightly this week, and will rebound for next week. The size curve continues to be an issue with larger fruit being plentiful, and smaller fruit at a relative premium.

Green bell pepper continue to be very limited. Product is mostly large with very few number two product being offered.

Red pepper is very good Quality with mostly number one product being offered in both the blocky and elongated variety.
product being offered in 25,15 and 11lb units.

Yellow pepper in both variety and all pack styles.Both red and yellow have been fighting for color due to cold weather in the growing region.

Supply has improved some for the second half of this week. Some grower-shippers are still struggling with availability and transfers from MX but others have better supplies than we've seen in the last 2-3 weeks. We are still seeing some issues with red cell and soft, broken berries.

Alerts:
Supplies are still light but are improving.

Chile has ended major blueberry production for the season. Central Mexico and Baja are still in steady production and FL and CA are beginning to produce on a small scale. Supplies will continue to be short over the next 2-3 weeks at least and markets continue to get stronger. Supplies are very limited, demand exceeding. Domestic production is not coming on quick enough to avoid a supply gap.

Alerts:
Supplies are very limited, demand exceeding. Domestic production is not coming on quick enough to avoid a supply gap.

Transitions:
California's central valley blueberry production is forecasted to begin around May 1.

Demand and supplies have been more steady this week. We've had some shortages from delayed transfers, etc. Quality is good.

Alerts:
Limited availability, transfers from MX have been delayed this week.

Transitions:
Salinas and Watsonville production is getting started in a small way.

Demand and supply remain fairly steady. Salinas and Watsonville production are increasing. Santa Maria is producing steadily and we should see an increase there in the next few weeks as well. Oxnard is still producing steadily but will begin to wind down as we move through April. There are some instances of split tier pricing, some quoting quality issues out of Oxnard. Sizing is best out of Santa Maria/Salinas/Watsonville (10-14 cnt) and Oxnard is smaller, anywhere from (14-26 cnt.) With cooler weather this week in all growing regions, fruit has firmed up and quality has improved overall. Some sample reports of white shoulder, green tips, bronzing and bruising, especially out of Oxnard region.

Transitions:
Salinas and Watsonville production are beginning to pick up.

These strawberries inspected in Oxnard

These strawberries inspected in Salinas

The market remains steady with several growing regions still packing. Supplies are also steady as well. Quality is really nice with tights beads and limited yellowing. Demand is also fallen off creating more supplies than the shippers expected with transition.

Brussel Sprouts continue to be in extremely short supply coming from Mexico. The market also remains active because of these limited supplies. Domestic Brussel Sprouts are not set to start in Salinas until mid to late June. Quality issues still exist with some black decay and pale in color, more light green than dark.

Alerts:
Brussel Sprout supplies continue to be extremely limited from Mexico.

Size is coming back very slowly on the crop coming out of the Coachella and Imperial Valleys of California. Carrots are still small, and yields are showing some improvement, but not what was hoped for 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 of medium size and baby peeled carrots are is good.

The market on cauliflower is starting to react. Yuma for the most part is finished. So this is putting pressure on Salinas and Santa Maria. The weather have been relatively cool for growing conditions. Demand has picked up for the end of this week and look for it to carry into next week. Supplies are starting to tighten up. Quality remains good with little bruising upon arrivals.

Alerts:
Decreased supplies have caused a spike in the market. Look for prices to be active into next week.

This market is steady, overall. Small sizing has firmed up and pricing is slightly higher as opposed to large sizing. Expect orders to be filled however as demand is off. Oxnard, Yuma as well as Florida are the current loading locations. The quality continues to be strong in all the growing regions. Suppliers are competitive in pricing, and this looks to continue throughout the week. Yuma will have production for approximately one to two more weeks.

Jalapeno; Very good size and condition on limited supply, sizing is dropping slightly as some growers finish some fields and look to new acreage.

Serrano; Some growers are finishing and supply has dropped. 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 with very large sizes. This will continue well into the spring.

The market is relatively flat with decent supplies. All three growing regions are still in full swing. Some quality issues upon arrival have been minimal yellowing of the leaves to some black slimy decay as well.

The central valley and the Ventura crops are going and both are peaking on 140s and smaller size fruit. Larger sized fruit is tight and strong demand for 165s has them cleaning up daily. Demand remains very strong.

The lime market is higher on all sizes. Demand is good on all sizes across the board. The peak sizes are shifting towards smaller sizes now. 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. Supplies are remaining extremely short for the week due to Easter Holiday. The possibility of short supplies looks to now carry over into the middle of next week.

Good picking last week, and looks good for this week. Shippers have good in inventory. Eating excellent and look beautiful, with peak sizing on 72s/56s/88s. Demand is back up on 113s/138s as school demand begins to come back in for these smaller sizes.

Supply on cucumber is improving slightly. More supply from the northern district. Quality is better on all sizes and pack styles.
Color is good with very few quality defects Many euro cucumbers are available with large volume and good availability.

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.

Supply of quality green grapes continues to become limited. Fruit with darker color or some age may be offered out at cheaper prices, but quality might be an issue, Markets on high quality fruit has climbed up a couple more dollars this week. We expect to see the green grape markets to continue to edge up as supplies will get even more limited as we approach the storage crop period beginning April 11th.

Red grape supplies continue to remain steady. Quality is strong and market prices have come off slightly this week. As we move forward into the weekend, we expect more arrivals of Crimsons and we anticipate the market to continue to decline slowly through next week. Once storage crop begins, market prices will firm up quickly.

Green Onion supplies have been sporadic with crossings from Mexico on iceless. There are plenty of supplies of iced green onions with shippers offering deals to move the excess volume. The market on iceless does vary from shipper to shipper solely based on availability. Some quality issues have been yellow to brown tops.

The kale market is steady at lower levels and will remain that way for the week. Supplies are really good from both growing regions. Also there doesn't look to be a gap once we transition to Salinas. Quality is excellent with little dehydration.

This market is unchanged. Suppliers are willing to deal on volume type orders. Harvesting of lettuce is currently occurring in Santa Maria, Yuma and Huron. Warm temperatures continue to be excessive in the Yuma region. Defects include mechanical damage, misshapen heads and insect damage in Yuma. Huron and Santa Maria lettuce has some similar defects as well. The weights on wrap are averaging 39-45 pounds pending on the shipper. Expect Yuma to finish up by next week.

Production on all leaf items continue to be generated out of Yuma, Salinas, Santa Maria/Oxnard and Huron. Most shippers are willing to deal on volume type orders so please be aware. All leaf items are good to promote for the week. Some defects continue to exists. These defects include slight ribbing, dehydration, discoloration, tip burn and insect damage. The weights are averaging 32-36 pounds on romaine while red and green leaf are averaging 21-24 pounds.

Cantaloupe supplies are returning to more normal levels and demand has returned to normal for this time of year. The quality is good overall with some lots being exceptionally nice. The peak size is currently 9ct. The current market is steady on all sizes but there is a hint of upside in it. Demand will determine the direction and with more schools coming back in and warmer weather there is a good chance it will go up soon. There are 15ct lopes being packed now and virtually zero 18ct coming over.

Demand has picked up on honeydews while supplies have lightened up more. The peak size for the offshore is 6ct and the small amount of Mexican dews are peaking on 6ct. All sizes are available now. Honduran and Guatemalan grown honeydews are really good. Mexican dews continue to ship out of Nogales AZ and the volume is light. The Mexican dews are also very nice. The market is higher across the board with a vast majority of the shippers.

The spring crop has finally arrived and product is now being shipped from southern Sonora Mexico. The supply has increased and the availability will be increasing everyday. Shippers will look to promote and increase the movement. Quality condition and brix are all very good.

Onions are still coming out of Idaho and Washington with new crop coming out of Mexico and very limited volumes of Texas onions shipping currently. Demand is moderate to light. Market are steady on most yellows out of all areas with red and white onion coming off slightly. The Northwest onions supplies are getting into fewer and fewer hands but should be available in the third week of April. Southern California onions growers could start on Yellow onion as early as the third week of April with Red onions starting a week or two later.

Washington - D'anjou pears are steady and they are still peaking on larger fruit. 110-count and smaller remain short along with all sizes of the fancy grade. Bosc pears are steady and continue to peak on US#1 90/100/110s. Bosc still have better availability of the smaller sizes in the US#1 grade but all sizes of fancy grade are short. Bosc will finish up in mid-April. Red pears are steady on all sizes and they are peaking on half carton 45/50s and full carton 90/100s, but supplies are light. The red pears will also finish in mid April. The quality on domestic D'anjous, Bosc, and red pears has been good.
Chile - Chilean Bartlett pears are finished coming in and supplies are limted. Packhams are steady and continue to produce US#1 80/90/100s. Argentinian Bartletts are steady and are peaking on US#1 100/110s but only 100-size and larger are available here in the U.S. The quality on all of the imported varieties has been good.

Demand has drop this week after a very good Easter pull. We are back to a more normal demand for the lighter, but steady supplies that we have. Still looking for supplies start to come back as we move through April.

Demand and pricing remains steady on all packs and sizes throughout the Northwest. Larger size potatoes 40-60 count are continuing to see good demand with lighter availability. Quality is still being reported as good. The main variety out of Idaho is Burbank's as the Norkotah's is only in a few hands and will vanish at the end of April .

Bakersfield, California - reds and golds are steady to higher and continue to peak on A-size. Supplies are limited on all sizes. The quality on both colors has ranged from good to fair. Bakersfield will start to pack new-crop white potatoes on Thursday.
Western Washington - The remaining reds and golds are steady and both are peaking on A size, but supplies are limited. Their season will finish at the end of this week.
Idaho - reds and golds are steady but supplies remain generally light. Both colors continue to peak on A-size. One Idaho supplier will pack through march and the other two will go through April. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - reds and golds are both steady and they continue to peak on A-size but supplies are limited. Suppliers here continue to buy bulk from N.D. and repack it. The quality has ranged from fair to good.
North Dakota - Reds and gold's are steady to higher and the market remains firm due to light supplies. Some suppliers have finished with golds. Both colors are peaking on A-size. The quality has ranged from fair to good.
S. Florida - reds and gold's are steady but the market remains firm due to light supplies. Whites are not available this week. Poor yields are keeping the Florida market up on all colors. Both reds and golds are peaking on A-size.

Transitions:
Bakersfield, California will start to pack new-crop white potatoes tomorrow. Reds and golds will start next Thursday, April 6.

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

Yellow squash supply is very limited and many lots are showing Quality and condition issues. Italian squash is being harvested with large volume and deals being offered, great quality on most volume from all growers.

Not much change on Chilean tree fruit. Supplies, quality and markets have remained steady. Domestic tree fruit is expected to begin mid April with early variety peaches, nectarines and apricots. Cherries will follow shortly after. Prices for advanced commitments on early stone fruit and cherries are available.