The Source - May 20, 2015

Summary

PRO*ACT's procurement team is excited to unveil a new way to view and interact with The Source! In addition to the PDF version, the online version allows you to interact with weather maps specific to each growing region, see updated information, view alerts, and go directly to the commodities that are of most interest to you.

Weather Update

The cool weather pattern along the West Coast continues through the week as a couple of weak cold fronts move into California. These systems do not contain a lot of moisture but will bring a chance of light showers and isolated thunderstorms to California into Friday. This weather pattern will continue to bring in a deep marine layer, fog and drizzle along the entire coast. Temperatures will remain below average through the week as coastal valleys struggle to reach the low 60s with low 70s in the inland regions. In the Southwest, N Mexico and Baja temperatures remain unseasonably cool (5-15degrees) with strong, gusty winds through the week under the influence of these low pressure systems.
In the Southeast scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast as a weak cold front moves into the region. Temperatures in the 80s to low 90s are forecast through the week.

Freight Update

Trucks in CA look to be tighter than normal this week due to the Memorial Day holiday next Monday. Trucks in the Northwest and Idaho look to be steady but will tighten up toward the end of the week. Crude oil remains steady at 58.70 per barrel. Fuel prices continue to remain steady.

Commodity Updates (Click row for summary) Expand All

Apples

New York is still packing a few Red Delicious and Red Romes. Both varieties are still peaking larger fruit. The quality has been good. New York expects to pack through the first week in June..
Michigan is still packing Ida-reds, Jonagolds, Jonathans, McIntosh, Red Delicious, and Red Romes. The Red Romes, Red Delicious, and Jonagolds are peaking on the larger sizes. The Jonathans and Ida-reds are peaking on smaller fruit. Availability is light for all varieties as the end of the season approaches. The quality has been good.
Washington Red Delicious are steady but most suppliers will flex on volume orders of 88's and larger. Most packers are peaking on 88's and larger in the premium and Washington extra-fancy #1 grades. Small reds remain relatively short. Golden Delicious are steady on all sizes. The Goldens remain evenly sized but 125's and 138's are relatively short. Granny-Smith are steady and are peaking on 64/72's. Granny-smith 100-size and small are very short. Fujis are steady to higher and are peaking on the larger sizes. Small Fujis remain extremely short. Galas are also steady to higher and are still peaking on 88/100's. The Galas have better availability in the smaller sizes than most other varieties. Opals, Pink Lady's, and Braeburns are the only varietals left and supplies are light.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Coopersville/Belding/Sparta, MI Steady Good
Hudson/Pleasant Valley/Red Hook, NY Steady Good
Wenatchee/Yakima, WA and Hood River, OR Steady Good
Asparagus

Peruvian production continues to be strong in availability and represents the best deals to be had. Loading out of Miami allows for the best pricing in the marketplace. All sizing is available, with the majority coming in standard and large size packs. Loading in Southern California is an option as well. Mexican production is moderate at best. Standard and large sizing are the main packs available on eleven pound cases for Mexican as well as California product. There are decent of jumbos available as well. Twenty-eight pound cases are not being packed out of the regions already mentioned.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Caborca, Mexico Steady Good
Ica, Peru to Trujillo Steady Good
Salinas Valley, CA Higher Good
Avocado (California)

California growers are harvesting good volume. They are peaking on 60's and smaller, with 48's and larger still limited in harvest. We'll see crop fill in with a broader range of sizing as we move through the month. Overall volume of this year's California crop looks to be lighter than first projected due to the drought. Quality and flavor are both very good.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Oxnard/Ventura, CA Steady Excellent
Temecula/Escondido, CA Steady Excellent
Avocado (Mexican)

Mexico is over 75% harvested for their season. Good supplies continue to come in, and still heavy to 60's and smaller. 48's and larger remain tight, but are showing some slight improvement. Quality and flavor are at their peak.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Michoacan, Mexico Steady Excellent
Berries (Blackberries)

Market and demand remain fairly steady. California fruit is being sold at a premium over Mexican fruit. Mexico volumes continue to decline and California fruit continues to increase slowly. Some quality issues showing up are red cell and soft spots, bleeding. Overall, the new California fruit has looked very nice.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Santa Maria, CA Steady Good
Central Mexico Lower/Steady Fair
Salinas, CA Steady Good
Watsonville, CA Steady Good
Berries (Blueberries)

Market is steady, demand is good. Fruit availability has been snug on both coasts and looks to be the same situation to start next week. Florida has finished most local production. Georgia volume is light as the high bush varieties end and the rabbit eye varieties have not yet started. North Carolina should start in the next week which will help to increase supply on the eastern side. California crop has slowed down over the recent weeks with rain and cooler weather. Mexican production continues to decline out of all areas. Availability is light in all packs.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Central Florida Steady Good
Central Mexico Steady Good
Santa Maria, CA Steady Good
Berries (Raspberries)

Market and demand remain fairly steady. As Mexico continues to decline weekly, we will see an increase in California fruit. Overall volume should remain steady as the crop transitions to CA. Some quality issues reported with soft, overripe berries.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Central Mexico Steady Fair
Watsonville, CA Steady Good
Salinas, CA Steady Good
Santa Maria, CA Steady Good
Berries (Strawberries)

Demand and market are trending downward as we've passed the largest portion of the Memorial Day berry pull. Some shippers are considering ending the Santa Maria fresh production season early to help maintain the market for fresh strawberries. They may be diverting fields into freezer/juice as early as the next couple of weeks. Overall quality is fair to good. Some quality issues showing up in the packs from the recent rain would be light color, soft spots, bruising and occasional mold. Fruit may not have the shelf life you are used to for this period. Please make sure to maintain proper cold chain to maximize shelf life. Grower/ shippers are working with their harvest crews to divert as much subpar fruit as possible and put quality fruit into the clams.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Salinas Valley, CA Lower/Steady Fair
Watsonville, CA Lower/Steady Fair
Santa Maria, CA Lower/Steady Fair
Oxnard, CA Lower/Steady Fair
Broccoli

This market is still active. Crowns as well as bunched product continue to gain strength in the marketplace. The main production is coming out of the Salinas Valley. The problems with knuckling and branching continue with bunched product. Crowns will be very light throughout the week. Santa Maria will be light in availability all week. Production in Mexico is moderate to light and crowns have tightened up in this region as well.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Celaya Guanjuato Mexico Higher Fair
Oxnard/Santa Maria, CA Higher Fair
Salinas Valley, CA Higher Fair
Carrots

California desert crop is starting to finish, and Bakersfield crop is just starting. Size is only fair coming out of the desert crop and it is to early for much size in Bakersfield. Jumbo size remains snug.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Coachella Valley, CA Steady Good
Bakersfield/Santa Maria, CA Steady Good
Cauliflower

This market is firm. Demand continues to exceed supplies. Escalated pricing is in effect. There is a gap in production that will run through the week at a minimum. Quality issues continue to be reported with irregular size heads and slight discoloration seen upon arrival. Santa Maria and Salinas are the main growing regions currently.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Oxnard/Santa Maria, CA Steady Fair
Salinas Valley, CA Steady Fair
Celery

This market continues to gain strength. Smaller sizing overall is tighter in availability. Loading in Oxnard/Santa Maria continues to give the best fob price. Salinas will not begin production until mid to late June. The quality is being reported as good in terms of sizing and texture. Loading in Salinas for this commodity will cost extra money due to the transportation fee from the Oxnard region tacked onto the fob price.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Oxnard/Santa Maria, CA Higher Good
Cherries

The cherry market is about steady with excellent quality. The southern San Joaquin deal has peaked and is cleaning up as the Lodi / Stockton area continues with good supplies. The northern San Joaquin will overlap with the Washington cherry deal the last week of May.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Fresno / Visalia, CA Steady Excellent
Stockton / Lodi, CA Steady Excellent
Citrus (Lemons) Alert

Size curve of the crop is peaking on 140's and smaller. Demand is exceeding supplies on all sizes and grades of fruit. Very good demand and drought conditions in growing areas producing less fruit and no size growth are the major factor for the demand exceed conditions.

- pa_admin

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.

Growing Region Market Quality
Merced/Bakersfield, CA Higher Good
Oxnard/Ventura, CA Higher Good
Citrus (Limes)

The lime market came down on the larger sizes from last week's levels and is currently holding. The smaller sizes are holding pretty steady with a hint of upside in the prices from some shippers. Supplies are increasing on larger sizes now and decreasing slightly on smaller sizes. The previous forecast of lower overall supplies from April through mid May has held true to date on larger sizes but that trend is now reversing. Lower prices have helped spur demand on all sizes. The overall quality is good on the new crop that is being harvested.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Veracruz, Mexico Steady Good
Citrus (Oranges)

California Navel crop is dropping off and peaking on 72's/56's. California Valencia oranges are going. Labor to pick the fruit has become an issue now with the labor force being spilt with the stone fruit harvest going as well. Demand is exceeding supplies on smaller fruit 113's and 138's. Quality on Valencias is very good, color is nice and brix are 11-12.00 average.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Merced to Bakersfield, CA Steady Good
Riverside, CA Steady Good
Grapes (Green)

The green grape market is steady out of Mexico with good demand. Sizing continues to improve as the Perlette deal is peaking. Sugarones are set to start in about a week with early reports on size and quality as excellent. The green grape market out of Coachella continues to be strong with limited availability due to the lower than normal temperatures for this time of year.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Sonora, Mexico Steady Excellent
Coachella Valley, CA Steady/Higher Excellent
Grapes (Red)

The red grape market out of Mexico is adjusting downward in response to light demand and much better volume. Volume is heavy to the medium large flames and this is where the shippers are offering out the best buying opportunities. The Coachella market on red grapes has adjusted downward due to the dropping market in Mexico. However, the volume available out of Coachella is still limited by comparison and this market continues to demand a premium over the Mexican fruit.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Sonora, Mexico Lower/Steady Excellent
Coachella Valley, CA Steady Excellent
Green Onions

This market continues on a steady path. Most of the production for this commodity is being produced out of the Baja region of Mexico. Supplies will be strong throughout the week. All sizing is available. Light supplies are being harvested in Salinas. The heavier abundance of product is coming in small and medium size packs.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Mexicali, Baja Steady Good
Salinas Valley, CA Steady Good
Lettuce Iceberg

This market is softer. There continues to be a gap in pricing among the different shippers by as much as five dollars. The Salinas Valley continues to produce the bulk of the lettuce supplies with Southern California also in moderate production. Local production continues in the U.S. The weights are ranging from 41-47 pounds for California product. Issues include ribbing, insect damage, rusting and puffiness from California.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Oxnard/Santa Maria, CA Steady Fair
Salinas Valley, CA Lower Fair
Lettuce Leaf

Romaine is stronger. Quality issues continue. Tip burn, wind burn and mildew are common defects with this commodity. These issues are industry wide. Insects are not as big an issue as in past weeks, but they are still seen sporadically upon arrivals. The weight have dropped to 30-32 pounds as suppliers peel back to have a cleaner product. These same issues are also evident in green and red leaf items. Green and red leaf continue to be very light in availability with all suppliers. Both of these commodities are on escalated pricing and will be tight in availability all week. Demand continues to exceed supplies. Shippers are holding customers to averages.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Oxnard/Santa Maria, CA Higher Fair
Salinas Valley, CA Higher Fair
Melon (Cantaloupe)

Cantaloupe supplies are continuing to decrease regarding offshore melons and are expected to finish by the end of this week. The desert crop has good supplies which are increasing each week. Nogales supplies are finished for the season. Cantaloupe sizing overall from all areas is lighter on small sizes and more plentiful on larger sizes. Arrivals of offshore melons on the west coast are finished now. Demand is good on all sizes. Quality is excellent on the domestic lopes. The offshore lope quality is still acceptable with some shipments coming in soft. The desert region experienced some rainfall last Friday and Saturday. The showers disrupted harvesting and some lopes may have a little dirt on them because of muddy conditions. The market is currently holding steady.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Zacapa, Guatemala Lower/Steady Poor
Maricopa, AZ Steady Excellent
Yuma, AZ Steady Excellent
Holtville, CA Steady Excellent
Melon (Honeydew)

Offshore honeydew supplies continue to remain lighter than previous weeks and will be finished before the end of this month. Some offshore shippers have already finished for the season. Demand is not very good on offshore dews because of lower quality. Supplies out of Mexico are tapering off now from their peak production levels. The desert has started with volume picking up nicely and the dews are excellent quality. The quality on Mexican and domestic dews are very nice and they all have high sugar contents too. The peak size is 6's on all dews coming in. The dew market is steady on all domestic and Mexican dews while deals are being made on the lower quality offshore product.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Zacapa, Guatemala Lower Fair
Hermosillo, Mexico Steady Good
Maricopa, AZ Steady Excellent
Yuma, AZ Steady Excellent
Onions

The onion market continues to rise on all colors and sizes as supplies wind down out of Texas and Southern California. The markets will stay active until New Mexico and Northern California get up to speed which will be the middle of June. Northern California has started in a very light way this week with yellows and whites. Reds will not start till late next week. New Mexico will break ground in a light way next week on Yellows onions followed by red onions the following week. Southern California and Texas growing areas received rain last week which has hurt the quality of the onions. Staining and dirty onions are the main issue out of California. There is some decay showing up in the onions out of Texas. The forecast is calling for slight chance of Rain Friday in California.

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Growing Region Market Quality
Calipatria/El Centro, CA Higher Fair
McAllen/Uvalde, TX Higher Poor
Huron/Metler, CA Higher Good
Pears

Washington is packing both D'anjou pears and red pears and the markets are steady. The D'anjous are peaking on US#1 80-100's and have limited availability of fancy-grade fruit. The red pears are peaking on 50/55 half-cartons and supplies are light. They will be available through May.
On the import side we have Chilean Packhams and Bosc. The Packhams are steady on all sizes and are peaking on 100's. Chilean Bosc are steady as well and are heavier to 100/110's.
California is set to start packing new crop Bartlett pears the week of July 6th.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Wenatchee/Yakima, WA and Hood River, OR Steady Good
Chile Steady Good
Potatoes

Little change in demand or pricing out of all growing areas (Idaho, Washington, Colorado and Wisconsin) this week. Larger potatoes continue to demand a premium with limited supplies out of Idaho. Washington, Colorado and Wisconsin are in larger shortages and are producing large cartons currently. Quality is good out of all areas.
All shipping regions are not concerned about running out of storage potatoes before fresh crop arrives at this time.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Hamer/Rupert, ID Steady Good
Quincy/Hermiston, WA Steady Good
Eastern Colorado Steady Good
Plover/Bancroft, WI Steady Good
Potatoes (colored)

Bakersfield, California continues to pack all colors and all are peaking on A-size. There are some volume deals available on red A's. The quality has been good.
Phoenix, Arizona continues to pack reds and golds. All sizes are available in the reds and they are peaking on A-size but the B supplies are good as well. The golds are heavier to B-size. The quality has been good.
Pearsall, Texas is still packing reds but is still rained out.
Northern Florida (Hastings) is also packing all colors. The Red A market is stronger again due to strong demand, all other sizes and colors are fairly steady. The size-profile is heavy to A-size for all colors. The Florida quality has been good.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Bakersfield, CA Steady Good
Phoenix, AZ Steady Good
Pearsall, TX Steady/Higher Good
Hastings/Bunnell/East Palatka, FL Steady Good
Stone Fruit

The peach and nectarine market is about steady with select buying opportunities on a variety of sizes (depending upon the specific shippers needs). Quality is reported as very good. The plum market is good with more shippers coming into the early season harvest daily. Sizing is running heavily to the 60 series on both red and black plums. The apricot market is steady with a wide range of sizes available.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Madera south to Arvin, CA Steady Excellent
Tomatoes (Eastern)

Palmetto/Ruskin growers are harvesting heavy volumes of round tomatoes this week. Quality remains very nice on both rounds and romas. Roma available in the Southeast however most the volume is crossing in the West. When it comes to cherry and grape tomatoes, product availability by region continues to drive pricing on both items. Florida grape and Cherry tomatoes are past their flush and have slowed down in production allowing for a small increasing in pricing with no major shifts in demand.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Southern Florida Steady Good
Tomatoes (Western)

There are good supplies of round tomatoes coming out of the west right now. Hearty supplies of minimally-priced fruit are still available daily, though typically only western buyers have interest in this product. The fright rates keep the supply regional to shipping point, but given Florida's low pricing, even some western buyers have been looking east for their procurement needs. Production has begun in the California desert and the Central Valley is expected to begin as we head into next month also. Mexico continues to harvest romas in strong volumes. With more growers starting production in Baja the outlook is good for supply and availability. Grape production is increasing in Baja with good supply crossing into southern California where supplies should be ample through the rest of the year.

- pa_admin
Growing Region Market Quality
Coachella Valley, CA Steady Good
Northern Baja California Norte, Mexico Steady Good

Things You Should Know

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

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