The Source - May 31, 2016

Washington - Red delicious are steady but the market remains firm on all sizes. Most shippers are still peaking on extra-fancy 72-88s. Many suppliers are still subbing up to the extra-fancy grades to cover volume orders of the fancy grade. Golden Delicious are steady on all sizes and grades and are still peaking on Wash-Extra 100/113s. Most suppliers don't have much larger than an 88-size Golden. Granny Smith are also steady on all sizes and they continue to peak on 88-113s. Most suppliers still don't have much larger than an 88 or smaller than a 125. Galas are steady but firm due to light supplies. Expect the market to continue to slowly rise until the end of the season. Most Gala suppliers still don't have much fruit larger than an 88. Fujis are steady on all sizes but firm due to light supplies. The Fuji market will also continue to slowly rise until the end of the season. Washington Fujis continue to peak on extra-fancy 80-100's. Pink Lady's remain steady but firm due to very strong demand. The quality for all varieties has been good.
Michigan - Red delicious are steady but firm and supplies remain limited. Reds continue to peak on 80/88s. McIntosh, Galas, Jonathans, and Red Rome are still available in limited supplies. The quality for all varieties has been good.
New York - Red delicious, McIntosh, and red Romes are all steady but supplies are very limited. Small fruit remains very short for all varietys. The remaining McIntosh are very large. The fruit quality has been good.
Chile - Chilean Galas are steady to slightly lower on both sides of the country. Imported Galas are peaking on 100-size and larger, the quality has been good. Imported Braeburns and Pink Lady's are steady and both are peaking on 90s and larger.

Volume from California is slowing down. Washington, Peru, and New Jersey are still strong. Markets are steady.

California will be peaking over the next few weeks with good volume. Size is skewed to small fruit, creating a supply issue for the mid-sized and large fruit. Demand and supply is beginning to match ounce again

Mexico's shipments to the US has stabilized some, but is still down nearly 40% from what it was just a few weeks ago. Demand has back off and we are staring to catch up with supplies even though key sizes of 40s/48s/60s remain tight. Markets are stabilizing. We are still looking at late June to the beginning of July when Mexico starts their Flor Loca crop, before any real volume increase is expected.

Green bell pepper. Southern California is shipping good size and quality, volume is improving with very good demand.

Red bell peppers- Southern California is shipping good supply with Quality much improved. Price's are maintaining steady.

Yellow bell pepper-. California has started with good quality. Mostly small and medium size.

Mexican production has passed peak production and is decreasing in volume. California production has started in a light way in continues to increase in volume. Quality is good and has improved. Hot weather could effect quality.

Domestic production is increasing in California. Georgia and the Carolina's experienced some rain in the growing regions which effected harvest. Mexico is also producing good supplies and quality. Quality is good in all areas.

Mexican production is decreasing while California production is increasing in Watsonville and Santa Maria. Oxnard also has raspberries and quality has been good in all areas.

California strawberry production continues to increase in Watsonville and Salinas. Santa Maria has passed it's peak production and some shippers are diverting some ranches into freezer/processing due to low demand for that area. Quality has been good out of all areas. The market remains steady

The broccoli market remains active as supplies from all growing regions continue to be in a supply gay. The weather this week will hopefully help with the growth and bring on supplies by week's end. Quality on the domestic front is very nice with good weights and minimal yellowing. Mexico is still quoting hallow heart.

Alerts:
Supplies remain short with elevated markets.

Steady supplies lead into this week as Oxnard has started production. And with that being said the market has adjusted to a stable level. Mexico is still harvesting as well. Quality is better from Mexico and very nice from Oxnard.

Transitions:
We are now transitioning to Oxnard California and Mexico will continue as well.

The Coachella and Imperial Valley crop is done. The Bakersfield crop has begun and is picking up in production. Growth rate is also showing some improvement and starting to yield a better percentage of Jumbo size, still a low percent, but improving. Supply of baby peeled carrots are good.

Cauliflower supplies are still a problem with all shippers struggling to get acreage to move forward. This supply gap has kept the market at high levels. Quality is hit and miss with some arrivals showing bruising and brown to black discoloration.

Alerts:
Supplies remain extremely short and markets are at high levels.

Production has changed as small sizing has become extremely tight in availability. Large sizing continues to be good and there are some shippers that are flexing based on the quantity of the order. Expect this market to get stronger by next week, as supplies are expected to be lighter. Production in Salinas should begin by the end of this week to the beginning of next. Production out of Salinas has been off by a few weeks. Oxnard and Santa Maria is the main growing areas for this commodity. Good quality is being reported from all shippers.

Dark sweet red cherries have moved to the Northwest regions with average supplies and good demand. Supplies are projected to drop off temporarily next week with much better numbers coming by the third week of June. This market should experience these peaks and valleys until then with very good supplies available for promotion the last week of June. Rainier cherries are beginning with light volume in the Northwest this week. Quality on all is reported as excellent.

Serrano - Quality remains good with better demand. Mostly medium to large size.

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 - Limited supplies on tomatillo due to transitioning from fields. Should see more availability mid-week.

The cilantro market is still flat. Supplies from all regions are plentiful. But there are some quality issues upon arrival with yellowing and dehydration.

The central valley crop is 96% harvested and winding down their season and the Ventura crop is our main supplier. Demand is very strong and continues to build. We are seeing 140s/165s/200s supplies clean up daily and many shippers sold out for the week by mid week.

The lime market remains high on the 110 & 150ct but they are coming down a bit. Demand is good on all sizes across the board. The peak size has remained in the smaller sizes such as 250ct and 230ct. This is the time of year where overall supplies are low and will remain at lower levels until the third or fourth week of May. The overall long term upward market trend has broken and lower prices are happening. Quality is good overall. The overall supplies are now increasing. The market is lower on the 175 - 250ct limes.

Shippers have good supplies of large sizes with crop peaking on 72s/56s. Smaller sizes (88s/113s/138s) have reached demand exceed supply. Some shippers have been packing new crop Valencia oranges for export and packing some small sizes for domestic use, but availability is very limited until more shippers come on line. Labor to harvest fruit is beginning to be an issue for some growers.

Good quality and condition on cucumbers coming out of California. Mostly select, super select's, and large being packed. Price maintaining steady.

Eggplant is now being harvested in Southern California. Excellent quality and condition on new crop product. Price is maintaining steady and maintaining good demand.

The green seedless grape market is steady out of Coachella to slightly lower out of Nogales. Quality in both regions is excellent with supplies increasing daily on the Mexican fruit. Size is running heavily to the large and extra large codes out of both areas.

Supplies continue to improve on the red seedless grapes out of Mexico. Size is running the range of medium large to extra large fruit with enough volume on the medium large fruit to pull the market down. Many shippers are offering discounts on volume to move the smaller profile fruit. Although supplies out of Coachella are about steady the discounts on the Mexican fruit will affect this market as well. Quality in both areas is excellent.

Plentiful supplies are coming from Mexico on both iced and iceless green onions. The market is aggressive and it is time to promote. The quality is very nice with little complaints of yellowing or browning of the tops.

There continues to be excellent supplies of kale from all growing regions. The market is relatively flat depend on supplier. Quality is excellent with little yellowing or dehydration.

Warm temperatures in the growing regions are expected for the entire week. Demand is up and supplies will be limited with most suppliers. This commodity is having issues such as irregular size heads, mechanical damage, puffy, ribby and slight insect damage. The weights are averaging 41-44 pounds on wrap. Judging from the beginning of the week, this market will be active all week with limited supplies.

This market is steady to start the week. Warm temperatures in all the growing regions will likely cause the usual defects. Expect to see fringe and tip burn as well as some internal burn on all leaf items. Insect damage has also been an issue. Overall, demand is moderate at best. Salinas and Santa Maria are the main growing regions for these items. The romaine heart production has lessened from the previous week 's production, but demand is being covered. This market looks to get stronger by the end of the week.

The offshore melons are finished for the season. The desert supplies are continuing to increase. Quality out of the desert is very nice. The market is lower for domestic supplies. Good weather for growing has been happening so supplies are abundant and demand has been lighter than normal.

The desert started shipping honeydews a few weeks ago. Offshore supplies are finished. Mexico has good supplies and quality. The desert quality is good also. The market is lower on all sizes due to a lack of demand.

Product is now being shipped from Northern Mexico, Western Arizona and Southern California The supply has increased along with the demand. Warm weather has increased production. Quality condition and brix are all very good. All sizes being offered in both bins and cartons, peaking on larger fruit (36s, 45s, and some 60s). Personal watermelons are being offered in all sizes with good quality and condition being reported.

Central California and New Mexico are slowly getting up to speed with supplies on yellow and red onions. Market is steady the start of this short week. Southern California growers will finish for the season in the next couple days. Quality out of this area is starting to go down hill with the temperatures hitting into the low 100's. New Mexico will get into good numbers of Yellow and Reds the middle of next week. Look the supplies to improve as week get into next week. Demand and or mother nature will be the only factor on which way the markets will go.

Washington - D'anjou pears are steady to higher on all sizes and the market remains very strong due to light supplies. Small D'anjous are still very short! The remaining C.A. fruit is peaking on US#1 70-90s so expect the smaller sizes to remain limited until the season ends. The quality on D'anjous has been good.
Chile - Chilean Packhams are steady to slightly higher and they continue to peak on US#1 80/90/100s. Chilean Bosc & Argentinian Bosc are both steady and are both peaking on 70-100s. The quality on all of the imported varieties has been good.

Supplies are beginning to drop off for shippers and now looks like June will be a tight supply period. Volume should be come back as we move into July.

Large potatoes out of all growing areas (70 count and larger) are still demanding a premium with 80 count and smaller steady. Quality is being reported as good with a few rough lots showing up with air checks, internal bruising and occ. peeper. Looks for the market to continue with this same trend into the middle of next month.

Bakersfield, California - reds, whites, and golds are all steady and the availability is good for all colors. All colors are peaking on A-size. The new-crop quality has been good.
Phoenix, Arizona - Both red and gold potatoes are steady and both colors continue to peak on A-size. The quality has been good.
North Florida - Red potatoes are steady to lower while the whites and gold potatoes are steady. The availability of reds is good for most sizes while the whites and golds are have generally good availability but a few suppliers have holes on various sizes. The quality has been good.
Pearsall, Texas - The red market is steady and the availability is also good for all sizes. The quality has been reported as good.

Hard squash is now coming out of Coachella Valley. California is just getting started with good Quality and supply. Prices maintain steady on Hard squash from 16.00 to 18.00, and 6.00 to 8.00 on Italian, and 10.00 to 12.00 on Yellow S/N.

Excess volume of small fruit in the peaches, plums and nectarines continue to weigh these markets down. Heavy volume discounts are being seen from all shippers on the small volume fill fruit. The largest of the tray pack fruit is still able to maintain a market at much higher levels due to lighter supplies. Apricots are about steady with less of a range in market and good supplies. Quality on all is excellent.

Palmetto/ Ruskin growers have steady volumes but will begin to transition out to both Quincy and South Carolina over the next several weeks. North Florida and Carolina are boasting hearty plantings and set to start up by mid June supplying plenty of Rounds to the Eastern region of the US. Roma tomatoes remain steady along with Cherry tomatoes. Grape tomato yields are also slowly winding down, but will start up in South Carolina this week. Recent rains have only affected quality slightly and most fruit continues to be acceptable.

Mainland Mexico will continue to ship rounds and romas for through mid June however quality is mixed and sizing is limited as they get closer to the end of crops. Eastern Mexico is increasing round tomato production with mostly larger fruit available. Romas are in transition between Spring and Summer plantings and will be slowing across the border for the next 7-14 days. There are still plenty of roma and Grape tomatoes at this time. Expect to pay more for cherry varieties in the west with only few shippers crossing in Texas and San Diego.