The Source - November 1, 2017

California – Granny Smiths are still cleaning up with small fruit. Pink Ladies are still available but supplies are light due to really strong demand. The quality has been good for both.

Washington – Red Delicious are steady on all sizes with better availability now. Red delicious are peaking in the 80/88/100 range. Golden Delicious are steady with good availability and they continue to peak on Premium grade 100/113s. Supplies of 88 and larger Goldens are more limited. Granny Smiths are steady on all sizes with mostly small fruit still. Granny-smith 88s and larger Granny-smith are short and are still priced at a premium. Galas are steady on all sizes and are peaking on 100/113s. Fujis are steady and are peaking in the 88/100 range. Honeycrisps are steady on all sizes. They continue to peak on 56-80s but there is some small fruit out there too. Jonagolds are steady and still producing mostly 72/80/88s. Braeburns are steady with only light supplies available. The quality of all varieties has been good.

Idaho – They are now packing Jonathans, Jonagolds, Golden delicious, Red Romes, Red delicious, and Granny-smith. Granny's and Jonagolds are peaking on 80/88/100s and all others are 88/100/113 range. Most varietys here are reasonably priced and they have good color in Idaho. Markets are being quoted as steady. The quality has been good for all.

Michigan – Michigan continues to pack Galas, Honeycrisps, McIntosh, Jonathans, Jonamacs, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Cortlands, Empires, Fujis, red Romes, Ida Reds, and Jonagolds. Most varieties have excellent quality and good color. Michigan has such good color that they are holding stronger on most markets but a couple varietys have slipped down a little. The harvest is finished now so they can focus on packing. Demand has been light for most. The quality has been good for all.

Pennsylvania -- Galas, Fujis, red delicious, and Golden Delicious are all steady. Red delicious are still peaking on 88/100s, while the golds, Galas, and Fujis are heavier to 100/113s. The demand has been light due to "local" apples in many states. The quality has been good for all.

New York – they continue packing Cortlands, Galas, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, Fujis, Snap Dragons, Golden delicious, Jonagolds, Red Romes, Macouns, Pink ladys, Staymen Winesaps, and Empires. Most varieties are large and peaking in the 80/88/100s range with only light supplies of small fruit. The quality has been good for all.

Alerts:
Washington is still short of 88 size and larger Granny-smith.

Pink Lady apples are slowly starting but they are just coming into season.

Transitions:
Envy, Lady Alice apples, and some of the other new "rising star" varietys are coming in Washington.

Peak Seasons:
Idaho continues in the peak of its Golden delicious and Jonathan apples season.

Michigan continues in the peak of its apple season.

Washington is in the peak of its season for most conventional varietys.

Pennsylvania and New York continue in the peak of their seasons.

Southern Baja production is starting to decrease due to seasonality. Warm weather in the region will continue through next week which will not help quality. Northern Peru (Trujillo), and Southern Peru (ICA) are both in full production, and the weather is helping the growth of the larger sizes. Overall market is better this week with the anticipation of the Thanksgiving AD's starting next week.

Mexico's shipments to the US continue with good volume. As we continue to transition into the Normal crop, we are seeing a shift is size curve towards more 48s and 40s. Growers are expecting to maintain current harvest levels and markets levels look to stay steady.

Light supplies in the southeast have caused a jumping bell pepper market. A combination of insect pressure, hurricane Irma and less acreage have all combined to create less supply this fall than normal. California is gaping between the central valley and Coachella, bringing even more buyers to the east. Quality is over it's peak and production is on the decline in Georgia. Florida will start in about 10 days but will not have much volume until the first week of December. Quality is good, expect supplies to stay tight for the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Alerts:
Tight supplies on Green Bell Pepper.

Peak Seasons:
bell pepper is moving out of peak season.

Blackberry supplies are slowly improving. The biggest challenge continue to be with transfers and late arrivals from Mexico. As domestic production continues to trend down and some shippers finishing for the season, Mexico is left as our primary source of fruit. Mexico production is ramping up to peak supplies by mid-November and will last through the end of the year. Quality has been fair to good, but we continue to see occasional soft fruit. Not breaking the cold chain is very important during this time. Market prices have been steady with sharper prices available in McAllen, TX.

Blueberry supplies remain fairly limited with our mixed berry shippers on the west coast. Uruguay was hit with devastating rain and hail storms that has wiped out most of the remaining forecasted production. This will effect some shipper more than others, but may have an impact on the industry as a whole in term of supplies. The good news is, Mexico's production continues to increase and we expect more arrivals of fruit from Peru and Argentina to arrive next week. Other loading locations on the east coast have better availability. Quality overall on the import blueberries that do arrive has been good. Market prices have been steady and firm.

Chile is expected to start shipping fruit over the next couple weeks with first arrivals expected to arrive by boat mid November.

Alerts:
Uruguay was hit with devastating rain and hail storms that has wiped out most of the remaining forecasted production.

Transitions:
Chile is expected to start shipping fruit over the next couple weeks with first arrivals expected to arrive by boat mid November.

Raspberry supplies are expected to remain steady over the next week. Salinas, Watsonville and Santa Maria production continues to trend down with some shippers finishing for the season. However, Central Mexico production is climbing and quality is improving. This fruit is filling the demand and is available in all loading locations. Market prices have been steady with shaper prices available in McAllen, TX.

Strawberry supplies are expected to be limited through the weekend and into the front part of next week. The weather forecast calls for a chance of rain in all growing regions. Salinas and Watsonville are expected to receive the greatest amount of rain, which could leave some growers out of production for the weekend and possibly bring an early end to the season for others in these areas. Santa Maria and Oxnard do not expect very much rain, if any. This will help keep supplies fairly consistent from these areas, but yields are still lower than anticipated and availability will be light. Overall the quality has been steady with some of the residual impacts of the heat wave last week still present. I expect Santa Maria and Oxnard to continue to improve, but Salinas may suffer depending on how much rain falls. Market prices are expected to be active into next week with increases in all areas.

Mexico production is increasing and product will be available to load in McAllen, TX. If this is an option, we will have several shippers with fruit available by the weekend. Florida is on schedule to start production in the next 3-4 weeks.

Alerts:
Chance of rain will impact strawberry supplies for the weekend.

Transitions:
Central Mexico is increasing production, fruit is available to load in McAllen, TX. Florida is expected to start in 3-4 weeks.

We are basically seeing the typical supply gap that comes with the end of the Salinas season. We only have a few weeks left up here and Yuma will not be in full swing until the last week of November. We are also experiencing pin rot, which is where there is decay in each bead, down in Santa Maria. Also we have limited supplies from Mexico as well. The market is trending much higher. Processors are also holding customers to averages on all orders. They are having a difficult time finding quality raw product to process. The market is trending much higher.

Alerts:
We are experiencing extremely limited supplies from all growing regions. Coupled with the Salinas Valley ending their season within the next 4 weeks, the market is trending much higher.

Brussel Sprout supplies are steadily increasing. As we approach November, we will see increased demand for Thanksgiving. That being said we typically see temperatures drop significantly but that shouldn't alter supplies. The market is trending lower as well. We are still seeing excellent quality out of Salinas with dark green color, full sizes, and minimal insect damage.

Carrots supplies and markets remain fairly steady. Quality remains excellent. We are still dealing with the shortage on jumbos and will most likely be using 12 week averages on both 25 and 50 pound jumbos for the month of November. Rainbow carrots are estimated to be back in production in min-November.

Alerts:
12 week averages will be on 25 and 50 pound jumbos for the month of November. Rainbow carrots are expected to be back in production in mid-November.

Cauliflower supplies are extremely limited. The irregular weather patterns here in the Salinas Valley has taken its toll on growing patterns. We are now experiencing a supply gap that will last for the rest of the Salinas season. The quality is also suffering with yellow to cream color, brown to black spotting, and irregular sizing. Santa Maria is experiencing the same type of supply and quality problems as Salinas.

Alerts:
We are experiencing an extreme supply gap as we finish the Salinas season. Santa Maria is experiencing the same problems. The market is extremely active.

All sizing continues to be active in the marketplace. Salinas production is moderate to light. Oxnard and Santa Maria will have better production numbers in this region. Pricing will be active now up to the Thanksgiving pull. Oxnard is in full production but supplies are only moderate. Production in Santa Maria and Salinas is moderate to light. Demand is up. The overall quality is good with only slight bowing in both northern and southern California.

Cilantro supplies vary form shipper to shipper. Also the market varies depending on the loading location. We have seen improved quality although the weather has taken its toll on this commodity. We are seeing sporadic yellowing and brown leaves. But overall quality we are seeing is full bunches and minimal dehydration.

The Oxnard/Ventura crop is nearing its seasonal end. Fruit out of this district is peaking on 165's and smaller. The Desert crop is improving in supplies build in availability as we move into November. Fruit from this district is peaking on 140s/115s/165s, heavier to the fancy grade. Imported fruit from Chile is fore the most part done for the season and Mexico is finishing up quickly as their season nears its end. As the imports fall away, we are seeing the lower levels of the market firm upwards.

Limes are currently experiencing good quality. We have been through a cycle where quality had suffered due to all of the extreme weather in the growing areas. The supplies have increased in a small way while demand has been steady. We have a steady and even size curve where all sizes are now readily available. The market is steady to higher.

California Navel crop production is slowly improving and will continue so over the next 2 to 3 weeks, weather permitting. We do have rain forecast for this weekend and parts of next week which could slow the come back in supplies. Fruit is clean and harvest is producing mostly Fancy grade fruit and very little choice fruit. Demand remains great and still exceeds supplies.

Alerts:
Demand still exceeds supplies.

Cool temperatures are causing tight cucumber supplies. Most of the mid-Atlantic and Carolina growing regions are finished for the season, Georgia is over it's peak and Florida is just starting light supplies. Cool weather is slowing production but it is also making for excellent quality and color. Supply in Florida should increase next week, quality in Florida has been good although the color is not as good as Georgia. Supply will remain tight through the weekend.

Alerts:
Tight supplies of cucumbers

Transitions:
Cucumber supplies are transitioning to Florida.

Peak Seasons:
cucumbers are not in peak availability.

Overwhelming demand on light supplies in the east has cause the eggplant market to double in a weeks time. Georgia is over it's peak and Florida will not start for another week or ten days. Most production from the mid-Atlantic is finished for the season. South Carolina and Georgia are in production but the peak has past. Florida will begin in about two weeks but production will be light. Late October and early November traditionally bring lighter supplies and a higher priced eggplant market but this year those conditions could continue until Thanksgiving.

Alerts:
Tight Supplies on eggplant

Peak Seasons:
eggplant is moving out of peak season.

Green grape season continues moving along. We will see shippers start ending harvests in November. Market has reacted accordingly and has firmed up. Expect the market to remain firm for the rest of the domestic season. Quality remains very nice.

Much like the green grapes, red grapes will start to end harvests in November. Shippers have started to hold back inventories and markets have risen accordingly. Deals on volume are available on both red and green grapes. Quality continues to be very nice.

Supplies from Mexico remain steady with both iced and iceless green onions. We have seen an improvement with quality as well. We have seen vibrant green tops and a full line of sizing. The market also remains competitive.

Kale supplies remain abundant with competitive markets. We should not see any disruption in the market as well as supplies when we transition to Yuma. Quality has been excellent with dark green color, full bunches, and little dehydration.

This market is steady for now. Multiple suppliers are flexing for volume type orders. Yuma will begin production the sixth of November with a few shippers. Huron's production is moderate to good. Production in Salinas and Santa Maria is fair. Weights in both areas has averaged 42-46 pounds. Defects that have been seen include tip burn, mechanical, puffiness, ribbing, and slight insect damage. All defects have been minimal and for now, the quality overall is good.

Transitions:
Yuma will stert production this Monday.

Romaine as well as all leaf items are steady. Good quality exists with only slight mechanical insect and ribbing reported on romaine as well as green and red leaf and butter. This market is expected to get stronger next week as production areas begin to shift. Yuma will have production starting this Monday. The weather is starting to cool off compared to past weeks. We will likely see some defects like mechanical, ribbing and insects on leaf items, but minimally. Romaine hearts continue to be active. Production in northern and southern California will be moderate,

Transitions:
Yuma will begin production Monday.

Although we have seen our share of quality complaints, we are experiencing an improvement this week. The weather has cooled off allowing for the young tender leaf items to firm up cell structure. The cool nights and mornings are critical for these types of commodities. Also the increase of raw product from Yuma, has helped the processors with yields and supplies. We should see a smooth transition to Yuma.

Cantaloupes are in very short supply situation. Growers are finished in the San Joaquin Valley. The desert growing region has been light so far due to a reported white fly problem. Quality across the board has been very good and looks to remain so throughout their short season which ends during the middle of November. Offshore melons are set to arrive on the east coast sometime in the first and second week in November and on the west coast the first week of December. The market is higher.

Transitions:
Offshore lopes are set to arrive on the east coast during the first and second weeks of November.

Honeydews are finished in the San Joaquin Valley. The California and Arizona desert growing areas along with Mexico are supplying the market with honeydews. Quality is excellent and supplies are picking up and helping the market to ease up. Offshore supplies are set to arrive on the east coast during the first and second week of November and arrivals on the west coast are the first week of December. The market is steady to lower.

Transitions:
Offshore supplies are coming to the east coast during the first and second weeks of November.

Volume on new crop watermelon in Nogales crossing from Mexico has increased. More Nogales shippers have started to received steady volume on this commodity. This should have an impact on the market. Demand and supply is steady . Quality on Mexican watermelons is mostly good to excellent.

The 2017/2018 Northwest Onion Harvest is finally complete. Demand is light across all sizes and colors out of all shipping points. This is keeping markets steady to slightly weaker. Medium yellow onions are readily available out of all growing areas. Quality is excellent. Look for the markets to stay fairly steady into the first of the year. Trucks are still limited and demanding a premium with Christmas tree season right around the corner. Stay ahead on inventories

Alerts:
Transportation still limited and demanding a premium.

Stockton, California – Bartlett pears are steady on all sizes with 100s and larger only. There is still some price-flex for volume in some sizes. Red pears have finished for the season. Bosc pears are steady but supplies are light as they are cleaning up. The remaining Bosc are 100 size and larger only. The quality has been good for both.

Washington – Bartlett pears are steady on all sizes. The Bartlett pears are peaking on 80/90/100s now and the fancy grade is limited in all sizes. Red Bartletts/Red Sensations remain steady on all sizes and continue to peak on 45/50 half cartons. Bosc and D'anjous are also both steady on all sizes. Both varietys are still peaking on US#1 grade fruit and 80/90/100 sizes with only light supplies of the fancy grade. The quality for all has been good.

New York – they are still packing bins but supplies are light, they will finish right after Thanksgiving

Peak Seasons:
Washington continues in the peak of its Bartlett, D'anjou, Bosc, and red pear seasons.

We continue to see good supplies coming in for the tropics. Expect good supplies as we move through November. Size is peaking on 5ct/6ct with the smaller sizes limited.

Russet market is steady with minimal change out of all growing areas. Quality coming out of the storages is very nice with very few issues being reported. Look for the markets to stay fairly steady at current levels till after the first of the year. Transportation is still very limited with no light at the end of the tunnel.

Alerts:
Transportation still limited with no light at the end of the tunnel

Eastern Washington – red and gold potatoes are steady but supplies are light. They are mainly producing A size reds and golds. The quality is good.

Western Washington – reds, whites, and golds are steady with good availability. All are peaking on A size and the quality is good.

Bakersfield, California – red, white, and gold potatoes are steady on all sizes. The availability has been good but transportation down from Washington has been more of a challenge. All colors have been good quality.

Idaho – red and gold potatoes are steady with good availability although there have been some volume deals out there. Both are heavy to A size and have had good quality.

Wisconsin – red and golds potatoes are steady on all sizes. Both Trucks are slightly easier here. The quality has been good.

North Dakota – reds and golds are steady with good availability in both colors. Transportation has been the toughest thing to find. The quality is good.

Peak Seasons:
Idaho, North Dakota, and Wisconsin continue in the peak of their red and gold potato season.

Bakersfield and western Washington continue in the peak of their red, gold, and white potato seasons.

Squash is transitioning to Florida for the start of the winter deal. There is still some light production in the mid-Atlantic. Georgia is producing some supplies having been slowed by cooler weather and some shippers finishing for the season. Florida has been harvesting for about 2 weeks now with more shippers starting this weekend look for better supplies. Quality is good and has gotten better over the last week.

Transitions:
Squash is transitioning to Florida

Peak Seasons:
Squash is moving into peak availability.

Stone fruit season is now drawing to a close. Supplies of peaches and nectarines have wrapped and supplies have been exhausted. Plums will still be in through November and part of December with a couple shippers. Plums quality is very nice and shippers want to move them. Persimmons, pomegranates, apple pears and kiwi all continue and all with nice quality. Feel free to ask about promoting for your menus.

Peak Seasons:
Plum harvests will be wrapping up through November.

The market has strengthened significantly over the past week to 10 days since eastern regional operations have transition to Central Florida where acreage was been reduced by Hurricane Irma. The Quincy district in North Florida has already finished for the year, leaving the only harvested area to be the Palmetto/Ruskin districts further south. Supply is limited and price is rising in an attempt to slow demand with speculation of rising markets looming still before next week. While reduced yields are expected considering the recovered growing environment, some growers are reported to have only 1 day this week scheduled for picking due to a cold front that has temperatures dipping into the 40s earlier this week. With already reduced acreage rumored between 30% and 50%, cold temperatures have put supplies very short suddenly slowing the maturity of fruit to be harvested, putting operations on hold further. All though the round and roma tomato varieties that are available are sparing in numbers, quality reports have been good. Grape and cherry tomatoes are also of good quality but there is just not enough supply to be had to sustain regular pricing. Grape tomatoes specifically have nearly doubled over the past 2 weeks and selling out daily. With favorable weather in the forecast, there are high hopes to get farms back in the swing of production as the sunshine warms the vines that are in the ground, but the possibility still remains at this time for shortages lasting into December.

The California season is wrapping up and still quoting fruit and attractive pricing but the quality is showing multiple months of summer heat and is considered secondary compared to Eastern and Mexican counterparts. Most of the quality tomatoes in the west are Vine Ripes crossing San Diego and Texas boarders. California roma tomatoes are wrapping up as well and Mexico is helping to meet demand shipping good quality tomatoes helping overall supply as California finishes their season. Grape and cherry tomato production remains light against rising demand pressing prices upward. Similar to the eastern markets, prices have jumped up quickly as domestic yields diminish further each day with the speculation of elevated pricing into December when winter programs start.