The Source - November 5, 2015

California - Pink Ladys are steady and continue to peak on the smaller sizes. The quality has been good.
Washington - Red Delicious remain large and are steady on all sizes Most suppliers are still heavier to 72/80/88s and have very few 125s and smaller. Golden delicious are steady and still producing mostly premium grade 100/113s. Large Goldens are limited. Granny-smiths are steady and are still peaking on 88/100/113s. Most Granny shippers don't have much larger than an 88-size but 125's and smaller are also short. Galas are steady on all sizes. Most Gala shippers are still peaking on 100/113s and don't much available on 88's or larger. Fujis are steady and are peaking on extra-fancy 80/88/100's. Honeycrisp are higher and still peaking on 64/72s. Some shippers still have volume buys in the lower grades but most suppliers have not packed in a couple weeks so supplies are low. Jonagolds and Braeburns are steady and both are peaking on 72/80/88's. The quality for all varieties has been good.
Michigan - Red delicious are steady on all sizes and are still peaking on the larger fruit. Empires are also steady on all sizes and they are peaking on small fruit. McIntosh are peaking on the larger sizes and the market is steady. Galas are steady on all sizes due to steady demand and they have limited supplies of 100's and larger. Golden delicious are peaking on 113-138s and the market is steady to slightly lower. Honeycrisp are peaking on 100's and larger and inventories are building so the market weaker than it was. Jonathans, Cortlands, Red Romes, Fujis, and Jonamacs, are all steady and the sizing is heavier to 100/113s with only light supplies of 125/138s.
New York - Red delicious, Macs, Galas, Honeycrisp, Macouns, Empires, Cortlands, and Golden delicious are all steady. McIntosh and macoun volume is good and some shippers will flex on certain sizes and grades. The Macs are peaking on 100s and the galas are heavier to 100/113s. The quality has been good on all varieties.

This market is unchanged. Supplies continue to be steady out of the Peruvian growing region. Jumbo packs are very limited. Southern Baja has looks to have good supplies of standard packs available. Large and extra large packs are expected to be limited. Jumbos continue to be very limited. Good quality continues to be reported as good in all the growing regions.

Mexican production is steady. Replenishment supplies after the rains a week ago has started arriving to the US, but we still see a few holes in some of the forward warehouses. We are now into the new crop and are stating to see a more normal range of sizes, peaking on 48s and 60s. Limited volume on #2 fruit as quality is very good. This new crop fruit is lower in maturity and will take longer to ripen and not darken as much when ripen. Ripe fruit could still be green in color as the skin isn't mature enough for it to darken. Color is not an indication of ripeness, pressure is.

The blackberry crop continues to decline out of CA and should end major production by mid-late November. Mexico should be ramping up production weekly as we move into their season. However, central Mexico received significant rain over the weekend which has delayed some harvests and decreased amount of fruit crossing into Texas and California for shipments this week. Quality issues with red cell and juicing have been reported in CA and MX fruit.

Demand exceeds supply. An industry-wide shortage continues as minimal volume of fruit is arriving to the US from Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Mexico. South America continues to struggle with inclement weather that is affecting both production and quality of shipments bound for the US. More reports are coming in with rain, hail, cold weather and even snow in particular growing region's forecasts. Growers are shipping less fruit overall due to the amount of fruit being discarded and because much of the fruit has to be flown into the US to avoid the longer transit time of shipping on the water. Arrivals have been very sporadic to the West coast as much of the fruit is arriving into Miami and has to be trucked over to the West coast for shipping. Availability has been slightly better loading out of the port cities on the East coast in New Jersey and Florida. We've seen several weeks of extremely limited availability. Depending on the weather, we could be working through production and supply issues all the way through Thanksgiving. Prices remain high as availability is limited.

Alerts:
Demand exceeds supply. An industry-wide shortage continues as minimal volume of fruit is arriving to the US from Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Mexico.

California crop continues to decline out of the northern district but the southern districts are still producing decent volumes. We should see good availability through the next several weeks as Central Mexico also ramps up production. However, central Mexico did receive rain and wind over the weekend and is seeing some harvest and logistical delays to begin this week. Quality has suffered some with wet, leaky fruit but harvesting crews are focusing on diverting product to pack quality.

Demand exceeds supply in all California growing regions. Availability has decreased drastically this week as we continue the transition out of the northern growing districts and major production will focus on Santa Maria, Oxnard and Central Mexico moving forward. Florida will not begin production until late November/early December. Overall volume will continue to decrease considerably through November. Quality issues are being reported in all growing regions, including Central Mexico and the fruit crossing though McAllen. Soft bruising, leaky berries, white shoulders have been common on the inspections. Due to very limited availability and industry-wide quality issues, expectations should be adjusted to what is currently available.

Alerts:
Demand exceeds supply in all California growing regions.

This market is stronger with most suppliers. Crown production has become very light. Broccoli issues include yellow beading, hollow core, pin rot, light green color, as well as a rubbery texture. Theses defects are a direct result of high temperatures in past weeks. The main production continues to be out of the Salinas Valley. The Southern California production is light. This will continue for the rest of the week. There continues to be production in Mexico as well as McAllen. Yuma will not have production until approximately Thanksgiving.

Bakersfield crop is in full production. Size in the fields is good and the percentage of jumbo size carrots is good. good.

This market continues to gain strength. Yuma will not begin production until approximately Thanksgiving. Salinas and Santa Maria has dropped in production numbers. The overall quality is reported to have slight spotting sporadically but quality overall is good. With heavy rains in northern and southern California that began on Monday, look for supplies to be light all week. Pricing looks to rise steadily throughout the week.

This market is strong. Large sizing is the tightest in availability. Oxnard has begun production in a light way. Supplies will be light in all the growing regions through next week. Santa Maria's production is light. Production in Salinas is almost finished.The quality is reported as very good in all the growing regions.

This market is firm. Pricing continues to be competitive. The Baja region of Mexico as well as Southern California has the main production for this commodity. Rains in California will likely alter production numbers. The overall quality is reported as good.

Demand remains very good. The Desert crop is 30% lighter in volume than last years. This crop is producing a larger proportion of fancy grade and is peaking on 140s and larger fruit, which is in good availability, but leaving us in a demand exceed supplies on 165s and smaller fruit. Expect this shortage on smaller fruit to continue through January.

Alerts:
Demand exceeds supply on the smaller sized fruit 165s/200s/235s. Expect shortages to go through January.

The lime market is steady on all of the sizes now. The 200ct to the 250ct dipped down a dollar and are also steady now. Hard rains and flooding the past few weeks temporarily disrupted harvesting in the growing area. Bigger fruit is the result of the rains. Holiday demand from Europe mid-November and the increased size of the fruit is putting upward pressure on the small sized fruit. The overall quality is good on the new crop. We continue to have good demand on limes.

More shippers are beginning to pack this years California Navel crop this week, so look for volume to begin to pick up; last of the shippers will start by week. Clear weather last couple weeks have allowed shippers to pick every day, so inventory waiting to go into the gas rooms have started to build and we can start to get back into a more normal flow of fruit. Sizes are peaking on 113s/88s/138s. Larger sizes of 72s and 56s are very limited as fruit has not sized up yet. Volumes will continue to pick up over the up coming weeks, if weather cooperates.

The green grape market is stronger. Supplies are dropping with good demand. We expect this to continue through to the end of the year. The first of the Peruvian Sugarones are expected on the east coast around the last week of November but quantities will be light and should have relatively no effect upon the domestic market. Quality is still reported as generally good.

The red seedless grape market is picking up steam and improving daily. Supplies are mostly Crimsons now as the Vintage Red and Scarlet's finish up. The market should continue to improve as most suppliers are finishing 2-3 weeks earlier than "normal". Quality is reported as generally good.

This market has firmed up. Expect pricing to increase by the start of next week. Demand is stronger. Temperatures in the Mexico region has been better for growing conditions to this commodity. Production out of Salinas will be light all week. The main sizing continues to be in small and some medium packs.

This market is expected to be steady throughout the week. Supplies out of Mexico as well as California are good. The Baja region as well as California continue to be the main growing regions at this time. The overall quality continues to be strong. Pricing looks to be competitive for the entire week.

Demand continues to exceed supply for this commodity. Escalated pricing is in effect including value added items. Huron production is light. Seeder and low weights are the big issues in this region. Quality issues in Salinas and Santa Maria include small and irregular head size, lightweights, seeder, decay, puffiness, insect damage and internal burn. The defects are directly related to past and current high temperatures. Yuma has begun production but quality is only fair. Defects include light weights, seeder, puffy, misshapen heads and overall heat damage. These defects are industry wide and will continue throughout the month.

This market is active. There is light production in Huron and Yuma on romaine. The quality issues continue in all the growing regions. These issues include fringe burn, small and irregular sizing, insects, dehydration, seeder and internal burn. Green and red leaf are active as well. Fringe burn, mildew damage, internal burn and insect pressure continue to be defects associated with these commodities. There are light supplies of green and red leaf in Yuma . Butter will be tight with all suppliers in all regions for the entire week, minimum. There will continue to be gaps in pricing amongst the different shippers.

The West Side finished packing for the season. The desert has been producing good volumes of large sized fruit with nice color and sugar content with a peak size of 9ct and 6ct. Lope 18's are very scarce currently and 15's are in very light volumes with 12ct being short overall too. Mexico is crossing small volumes of 9ct cantaloupes. The current market on the 9ct is steady. The 12ct, 15ct and 18ct lopes are higher since the demand for them outstrips the supplies of them. The large size fruit trend will continue for the near future. We are experiencing decent demand for cantaloupes at this time. Offshore melons are set to arrive in Florida this Friday 11/6 in a light way.

Transitions:
Offshore melons are arriving this Friday 11/6

The peak size is currently 5ct with very few 8ct coming in. Our honeydew market is steady on all sizes. Honeydews are now finished in the West Side district. Mexican dews are shipping out of Nogales AZ and domestic dews are being packed in Maricopa AZ. Demand is okay currently but down from previous days. The quality and sugar contents from both regions continue to be good and this looks to continue. Offshore dews are set to arrive during the later part of November.

Washington - yellows and reds are steady. Both colors are still heavier to mediums than they normally are. The yellow quality has been good and the reds have varied.
Idaho/Oregon - yellows are still being quoted as steady but the volume deals remain on jumbos and larger. Mediums yellows, reds, and whites are all steady. The quality for all has been good.

Washington - Bartletts are steady and they are peaking on 110/120s. Large size Bartletts remain short. Bosc are steady and are still peaking on 90/100/110s. D'anjou pears are steady and peaking on 90/100s. Most shippers are short of D'anjou 80s and larger. Red pears are steady on all sizes and are still producing mostly half carton 45/50s and full carton 90/100s. The quality has ranged on the bartletts as some suppliers are between regular storage and C.A. The D'anjou, Bosc, and red pear quality is good.

Washington - cartons are steady and they continue to peak on 80s and smaller. The norkotah quality has been good.
Idaho - cartons are mostly steady with some volume flex on 60-count and larger. Number-twos are being quoted steady but some suppliers will deal on volume. The norkotah and burbank quality has been good.
Colorado - they are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on 60s and larger. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - they are steady on all sizes and have an even size-spread from large to small. Their quality has also been good.

Bakersfield, California - all colors are steady are steady and they continue to peak on A-size. Premium size reds and golds remain limited. The quality has been good.
Western Washington - all colors are steady and they are also peaking on As. The quality has been good in all colors.
Central/Eastern Idaho - both reds and golds are steady on all sizes and continue to peak on A-size. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - Reds and golds are steady on all sizes and both are peaking on A-size. Number-two Bs, Premium and baker reds, premium and baker golds, and gold Cs remain limited. The quality has been good.
North Dakota - both colors are steady and are heavy to A-size. B-size #1 and #2 red volume is still short. Premiums and bakers remain limited. The quality has been good.

Rounds - The market is lower/steady. Quincy is winding down, and Palmetto is just ramping up. However, supplies still a little light, but demand is also on the lighter side. Florida tomatoes are running heavy to large and medium size. Quality Good
Roma - The market is steady. Supplies continue to increase in the east and west. Demand has remained constant. Quality good.
Cherry/Grape - Cherry market is Steady. Florida shippers begin to see more supplies. The west continues to see fewer supplies, which is helping to keep market steady in the east. Quality is Good
Grape market is steady. Florida is now picking up volume. Mexico is crossing grapes helping supplies. Quality is Good

Rounds - The market is steady. California is wrapping up for the season. Market is steady not due to supplies, but due to demand. Colder weather could change supplies quickly. Steady market on vine ripes out of Mexico. Quality Good.
Roma - The market is lower / steady. Most areas are under way or are picking up volume. Demand a bit on the lower side. Quality is Good.
Cherry/Grape - Cherry market is steady/higher. Still very few supplies in the west. market still strong in the west. Better supplies in the east on cherry's. Quality is good. Grape market is steady. Not much has changed in the west. Demand still steady out west. Florida is now picking up volume in the east. Quality is Good.