The Source - October 15, 2015

California - there are a few Granny-smiths, Braeburns, and Fujis left but supplies are light and the shippers are looking to clean-up for the season. Pink Ladys are available now but only light supplies. The quality has been good.
Washington - light supplies of C.A. Red Delicious remain. New-crop Red Delicious remain steady and heavy to large fruit. Most suppliers are peaking on 72/80/88s and have very few 125s and smaller. Golden delicious are steady and still producing mostly premium grade 100/113/88s. Granny smiths are steady and peaking on 88/100/113s. Most Granny packers don't have much size larger than an 88. Galas are steady on the smaller sizes and are higher on the larger. Most Gala shippers are still peaking on 100/113/125s and don't much available larger than a 100-sze. Fujis are heavier to large fruit but the market is steady to lower as inventories are starting to build. Honeycrisp are steady to lower and are peaking on 64/72s. Volume Honeycrisp deals are available in the lower grades. Jonagolds and Braeburns are available but supplies are light. The quality for all varieties has been good.
Michigan - McIntosh are peaking on the larger sizes and the market is steady. Galas are steady on all sizes due to steady demand. Golden delicious are peaking on 113-138s and the market is steady. Honeycrisp are peaking on 100's and larger and the market is steady to lower as inventories build. Jonathans, Cortlands, Jonamacs, and Empires are all steady and the sizing is heavier to the smaller fruit. Some suppliers will deal on volume orders of small Jonathans and Empires.
New York - Red delicious, Macs, Galas, Honeycrisp, Macouns, Empires, and Golden delicious are all being quoted steady. McIntosh volume is good and some shippers will flex on certain sizes and grades. Some will flex on Empires as well. The Macs are peaking on 100s, the galas are heavier to 100/113s and the Gingergolds are peaking on 56-88s. A few cortlands are available.. The quality has been good on all varieties.

Overall, this market is steady. Good supplies of Peruvian product continues to enter the US. Southern Baja has picked up in production numbers. The best availability is with the standard size packs. Jumbo continue to be light in availability. Good quality continues to be reported as good in all the growing regions. Jumbo sizing continues to be on the scarce side as well.

Mexico is beginning to harvest this years new crop. Production of the Flor Loca is starting to lighten. Supplies crossing look to remain steady with good volumes. Stating to see improvement in the range of sizes, but still heavier to 48's and larger fruit. Limited volume on #2 fruit as quality is very good. The fruit is still low in its maturity, but is coming in with better oil content and breaking better. 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.

Demand exceeds supply of fresh blackberries in all California growing regions. Production has slowed down considerably and quality continues to be more of a concern. The current crops have past peak for this season and the recent heat accelerated quality issues with soft fruit, red cell and juicing. Labor is also an issue as more pickers are focusing on culling fruit and controlling quality for the limited harvests. Projections show a shortage of blackberries all the way through October until the Mexican blackberries come on with more volume and begin crossing the border into the United States with better volumes. Some shippers will struggle with volume and availability until the end of October / beginning of November when Mexican fruit will be in full swing. Shippers are becoming increasingly more particular about where they will ship their limited quantities of fruit. Quality expectations should be adjusted to what is currently available. More Mexican blackberries are crossing and have been available in Los Angeles, CA and McAllen, TX which has supplemented shortages out of CA. Mexican fruit quality has been excellent.

Alerts:
Demand exceeds supply of fresh blackberries in all California growing regions.

Demand exceeds supply. Most all domestic (PNW and MI) commercial production has ended. Any remaining storage fruit will likely show shrivel, aging, soft and some mold. Pricing continues to climb upward as we move into October. As the domestic fruit has ended, demand has continually increased for the short supply of offshore fruit arriving into US ports from Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and crossing the border from Mexico. The volume of offshore fruit is very low to start but we expect it to increase later in October and even more so when Chile ramps up supply in November. This new product is also demanding a premium price. Some light color being reported along with damage from rain in the early growing season. Shippers are anticipating weekly shortages throughout October until more import fruit arrives into the US.

Alerts:
Demand exceeds supply. We are extremely limited on blueberries as offshore arrivals have been minimal on both coasts.

Quality and availability of California fruit has improved over recent weeks. The first arrivals of Mexican raspberries began crossing into McAllen, TX last week as well. Some arrivals have been delayed due to inspection but the limited quantities that have arrived have been excellent quality.

Strawberries are in very short supply across all California growing regions this week. Shippers are coming into empty coolers each morning waiting on the day's fresh harvested berries to be inspected, received in and cooled down to loading temperature. With the coolers running out of fruit each evening, trucks expecting to load should physically check in at the cooler early to get an early loading appointment. Delays are to be expected as fruit is limited and slow to come in from the fields each day. Daily harvests continue to be lower volumes than estimated. Labor is presenting another challenge as picking crews have transitioned into planting fields for the Spring crop, limiting the amount of pickers to harvest daily. Quality issues resulting from last week's high temperatures are being reported in all areas. Salinas/Watsonville still showing soft and dry bruising, smaller sized fruit, some overripe and occasional mildew. Santa Maria and Oxnard fruit is stronger but still showing some occasional bruising and fruit has sized down over recent weeks. Santa Maria and Oxnard fruit are demanding a premium price as well. We are expecting more warm, humid weather as a cut-off low approaches Southern California. This storm brings tropical moisture, rain and possible high wind into both the coastal and inland growing regions throughout California.

Alerts:
Strawberries are in very short supply across all California growing regions this week.

This market is firm. Crowns continue to be very tight. The quality has been up and down. Defects on this commodity include yellow beading, light color, as well as a rubbery texture. Theses defects are a direct result of past and current warm temperatures. The main production continues to be out of the Salinas Valley. The Southern California production is moderate at best. There is availability out of Mexico as well as McAllen. This may be an option to California product as the freight will be much less.

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

This market continues to gain strength. Escalated pricing is in effect. Value added product will be escalated this Saturday. The overall quality is good. Warm temperatures are expected again this week. This gap in production is expected for two weeks minimum. Salinas and Santa Maria are the two main growing regions at this time.

This market continues to gain strength. Michigan has finished up for the most part and California production is in high demand. Large sizing is tighter in availability. Santa Maria's production is moderate to light. Production in Salinas continues to be very light. The quality continues to be reported as strong in all the growing regions.

This market is steady. Pricing continues to be competitive amongst multiple shippers. The Baja region of Mexico as well as Southern California has increased production. Warm temperatures continue to exists in all of the growing regions. Expect good supplies throughout the week. The overall quality is reported as being clean.

Demand remains very high. We are to see better availability on 140s and larger fruit, but still seeing demand exceeding supplies on 165s and smaller fruit coming from the new crop in the desert. Expect this shortage on smaller fruit to continue through the month.

The lime market is steady. The old crop is finishing up and the new crop volume is picking up nicely and is filling the volume decreases from the old crop finishing. The overall quality is very good on the new crop. The old crop limes are average to below average in quality and they are tired now and nearly finished for this season. Stylar breakdown is the main defect some lots of old crop and yellowing also may be found. We continue to have good demand on limes. The old crop looks to be finished by mid October.

California Valencia oranges supplies are very short on all sizes and are in a extreme demand exceeds supply situation. Most shippers have finished or will be finishing this week on the Valencia crop. Some shippers are beginning to pack this years California Navel crop this week in limited volume and others will start over the next couple of weeks. Start up will be slow, but should come on quickly if weather cooperates.

The green seedless grape market is showing signs of strengthening as shippers move more fruit towards their storage program. Lighter supplies and good demand should have this market firming up now through the month of November. Quality is still reported as generally good.

The market on red seedless grape is about steady. Demand is good with good supplies. Sizing has become an issue as the Crimsons are now proportionally a greater part of the overall market; and they are running heavily to the medium large fruit. Quality is generally good but we are seeing some soft fruit upon arrival. This market looks like it will remain unchanged into next week.

Tight supplies will continue throughout the week with this commodity. There will be light availability out of Mexico all week. Past heats followed by heavy rainfalls has hindered the production of this crop. Demand continues to increase. Production out of Salinas will be very light all week. The main sizing continues to be in small and some medium packs.

A few shippers have attempted to raise pricing slightly, but overall this market is steady. There continues to be no production issues at this time. Pricing continues to be competitive. The Baja region as well as California continue to be the main growing regions at this time. The overall quality is good with most shippers.

This market is higher. There continues to be quality issues associated with this commodity. These issues include small and irregular head size, large seeder, puffiness, insect damage and internal burn. The defects are directly related to past and current high temperatures. These defects are industry wide and will continue throughout the month. The weights on palletized are averaging 38-46 pounds. Salinas and Santa Maria continue to be the two main growing areas at this time. Huron will begin production on Monday.

Transitions:
Lettuce in Huron will begin on Monday, 10/19.

This market continues to gain strength. Warm temperatures in all the growing regions is causing chaos to growers throughout California. The quality continues to be fair at best. Issues on quality will include fringe burn, small and irregular sizing, insects, dehydration, seeder and internal burn. The weights on romaine cartons are averaging 26-34 pounds. Green and red leaf markets are stronger. Fringe burn, mildew damage, internal burn and insect pressure continue to be defects associated with these commodities. Expect moderate to light supplies for the entire week. There will continue to be gaps in pricing amongst the different shippers.

The West Side is producing less volumes of all sizes. The peak size at the moment is 12ct. The 9ct are available again and volumes of them are increasing nicely. The West Side has good quality but green cast is prevalent in all but a few growers lots. Some melons are cutting with more green in them than normal, this will continue until the West Side is finished in October. The current market on all sizes is steady. We are experiencing good demand for cantaloupes at this time. The desert started two weeks ago in Maricopa Arizona and is now producing decent volume with 9ct and 12ct as the peak sizes and few 15ct showing up. Momentum is building down in the desert and the quality is good too.

The peak size is currently 6ct. The quality and sugar contents continue to be good and this looks to continue. Our honeydew market is steady on all sizes currently. Honeydews are also past their peak production now and Mexico will begin towards the end of October. The desert has started packing very light volumes of dews in Maricopa two weeks ago with Jumbo 4ct and 5ct being the peak sizes with 6ct being the smallest coming in. We continue to experience good demand across the board.

Washington - the yellow and red market are both steady. The yellows are peaking on mediums and jumbos and there are only light supplies of Colossals. The yellows are a touch smaller than normal this year so there are more mediums. The reds are producing more mediums as well and some suppliers had substantially lower yields so the market is strong especially on jumbo reds. The quality for both colors has been good.
Idaho/Oregon - Yellows are steady on all sizes. Some suppliers will deal for volume of Colossal and Super yellows. Reds are steady and the market remains strong on jumbos. The quality has been good

Washington - Bartletts are still peaking on 110/120s and the market is steady. Some suppliers will flex for volume orders of the smaller sizes and the larger sizes are still limited. Washington Bosc are steady and they are still peaking on 90/100s. D'anjou pears are also steady and continue to peak on 100s. Most shippers have limited supplies of 80's and larger. Red pears are steady on all sizes and are peaking on half carton 45/50s and full carton 90/100s. The quality has been good on all Washington pears.
California - there are a few pears left but most shippers are cleaning up their remaining Bosc, Bartletts, red pears. The quality has ranged from fair to poor.

Washington - all counts are steady and they are still peaking on 80-count and smaller with only light availability of 70's and larger. Many sheds are not running this week so the market is strong. The quality has been good.
Idaho - The market is steady for all sizes in both varieties but the availability is generally light as many sheds are trying to finish with harvest and storage and are not packing. The Norkotahs and Burbanks are both large in size and not yielding many 80-count and smaller. The quality is generally good.
Colorado - the market is steady and the sizing is more evenly spread from large to small. They do have a few 40/50 counts available in volume. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - they are also steady on all counts and also have an even size distribution from large to small. The quality has been good.

Bakersfield, California---they continue to bring in all colors from Washington. The market is steady for all colors and the quality has been good.
Stockton, California - All colors are steady and remain heavy to A-size. Wednesday (today) is the last day they will ship.
Western Washington - all colors are steady and all are peaking on A-size. The quality for all colors has been good.
Central/Eastern Idaho - Reds and golds are steady and both colors are heavy to A-size. Gold supplies are still more limited. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - Reds and golds are steady on all sizes and both colors are peaking on As. Premium and baker reds, premium and baker golds, and gold Cs are still short. The quality is good.
North Dakota - reds and golds are steady and both are heavy to A-size. Gold supplies are light this week but will be better next week. Premium and baker size remain very short for both colors. The quality has been good.

Rounds - The market is steady/rising. The rains have taken a toll on the supply in the east. The delay in the Northern Florida crop has put the rounds in a gap situation. Northern Florida will not be ready for another 2 weeks. Mexico is currently seeing good volume but may also see the effects of rains. Expect the market to tighten up and buyers will have trouble finding product in all sizes.
Roma - The market remains steady/rising. The weather in the east has also put Roma's in a gap situation. Mexico should see more volume next week but the market will remain tight until then. Northern Florida is still about 2 weeks out from their first harvest. Quality is good.
Cherry/Grape - Cherry market is steady. Still low volumes out of all regions. The Cherry market will not see a change until both Mexico finishes transition and the Northern Florida begins to harvest. Until then the market will remain elevated. Grape market is high. Weather in the east has limited an already short supply. Market will remain strong until Northern Florida comes into play. Quality is fair

Rounds - The market is steady/rising. California season has come a close. Mexico is coming in with decent volume but the weather in the east has put the market in a tight situation. Florida looks to be about 2 weeks out so all the pressure is on Mexico to cover demand. Expect rounds of all sizes to be hard to come by in the next 2 weeks.
Roma - The market remains steady/rise. The poor weather in the east has slowed the already declining volumes. Mexico will see increased volumes in a couple weeks so look for the Roma market to struggle until then. Quality is good.
Cherry/Grape - Cherry market is steady/rising. All regions have very low volumes. Mexico will be finished with transition toward the end of this week. Until then the market will remain elevated. Grape market is steady/rising. Mexico is supplying some volume but can not cover all demand. Mexico is also having some quality issues. Market will remain strong until Northern Florida begins harvest. Quality is fair