The Source - October 19, 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 and that market is steady. They continue to peak on 100/113s. The quality has been good.
Washington - 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.

This market is unchanged. Steady supplies out of the region of Peru are forecasted throughout the week. Southern Baja has looks to be moderate in availability for the week. The best availability continues to be 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.

Mexico is beginning to harvest this years new crop. Transition from Flor Loca into all new crop should take about 3 to 4 weeks. 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.

Bell pepper production is very good, quality is good with a range of sizes. The market is steady with a weaker undertone. This trend should continue this week as the pipeline is still full with pepper from Northern growing regions. Next week after the hangover from the PMA subsides this could change quickly

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 each week 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. Blackberries remain very limited out of CA. More Mexican fruit is crossing and is helping with the current shortage out of CA.

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. Extremely short of product on the west coast, more availability loading FL, NJ or McAllen with Mexican fruit.

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

Demand exceeds supply. 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 recent weeks high temperatures and rain last week 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.

Alerts:
We are extremely short on strawberries in all California growing regions, demand is exceeding supply.

Pricing is firm on this commodity to start the week. Crowns continue to be very tight in availability. 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 high temperatures in past weeks. 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.

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 is active. Demand exceeds supply. Escalated pricing is in effect. Value added product is escalated. 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 is active. Michigan has finished production, and California production is in high demand. Large sizing is tighter in availability. Santa Maria's production is light. Production in Salinas continues to be very light. The quality continues to be reported as strong in all the growing regions. Oxnard will not begin production until November.

Transitions:
Oxnard will begin production the first week of November

This market is unchanged. 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 good.

Demand remains very high. We are seeing 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

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

The lime market on 110's and 150's has come down while the other sizes are 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 nearly cleaned up for the season. Some shippers are beginning to pack this years California Navel crop, but only 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.

This market continues to be tight with cooler weather and low production in the Southeast. Volume in Nogales is picking up and central Fl. Is starting production, this should take some pressure off the market.

Eggplant is in good production and the Market remains low. Look for this trend to continue into next week.

Supplies continue to tighten up on green seedless grapes. The market is strengthening with higher prices being quoted; especially on the smaller size lots. We expect this gradual improvement in the market to continue through the end of November. Early estimates out of Chile show Chilean fruit landing around the first to second week of December.

The red seedless market is showing early signs of improvement. Most shippers are quoting about steady with some improved pricing on the larger fruit. This improvement is attributed to a gradual drop in volume around the industry as a whole. We have also experienced thunderstorms with heavy wind and rain in some of the growing regions. It is too soon to tell if this has affected the grape harvest as a whole. Demand is about steady with quality quoted as mostly good.

Light supplies are projected this week on production in Salinas and Mexico for this commodity. Temperatures in the Mexico region continue to be high. 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.

This market is steady. There continues to be no production issues to report. 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 continues to gain strength. Huron has begun production so there are options for acquiring this commodity. 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 are expected to be moderate to light in production all week.

This market is firm to begin the week. The quality issues continue. These issues 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 firm as well. 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 and less volumes of all sizes and growers are finishing for the season each week. 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. Offshore melons are set to arrive in Florida around the middle of November.

Transitions:
The offshore melons are set to arrive in the middle of November.

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 has started sending dews across their border into Nogales AZ for loading. The desert is packing in Maricopa with 5ct being the peak sizes and 6ct being the smallest coming in. We continue to experience good demand across the board. Offshore dews are set to arrive during the later part of November.

Washington - yellows and reds are steady on all sizes. The yellows are peaking on mediums and jumbos with only light supplies of Colossals and larger. The reds are producing more mediums than they typically do and some suppliers had substantially lower yields so the jumbo red market is stronger than it normally is this time of year. The quality for both colors has been fair to good.
Idaho/Oregon - Yellow jumbos and mediums are steady while colossal and Supers are steady to lower. Some suppliers will deal for volume on Colossal and Super-colossal yellow orders. Reds are steady and the market remains strong on jumbos. The quality has been good for both colors. Whites are steady and 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 and have limited supplies of the fancy grade for all sizes. 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 - counts are steady to higher and continue to peak on 80-count and smaller. Many sheds are not running this week so the availability is light. The quality has been good.
Idaho - The market is higher in both varieties and all sizes as many sheds try 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 to higher and the sizing is more evenly spread from large to small. Colorado is following Idaho up but has good availability. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - they are also steady to higher on counts and are rising along with Idaho The quality has been good.

Bakersfield, California---they continue to bring in all colors from Washington and the market is steady for all colors. The quality has been good.
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. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - Reds and golds are steady on all sizes and both colors are peaking on A-size. Premium and baker reds, premium and baker golds, and gold Cs remain short. The quality has been good.
North Dakota - reds and golds are steady and both are heavy to A-size. Gold supplies should improve this week. Premiums and bakers are still very short. The quality has been good.

With cooler temperatures in the eastern squash production remains low and market on green squash is very steady, yellow squash market is lower. The pressure from Western shippers is keeping the market under control. Many eastern customers are switching to the west for steady supplies.

Rounds - The market is steady/higher. Weather has kept the volume in the east very low. The Northern Florida crop has been delayed and put the rounds in a gap. Northern Florida is looking to start harvesting late next week. Mexico is currently seeing good volume but may also see the effects of rains. Expect the market to remain tight for the remainder of this week.
Roma - The market is steady/higher. Due to the weather the Roma's are also gapping in the east. Mexico should see more volume next week but the market will remain tight until then. Northern Florida should start harvest late next week. 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/higher. Not much has changed in the west, Mexico is coming in with decent volume but the weather in the east has put the market in a tight situation. Mexico will have to provide much of the volume for another week. Florida is looking to begin harvesting late next week. Expect rounds of all sizes to be hard to come by until then.
Roma - The market is steady/higher. The eastern weather has slowed the already declining volumes. Mexico will see increased volumes next week so look for the Roma market to struggle until then. Quality is good.
Cherry/Grape - Cherry market is steady/higher. 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/higher. 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 next week. Quality is fair