The Source - October 23, 2019

Eastern Region:

The “buyer’s market” continues in the world of apples. With so many growing areas in full production, the overall market is soft with plenty of volume involving numerous varieties. As Fall weather continues to worsen, many Midwest/EC shippers will be done with fresh-harvest apples in approximately ten days—around Halloween—and will have stored fruit available.

Western Region:

Washington

Most Northwestern shippers are 75-80% done with fresh-harvest apples. Pink Lady, Braeburn, Lady Alice, Jazz, Envy, and Granny Smith apples wrap up the tail-end of new crop apples and harvest should end around mid-November. With that said, many Washington shippers are aggressively pricing some varieties (i.e. Gala and Honeycrisp) to compete with Midwest/EC product.

Even though this region has seen some cold temps as of late, there have been no reports of serious damage. As a matter of fact, quality has been excellent across all varieties.

Production from Southern Baja continues to be good, we should see this change the first 2 weeks in November, then Sonora should startup. Both regions in Peru (Ica/Trujillo) continue with great volume, and this should be the trend through the beginning of December when production slows down due to seasonality. Volume remains good on the larger sizes, and should continue until production slows down in December. Markets on both coasts are steady with good movement on all sizes.

The avocado market is steady with moderate demand. Size curve continues to lean towards small fruit (60's-84's) with plenty of opportunity buys. Sizes 48 and larger continue to strengthen. Mexico continues to increase production and lead the industry in supply. We expect stable supplies out of Mexico going into the month of November. With the pipeline flooded with Mexican fruit, there is not much demand nor desire for Chilean fruit.

Bell pepper supply is good in South Carolina and Georgia. The market is steady, demand is better this week and is increasing going through the week. Quality has been very good so far in the southeast, most of the region escaped the tropical storm this past weekend. Very little rain accumulation and no wind from Nestor labeled a post-tropical cyclone but turned out to be nothing more than a dreary fall day in the southeast. Georgia is at its peak and will continue to harvest as long as the weather will permit, most growers could harvest through the middle of November. We expect pricing to rise as the week goes on with more regional growing deals in the northeast and mid-Atlantic finishing for the season.

Peak Seasons:
Bell Pepper is in Peak season

Moderate supplies of Choice Green Bell Pepper and light supplies of Retail grade Green Bell pepper are being harvested in the Oxnard, Hollister, and Stockton California area. Mostly choice grade peppers are being packed from these districts. The quality of green bell pepper from these growing areas are mostly fair. New crop green bell pepper is expected to start in the Coachella valley as soon as next week. The green bell pepper market has increased this week as the transition from central California to southern California has started. Moderate supplies of green pepper continue to be harvested in Baja California, where quality is good.

Lighter supplies of red bell pepper continue to be harvested in the Hollister and Oxnard growing district. All pack styles are being packed from these districts. Supplies from Oxnard and Hollister are expected to remain steady throughout the week. Quality from these districts remains good. New crop red bell pepper from the Coachella valley is expected to start within 10 days. Lighter supplies of Mexican Hot House bell pepper are crossing through San Diego, CA and Nogales, AZ this week. The market on red bell pepper has increased this week as supplies have decreased. Moderate supplies of Red bell pepper continue available to load in McAllen, TX.

Light supplies of yellow bell pepper are available to load in Los Angeles, CA. Light supplies Yellow bell peppers are expected through the week. Lighter supplies of Yellow Mexican Hot House Bell pepper are also crossing through San Diego, CA and Nogales, AZ this week. The Market on yellow bell peppers has increased this week due to lighter supplies. Moderate supplies of Mexican Yellow Hot house bell pepper are also available to load in McAllen, TX.

The blackberries are coming primarily out of Central Mexico and are in very short supply. The numbers look to improve towards the end of next week. Quality has been good but there still are some reports of red cell and leakers upon arrival.

Alerts:
Blackberries are in very short supplies

Blueberries are coming out of Central Mexico, and the offshore fruit is being imported from Chile and Uruguay. The quality is very good at this time. Look for the market to remain fairly firm with higher undertones as transfer issues and boat arrivals dictate availability and pricing.

Raspberries are in good supplies coming out of the Central Coast, Baja Mexico, and Central Mexico. Quality has been good. Look for the market to remain steady with lower trends going into next week.

Strawberries are in good supplies out of all three growing areas due to light demand. Santa Maria and Oxnard have most of the volume being offered. Quality has been better recently with cooler days and nights helping to firm the fruit up. We are expecting a few days of very warm weather from today through Saturday in all growing areas. It remains to be seen whether this will affect the quality or not. Look for the market to remain steady with lower tones moving into the weekend.

Alerts:
Warmer than normal weather will bring on Santa Anna winds in Santa Maria and Oxnard expecting to reach 40MPH on Thursday

The Market is steady on all pack styles coming from the Bakersfield Ca area. Quality is reported as excellent. The Mexican jumbo carrot market is steady with slightly better movement expected in the next few weeks as local homegrown and storage carrots begin to wind down.

The cauliflower market continues to be in a demand exceeds supply situation. Cauliflower is extremely scarce and all suppliers are seeing lower yields and even skipping a few days of harvest to size up the cauliflower. This is causing suppliers to struggle on Cauliflower Florets as there is not enough raw product. The quality is fair with bruising and yellow cast with weights in the 25 to 28-pound level. Look for the market to continue to adjust going into next week.

Alerts:
Suppliers continue to struggle with yields. Cauliflower Florets is certainly a struggle as there is not enough raw product to keep up with demand.

Supplies have tightened up in all of the growing regions. Demand is up and this will continue into the month of November. Overall, the quality continues to be strong in northern as well as southern California. Sizing is consistent in availability in both large and small sizes. Flexing unlike in past weeks has gone away with most shippers. Salinas and Santa Maria will continue to be the main growing regions as well as some production in Mexico. The quality continues to be reported as strong, overall. Some common defects being reported to include leafy tops, mechanical and minimal bowing. The weights are averaging 51-55 pounds.

Jalapenos- Good supplies of Jalapeno continue to be available to load in Los Angeles from Baja California and Santa Maria. Quality on jalapeno from these districts is fair to good. Domestic jalapeno being harvested in Santa Maria, CA are mostly medium to large size. Jalapeno being harvested in Baja, California Mexico is also medium to large size. Market on jalapeno has remained in the teens. Jalapenos from Mexico are also available to load in McAllen, Texas.

Pasilla- Good supply of Pasilla peppers available to load in Los Angeles from Mexico. Pasilla is being harvested in Baja California. Quality on Pasilla from this region is mostly good. Size on the pepper is mostly medium to large. Pasilla peppers also being harvested in Santa Maria, California. Market on Pasilla is steady. Pasilla from Mexico also available to load in McAllen, Texas.

Anaheim- Good supply of Anaheim continues to be available to load in Los Angeles from Baja California and Santa Maria. Quality from Baja and Santa Maria are mostly good. Market on Anaheim pepper continues to remain in the mid-teens and is expected to remain the same throughout the week. Anaheim from Mexico also available to load in McAllen, Texas.

Serrano – Good supplies of Serrano peppers available to load in Los Angeles, from Mexico. Supplies are expected to remain steady throughout the week. Supplies currently meet demand. Serrano supplies also crossing through McAllen, Texas.

Tomatillo – Husk tomatillos are available to load in Los Angeles, from Mexico. Quality of husk variety is good. Good supplies on husk tomatillos are expected to continue. The market on both peeled and husk tomatillo are steady. Both husk and peeled tomatillo are available to load in McAllen, TX.

Domestic supplies on large sizes 75ct – 115ct are very tight industry-wide. Supplies on the large sizes are expected to improve in a few weeks. Supplies on small sizes are improving weekly and the market is slightly softening upon those particular sizes. More orders are being booked out of the District 3 (Coachella/Mecca/Yuma) area as supplies continue to improve weekly. Current markets remain steady with good quality.

Lime market pricing has been stable and availability is increasing across the sizing spectrum. The crop is peaking on small /mid-sized fruit. We will begin to see an increased amount of large fruit within the next few weeks. Color/quality is improving as the growing regions are experiencing more favorable weather conditions. This week into next week the market condition will remain stable on smaller sizes. The rain in the growing region has impacted packing schedules and has slow down production and crossings but will help with larger fruit in the next couple weeks.

Valencia supplies are winding down very quickly, most suppliers have stop stopped picking for the season and are looking to push current Valencia inventories out of their coolers. Markets will stay firm until we transition to California Navels. California Navels are expected to start in the last week of October and we have been hearing positive feedback on the upcoming supply and quality. On specialty citrus California grapefruit is improving out of the southern California districts, and CA Mandarins are coming along nicely, please reach out if you have any questions.

Cucumber supplies are tight and could tighten more for the weekend as temperatures in the southeast cool. Most growers outside the southeast are finished for the season, growers in the southeast are well past their peak but with market conditions getting better and will likely continue through the end of the month. Quality is still pretty good with most shippers. Cooler temperatures have helped the color a lot. A few shippers in central Florida started for this past week with light volume and very good quality. More growers will begin harvesting this week in Florida as the transition continues from the southeast.

Alerts:
supplies are tight.

Transitions:
Cucumbers are starting to transition to Central Florida.

Moderate cucumber supplies continue to be harvested in Baja California. Supplies from Baja California continue to decrease. Quality from this district remains good on all pack styles. Better supplies of cucumber are being harvested in Sonora, Mexico. Cucumber quality from the Sonora district is good on all pack styles. The market on West Coast cucumber is steady this week and is expected to decrease slightly as we approach the end of the week with better cucumber supplies forecasted from Sonora. Moderate supplies of Mexican cucumbers are crossing through McAllen.

Eggplant is in peak season in the southeast and most other growing regions are finishing for the season. Georgia and South Carolina are in their peak now with good volume and quality, demand is picking up as more growing regions north of South Carolina are finished for the season or having quality issues. We expect pricing to rise as the week goes on. Georgia growers will continue to harvest as long as weather permits. Florida will begin to harvest around the first of November. Market conditions should stay strong through the end of October.

Peak Seasons:
Eggplant is in peak season.

Good supplies of eggplant are available to load in Los Angeles, CA. Domestic eggplant continues to be harvested in the Oxnard and Hollister growing districts. All pack styles currently being packed. Quality of domestic eggplant is mostly fair. Light supplies of eggplant continue to be available to load in Nogales, AZ.

Supplies have started to become lighter and prices are slowly increasing. Quality has been fair with darker amber color and occasional soft / wet berries. Shippers are already harvesting their stronger fruit and placing it in storage; in preparation for the transition in early December. This storage crop will be held onto until we are done with fresh harvest. Shippers expect green grape fresh harvest to last through mid to late November unless we experience a severe freeze or heavy rains. We can expect to see split markets on greens depending on quality. We expect green grape supply and price changes to be much greater and more sudden than red grapes. We have already seen the market prices start to climb and we can expect to see higher jumps as we start November.

Alerts:
Supplies will get lighter and prices will continue to increase as we move into November.

Transitions:
Import season will start early December

Supplies have been excellent. Quality has been solid and market prices have remained flat. However, as we look toward November, we expect supplies to lighten and quality may start to diminish. Additionally, we will see market prices slowly increase. As we prepare for transition in early December and possible weather challenges, shippers will start to take their best fields and utilize that fruit for storage crop to bridge any gaps in supply. Depending on the weather, we expect to see an overlap between fresh harvest and storage crop through November. Typically the storage is stronger fruit and the last of the fresh harvest may show some quality issues such as mildew and soft berries. In these situations, a split market can occur. Storage crop will be priced higher and fresh harvest will be cheaper, but with compromised quality. This change will be gradual, but steady. We can expect prices to start to firm up next week and gradually climb over the next month. Quality should remain strong until our first freeze or rain event.

Alerts:
Markets will firm up as we move forward.

Transitions:
Look for import season to start by early December

The green onion market continues to lower with the increase in supply from the recent warm weather. Quality is good with occasional leaf minor. The market will continue to stay steady going into next week.

Supplies have become better on this commodity as demand has fallen off. There is a large gap in pricing in the industry. The temperatures have cooled down to mid-seventies in the daytime which has helped the quality of this commodity. There continues to be issues upon arrivals worth noting. Some defects include occasional growth crack, mechanical, slight mildew and misshapen heads. Weights on wrap have been 36-44 pounds. Overall, the better quality is in Huron currently. Escalated pricing on value-added lettuce items has fallen to single-tier escalators due to the drop off in pricing in the marketplace. Yuma is scheduled to begin harvesting the first to the second week in November.

Transitions:
Yuma will begin production the first to second week in November.

Demand exceeds supplies on romaine. Escalated pricing on all value-added romaine products is in effect. Light supplies will continue for the entire week at a minimum. Yields have been reported lower by all shippers. This is an industry-wide issue. As far as quality, expect the condition of the product to be fair. Weight are good, averaging 31-38 pounds. Defects include insect damage due to past high temperatures, tip burn, fringe burn and mechanical. Green and red leaf, as well as butter, are reporting similar defects. Weights on green ad red are averaging 20-22 pounds. Yuma is expected to begin harvesting in early November on most leaf items.

Transitions:
Yuma should begin production in early November.

Tender Leaf market continues to stay steady as supplies have adjusted back to normal. Curly parsley, spinach, and arugula are now at a steady supply going into next week. Quality is good with occasional yellowing and bruising of the tender leaves.

Melons continue to be a challenge. The industry as a whole is currently in a demand exceeds supply situation. We are seeing rising markets daily as growers struggle to meet the growing demand.
Abnormal weather conditions (rain, hail, thunderstorms) a month ago affected the fall crop in Arizona and Mexico. The rain was significant and some growing areas were hit with 3-4 inches. For melons, this does short and long term damage. Too much rain stunts the plant and creates heavy soil. In these conditions, melons are prone to major quality issues (mold, mildew).
Ideally, when growers irrigate the crops, it is light and quick so the soil does not stay wet for long.
Not only are we seeing quality issues, but we are also seeing fruit with low brix/sugar levels. With such a hot market, some growers are harvesting fruit that is premature.
Market will remain active into November. Offshore arrivals will hit the US by mid-November and help provide relief.

Alerts:
Demand has outpaced the harvest. Market to remain active into November.

Good supplies of watermelon continue to be harvested in Sonora, Mexico. The seedless watermelon market is currently steady and is expected to decrease with better production expected from the Sonora district. Watermelon quality from Sonora is good. Light supplies of watermelon being harvest from the California district this week where quality is mostly fair.

Onion markets continue to hold steady as supplies and quality are good in all regions. Idaho/Oregon quality is excellent on all three colors with very good volume. The size profile remains heavy to jumbo and smaller. Harvesting is nearly finished and will have everything coming out of storage for the balance of the Northwest season. Washington, Utah, and Colorado also continue to produce good volume and quality. Kansas has finished up for the season. Expect markets to remain relatively steady as supplies meet current demand.

Washington:

Regarding Bartletts and Anjous, many shippers continue to peak on larger sizes (60ct-90ct), but food service sizes are not in any type of shortage. New crop harvest is coming to an end and the consensus is that quality is excellent.

Some shippers have reported an acreage reduction of 10-15% on Green Anjou and a 30-40% reduction on Bosc. Red pears (Starkrimson, Red Anjou) are available in ½ and full cartons. Special varieties—such as Seckel, Forelle, Comice, and Asian—are also available. Quality is excellent.

California:

The California pear season is winding down with some shippers done for the season and some selling from storage inventory (Bartletts). This time of year, be wary of quality as Bartletts tend to ripen quicker, reducing shelf life.

ASIAN PEARS are available; 10ct-24ct (1 and 2-layer) available to load in the San Joaquin Valley. Smaller sizes (66ct-96ct, 3-layer) are sporadic in availability, so please inquire about availability.

Pineapple supplies out of the east coast are looking to be snug on the crowned fruit around this time of year and supplies seem to be lighter. Supplies on the west coast seem to be steady. Markets out of both coasts remain fair and demand continues to be strong. Quality has improved and we’re hearing positive feedback.

Last week's focus for many Idaho suppliers was putting all hands on deck to harvest as many potatoes as possible and go straight to cellars, close the doors and allow them to go through suberization (the sweat). Very minimal supplies were available for open market sales as the earliest harvested potatoes had not gone through the sweat to set the skins. This week has a few cellars finally opening up and getting run at packing sheds but supplies remain limited as shippers play catch up from the last two weeks. Demand is active across the board and pushing markets higher. Pricing is a day of shipment and we expect a demand exceeds market over the next 2-3 weeks. Washington, Colorado, and Wisconsin markets are also increasing due to the shift in demand. It is highly advised to provide ample lead time on all russet potato orders to make every attempt to cover product as best as possible.

Alerts:
Markets are rising in all regions. Demand is active with limited production out of Idaho.

North Dakota was hit hard from the early winter storm and will have significant crop loss for color potatoes; in particular reds. Markets are starting to increase with demand shifting into the Northwest regions of Idaho and Washington. Supplies of Washington red, yellow and white are available to ship out of Bakersfield, CA as well. Wisconsin is quoting very limited supplies of reds with a good amount of yellow available; size C yellow is limited. Minnesota is quoting some yellow with some light supplies of red and yellow coming out of Manitoba, Canada. We will see increasing markets due to the limited supplies out of North Dakota and Wisconsin putting added pressure on Idaho and Washington this year to fill the void.

Alerts:
Markets rising in all regions; in particular on reds. North Dakota and Wisconsin extremely limited on supplies.

Eastern squash is in transition to Florida but Georgia and South Carolina will continue harvesting as long as weather and market conditions allow. Volume in Georgia and South Carolina has decreased and will likely decrease more this weekend as the cooler temperature moves into the region. Quality is still good with most growers, cooler weather has slowed harvest but helped quality. Florida shippers will increase in volume as the week goes on with more growers starting for the season. Most of the squash is coming from central Florida but a few growers have begun harvesting as far south as Homestead.

Transitions:
Eastern Squash is transitioning to central Florida

Moderate supplies of Italian and Yellow S/N squash continue to be available from all three California growing districts this week. Soft squash supplies continue to decrease as we approach the end of the month. Soft squash supplies from California are expected to finish by November. Quality on soft squash from California is mostly fair. Currently good supplies of Italian and Yellow S/N squash crossing through Nogales, AZ from Sonora, Mexico. Supplies from Sonora are expected to increase over the next few weeks. The soft squash market is currently low due to high production from the Sonora district. Quality from Sonora is good on all pack styles. Light supplies of soft squash continue to cross through McAllen, TX.

The domestic stone fruit season is quickly coming to an end. Apricot and Nectarines are completely done. There is some residual Peach inventory that is extremely scarce. Fresh harvest is done. Sizes and availability are very limited and quality is fair. Plums are still available, but the focus should be on black varieties. Red varieties are limited and the quality is fair. We expect to have good availability and quality on black Plums through mid-November. The import stone fruit season will start on the east coast from late November to early December.

Alerts:
Only plums are readily available. Market prices are higher.

Transitions:
Import season will start on the east coast in late November.

Quincy Florida is in season and will serve as a bridge between regional Summer programs and Fall harvests in Central Florida. As such, transition to smaller crops and limited acreage supply seasonally cause a spike in the market each year for a couple of weeks until Central Florida breaks ground in November. Demand is strong and markets remain elevated as expected while overall volumes are light as harvest overlap through October. Round supplies are limited, and sizing is on the small side due to heat exposure during the earlier phase of the growing cycle. FOBS has breached the $20 mark for the short term. Palmetto/Ruskin programs are preparing to break ground before Halloween bringing Eastern supply into heavier volume by November. Similarly, Roma availability has contracted though the start of transition and supply will be light until central Florida begins harvesting again near November 1st. The grape tomato market has been mixed in recent weeks. Virginia has finished for the season and Quincy is only producing in a light way until Ruskin picks up closer to November. With more fruit to enter the supply chain in the next 7-10 days, markets will begin to subside following the seasonal ebbs and flows of transition.

The overall volume in California has started to shrink as farms begin to fade and the season ends near the end of the month. Sizing and quality vary by grower and operations are forecasted to fade in the coming weeks wrapping up by the end of the month. Volume is building in Mexico where crops are also beginning to transition to Fall plantings. As California winds down through October, Mexico crossings will continue to build, so that supply is continuous while foreign and domestic operations overlap helping to boost round and Roma availability. Grape and cherry tomatoes have improved slightly from the past couple of weeks but are mostly steady now while supply continues to build through October.