The Source - September 1, 2016

Washington - C.A. red delicious are steady to higher on all sizes and grades with only light availability of the Wash-Extra-fancy #2s and lower. Most shippers continue to peak on extra-fancy 72-88s but supplies are very light due to strong demand. Expect the market to remain strong through the balance of the storage season. Earli Golds & Ginger Golds have finished up already. Golden delicious are available but supplies are very light as most shippers are just getting started. C.A. Granny Smith are higher on most sizes and continue to peak on 88-113s. The Granny market has turned up quickly. Some shippers have started packing new-crop Granny-smith. The Gala market is steady on most sizes and grades and inventories are building as more shippers get started. Galas are peaking on 80/88/100/72s so they are big! Honey Crisp are steady but the fruit remains big and they are peaking on 48/56/64s. The quality for C.A. reds, goldens, granny-smith, Galas, and Honey Crisp has been good.
California - Galas are finishing up early this year. Fuji's are steady on all sizes and peaking on higher-color 100/113s. Granny-Smith are also steady on all sizes with very light availability. The quality has been good.
Idaho---they packed some early Galas but supplies are limited.
Michigan-- Zestars, Paula Reds, and Ginger Golds are all peaking on larger fruit and all are steady. Supplies remain fairly light for all three varieties. A few packers have started with Gala's McIntosh, and Golden delicious.
New York---they have started packing a few Paula reds and they are small. The quality has been good.
Chile - Chilean Pinks Ladys are finished for the season. Chilean Fuji's are almost finished and supplies are limited.

Asparagus market is lower in all regions. Quality is good in Northern Baja Mexico and Peru, and fair quality in Central Mexico.

California is all but done with this years crop. The last of them look be cleaned up with what limited volume that is left over the next couple of weeks.

Mexico's summer crop is quickly running out of fruit. Volume are dropping quickly. New crop is behind in maturity and may not be ready to start harvest and shipping until early October. September will be very short in supplies.

Alerts:
California and Peru is wrapping up their season. This leaves a quickly depleting summer crop from Mexico as the only source. Mexico's new crop will not be ready until early October. September supplies will be very short limited in availability.

Green bells out of Fresno and Otay are showing good quality and condition. Red bells out of Fresno, Bakersfield, and Otay are showing good overall quality and condition. Red bells are starting to show better availability. More availability on yellow bells. Yellow bells showing good quality and condition.

Production is trending down and supply is tightening, demand is exceeding supply. Quality is good overall, a few reports of overripe and red cell. There are still a few blackberries available in North Carolina but those are becoming increasingly limited as well.

Alerts:
Supplies are decreasing and demand is exceeding supply.

Transitions:
Mexico is beginning to cross very limited volumes of blackberries through McAllen, TX.

Domestic production is falling off sharply out of the Pacific Northwest and the Upper Midwest. Rain events and warm weather over the past few weeks have affected production in both regions - quality and availability. Availability is less than previous weeks and markets continue to strengthen. Overall, quality has been fair to good. Small volume of import blueberries from Peru and Argentina are available in Miami and on the east coast.

Alerts:
Domestic production is falling off sharply and supplies are continuing to tighten up. We expect a dramatic decrease this week as supplies continue to fall off.

Transitions:
Peru, Argentina and Uruguay blueberries are beginning to hit the east coast ports with light volume, increasing volume by mid-September.

Raspberry production volume and availability have been light for the past several weeks. Forecasts look like we have now passed the lowest point and volume should begin to rebound as we move into September. By mid-September, Mexico will begin producing and crossing raspberries to the US with decent volume which will help to supplement our CA supply. We will remain day to day with availability through this week but should see availability increase soon.

Alerts:
Supply is light and demand is very good but we should see improved availability in the coming weeks.

Transitions:
Mexico production should increase by mid-September.

Supply is steady. Salinas, Watsonville and Santa Maria growing regions are all experiencing higher daytime temperatures than the previous weeks which will continue to bring on good fruit with good volumes as well. Production has been exceeding estimate volumes. Overall, quality remains good. A few reports of white shoulders, salmon and dry bruising. Sizing remains smaller with berries in the 20-30 count range, Santa Maria new crop on the larger end of the range.

The broccoli market is unchanged with plenty of supplies. Quality has been really good with average crown size and minimal yellowing from all growing regions. Although some suppliers today raised their prices in Salinas.

As we move into peak season, supplies are increasing. The market continues to trend lower. Quality is excellent with all sizes available and nice green color.

The Bakersfield crop is in full production. Growth is good and producing good percentage of Jumbo size and supplies are good. Supply of baby peeled carrots are good.

The cauliflower market remains steady at current price levels. Supplies are also steady but with any type of demand the market will take off. Quality has been really nice with minimal bruising upon arrivals.

Production out of Michigan as well as California continues to be plentiful to meet demand. Supplies simply continue to exceed demand. Multiple shippers are flexing on pricing for volume type orders. Good quality continues to be the norm. Michigan production is meeting demand although smaller sizing is less available compared to large sizing, twenty-four counts in particular. Larger sizing is coming out of California predominantly as well.

Pablano - Good quality and condition expected to continue.

Tomatillo- Rainy weather has affected quality of Tomatillo. Many grower's showing water blister's turning into decay.

Jalapeno- good quality on new crop pepper, mostly large sizing with good color.

Quality and Condition are good overall. , California supply has remained steady.

Cilantro supplies are still extremely limited. Quality issues in Mexico and Oxnard such as seeder, yellowing, and dehydration are the major causes. The market remains active. Heat continues to take it toll on quality in Mexico.

Alerts:
Extremely limited supplies and higher markets.

The Ventura crop is our main supplier of domestic fruit, and their season is winding down and dropping quickly. Demand is strong and exceeding what supplies are left. The Desert crop looks to start some light packing by mid September, but will not full volume until November. Chilean and Mexican fruit is available, but the lack of California fruit is putting heavy presser on these supplies also.

Alerts:
Supplies of 140s/165s/200s/235 are very tight on both choice and fancy fruit and demand is far exceeding supplies.

The larger 110ct, 150ct and 175ct are less expensive than the 200ct and smaller sizes. Demand is good on all sizes across the board. Limes are peaking on the 150ct. Quality is fair overall with some leaf shading (yellow color) showing up and occasional stylar end breakdown showing up from previous rains. The larger limes are old crop and are very tired. Shippers are sorting through them before they load the trucks which is helping on arrivals. Large sized new crop won't show up until the middle of September. Smaller sized new limes are filtering into the supplies already. The market is steady on the limes.

Supplies are getting tight on small size Valencia oranges with the "Back to School" demand. 138s and 113s have reached demand exceed situation and will be until Navels start at the end of October/first of November. Fruit is showing some weakness of quality, which is typical for this time of year after a long hot summer.

Alerts:
138 and 113 size oranges have reached demand exceeds supply situation with the increase school demand.

Good quality and condition on cucumbers coming out of Northern Baja coast. All sizes are being packed in 1 1/9 bushel boxes. Also 24's-36's-42's being packed.

Quality and condition on eggplant has remained good coming out of Fresno. Minimal cosmetic issue's like scaring being shown. Still showing green calyx on all size's. Volume has also remained steady on all sizes.

The current green seedless grape market is split. Early season Princess and Thompson's are being sold at a discount to the new crop Autumn King's. Quality on the early fruit is only fair to good with sizing running heavily to the medium large and large fruit. The Autumn King's are heavy to the extra large berry size with excellent quality. This split will continue until the Autumn King's come into better supplies and the early season fruit cleans up.

The red seedless grape market is steady with good demand and good supplies. We are seeing improving supplies of large and extra large fruit in the Scarlet Royal and Vintage Red varieties. These larger size varieties are commanding a premium over the Crimson's which are predominantly running medium large to large. Quality on all is reported as good to excellent.

Supplies of green onions are extremely limited with higher markets. Both iced and iceless green onion supplies have been affected by the heat in Mexico. Also there isn't enough domestic acreage to handle demand. We are seeing brown to yellow discoloration of the tops upon arrivals.

Alerts:
Extremely limited supplies and higher markets.

Kale supplies will be plentiful for this week. The market continues to be competitive at current levels. Quality has been excellent with minimal yellowing and dehydration.

This market continues to be steady, overall. A few shippers have attempted to raise pricing, but demand simply doesn't warrant the increase in price. Flexing is occurring with a few suppliers. Some common defects seen are Ribbing , insect, mechanical and puffiness, but these defects have been minimal. Overall quality has been good. The weights are averaging 41-45 pounds.

Green leaf is very active in the marketplace. A few suppliers are already sold out and others will be minimal in availability for the rest of the week. Romaine is getting stronger as well. Mechanical, fringe and tip burn as well as well as minimal insect damage is being reported sporadically, but overall quality has been good. The weights on romaine have been averaging 30-35 pounds. Green, red and butter leaf have had steady weights being reported.

The supplies have decreased and demand has remained good. The market is higher across the board. Many of the growers are packing 9ct through 15ct with a few packing 18ct. 9ct supplies are not as plentiful as the 12ct or 15ct. Quality out of the West Side has been good although lately we have been having some soft melons arrival issues due to the heat and shippers being behind schedule. Arrivals are better now that demand has picked up and supplies have dropped a bit.

Demand is steady versus last week. We had lighter supplies earlier in the week which caused a slight jump in the overall market. Supplies and the market are both steady right now. Weather has been on the hot side lately making the quality of honeydews suffer a little. All in all honeydews are good and previous arrival issues should be cleaned up now.

The current availability is limited and offering medium to smaller sizes. Mostly 60 size fruit being offered. Movement out of the San Joaquin Valley has been moving steady. Steady production with steady demand. Quality is generally good overall.

Washington - the market is steady on yellows, reds, and whites and the sizing is still mostly in the medium to jumbo range very little larger product. The quality is good and the availability is good.
Idaho/Oregon - They are also steady on yellows and are peaking supers, colossals, and jumbos with only light supplies of medium yellows. The reds and whites are both peaking on jumbos and are steady on all sizes. The quality has been good for all colors.

California - Bartlett pears are steady and they continue to peak on 100/110/90s but the wrap supplies are low and most shippers don't have any fruit smaller than a 120. Some shippers are done packing and are shipping from inventory. The quality has been good. Crimson pears are steady and continue to peak on half carton 45/40s but supplies are limited. Bosc are steady to lower and are peaking on smaller fruit. The quality has been good.
Washington - Bartlett pears are steady to lower and continue to peak on 90/100/110s. Inventories are growing as more shippers get started. D'anjou pears are also steady to lower and are peaking on 90/100/110s. D'anjou inventories are also growing as the season is getting under way. Stark Crimson pears are steady and continue to peak on 40/45 half cartons. The quality for all pears has been good.

Supplies are still light, but look to start to start improving as we move through to month.

Washington - The market is steady on most sizes and they continue to peak on the smaller carton counts. Most packers have good quality.
Idaho - The Idaho market is fairly steady but some suppliers are lower as the market is still adjusting. Most packers have good quality and are peaking on the smaller counts.
Wisconsin/Colorado - both areas are packing but supplies are still relatively light and the pricing remains fairly high compared to other areas. The quality has been good.

Stockton California - reds, whites, and golds are steady to slightly lower and all colors continue to peak on A size. Baker and premium whites and golds are still short. The quality has been good for all colors.
Idaho - the market is steady on reds and golds although some suppliers will flex on Red As. Both colors are peaking on A size and the quality is good.
Minnesota - reds and are steady on all sizes except Bs which are higher. Golds are mostly steady with good availability on most sizes. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - reds and golds are both steady and the availability is good on most sizes. The quality is good.
Eastern Washington - eastern red potatoes are steady to higher and they are still peaking on A-size. Some suppliers have finished with golds. The quality is good.
Western Washington - they are just getting started but have all colors available. The quality has been good.
Delaware - all sizes in all colors are steady. The market for C size remains strong for all colors. The quality has been good.

Supply on Italian squash and Yellow S/N out of the San Joaquin Valley has lightened. Supply still remain light pending transition into new fields. Quality and condition are fair to good. Mostly medium and Large size available on Yellow S/N

The stone fruit season continues to wind down rapidly as many shippers report being 2-3 weeks ahead of "normal" harvest. In addition to this sizing on all fruit is running large with very little if any of the smaller sizes favored by the foodservice industry. Plums, pluots, white peaches and white nectarines are especially impacted for supplies with many reporting done on the pluots and extremely limited on the others. Yellow peaches and yellow nectarines are in marginally better shape for supplies but sizing on these is skewed heavily to the large tray packs. All are reporting they expect to see most harvesting done by the middle of September. Demand is good on all.

Alerts:
Stone fruit season in California finishing early.

Rounds - The market is higher. Supplies continue to be tighter. Rains in the east effecting production, and with possibly hurricanes hitting, supplies will get much tighter. Out west, California is in it's 2nd week of bloom drops. Look for the market to continue to get tighter. Range in quality from fair to good.
Roma - The market is higher. Supplies on Roma's also continue to be light, with weather conditions in the east. And with additional weather hitting the east, look for supplies to get tighter. Out west, supplies also looking much tighter, and should continue through the week, at minimum. Market strong, with demand on the rise. Range in quality from fair to good.
Cherry - The market is higher. With schools back in session, demand has picked up, with FOB's following. Look fo demand to continue to be stronger. Quality is good.
Grape - The market is higher. Supplies are looking to be very short, with demand up. Weather conditions also effecting the grapes back east and minimum supplies out west. Market much higher, and moving up. Look for FOB's to continue to rise. Quality is good.

Rounds - The market is higher. Supplies looking to be much shorter in the west and east. Less product crossing from Mexico and Southern and Central California are down this week. Back east, weather continues to lighten production, with possible hurricanes hitting. Look for market to continue to be strong. Range in quality.
Roma - The market is higher. Supplies also are very short on the Roma's. Mexico looks to continue to be in a gap. California also looking to be shorter this week, with drop in blooms. Back east, production effected by weather conditions. Look for FOB's to continue to rise. Range in quality.
Cherry - The market is higher. With schools 100% going, in all areas, the market is stronger. Look for demand to continue to be stronger, with supplies getting lighter. Quality is fair to good.
Grape - The market is higher. Supplies are much lighter in all areas. Out west, supplies continue to be much lighter. Less product and hgher demand, is causing much higher FOB's. Look for market to continue, with FOB's rising as well. Range in quality.