The Source - September 15, 2016

Washington - red delicious are steady on all sizes and grades with only light availability of the Wash-Extra-fancy #2s and lower and very light availability on anything below a 113 size. Most shippers continue to peak on extra-fancy 72-88s but supplies remain light. Golden delicious supplies remain light and the market remains strong because of it. C.A. Granny Smith are higher on most sizes and continue to peak on 88-113s. New-crop Granny-smith are steady but limited. The Gala market is steady to lower on larger fruit with good availability and steady to higher and firm on the smaller fruit. Galas are peaking on 80/88/100/72s so expect the smaller sizes to remain limited. Honey Crisp are steady to slightly lower on most sizes and grades but the fruit remains large and is still peaking on 48/56/64s. The quality for red delicious, golden delicious, granny-smith, Galas, and Honey Crisp has been good.
California - Granny-Smith are steady on all sizes with good availability on smaller fruit. The quality has been good.
Idaho---they are steady on Gala's and Jonathans and are peaking on Washington extra-fancy 88/100/113's for both.
Michigan--more varietys are coming on as they are now packing McIntosh, Golden delicious, Jonamacs, Jonathans, Galas, Cortlands, Empires, Honey Crisp, and a few red delicious. Most varietys are heavier to larger fruit. The quality has been good.
New York-- McIntosh, Jonamacs, Galas, Ginger Golds, and a few honeycrisp are available now. The New York sizing has been smaller with more 100/125/138 size fruit than other areas. The quality has been good.

All asparagus markets are steady with light volume coming out of Mexico. Quality is good in Northern Baja Mexico and Peru.

Mexico's volume is continues to drop off on it's summer crop. New crop is behind in maturity and may not be ready to start harvest and shipping until early to mid October. September will continue to be very short in supplies.

Alerts:
Mexico's new crop will not be ready until early to mid October. September supplies will be very short limited in availability

Green bells out of the California Central Valley are winding down in volume and will soon transition to Southern California. Supply is lightening and showing stronger pricing.

Red bells out of Fresno are now in better supply and are showing good overall quality and condition. These will also transition to southern California.

Yellow bells showing better availability with quality and condition still showing some trouble

Volume is limited and demand is very good. Supply is expected to be tight through the balance of the month and into October. Central Mexico has started in a light way but volume is not coming on fast enough to compensate for the decline in California production. Minimal occurrences of wet and leaky fruit have been reported.

Alerts:
Supplies are limited and availability will continue to be limited for the next several weeks.

Transitions:
Mexico is producing small volumes with minimal crossings through McAllen, TX.

Supply is extremely limited and demand is exceeding. The industry is gapping as the domestic regions in Michigan and the Pacific Northwest wind down for the season and the import deals from Mexico and South America are not yet bringing in enough fruit to compensate for demand. We're expecting another 2-4 weeks of very limited availability until the import blueberries pick up with better volumes out of Mexico, Uruguay, Peru and Argentina.

Alerts:
Demand is exceeding supply.

Supply is limited, demand is currently exceeding. Production forecasts do show an uptrend as we move toward the end of September but we will be limited with availability until then. Quality has been good overall with a few reports of wet, leaky fruit.

Alerts:
Demand is exceeding supply.

Transitions:
Central Mexico is beginning to produce limited volumes of fruit with limited crossings into McAllen, TX.

Supply is steady with good production volume from all California growing areas. Demand has remained fairly steady as well. Overall quality is good, cooler temperatures have kept the fruit firm. Some reports of bruising, light color, dry calyx and overripe. Size range is anywhere from 18 to 28 per 1 pound clamshell from Salinas to Santa Maria.

Supplies from Mexico have decreased due to some quality issues in the growing region. This has put pressure on Santa Maria and Salinas to take on the demand. The market is trending higher and the demand has moved towards domestic broccoli. Quality is good from Salinas and Santa Maria with minimal yellowing.

Brussel sprout supplies this week will be limited due to a small planting gap. Demand has increased as well forcing the market to trend higher. Quality is still excellent with most sizes being 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.

As we finish the week, demand was not there to sustain the market trending higher. Supplies do vary as well as prices from shipper to shipper. There have been occasional quality issues with bruising upon arrivals, but overall quality is really nice with minimal off white color.

This market continues to be flat. The best availability continues on twenty-four count sizing, but all sizing is being packed. Michigan, southern California and Salinas continue to be the main growing regions for this commodity. Demand exceeds supplies. Suppliers continue to flex on most sizing. Good quality is the norm out of all growing regions. Oxnard is set to begin production at the end of October.

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.

There are better supplies moving forward. Quality is still fair at best coming out of Oxnard and Mexico. Yellowing, seeders, and black leaves are showing up on arrivals. There is better quality out of Salinas. Demand is off and the market is trending lower.

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 is starting some very light volume and will be increasing through the month, but will not reach 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 115s/140s/165s/200s/235 are very tight on both choice and fancy fruit and demand is far exceeding supplies.

The larger 110ct through 200ct are now more expensive than the 230ct and 250ct sizes. Demand is good on all sizes across the board. Limes are peaking on the 230ct. 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 will show up between the middle to the end of September. Smaller sized new crop limes are filtering into the supplies and are very nice too. The market is lower on the small limes and higher on the larger sizes.

Supplies are getting tight on small size Valencia oranges. 113s and 138s both grades 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.

Fair quality and condition on cucumbers coming out of Northern Baja coast. Short supply due to rain and heat have made for fair quality only. Conditions will improve as we move into the fall. Availability is improving.

Good quality and condition being harvested in the San Joaquin Valley. Minimal scaring and misshape being seen with green calyx.
Volume in this district is meeting demand keeping a steady supply with a steady market. Temperature should maintain from the high 80s to the mid 90s for the remainder of the week keeping harvesting at a steady pace.

Green grape supplies, markets and demand have remained steady. The Thompson variety is finishing up and Autumn King will be the predominant offering. The Autumn King grapes are excellent quality with very large size berries. Although the market prices on Autumn Kings have been slightly higher than Thompsons, they have remained steady and you will get a much higher quality product.

Red grape availability continues to remain steady. We have several varieties to choose from with sizes ranging from small to XL. Value buy grapes are available in the Crimson variety, but berry sizes are smaller. The Scarlet Royal and Vintage Red varieties are slightly more expensive, but the grapes are substantially larger. There is plenty of red grapes available to meet any need or price point.

Green onion supplies have improved. The market is trending lower as demand has fallen off. Quality is still a problem with arrival issues such as yellowing and brown discoloration of the tops.

Kale supplies remain abundant. The market is relatively flat with aggressive prices. Quality is excellent with minimal yellowing and dehydration.

Stable markets continue with this commodity. Supplies continue to exceed demand. This will likely continue for the rest of the week. There continues to be a slight price variance in the market, but shippers are listening to all offers. Some common defects seen are Ribbing , insect, mechanical and puffiness, but these defects have been minimal. The quality continues to be reported as good, overall.

This market is steady on all leaf items. Aside from slight insect damage, and small ribbing, the overall quality is good with many suppliers. Demand is off. Romaine supplies as well as all leaf items are expected to be good throughout the week. The weights on romaine are averaging have been averaging 33-37 pounds. Red, green and butter leaf also show above average weights being reported.

Cantaloupe supplies have leveled out and demand has picked up ever so slightly. The market is holding steady for now after it had adjusted down over the last few days. Many growers continue packing 9ct through 15ct with a few of them packing light numbers of 18ct. Quality is good and some lots are excellent.

Demand continues to be steady. Supplies have lightened a bit and has caused the market to rise up out of the ashes. Weather has been good for growth and quality is excellent now. We can expect good supplies and quality to be the pattern for a while.

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. Watermelon starting to come in through Nogales Arizona . Seeing 36s/45s/65s

Washington - the yellow, red, and white markets are steady to on all colors and the sizing is still mostly in the medium to jumbo range with only a few colossal and larger yellows. Some suppliers will flex for volume on jumbo yellows and reds. The quality is good.
Idaho/Oregon - They are also steady on all colors and continue to peak on jumbo and larger yellows with very light availability of mediums. Reds and whites are also peaking on jumbos. Some suppliers will flex for volume. The quality has been good for all colors.

California - Bartlett pear supplies are very light but there are a few left. The quality has been good. Crimson pear supplies are light but there are a few left. Bosc are steady to lower and are peaking on smaller fruit. The quality has been good.
Washington - Bartlett pears are steady on all sizes and are peaking on 80/90/100s now. D'anjou pears are steady on all sizes as well and they continue to peak on 90/100/110s. Stark Crimson pears are steady and continue to peak on 40/45 half cartons. Bosc are steady to slightly lower. Bosc are peaking on larger fruit in the Wenatchee valley and smaller fruit in the Yakima valley. 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 all sizes and the potatoes are still peaking on the smaller counts. Washington is relatively high priced on the larger counts. The quality has been good.
Idaho - The market is steady on counts and some shippers will flex for volume on various sizes. Most shippers have larger size now and a more even distribution of sizing. Number-two volume remains limited as most shippers are still using number ones. The quality is good.
Wisconsin- the market is steady to lower as they have come down to match the pricing in other areas. The quality has been good.
Colorado - the market is mostly steady as they have also come down to match the pricing in other areas. The quality has been good.

Stockton California - all colors are steady and are still peaking on A size. The quality has been good. They will finish at the end of next week and transition back south to Bakersfield.
Idaho - the market is steady on reds and golds. Some suppliers will flex on volume orders of Red As. Both colors are peaking on A size with good quality.
Minnesota - reds are higher and B-size are especially short as many shippers are finishing this week or next. Golds are mostly steady but the availability is limited. The quality has been good.
Wisconsin - golds are steady and have better availability while reds are up and short because of the shortage in Minnesota. The quality is good.
Western Washington - the market for reds, golds, and whites are steady on all sizes and colors with good availability. The quality has been good.
Delaware - the availability has varied and the market is steady to slightly higher on golds and reds. The quality has been good.
Canada - they have a steady market and good availability for all colors but they can only pack bags, no cartons up there. The quality has been good.

Supply on Italian squash and Yellow S/N out of the Santa Maria have remained steady. New fields have started in the Santa Maria. Quality and condition have improved from Fair to Good. Italian and Yellow S/N have now started in Nogales Arizona.

The domestic stone fruit season is winding down quickly. Shippers are now in their last harvest of peaches and nectarines. The remaining fruit is expected to last through the end of the month. Peaches may spill over into October for a week, depending on this last harvest and demand. Nectarines will be done by the end of the month. Pluots have finished for the season, but plums are expected to last through the month of October. From this point forward, sizes and availability will be limited on all fruit.

Alerts:
Pluots are finished. Peaches and nectarines will be finished by the end of September. Plums will last through October.

Rounds - The market is steady. Supplies continue to be lighter, due to weather conditions in all areas. Production and yields effected by weather in all growing regions. Out west, supplies also continue to be lighter. Range in quality from fair to good.
Roma - The market is steady / lower. Supplies are looking a little better this week. Market a bit lower, however, it's more just finding it's level. Out west, Mexican National market is strong, which is keeping product from crossing to US. Range in quality from fair to good.
Cherry - The market is steady. Supplies are available in the East, Midwest, and Mid-South. Out west, cherries continue to be very tight, with much higher FOB's, creating a split in the market. Quality is good.
Grape - The market is higher. Supplies continue to be short in all areas. Weather has impacted the Virginia / Maryland eastern shore. Out west, supplies also coninue to be tight, with not enough product to supply the market. Demand continues to be strong. Range in quality from fair to good.

Rounds - The market is steady. In the west, supplies continue to be lighter out of Mexico and California. Back east, production and yields continue to be effected by weather conditions. Demand continues to be consistent in all areas. Range in quality from fair to good.
Roma - The market is steady / lower. Out west supplies continue to be lighter. Mexican National market is strong, which is keeping product from crossing to US. Back east, supplies looking a bit better, with more supplies available. Market is off a bit back east, however, it's more just finding a pricing level. Range in quality from fair to good.
Cherry - The market is steady. In the west, cherries continue to be very tight, with much higher FOB's. Supplies are better in the East, Midwest, and Mid-South, creating a split market. Quality is good.
Grape - The market is higher. In the west, supplies continue to be very tight. Demand continues to be strong. Weather has impacted the Virginia / Maryland eastern shore, tightening up supplies, as well. Look for the market to continue to be strong. Range in quality from fair to good.