The Source - September 18, 2019

Eastern Region:

Cooler nights and warmer days continue in the Northeast and this has had a positive effect on all apple varieties with regard to color, brix, and starch content (far more XFCY grade than lower grade). Gala, Honeycrisp, Macs, Jonathan, Courtland, and Golden Delicious apples are being packed with Red Delicious expected next week. Empires available toward the end of the month. Quality is strong with some NY growers dealing with hail in certain, isolated growing areas, but no major damage to the crop has been reported. Michigan Red Delicious apples are expected to yield smaller sizes and should be priced aggressively in comparison to last season’s fruit.

Western Region:

Washington
Although Fuji and Golden Delicious were expected this week, rain has prevented many shippers from harvesting fruit. Shippers are hoping to begin harvest by Friday/Saturday and increase availability by next week. With the cold Spring (late season snow) experienced in March, coupled with the mild temperature summer days (Highs in the 70’s), many Northwest shippers are battling slow growth/small sized apples. Meaning, the ‘internals’ (starch/brix inside the apple) are not reaching desired levels/sizes for harvesting. Many continue to stretch their inventories of stored fruit and are anxiously awaiting the start of new crop - Fuji, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Pink Lady—to name a few. Honeycrisps are peaking on the large side (80/88ct) with not a lot of small, foodservice sized fruit.

Until we see more new crop offerings, flexibility on subbing sizes/grades/varieties remains important—especially on smaller, foodservice sizes (113ct, 125ct, and 138ct). Know that some orders may require an extra pickup location due to some shippers not having the full line-up of varieties.

California
Granny Smith apples are available with Fuji’s expected next week.

Alerts:
Rain in the Northwest has pushed harvest back on Fuji's and Golden Delicious. Shippers are hoping to start packing by Friday/Saturday.

The volume continues to increase in Southern Baja, Mexico, and demand has decreased with the additional volume. Both regions in Peru (Ica/Trujillo) are experiencing warmer weather with Spring ready to start at the end of this week. Bigger size asparagus has improved with the improved weather. Markets on both coasts are lower this week with more production from both Mexico, and Peru.

The growing region of Michoacan Mexico continues to see rain. Current size curve is 48's and larger. Small fruit (60's,70's,80's) remain limited as growers are seeing less in the daily pack outs. The market continues to be a challenge with too many 48's and larger and not enough 60's and smaller. Current demand on small fruit has outpaced supplies and has caused a significant spread in price. This will be the trend for the remainder of the month.

Alerts:
Demand on small fruit (60's, 70's, 84's) has outpaced the harvest and holding at a premium.

Transitions:
We are a few weeks away from transitioning into Mexican new crop "Aventejada" fruit. This variety runs from October through June.

Bell pepper is in good supply in the mid-west and northeast. The mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee are in steady production with South Carolina and Georgia set to start anytime. Quality has been good and the weather forecast for the rest of the week is near perfect. Demand has been weak over the past 2 weeks with many small local deals still producing enough volume to keep customers satisfied.

Peak Seasons:
Bell Pepper is in peak production

Green Bell Pepper- Continue to be harvested in Hollister and Stockton California. Mostly #1 grade being packed from these districts with few choice. Production could decrease slightly due to rain in the Hollister area on Monday. Quality on green bell pepper from Hollister and Stockton are good. Both Retail/Choice grade green bell pepper supply meets demand. Light supplies of green pepper also being harvested in Baja California.

Red Bell Pepper- Good supplies of red bell pepper being harvested in the Hollister and Oxnard growing district. More retail grade currently being packed. Supplies from Oxnard and Hollister are expected to increase as we move forward in the month of September. Market on red bell pepper continues to decrease this week with better supplies. Moderate supplies of Red bell pepper continue available to load in Nogales, AZ and McAllen, TX.

Yellow Bell Pepper- Good supply of yellow bell pepper is being harvested in the California and steady supplies are expected to continue. Both retail and choice grade bell pepper are being pack. The Market on yellow bell peppers has decreased this week due to better supply. Mexican Yellow Hot house bell pepper are also crossing into San Diego and Nogales, AZ. Quality on hot house yellow bell pepper is good.

Blackberries are the only berry that actually thrived in this recent heatwave. Blacks are coming off in increasingly good numbers out of the Central Coast . Mexican product is arriving at various U.S. entry points in increasing numbers. Quality has been good on fresher fruit but there is still some red cell being reported upon arrival in some lots. Look for the market to slip slightly lower overall as better numbers become available.

Transitions:
Mexican production is beginning to increase in numbers.

Blueberries are finishing up in the PNW and Michigan will run through mid October weather permitting. After that it will be all imported fruit from Mexico , Argentina ,Uruguay and Peru. Quality on the last of the PNW fruit is just marginal while the fruit coming out of the Michigan area is still showing good quality. The Imports are being reported as having very good quality at this point . Imports are also commanding a premium price compared to domestic product. The offshore fruit is being distributed through the ports of Philadelphia, Miami and Los Angeles. The Mexican fruit is coming up through McAllen Texas and Baja California. Look for markets to remain steady .

Alerts:
Domestic fruit options are rapidly diminishing Michigan will go through mid October. After that there will be imported fruit only .

Raspberries continue to be exceedingly tight as we move forward into the weekend . Mexico has not yet begun to produce significant numbers, West Coast production has been stunted by the extreme heat experienced over the weekend. The heat not only affected the plants themselves it also affected harvesting crews. Many shippers pulled crews out early as the temperatures under the hoops rose to intolerable levels for the workers. Expect light supplies to continue into next week with higher pricing a possibility towards the end of this week. Quality is generally good but we can expect to see some heat related issues such as early breakdown and some possible light mildew caused by the moisture in the air.

Alerts:
Heat related issues may be present in some lots

Transitions:
The Mexican raspberry season is starting to pick up out of central Mexico

The strawberries continue to be challenged by less than ideal weather events. Extreme heat over the last weekend exceeding 100 degrees inland and hovering in the mid 80s to 90s on the coastal regions of both Santa Maria and Watsonville /Salinas have caused reduced yields on the front end of the week. Monday we saw a light rain occurring through most of the morning into mid day. This combination of heat and precipitation will affect both quality and harvest projections. Expect to see softer fruit with bruising and moisture related issues such as mildew and premature breakdown in some of the berries. Shippers are working diligently to keep problem fruit out of the pack but with the extreme nature of these past weather issues there will be a noticeable decrease in overall quality. The market will remain firm with open market fruit becoming increasingly tight as we move into the weekend . Although projections are not calling for severe heat , we are expecting another warming trend coming up Sunday through next week where temps are expected to reach mid 80s to 90s inland. The market will remain strong with higher undertones through next week.

Alerts:
Extreme heat in both growing regions followed by brief rain in the Salinas /Watsonville areas will temporarily affect quality and yields. Look for reduced supplies moving into the weekend.

Broccoli supplies continue to get tighter as we are currently gapping in supplies and lower yields due to the recent heat. Quality is fair to poor depending on the region with slight purpling, pin rot, some mechanical damage, hollow core and occasional yellow cast.

Alerts:
Supplies in the Salinas Valley are battling Pin Rot causing lower yields.

The brussels sprouts market continues to come off as fields are starting to come forward. There is still slight internal decay, causing lower yields. Look for the Brussels sprouts market to continue to adjust going into next week.

The California carrot market is steady with the cellos and custom cuts moving along smoothly . Jumbos are still fairly snug with some shippers reporting light numbers. The Mexican Jumbo market is slightly lower as they compete with local markets in Colorado, Georgia and the Canadian North East. Quality out of all areas is good.

Alerts:
Multiple Local markets on jumbo carrots are available

Cauliflower market continues to stay steady with slightly lower yields. The quality is good with minor 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.

Overall, the celery market has remained steady with most shippers. There has been some flexing with a few suppliers on large sizing to begin the week. School demand is off and demand looks to be moderate at best for the entire week All sizing is readily available. Salinas and Santa Maria will be the main growing regions for this commodity with Mexico having production as well. The overall quality continues to be strong. Light insect damage and bowing has been reported but only slightly. The weights are averaging fifty-one to fifty-four pounds per case.

Jalapenos- Good supplies of Jalapeno available to load in Los Angeles from Mexico and California. Jalapeno are being harvested in Baja California where the quality is good. Domestic jalapeno being harvested in Santa Maria, CA. Mostly medium to large size are available from Santa Maria. Market on jalapeno have maintained in teens for the week. 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 Lower/steady. Pasilla from Mexico also available to load in McAllen, Texas.

Anaheim- Good supply of Anaheim available to load from Baja California and Santa Maria. Quality from Baja and Santa Maria is mostly good. The anaheim continues to be in the mid-teens and is expected to stay there through 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. Price on Serrano pepper remain in the mid teens and is expected to remain the same through the week. 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 through the week. The tomatillo market has remained steady on both husked and peeled. Both Husked and Peeled tomatillos have remained steady in the teens. Both varieties of tomatillos also available to load in McAllen, TX

The cilantro market continues to slowly come off as fields are starting to come forward. The cilantro quality is good with an occasional yellow leaf. Look for the cilantro market to continue to adjust going into next week.

Domestic supplies on 140’s and larger continue to be tight. We’ve seen a high demand for domestic supplies, imports supplies seem to be winding down. Suppliers are doing their best to cover orders day to day. Current supplies are being harvested from District 2 (Southern California Region) and are winding down with suppliers maximizing fruit availability and it’s fresh utilization. Some suppliers have started District 3 (California Desert/Arizona Region), supplies are light to start but will gradually increase over the next few weeks.

Supplies continue to get tighter each week and markets are rising quickly as well. Due to the drought condition in the growing regions the industry is getting light packouts and minimal crossings. The outlook moving forward depends on the weather in Mexico, without any rain we won’t see improvement until the next 4-6 weeks. Sizing profile on 230/250 size look to be in better shape than 110 – 175 sizes. Quality has been fair, we are seeing oil spotting and some stylar still. Please know that we are looking to find other options and continue to source limes from other growing regions. Current markets have risen weekly and are expected to moving forward until supplies improve.

Demand for small Valencia’s continues to be very strong and we expect supplies to remain limited until we transition to California Navels. Markets continue to remain firm on small sizes. We’re still about six weeks away from Navels, but still have Chilean supplies available to help offset and fulfill orders. Our suppliers are doing their best to keep up with the high demand but they are taking it day by day on availability on pack outs from the fields. Flexibility on loading dates and the ability to sub into another size will help all of us fulfill orders during this time period. Please continue to prebook orders in advance to help strategize and prepare in case we run into inventory issues.

Cucumbers are in peak supply in many parts of the eastern half of the country. the mid-west will be in steady supplies for 2 more weeks, The northeast and mid-Atlantic are in good production with new crops starting in the Carolina's. A few shippers in Georgia have started their fall deals with light supplies and more growers will start over the next 2 weeks. Quality is generally good, the southern product is light in color, the mid-west is having great weather this week after a couple of days with rain last week.

Transitions:
Cucumbers are in transitioning to the southeast.

Peak Seasons:
Cucumbers are in peak supply.

The West Coast cucumber market is steady. Better supplies crossing into San Diego from Baja California this week. Supplies crossing through Nogales remain moderate. Quality from both districts are good. Cucumber crossing through San Diego are being harvested in Baja California. Cucumber crossing through Nogales are being harvested in Durango, Mexico. All sizes and pack styles are being packed from both districts. Cucumber quality crossing into Arizona and California are good. Light supplies of Mexican cucumbers continue to cross through McAllen.

There is plenty of eggplant supply for little demand. Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey are in good supply of eggplant. The Carolina's and Georgia have started their fall deals early and volume is good with a few shippers in the state. Shippers in the eastern half of the country are struggling to keep supplies moving. Quality is good for the most part, the southern product has been through a lot of heat and color is lighter than it should be. Quality in the mid-west is very good and eastern product is fair.

Peak Seasons:
Eggplant are in peak supply

Moderate supplies of eggplant continue to be available to load in Los Angeles through the week. Eggplant continue to be harvested in Bakersfield and Fresno. New crop eggplant being harvested in Oxnard and Hollister. Good supplies of fancy eggplant being packed from new crop. Quality on domestic eggplant is currently good on retail grade and good on choice grade. Light supplies of eggplant continue to cross through Nogales where quality is also good.

Green grape supplies are steady this week. New varieties are still in the process of being harvested and markets are slightly higher. Quality has been good with reports of high color and occasional soft berries. Autumn King is the newest variety to start this week. Quality on these grapes is excellent, but market prices are at least $2 higher than the other varieties (Great Green and Thompson). Overall, we can expect green grape supplies to get lighter and lighter as we move forward. Shippers expect an early end to the domestic season, some are saying as early as mid October. We expect to see a gap between domestic and import fruit.

Alerts:
Green grape supplies will get lighter as we move forward. We expect the domestic season to end early. Markets are higher.

Red grape supplies and markets remain steady this week. No real changes from last week. Good volumes of new variety red grapes are being harvested and quality is being reported as very strong. Sizes are heavier on sizes L-XL. We saw an increase in demand as school started and it has remained consistent. Shippers have fresh inventories with little pressure to blow out fruit. Thus, markets have been steady and strong with spot buy opportunities available. We expect good supplies through transition. Transition will start to be part of the conversation come November.

Transitions:
Transition to import fruit will take place early November.

The green onion market has slightly picked up recently. The warmer weather recently is causing occasional leaf minor and is causing a slight gap. The market will continue to adjust going into next week.

The kale market continues to remain steady as supplies continue to stay plentiful. Quality is fair with full bunches and an occasional yellow leaf being reported due to the recent heatwave.

This market has been stronger on lettuce overall to begin the week. Very warm temperatures in the growing regions has created lower yields with many suppliers. Escalated pricing is not in play but expect the commodity to be moderate to light for the rest of this week. Overall, demand is up in the industry. Salinas and Santa Maria continue to be the main regions for this commodity. Mexico has had some production as well. Suppliers continue to report good, overall quality. A few minor defects include mildew on outer leaves, misshapen heads and slight mechanical damage. Weights are ranging from 40-44 pounds.

The romaine market was expected to get stronger but many suppliers have remained steady to begin the week. Demand is fair. Growers continue to have good production with the warm temperatures in the valley. The overall quality is reported to be good. Mechanical, twisting and slight mildew damage has been reported. Shippers are using more labor to peel down the outer leaves to have a nicer box to receive. Weights are reported between thirty-two to thirty five pounds. Romaine hearts will have good availability all week. Red and green leaf as well as butter will have steady supplies all week. The weights on green and red leaf range from twenty-one to twenty-four pounds per case.

Tender Leaf supplies continue to stay steady as the weather in the Salinas Valley continues to spur growth and produce better yields. Curly parsley, spinach, and arugula have reacted to the recent warm weather and supplies look to be in good shape going into next week. Quality is good with occasional yellowing and bruising of the tender leaves.

San Joaquin Valley-
Supplies continue to be a challenge. This is an industry wide issue and has caused a demand exceeds supply situation. Due to cooler night and daytime temps in the San Joaquin Valley, yields have drastically decreased. This week we are seeing temps in the 80's and then 90's by the weekend. The demand remains strong and has outpaced the harvest.
Desert-
We anticipate seeing new crop desert fruit available around the 28th. Temps remain optimal in the desert (90's-100's) and will size up and bring on the fruit quicker.
Mexico-
Mexican arrivals will hit the US by mid- October. There will be overlap with all three regions going come October.

San Joaquin Valley-
Weather in the San Joaquin Valley this week calls for temps in the 80's and hitting the 90's going into the weekend. With the current shortage of cantaloupes, the demand for honeydews has gotten stronger. There is plenty of fruit in the pipeline but with a possible price increase daily.
Desert-
The desert crop is just about ready to ramp up. We could see the first harvest in the Maricopa area by the 28th. Cantaloupe will start up and honeydew will follow. Honeydews could have some external scarring due to high winds in the desert this time of year.
Mexico-
We anticipate Mexican arrivals to hit by the second week of October. We will see an overlap with all three growing regions going the month of October.

Alerts:
With the current shortage of cantaloupes, we are seeing a stronger demand and market on honeydews.

Watermelon’s continues to be harvested in Visalia and Modesto California. The seedless watermelon market remains steady with steady demand. Watermelon quality from both districts in California are good. Cooler weather in the California growing districts are expected through the week.

Onion markets out of the Northwest in Idaho/Oregon and Washington are slightly lower and have begun to stabilize. Yellow, red and white onions are in full production with excellent quality. The larger size super colossal and colossal yellow are lighter in supply but improving weekly. Rain has been sporadic in some growing regions curtailing harvests and slowing production but supplies remain plentiful. Expect markets to level out and hold relatively steady for the balance of September.

Washington:
Northwest Bartletts are peaking on 90ct (Wenatchee area) and 110ct-120ct (Yakima) with limited supplies on FCY/low grade. New crop Green D’Anjou (90ct/100ct) and Bosc (90ct-120ct) are limited in availability; especially on low grade—more so than Bartletts. Red pears have not started with any kind of volume. Red D’Anjou pears should start next week with minimal volumes. Special varieties—such as Seckel, Forelle, Comice—are expected over the next two weeks. Quality is excellent.

California:
Many shippers have transitioned to late district fruit (‘Mountain Pears’ – Mendocino Lake and El Dorado counties), with ‘river district’ (old fruit) pears done for the season. With Washington increasing their pear volume, many CA shippers are aggressively pricing down their inventory to compete. 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 continue to improved out of both coasts on all sizes, Markets remain steady and demand continues to remain strong as schools have started back up. Quality has improved and we’re hearing a positive feedback.

Idaho potato markets continue to slide down as harvesting continues. Size profile is increasing on the larger size counts with the smaller sizes starting to slow down. Rain and wind in Idaho today will curtail harvests. Weather looks to improve mid-week but more rain is in the forecast for Thursday and Friday which will slow production towards the end of the week. Washington production and markets are in line with Idaho while Colorado and Wisconsin struggle on larger size 40 count through 70 count. Markets remain high in both Colorado and Wisconsin. #2 grade potatoes are limited as Norkotah new crop will produce an abundance of #1 grade product. Suppliers will be subbing into carton counts for #2's to fulfill orders. Typically a 50 count to 70 count will be used for 10oz #2's and 90 count to 100 count will be used for 6oz #2's. Some minor quality issues in the new crop Norkotahs may be seen in the way of skinning, white mold, wet potatoes (wet boxes), soft potatoes and immaturity.



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Alerts:
Idaho and Washington markets continue to decline; #2 grade limited. Light supplies of large size potatoes in Colorado and Wisconsin.

Markets on color potatoes have stabilized as supplies are meeting current demand. Stockton, CA will finish this week ending the season for California grown color potatoes. We will have supplies of Mt Vernon, WA potatoes available to load out of the Bakersfield area for shipping out of California. Idaho and Washington are in full production of red and yellow potatoes. Mt Vernon Washington is also going and now has white potatoes that have just started; quality is excellent. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan are also producing reds and yellows. North Dakota is scheduled to start next week. Expect markets to remain stable heading into next week.

Transitions:
North Dakota will begin next week.

Squash is in peak season with production coming from many spots in the eastern half of the country. Ohio and Michigan will continue shipping for at least 2 more weeks, The northeast is still going strong and will continue into the first of October. Virginia and North Carolina are in the peak of their fall deals, South Carolina ans Georgia are just getting going and will increase volume as we go through the month of September. Quality seems to be pretty good in most regions, with typical issues on yellow squash. Zucchini in the south is lacking dark color but they have the best supply and quality of yellow squash. The mid-west has good quality zucchini and yellow is fair but growers are starting to finish for the season on yellow squash, so it a mixed bag on squash.

Transitions:
Squash is transitioning to the Southeast

Peak Seasons:
Squash is in peak season.

Good supplies of Italian and Yellow S/N squash being harvested at all three California growing district. Steady volume is expected to continue through the week from all districts. The market on both Italian and yellow squash is remaining steady. Quality from all three California growing districts are good on both varieties. Light supplies of Italian squash have started to cross through Nogales, AZ this week from Sonora, Mexico. Quality from the Sonora crop is good. Light supplies of both varieties continue to cross through McAllen, TX.

Stone fruit supplies continue to get lighter. Yellow nectarines are pretty much finished now. There is very little residual fruit left and very limited on size ranges. White nectarines are steady with more availability than yellow, but will finish up over the next week. Yellow and white peaches are steady, although the fruit is heavy on larger size ranges. We expect peaches to last through September. Plums are in good supplies with good quality. Plums will last through October. Overall, stone fruit markets are climbing. Demand has increased as a result of schools starting up. Unfortunately, this year's weather was very warm and brought on stone fruit early in the season. This will leave us with a shorter late season harvest. Plums will be our only late season opportunity on stone fruit.

Alerts:
Domestic stone fruit season is winding down. Plums will be our only option for late season varieties.

Tennessee, North Carolina, and Michigan continue with light volume and size is beginning to trend downward, Demand exceeds supply for eastern romas while very light harvests in Tennessee and North Carolina remain second to the volume available coming from Mexico and California. Grape tomatoes are steady while production remains scattered. Bulk Fobs have improved as a result of more Mexico imports coming into the market, but eastern supply is still a few weeks away from coming into better domestic supply.

California rounds are steady and have not shown much waiver in the last several weeks. Overall, production is consistent as farms work though lower yields due to excessive temperatures. Similarly, romas are also showing challenges from the heat waves in California at a time when Mexico imports are only moderate. The newly agreed suspension agreement draft has eased concerns of a shortage of tomatoes coming from Mexico helping to steady supply as growers in Mexico continue to work through transition and recent rains. Grape and cherry tomatoes are continuing to improve from the past couple of weeks now that supply is improving out of Mexico. .