The Source - September 25, 2019

Eastern Region:

The Northeast continues to see warmer days, cooler nights, and scattered showers. All good things as it relates to color, brix, and starch content of assorted apple varieties. New crop Gala, Honeycrisp, Macs, Jonathan, Cortland, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious apples are now available. Empires, out of New York, are underway also. Quality is strong in all areas with some MI/NY/PA growers dealing with hail in an isolated growing area—no major damage to crops has been reported. Much like the Northwest, there are more apples filling the pipeline, which will soften prices and stabilize markets overall.

Western Region:

Washington
Much like the Northeast and on down to parts of N. Carolina / S. Carolina, Northern Georgia, and parts of Alabama, we are seeing increased volumes—on certain varieties (Gala, Honeycrisp, Red Del., and Fuji)—out of the Northwest. As more varieties become available, we will see the stabilization of markets (overall) and prices soften.

As we make our way to October, we will see even more varieties become available—Braeburn, Lady Alice, Jazz…to name a few.

California:

Granny Smith apples are available with Pink Lady apples expected next week/early Oct.

The volume is still heavy from Southern Baja, Mexico, and demand is still light. We will see this trend continue through the middle of November. Both regions in Peru (Ica/Trujillo) have increased volume with the weather beginning to warm up. Spring has started Monday 9/23 in the region. Volume on bigger sizing asparagus has improved with the warmer weather. Markets on both coasts are lower this week with more production from both Mexico, and Peru.

The industry is seeing solid inventory levels as Mexico is the dominate supply into the US. Harvest volumes have increased and field prices have decreased. This will be the trend for the next few weeks as we transition from the old crop (Flora Loca) into the new crop (Aventajada). New crop fruit will hit peak season come November-December and size curve will lean heavily on smaller sized fruit (70’s-84’s).
Early season fruit will have very low dry matter and take longer to ripen. As the season progresses and the fruit matures, the dry matter percentage will increase and ripen quicker. We recommend assessing the ripeness of the fruit by touch as fruit may appear green externally.
Checkerboarding is very common this time of year. Uneven ripening of fruit within a case or pallet of fruit. Avocados can grow at different maturity and dry matter levels within the same orchard and the same tree. Fruit will ripen at different times, taste normal and cause no internal damage.

Green Bell pepper is in full swing around most of the eastern half of the country. The mid-west is still in good supply but over the peak of the season, their weather is very good for growing produce and quality in most places is very good. The northeast is going strong with their fall crop, quality is good but starting to show wear from heat. Virginia and the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee are in steady supplies, keeping most of their product in the south. South Carolina is starting with good volume. A few shippers in Georgia will start this weekend with light volume.

Transitions:
Bell Pepper is starting to transition to the south

Peak Seasons:
Green bell pepper in in peak availability.

Green Bell Pepper continues to be harvested in the Oxnard, Hollister, and Stockton California area. Currently, both retail and choice grade being packed from all districts. Quality of green bell pepper from Oxnard, Hollister, and Stockton are good. Both Retail/Choice grade of green bell pepper meets demand. Moderate supplies of green pepper are being harvested in Baja California, where quality is good.

Good supplies of red bell pepper continue to be harvested in the Hollister and Oxnard growing district. Both retail and choice grade being packed. Supplies from Oxnard and Hollister are expected to remain steady through the month of September. Good supplies of Mexican Hot House bell pepper also crossing into San Diego, CA, and Nogales, AZ. Market on red bell pepper continues to decrease this week with good supplies being harvested from all districts. Moderate supplies of Red bell pepper continue available to load in McAllen, TX.

Good supplies of yellow bell pepper are available to load in Los Angeles, CA this week. Supplies of Yellow bell peppers continue to be harvested in the California growing districts and are expected to continue through the week. Good supplies of Mexican Hot House Bell pepper are also crossing into San Diego, CA, and Nogales, AZ. Both retail and choice grade bell is being packed from all district’s and quality is being reported as good. The Market on yellow bell peppers continues to decrease this week due to better supply. Moderate supplies of Mexican Yellow Hothouse bell pepper are also available to load in McAllen, TX.

Blackberries are becoming shorter in supply due to the delay in transfers out of Mexico. West Coast production is moderate and demand is good. Expect availability to be sporadic through next week as shippers struggle to get the logistics of the transfer fruit straightened out. As with the raspberries, the market on blackberries should remain firm through the weekend with better availability moving into next week. Quality has been good but many West Coast shippers are concerned with the recent heat bringing on more red cell in the packs.

Alerts:
There is a short lived heat wave which has brought temperatures under the growing hoops in Watsonville, Salinas and Santa Maria to the low 100s. Most growers agree that this will disrupt labor and production more than it will affect the overall quality . Crews will be forced to stop picking early thereby reducing immediate availability..

Blueberries have finished in the Pacific North West and are rapidly shifting to an import-only situation. Michigan remains as the last viable source of U.S product. Michigan has about 10 more days of production and we will begin the final shift to Peruvian, Argentinian, Uruguayan or Mexican product to fill your orders. For those of you with DOD or School contracts this is an important issue. Quality is good out of all areas, particularly on the imports. The market will remain firm through the weekend with the lower end pricing dissipating as we move forward to the more expensive imports.

Alerts:
USA product will cease to exist after 10/10/19 after that it will be all imported fruit

Mexico is not yet producing enough volume to counter the demand on raspberries and there are rain delays affecting the transfer of product into the U.S. These delays are causing temporary shortages at many West Coast shipping points. The Central Coast is producing lower numbers of fruit due to local heat-related issues from last week. Overall markets will remain firm with higher undertones moving into next week. Look for availability to improve as Mexico slowly begins to cross more fruit in the coming weeks.

Alerts:
There is a short lived heat wave which has brought temperatures under the growing hoops in Watsonville, Salinas and Santa Maria to the low 100s. Most growers agree that this will disrupt labor and production more than it will affect the overall quality . Crews will be forced to stop picking early thereby reducing immediate availability..

The market on strawberries is up slightly with good demand for less fruit available. Salinas /Watsonville is still winding down and quality is just fair. Many customers have opted to move their trucks into the Santa Maria area to load at slightly higher prices. Quality is reported to be good on the new 'Fall" crop out of this region. Look for the market to remain firm and the open market availability to be limited in both areas.

Broccoli continues to be on the tighter side as suppliers are 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.

The brussels sprouts market continues to stay steady. There is still some internal decay, causing slightly lower yields. Look for the Brussels sprouts market to continue to stay steady going into next week.

The California carrot markets remain steady in both pricing and availability. Mexico continues to offer Jumbo carrots competing with the Colorado region and the Canadian Northeast. Look for markets to remain firm moving into the weekend. Quality is reported good in all regions.

The cauliflower market is slowly increasing with slightly lower yields and good demand. 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.

Good supplies and light demand is the story with this commodity. This market has remained steady. All sizing is available, with some shippers are flexing on large sizing, twenty-four counts in particular. School demand is light. Santa Maria, as well as Salinas, continues to be the major growing regions for this commodity. Mexico has had production as well. The quality continues to be good. Slight bowing and insect damage has been reported but is minimal. The weights are averaging fifty-three to fifty-seven pounds per case.

Jalapenos- Good supplies of Jalapeno continue to be available to load in Los Angeles from Mexico and California. Jalapeno are being harvested in Baja California where the quality is fair to good. Domestic jalapeno being harvested in Santa Maria, CA is 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 is mostly good. Market on Anaheim pepper continues to remain in the mid-teens and is expected to remain the same 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. 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. Market on both peeled and husk tomatillo are steady. Both husk and peeled tomatillo are available to load in McAllen, TX.

The cilantro market continues to stay steady as there are plenty of supplies. The cilantro quality is good with an occasional yellow leaf. Look for the cilantro market to continue to stay steady going into next week.

Domestic supplies on 140’s and larger continue to remain snug. We’ve seen a high demand for domestic supplies, and imports supplies seem to be winding down. Suppliers are doing their best to cover orders day to day as we transition to District 3 (Coachella/Mecca/Yuma area). Current supplies are being harvested from District 2 (Southern California Region) are winding down a lot faster than expected. District 3 (California Desert/Arizona Region), supplies are light to start but gradually increase over the next few weeks. Markets remain firm and expected to stay active as we head into October.

The outlook on limes moving forward depends on the weather in Mexico. The city of Veracruz has gotten very light to any rain. We won’t see improvements until the month ahead. 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 move forward until supplies improve.

Demand for small Valencia continues to be very strong while medium and XL Valencia demand are picking up. Last week, the industry seemed to have better availability on small fruit and price, but we do not expect the additional supplies to be around for long. Pricing will stay firm and increase as we conclude the Valencia crop. We expect demand/supply on small fruit to be a challenge until we get to the CA Navels crop. For all small fruit needs, please get ahead of orders and pre-book. Markets continue to remain firm on small sizes. We’re still about 4-5 weeks away from Navels, but still, have Chilean supplies available to help offset and fulfill orders. We’ve been hearing positive feedback on the import quality.

Cucumbers are in good supply in many places in the eastern half of the country. Ohio and Michigan are still producing good supplies but are well past their peak and will start winding down this week for the season. In the east; New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia are shipping steady supplies. These regions are past their peak but will continue on until cold weather knocks them out. North Carolina is shipping good volume from the eastern and western parts of the state. Many Georgia shippers have started their fall season in light volume, expect volume to pick up in Georgia after the first of October.

Transitions:
Cucumbers are transitioning to the south.

Peak Seasons:
Cucumbers are in peak availability.

The West Coast cucumber market has increased slightly on retail grade pack this week and remaining steady on foodservice grade. Good supplies of foodservice grade crossing into San Diego from Baja California. Supplies crossing through Nogales remain moderate. Quality from both districts is good. Cucumber crossing through San Diego is being harvested in Baja California. Cucumber crossing through Nogales is being harvested in Durango, Mexico. Cucumber’s from the Sonora, Mexico is expected to start within 2 weeks. Cucumber quality crossing into Arizona and California are good. Light supplies of Mexican cucumbers continue to cross through McAllen, TX.

Eggplant supplies are steady in a few regions. New Jersey and Pennsylvania are still shipping steady supplies, Michigan and Ohio are over their peak but will continue to harvest until the weather freezes. The Carolina's and Georgia started their fall deals early and already in steady volume. The volume will pick up more after the first of October. Quality has been good in most regions. Southern eggplants are a little light in color with all the heat during their growing period, but that should get better as the days get shorter and temperature cool.

Peak Seasons:
Eggplant are in peak availability.

Moderate supplies of eggplant continue to be available to load in Los Angeles, CA. Domestic eggplant continues to be harvested in Bakersfield and Fresno. Light supplies of new crop eggplant are being harvested in Oxnard and Hollister. More choice grade being packed than retail grade. Quality on domestic eggplant is fair to good on both retail grade and choice grade pack. Light supplies of eggplant available to load in Nogales, AZ.

Green grape supplies remain steady, but we are expecting a progressive decline as we move forward. Much of the late-season varieties are already being harvested now, thus lessening the amount of fruit available for storage crop. The industry is expecting a small gap between domestic and import seasons (late October / early November). Prices will firm up as we move forward. In regard to immediate supplies, we are steady. Quality is good with reports of light amber coloring. Sizes are heavy on the L-Xl ranges. Market prices have been steady and firm. We will continue to monitor the green grape situation as we move closer to transition.

Alerts:
Supplies will progressively get lighter as we move forward. We expect a gap during transition.

Transitions:
We expect transition to take place in November.

Red grape supplies remain steady. We have several varieties currently being harvested out of Central California. Scarlet Royal is a prominent variety, but we also have Krissy, Timco, Magenta, Allison, and Crimson available. Quality on all varieties is being reported a very good. Sizes continue to be on the large size with lighter supplies of M/L grapes available. Market prices have surprisingly been firm and the USDA is reporting slightly higher prices this week on sizes L-XL. However, we do have several shippers who are looking for business and we have been successful at negotiating attractive prices on open market sales. We expect supplies and quality to hold strong through October. We will look at transition as we approach November.

The green onion market continues to stay steady. The warmer weather recently is causing occasional leaf minor and is causing a slight gap. The market will continue to stay steady going into next week.

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

Yields are lighter with some suppliers while other shippers are expecting steady supplies at least until the end of this week. There is a slight gap in pricing in the marketplace. The warm weather has created issues in quality. Upon arrivals, defects that have been identified include misshapen heads, mechanical, discoloration and brown butts. These defects are a direct result of the warm temperatures in the growing regions both north and south. Santa Maria and Salinas will continue to be the main growing regions for this commodity. Weights are ranging from 39-43 pounds. Huron will begin production the third week in October.

Transitions:
Huron expected to begin production the third week on October.

Demand overall continues to be moderate to light on romaine in the marketplace. Some shippers have reported lower yields due to crop loss. This has caused a gap in pricing, depending on the supplier. Common defects include mechanical, fringe burn and slight insect damage but these defects are minimal. The overall quality continues to be above average. Weights are reported between 30-34 pounds. Romaine hearts will have moderate 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 19-22 pounds.

Tender Leaf supplies have slowly reacted to the recent heat in the Salinas Valley. Curly parsley, spinach, and arugula are usually the first items to be affected by the hot weather. Quality is good with occasional yellowing and bruising of the tender leaves.

Westside-
Demand remains strong on cantaloupes. Honeydews are also getting active with a much stronger demand than previous weeks. Although we are seeing good availability for the first half of the week, expect supplies to tighten up going into the weekend. Forecast in the San Joaquin Valley calls for temps in the 80’s-70’s. As temps continue to drop, so will production.

Desert-
Growers were anticipating production to start up the first week of October. As of today, we are seeing severe storms hitting Maricopa County. These storms are expected to linger and clear out by Thursday morning. With the amount of rain and strong winds expected, this could definitely set back the harvest and possibly gap. Heavy rain can stunt the plant causing it to grow mold and have very low productivity.

Transitions:
As we transition into the desert region, severe storms are expected through Thursday. Heavy rain is expected and could setback the harvest.

Watermelons are being harvested in Visalia and Modesto California are finishing. Quality from the California districts is fair. Light supplies of new crop watermelon are being harvested in Sonora, Mexico. The seedless watermelon market remains steady. Watermelon quality from Sonora is good. Better supplies from the Sonora district is expected as we get closer to October.

Onion markets in Idaho/Oregon and Washington have stabilized with a slight upward trend on red onions. Rain this past weekend slowed production in the Northwest. Temperatures have increased for the balance of this week but a cooling trend starting next week will slow things down again. Yellow, red and white onions continue to be in good supply with excellent quality. Larger size super colossal and colossal yellow also showed a slight increase. Utah and Colorado have started up with all three colors; light on super colossal yellow as well. Quality is outstanding this year as weather has been cooperative in those regions.

Alerts:
Markets firming up.

Transitions:
Utah and Colorado have started.

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 pears (90ct-120ct) are limited in availability, more so than Bartletts. Shippers have communicated that Anjou/Bosc crops are down 30-50% vs. last year’s volumes.

Red pears have started, but not 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 later this week and in the coming 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. We should see CA Bartletts available through mid-October. 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 improve out of both coasts on all sizes weekly, Markets remain steady and demand continues to remain strong as an institution has started back up. Quality has improved and we’re hearing a positive feedback

Idaho potato markets continue to decline as shed floors are full and demand is light. Size profile continues to lean to the smaller sizes with 40 count limited. The weather has improved for this week but a cold front with forecasts of rain and possible snow flurries will slow down production and firm up markets. As we continue harvests of new crop potatoes keep in mind #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. For the 10oz #2's, suppliers are leaning to the 60 count and 70 count size while 6oz #2's will be in the 90 count to 100 count range. 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. Washington, Colorado, and Wisconsin are also seeing slight drops in the market but Idaho is leading the charge. Now is a good time to buy Idaho potatoes!

Alerts:
Cold weather with rain and possible snow flurries in Idaho forecast for next week will curtail harvests.

Markets on color potatoes are relatively steady across the board. Stockton, CA extended into this week and will finish for the season. Next week will shift to Bakersfield with Mt Vernon, WA sourced color potatoes. Idaho and Washington continue to produce supplies of red and yellow potatoes. Mt Vernon, WA is producing all three colors with exceptional quality and color. Wisconsin continues to produce good volume with Minnesota and Michigan winding down. North Dakota has started up with some red potatoes and expected to start yellow potatoes next week. Markets will remain stable heading into next week.

Transitions:
North Dakota has started with reds; yellow starting next week. Minnesota and Michigan winding down.

Squash is coming from multiple areas, mid-western growers are starting to wind down for the season. Business, in general, is starting to transition to the south as South Carolina and Georgia will soon have the full line up of vegetables. The mid-Atlantic is shipping good supplies of squash and Georgia is picking up in volume this week. Quality is good in the most region, zucchini is in better supply than yellow but there is enough volume of both to cover orders.

Transitions:
Squash is transitioning to the south.

Peak Seasons:
squash is in peak availability.

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 continues to be steady. Quality from all three California growing district is fair to good. More choice grade quality than retail grade. Moderate supplies of Italian and Yellow S/N squash continue to cross through Nogales, AZ this week from Sonora, Mexico. More Foodservice grade is being packed from this district. Light supplies of both varieties of soft squash continue to cross through McAllen, TX.

We are now finished with Nectarines for the domestic season. All fresh harvest has stopped. Peaches are becoming snug. Some shippers have decided to finish harvest while others hope to pick for another 1-2 weeks. It all depends on the variety, growing region, and acreage. As a whole, the industry has certainly slowed down and sizing will become more and more limited as we finish the season by early next month. As we look toward October, we will focus our stone fruit demand on red and black plums. We expect to have plums available through the month of October and possibly into November. We expect import season to start mid-November.

Alerts:
Nectarines are done. Peaches are becoming very limited. Plums will last through October.

Transitions:
Import season is expected to start by mid November.

Round supplies are improving in the east helping to soften the market for the short term. North Carolina and Tennessee are benefiting from favorable weather, while Virginia begins to wrap up for the season. Similarly, Roma availability has increased but supply continues to be light until Florida begins harvesting again near the month of November. The grape tomato market may begin creeping back upward as Virginia winds down and begins transition south to Florida.

California has experienced more favorable temperatures helping to improve quality, but overall volume has started to turn down as farms move past their peaks of the season. 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. Recent rains in Mexico may slow yields initially with stronger supply expected before mid-October.
Grape and cherry tomatoes have improved slightly from the past couple of weeks but are mostly steady now while supply is still limited. It will still be a couple of weeks before harvests are expected to improve, and the hope is for better markets when Mexico begins harvesting in greater volume in the first half of October.