The Source - September 26, 2016

Washington - red delicious are steady on the smaller sizes and steady to lower on 88's and larger. Most shippers continue to peak on extra-fancy 72-88s. Most suppliers still have only light availability of the Wash-Extra-fancy #2 and Washington fancy grades. 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 better 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--McIntosh, Golden delicious, Jonamacs, Jonathans, Galas, Cortlands, Empires, Honey Crisp, and red delicious are available now and all are steady to slightly lower. Most varietys are heavier to larger fruit although is some smaller fruit too. The quality has been good.
New York-- McIntosh, Jonamacs, Galas, Ginger Golds, and Honeycrisp are the main varieties now and the markets are steady. The New York sizing has been smaller with more 100/125/138 size fruit than other areas. The quality has been good.

The west coast market is up. The east coast market is steady. Quality is good in Northern Baja Mexico and Peru.

Avocados out of the Mexico region continue to have light availability, like in previous weeks. This market is firm with a few suppliers higher. Expect limited supplies throughout the week. Expect #2 fruit to be subbed for #1 fruit on some orders. Shippers are doing their best but demand clearly exceeds supplies on this commodity.

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 expected to continue to decline out of CA in the coming weeks.

Transitions:
Central Mexico saw some increased production this week with more fruit crossing to the US.

Supply is extremely limited and demand is exceeding. The industry is gapping as the domestic regions in Michigan and the Pacific Northwest end production 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. Recent high temperatures have decreased overall supply as raspberry plants will hold onto their fruit as a protection mechanism when temperatures increase. This also makes harvesting more challenging as removing the berry from the plant becomes more difficult and soft fruit is more likely to create quality concerns as well. Along with this, harvest hours are more limited on the hot days as high temperatures under the growing hoops can be 10-20 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. Production forecasts do show an uptrend as we move toward October but we will be limited with availability day to day until then. Quality has been good overall with a few reports of wet, leaky fruit.

Alerts:
Demand is exceeding supply.

Transitions:
Mexico and Baja are producing limited volumes of raspberries as their season gets underway but very limited volumes of fruit have been crossing into the US at this point. The volumes should begin to increase by mid-October.

Supply is steady with good production volume from all California growing areas. Demand has remained fairly steady as well. Overall quality is good. Some reports of bruising, light color, white shoulders, dry calyx and overripe. Size range is anywhere from 18 to 28 per 1 pound clamshell from Salinas to Santa Maria.
There is some indication that we will see a change in supply in the near future. Some growers began mowing down fields in Salinas and Watsonville this week due to quality concerns after recent high temperatures and losing labor as their pickers move on to new crops and production areas. We are also reaching the time where the northern region berry growers will start pulling their crops out to turn the fields over to rotation crop farmers or to begin prepping the fields for next berry season.

Bunched product as well as crowns is steady to begin the week. Supplies have picked up in northern and southern California and this has allowed some shippers to slightly flex in pricing to start the week. Good quality is coming out of this region. With the warm temps this past weekend, things may change but for now the quality is reported as good. Mexico has been very hot and the quality out of this region has had some yellowing and a bit of rubbery texture associated with the product.

Strong demand and moderate to light supplies is the story for this commodity to begin the week. Expect demand to be strong throughout the week. The quality has been good overall. There has been a few reports of browning but this has been minimal. Pricing will likely increase throughout the week.

This market remains unchanged. Good production numbers are expected out of the Central Valley throughout the week. The quality continues to be very good with all sizing available.

This market is firm. Stronger supplies continue on twelve and sixteen counts, which is the most desired sizing. Expect minimal supplies on nines. This trend of production will likely continue throughout the week. Demand is moderate to good. God quality is associated with this commodity showing good white coloring and minimal bruising.

Good supplies continue with this commodity to start the week. Pricing is stable and flexing is occurring with a few shippers. All sizing is available with the heaviest amounts continuing on twenty-four count packs. Production out of of Michigan is lighter this week. Production out of northern and southern California is very good. Good quality is being reported out of all the growing regions.

Pablano - Good quality and condition expected to continue.

Tomatillo- Rainy weather has affected quality of Tomatillo most recently but current conditions are improving.

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

Anaheim- good quality,condition and size are expected to continue.

This market continues to be flat to start the week. Moderate to good supplies are expected throughout the week in of Salinas, Santa Maria, and Oxnard. There are quality issues worth noting. These issues include showing yellow to black discoloration and some dehydration.

The lemon market is unchanged with an extremely tight demand exceeds supply situations on 140's and smaller. Most all orders are being subbed on size, shorted or pushed over on the loading date in order to cover. This market will continue in this vein well into the month of October when we will see better supplies out of the desert (District 3).

Alerts:
Extreme shortage of small size lemons.

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. New crop limes are being harvested and all sizes are coming in so quality is 100% better. The market is lower on the small limes and steady to lower on the larger sizes with a hint of weakness in it.

The Valencia orange market is strong but steady at current levels. Despite limited supplies of the smaller 113 to 138 sizes orders are being covered in full. We expect this market to remain strong and continue to be tight on smaller fruit until the Navel Orange crops comes in about the last week of October.

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.

Quality and condition on eggplant has remained good coming out of Fresno. Minimal cosmetic issues. Production will continue to be limited.

Green seedless grapes are in good supply. We have several varieties to choose from with Autumn King being the predominant green grape being offered. Autumn Kings have been big and quality has been excellent with good color and flavor. Market prices have remained relatively flat over the last several week. Supply, quality and price are expected to remain consistent moving forward.

We have been sailing smooth on red seedless grapes. Supplies have been consistent, quality has been excellent and market prices have remained level for the last month. With the current weather, shippers are expecting to see much of the same in the near future. Plenty of sizes to choose from in all price points. We continue to have several varieties available to meet all expectations. Spot buy opportunities are available on small grapes.

Moderate supplies of this commodity are available in the marketplace to start the week. There are a few shippers that are buying on the outside to cover orders. This has caused a slight pricing gap in the industry. Due to high temperatures in the growing regions, iced product is the preferred pack with suppliers. Quality issues continue. These issues include some yellow and brown discoloration of the tops upon arrivals. These reports have been sporadic.

This market is steady with most suppliers. There are ample supplies being generated out of Mexico , southern California and Salinas to meet all needs. The quality has been strong but demand is minimal. Expect good supplies and a steady market for this commodity throughout the week.

Good supplies with most shippers starts the week with this commodity. Hot temperatures in all growing regions will inevitably cause quality issues to happen. Expect more than normal puffiness and pink ribbing to be seen on some arrivals. All shippers will be dealing with these issues. This is industry wide. Working crews will be shorter to begin the week due to the heats. Supplies continue to exceed demand.

Very hot temperatures in all the growing regions last week and the beginning of this week will cause stress on all leaf items. Expect to see some fringe and tip burn as well as internal burn on romaine and all leaf items. Supplies continue to exceed demand and this will continue until the middle of the week, at a minimum. The weights on romaine are averaging have been averaging 34-38 pounds. Red, green and butter leaf have had above average weights.

Cantaloupe supplies have come down and demand has picked up slightly. The market is higher than it was last week. Many growers continue packing 9ct through 15ct with a few of them packing light numbers of 18ct. The 9ct supplies have lightened up more than the smaller sizes causing them to jump up in price more than the smaller sizes have increased. Quality in a majority of the volume is excellent.

Demand continues to be steady. Supplies have lightened up since the beginning of the week. Weather has been good for growth and quality is excellent. We can expect good supplies and quality to be the pattern for a while with a moderate range of up and down movement. The market is higher on all sizes.

The current availability is improving with better sizing and offering fresh Product from Northern Mexico crossing in Nogales Az. All sizes being offered in load volume both bins and cartons, peaking on larger fruit 36/45 with brix exceeding 10%.Volume will continue to improve.

Washington - yellow, red, and white onions are all are steady and they are still heavier to jumbos with only a few colossal and larger yellows. Some suppliers are still flexing for volume on jumbo yellow and jumbo red business. The quality is good.
Idaho/Oregon - They are also steady on all colors and continue to peak on jumbo and larger yellows with only light supplies of medium yellows. Some suppliers will flex for volume on jumbo and larger yellows. Reds and whites are also peaking on jumbos. The quality has been good for all colors.

California - Bartlett pear supplies are very light but a couple shippers are still going. The quality has been good. Crimson pear supplies are also light but a couple suppliers still have them. Bosc are steady and are peaking on smaller fruit but supplies are light. The quality has been good.
Washington - Bartlett pears are steady on all sizes and are peaking on 80/90/100s. D'anjou pears are also steady on all sizes 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 and are still heavier to larger fruit in the Wenatchee valley and smaller fruit in the Yakima valley. The quality for all pears has been good.

Supplies are still limited but will improve as we get into October.

Washington - The market is slightly lower on all sizes and they are now peaking on 70/80 count. The quality has been good.
Idaho - The market is steady on the small counts and steady to lower with volume flex on 70 count and larger. The central/southern shippers have larger size while the northern/eastern shippers have smaller size. Number-twos remain limited as most shippers are still subbing number ones. The quality is good.
Wisconsin- the market is lower on all sizes with a more even distribution of sizing. The quality has been good.
Colorado - the market is mostly steady to lower on all sizes. Most shippers are peaking on 70-count and smaller but the size distribution is evening out. The quality has been good.

Stockton California - they will finish all colors at the end of the week.
Bakersfield California - all colors are steady and continue to peak on A-size. B size reds are limited this week. The quality has been good.
Idaho - the market is steady on reds and golds and we can still have flex on volume red A business. Both colors are peaking on A size with good quality.
Minnesota - availability is limited as they finish up for the season.
North Dakota - they are only packing a few reds and golds this week and will have more volume next week.
Wisconsin - golds are steady on all sizes. Reds are slightly higher and b size remain limted. 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 - they have finished for the season.
Canada - they have a steady market and good availability for all colors but they can only pack bags, no cartons are available. 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.

Very limited supplies of stone fruit remain as we close the season. Nectarine harvest finished early last week and most of that inventory has been sold. Most shippers are completely out of yellow nectarines with very light supplies of white nectarines left. Peach availability this week seems to be steady with a variety of sizes to choose from, but supplies are expected to dry up by next week. Plums are available in most sizes and will continue through the end of October. Market prices have been level and will remain firm as we finish the season.

Alerts:
Yellow nectarines are now done for the season. Very light supplies of white nectarines remain. Peaches are expected to finish up next week. Plums will remain consistent through the month of October.

The market is steady overall showing little change from the past couple of weeks. Quincy Florida has yet to produce any quality fruit since they started last week and is still recovering from hurricane Hermine. Virginia production was stalled last week while heavy rain passed over the region leaving little availability for eastern buyers but is working to get back into field this week. Even still, hot summer temperatures have caused lighter yields than expected as new crops begin harvesting out of VA. South Carolina is getting a slow start and may help overall volume as they get into full swing production the first 10 days of October when they bring crown picks to the marketplace helping with overall supply.

California continues to supply most of the US with mature greens and quality has been good overall. Cooler temps have helped improve the shelf life out of southern regions, however, Northern California has experienced twenty degree temperature swings causing fruit to color up rapidly. Overall tomatoes are fair and do not have the shelf life that buyers desire with eastern grown tomatoes. Mexico continues to harvest in Baja and has began in new fields helping the overall grape and roma supplies crossing Nogales and McAllen. The Market is steady and expecting little change as California winds down through October until Central Florida begins near November.