Lettuce 

Transition to the Central Valley has begun for a handful of shippers with Salinas  still producing significant volume.  Quality continues to vary widely with Weight , Color and Sizing.  The market  is steady with an edge towards going higher with the threat of rain this weekend.   Huron quality has started out similar to Salinas but has the potential to improve rapidly while Salinas  quality will only diminish through the transition to  the desert later next  week.  Quality from  Las Cruces , NM  has been very nice and will continue through mid  November.

 

Mix Leaf

Production continues from Salinas and Santa Maria Valley’s.  Demand has improved especially from the East as regional production areas finish for the season. Most shippers  do not transition leaf  to  the Central  Valley  and  will transition to the desert  beginning next week for a few shippers with the majority  transitioning  the following week.  Quality has been good although some discoloration showing up on arrivals especially anything oversized and stripped down.  Continue to  shop for color and lighter weights to avoid problems.

 

Brussels Sprouts

Heavy production continues  from Salinas with  light production starting up  in Mexico .   Demand  has been good  with many value added packs  contributing to a relatively steady market  although there are still deals available for volume orders.  Quality has  been very nice and should continue to improve demand  through the traditionally strong Holiday season

 

Celery

A much stronger market overall this week.  As Michigan production comes to a close, the focus is now out west, putting pressure on coastal shippers.  Salinas and Santa Maria are the current growing areas, and Oxnard is scheduled to begin next week.  Salinas production will continue through late November.  Shippers are stockpiling product as they prepare for thanksgiving demand, strengthening the market.  Expect strong markets through the month of November. Quality has been nice.

 

Broccoli

Demand has remained relatively unchanged this week.  If the forecasted rains come to fruition we could see an increase in price going into the weekend.  Quality and availability are improving out of Central Mexico and this might be the location you want to load out of over the next few days.

 

Cauliflower

The market has a slight uptick and we could see higher prices going into next week.  Quality has been very good but forecasted rain could change the quality of product harvested middle of next week.  Check with your Produce West representatives on where best loading location may be for end of week and going into next week.

 

Artichokes

Steady  production from  Salinas  is expected to continue with improving demand .  Predominate sizing will be the larger sizes with very good quality.   Thornless or seeded varieties continue to dominate the category  with the preferred Heirloom or Green Globe  not scheduled til the Spring.

 

Strawberries

The berry deal is going to virtually non existent over the next few weeks. Shippers are allocating fruit one pallet at a time. Some shippers are shipping under FOB acceptance final guidelines. In many cases if product is rejected by a customer they are stating they will not ship that customer again until the weather and quality issues have stabilized. Below is a e-mail from a berry shipper we use out of Santa Maria.

So we now have our demand exceeds market.  The problem is now that we have it, quality is fair at best overall and volumes are way down and will be for at least the next 2-3 weeks. We are all still finding pin rot and other issues stemming from the last rain we had over a week ago, which is creating mold and decay on arrivals for shipping beyond 2 days, and you’ll also notice for the most part, the bruising isn’t too bad and overall the fruit is really firm.

Central Mexico is trickling across fruit, but most fruit is not worth shipping out of Texas at the moment.  We will start having some fruit crossing next week but we are not taking any orders against it yet to buffer any issues we may see with our supply out here. Hearing some guys actually finding decay in their fields in Oxnard as well already.

The rain on the horizon for California looks to potentially bring 1-1.5″ in total which could be very damaging.  There are also smaller rain cells following this large one on Thursday/Friday which could prohibit getting in the fields and cleaning everything up.  Quality will continue to be fair at best for now.

 

Cantaloupes

The northern areas finished up completely with only one shipper peddling out his last few boxes early this week.  Yuma and Phoenix was thus the main source of supply, along with Nogales which is no favorable for domestic distribution.  Sizes in the desert deals have been running small but began to skew toward the larger end toward the weekend.  Demand was adequate which drove prices up as the week started.  However higher prices began to slow demand a bit, keeping the market stable as the week wound down. Off shore melons are still about a month away.  Heading into next week we expect supplies to remain adequate and more 9s becoming more available. Demand should be slowed by high prices and by the arrival of colder weather in most of the country.  Prices should slip accordingly next week, although moderately.

 

Honeydews

The north finished. Nogales was going and trading about 2.00-3.00 under the domestic markets.  Mexican dews are more accepted than their lopes. Sizes were pretty much evenly split between 5s and 6s, with few jbo 5s and some 8s. Offshore dews are about month off.  Next week we look for demand to slow as melons become less seasonable.  Prices should decline accordingly, but not drastically

 

Watermelon

The market is in somewhat of a free fall with  volume coming in through Nogales and McAllen. Weather in California will further contribute to the market slide. Some growers have stopped harvest for now. Look for pricing to stabilize  by late next week . Produce West has Watermelons in McAllen and Nogales for your winter needs.

 

Green Beans

The East Coast Green Bean Market has dropped a few dollars this week and will continue to do so through next week . Don’t expect the market to drop too far though. Weather from the last hurricane reduced volume from many growers. Look for an evening out of prices and a slight tightening of the market going into the Thanksgiving pull.  Produce West is loading Green Beans in both Georgia and Florida.