With the first day of spring upon us we can now reflect on a quite unusual winter season.  The Northeast is continuing to get hit with bitter cold and snow.  Although spring storms normally don’t last long, they still affect markets and slow retail traffic throughout the eastern states.  Out west, we continue to see unseasonably warm days and very little rain.  This results in larger yields and better overall quality. Though this may sound positive, the oversupply will slow demand and hurt most markets.  On any normal year the west experiences multiple rainstorms and cool temperatures, but this year has been warm and dry, not good for an already parched west coast.  Truck rates are steady, plenty of trucks available and rates are consistent with last week’s trends.  We could see rates increase by the first part of next month and remain strong into the summer.

 

 

Lettuce​

Transition has begun with  production mainly in the southwest desert but start up is underway  from Huron  and Santa Maria. Yuma quality continues  to suffer with a range of defects and it’s  highly recommended to stay with the new crop  even though  production may be  sporadic  with the secondary transition to Salinas looming.

 

Mix Leaf 

​ Similar to Iceberg new production areas have begun  in Santa Maria, Oxnard and Huron with  improved quality.  Quality in the desert continues to be inconsistent with heavy twist, seeder and mildew pressure.  Production in the desert will wind down rapidly but transition to  newer areas has started earlier than budgeted allowing  shippers to avoid any significant gap in production for now.

 

Celery

Plenty of volume and shippers are looking to move most sizes. Quality has been nice, very few issues to report.  Yuma is still producing, although production is slowing down for the season. Oxnard has good volume across the board. Long range weather shows nice weather for the next 10 days so expect continued good quality and availability.
Broccoli

Supplies have increased but not enough to cover demand.  Prices are down slightly from last week and looks like they will settle in the current price range going into next week. All broccoli is now shipping out of Santa Maria or Salinas.  Yuma is now done for the season.  Quality is very good, nice green color, dome size is slightly smaller than normal but has nice tight beads and no spotting of any type.

 

Cauliflower

Market is trending lower and will continue in this manner going into next week.  All flower is now shipping out of Santa Maria or Salinas the Desert region is now done for the season.  Quality is outstanding, good white color and nice size domes. Buy conservatively over the next few days as prices will most likely not bottom out until middle of next week.

 

Brussels Sprout

Brussels Sprout production continues  primarily from  Mexico . Quality has started to show signs  of insect damage.  Warm weather and water shortages have impacted  production and quality. Lesser quality has led to  market deals although demand should  improve  before easing post  Easter holiday.
Artichokes

Green Globe /  Heirloom variety  from Castroville  are the preferred variety for the Easter Holiday . Maximum promotions have strengthened the market significantly.  Large sizes have been the  primary yields but medium and smaller  chokes  will become the predominate sizes starting early April. Lesser quality seeded globe varieties  have been available for fill  in  but  production will decline  until late April.

 

Strawberries

Good Supplies of Strawberries will continue into next week. The perfect weather we have been experiencing is expected to continue into next week. All varieties of berries are coming on at the same time, leaving a glut of berries in the market place.  Look for prices to firm up as we move closer towards Easter.

 

Grapes

Good volume on crimsons and thompsons from Chile. Quality is very nice on greens, not many issues overall.  Reds are much nicer quality than previous weeks, mostly due to the fact that the crimson crop is newer and a better variety. There are still some flames available but quality is poor and most of the product has is quite old.  A much better option is to pay more for crimsons and avoid problems.  There is currently a run on extra-large 900 code and good deals on load volume orders.

 

Citrus

Market starting to heat up on lemons and oranges.  Demand is getting better as Asian exports increase and spring approaches. Volume has been steady and should continue to produce consistently through spring. The Lime market he hot and high prices will continue into next week. Rain in Mexico has cause extreme supply shortages and demand has caused this volatile market to explode. Expect light supplies into next month.