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Produce West

3/30/22

March 30, 2022 by matt Leave a Comment

Conventional Items
Lettuce
Transition continues for a couple more weeks for some growers , while a few have started their intermediate transition to the Central Valley before fully transitioning to the Coast early next month. Santa Maria will also begin ramping up harvest this week . Prices have steadied for now but With all these areas in production there will be pressure on the market to maintain at current levels. Quality will vary Widely among production areas leading to further disparity in pricing.
Leaf Lettuce
Romaine and Romaine Hearts  Demand for Romaine softened while Romaine Heart demand continues to be strong although pricing has eased on both.. Transition to Central California production areas started last week with some overlapping which has led to tiered pricing based on location and quality. Romaine Hearts have also begun to transition but overall production remains light. Quality remains varied with no one area better than the other currently although that will likely change later next week with temperatures expected to rise in the desert.
Red leaf, Greenleaf and Boston  Demand on Leaf has steadied as production transitions North. Expect overlapping supplies with tiered pricing through next week
Celery
Overall demand has waned and prices are trending downwards. The Yuma region will finish up within the next 7 days and then we will be shipping out of only Oxnard and Santa Maria until Salinas starts up in June. Quality is very nice out of all shipping districts. Good green color and weights in the mid 50 lb. range.
Artichokes
Thornless production is beginning to transition to the Coast as the Desert Season comes to a close. Most Artichokes have been discounted due to frost damage but they are now beginning to “clean” up including the Original and Heirloom varieties produced in the Salinas / Castroville area and prices are beginning to firm. Take advantage of these superior edible chokes while in season. Quality should improve weekly and pricing will continue to follow
Broccoli
Prices have topped out and will sit at current trading levels for the remainder of the week. Central Mexico is winding down as is the Desert growing region. We expect to see more volume come out of Santa Maria and Salinas over the next 10 days.
Cauliflower
We do not expect the market to climb any higher in fact look for prices to decline as we finish out the week. Santa Maria production has come on heavy over the last few days and some of your best pricing options are being found in this district.
Brussels Sprouts
Mexico production continues to be strong and with improving growing conditions we anticipate supplies to continue to be heavy. Prices remain mostly steady with volume deals available. Strong Ad for Easter business will eventually lead to firmer pricing .
Green Onions
Mexico supplies have returned to full production as prices stabilize. Quality remains varied with heavy small sized Onions available . Supplies will begin to be “staged ” in Salinas and Santa Maria starting next week
Strawberries
Before the recent wet weather we experienced, supplies were forecast to be steady to slightly lower. Shippers will need to strip plants and reassess estimates going into the weekend. Barring any weather related challenges, numbers in California will be in an uptrend as we move into April. Florida should be considered all but done for the season. Central Mexico continues to decline as growers continue to remove acreage due to quality challenges and smaller size fruit.
Blackberries
Supplies are heading into peak production weeks. We expect next week to see supplies increase significantly primarily out of Mexico. The California areas will show a large increase in volume around the first week in May.
Raspberries
Volume is starting to pick back up as all producing areas are slowly trending up. Peak volume is expected in early May.
Blueberries
Central Mexico production is past its spring peak and volumes will slowly decline beginning next week. Look for the Baja regions to slowly increase their production into the latter part of April. Florida production will start with limited numbers next week.
Stone Fruit
Red and black plums are available in good numbers this week. The plum season will continue through the entire month of April. Yellow and white peaches are limited this week. There are reports of more vessels arriving next week, although product will be limited until then. We will likely see more more offshore arrivals next week on both coasts which will ease demand. Overall quality has been strong this season.
Grapes
Plenty of red and green seedless grapes available on both coasts and shippers re struggling to move inventories. We will likely see heavy volumes continue to arrive throughout the month of April. Importers have struggled to move excess volumes through the spot market and have turned to wholesale terminals for relief. There has been a mixed bag of quality throughout the industry the longer product sits in storage . Chilean growers are hoping to extend their season well into May, and holding out for better markets in May and June.
Oranges
Good supplies of navels being harvested this week out of the the central valley of California. Quality is excellent with good color sugar and solid fruit. Good supplies expected this week and next. followed by a decline in production as the season winds down. Sizing is currently peaking on 88 and 113 count fruit.
Lemons
Steady markets this week. Plenty of sizes and labels to choose from and shippers are looking to move inventories. The crop is currently producing 80-90% fancy fruit and good quality will likely continue for the coming weeks. Sizing is peaking on 115 – 140 count fruit.
Limes
Moderate to high demand this week is keeping markets strong. Supplies remain light, especially on large limes. Quality issues are widespread this week. Problems including scarring. oil spots and light color are all being reported. Most of the product is coming in small, sizing is peaking on 230 and 250 count fruit. Similar conditions expected for the coming weeks.
Dry Onions
Texas Yellow onions are arriving with great reviews…reds,…not so much. It seems the “Southwest” market is adjusting to about the same delivered price as the “Northwest”. There is more interest in the new crop this week than last week and crossing from Mexico have gone up applying more pressure to pricing. As restaurants adjust to the after covid curse demand for onions will be greatly exacerbated. Conventions are opening up in major cities and hotels will finally have occupancy and people attending them will have no choice but to eat out.
Asparagus
The only thing that will save this market are Easter Ads. There is presently consignments everywhere on Asparagus and once that get’s cleaned up we should see the prices stabilize in the mid to low $20’s. Obregon will start at the end of this week followed by Constitution’ which will give the chains fresh
product going into April.
Cantaloupes
After steady prices most of the winter, spot market prices rose this week, except for jbo 6 size and some jbo 9 size. Most sales are still contract sales at fixed prices but with the fruit peaking on jumbo 9s and larger, contacts were being shorted. driving prices on regular 9s and smaller higher with some spill over on the jumbo 9s price. Overall imports are a less as well as it seems there are quality issues in Honduras. Demand overall has felt a bit better mostly due to lighter supplies and sizes not synching up with contract needs. Next week supplies should start to improve, especially if sizes straighten out and Honduras quality improves. We could see an uptick in demand if prices are more reasonable spring weather begins to assert itself in delivered markets.
Honeydews
Overall supply and demand of honeydews has been steady but unlike cantaloupes sizes are peaking more n reg 6s rather than 5s or larger. Demand continues to be static, but could possible improve next week with seasonal change. Overall quality remains okay. Market ahead looks steady to slightly higher.
Organic Items
OG Broccoli & Cauliflower
Cauliflower and Broccoli   Transition has led to overlapping production although neither area has excessive volume. Due to rising temperatures in the desert quality has regressed and could lead to an abrupt end to the Winter growing season.  Tiered pricing, depending on location, will continue through next week
OG Celery
Demand and Pricing continue steady with production mostly along the coast. Seeders are expected to impact production in coming weeks with overall volume declining and escalating prices likely.
OG Herbs & Bunch Greens
Production has been impacted by insect pressure in the desert and will likely continue through the transition to Northern California over the next couple weeks .
OG Root Vegetables
Carrot Production remains unstable especially Cellos with production areas transitioning . Continue to plan ahead to get full coverage.
OG Leaf and Iceberg Lettuce
Leaf, Iceberg & Romaine   Romaine and Romaine Heart supplies remain light with limited production underway in Northern California as growers try to reach for any sort of production. With improved weather, supplies should eventually rebound in coming weeks.  Green and Red leaf  Production has been limited with increasing insect pressure forcing an abrupt end to the desert season. Limited supplies are available in Northern production areas and look to improve moving forward. Pricing remains elevated but should stabilize as supplies become available
OG Citrus
Lemons, Oranges, Limes and Grapefruit  Strong demand throughout the entire Citrus category due to strong retail sales and revived foodservice activity. The Lemon crop is transitioning districts with mostly Fancy grades and steady pricing with additional volume available from Mexico. Favorable deals remain on larger sizes. Lime quality and supplies remain inconsistent.  Navel production remains steady although The crop remains lighter than normal with good  quality overall and heavier towards larger sizes.  Mandarins remain moderately supplied as many growers transition into new varieties. Higher pricing is to continue as the season winds down. Grapefruit supplies should be improving from Mexico and the Central Valley with good sizing

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