Lettuce
Production is rapidly winding down in Salinas while a few shippers are transitioning to Huron in Central California as well as a few more starting in Yuma. Wild swings in availability will continue for the next few weeks until Yuma is well established. The market has peaked with some shippers still producing a high percentage of 30’s. Quality issues remain in all growing areas. Continue to keep inventories low to limit exposure. A lot of distressed lettuce has slowed overall movement. The industry is hoping for a quality improvement from the desert.
Mix Leaf
Romaine and Romaine Hearts continue to be steady matching demand. Production from multiple areas has helped supplies although quality continues to affect yields. Many shippers have been forced to strip down romaine into hearts. Greenleaf and Red leaf continue to trail. Transition will stretch out for the next 2+ weeks as shippers look to start in the desert by the second week of November. Overall there shouldn’t be any gaps in supply but logistics is going to be challenging. Promotional pricing has been limited due to the uncertainty of supplies. Once Yuma is established supplies should ramp up quickly barring any further weather issues.
Celery
With Michigan production finished and Oxnard not quite begun, this market is getting stronger. Santa Maria has light volume and most of the pressure is currently on Salinas product. Quality is still strong with very few issues to report off the west. Some product has been coming up from Mexico although very light numbers. We expect this market to remain strong into next month as demand strengthens for Thanksgiving and Oxnard struggles to catch up.
Broccoli
There is better availability this week out of California but it may be short lived. Most shippers are saying they will have lighter volume going into next week which will most likely drive prices higher. Production out of Mexico continues to increase so this could help fill some of the void out of California.
Cauliflower
Prices have seemed to reach a level of trading that is now moving product. Current prices will remain for this week and we should see higher prices at the start of next week. Quality is fair at best. Some yellow cast as well as soft shoulders and riciness are present. Expected start dates for the Imperial Valley and Yuma is the week of November 16.
Artichokes
Production is starting to ramp up from Salinas and Oxnard. The better quality chokes are producing larger sizes. Eventually medium sizes will also become available.
Brussel Sprouts
Supplies continue to be heavy with an increasing amount of promotions to keep market elevated. Occasional deals are being offered for volume but those won’t last long heading into the Holiday season. Quality is improving but still issues from insect and water quality remain.
Strawberries
Supplies out of the Salinas / Watsonville area are dwindling down as we near the end of the season. We should see some supplies next week out the Central Mexico area if the weather cooperates. Demand is very strong and supplies are light and we expect to be in a demand / exceeds situation for the next 2 weeks. All labels of berries will have wet bruising and overripe’s defects. Counts remain in the 24 -26 area and most suppliers want to keep the fruit locally.
Bush Berries
Very little supply available due to inclement weather out of Central Mexico. Tropical storm Patrica hit the region pretty hard and even with most of the fruit under hoops, high winds and rains took its toll. Domestic Production is finished for the season. We will see increased supplies next week.
Cantaloupes
Desert regions remained the dominant source of lopes for the past week and should remain so next week. Nogales has lopes but domestic demand for Mexican fruit has never recovered from the Salmonella scares of the past. Overall demand is only fair as we seem to have shifted into non seasonal demand mode. Sizes peaked on 9s and jbo 9s with few smaller sizes in the mix. Next week the weather is due to cool significantly and supplies should be lighter. Demand does not look to pick up soon and should remain steady. We look for the market to be steady to slightly higher next week
Honeydews
Domestic honeydew plantings are much slimmer than in past years. Also some areas have experienced some crop problems keeping domestic supplies very light. Nogales has had slightly less than normal supplies. Sizes have run mostly to 5s and Jbo 5s with few 6s available. Demand has been okay but with light supplies markets have remained firm. Next week cooler weather could make supplies even lighter. Demand looks to change little. We see a firm to moderately higher market next week.