Besides being a very special time of year for people of Christian faith, this time of year also brings to mind several things. Spring, Easter egg hunts, family picnics and barbecues, longer days in the sun, and BASEBALL. In produce, several things immediately pop up. Asparagus, strawberries, and transitional moves from the desert to Salinas. All in all, and GREAT time of year.
Long range weather in the desert shows highs creeping up to the 90s,  Oxnard shows continued nice Spring weather, with days in the 60s and no rain. Salinas also shows nice days in the 60s, with a chance of rain this time next week.
Trucks are a bit tight this week for Easter pulls, and rates are continuing to slowly climb. Higher diesel prices are also contributing to the higher rates.

LETTUCE–the market is fairly flat, as the desert starts to wind down. Usually when we finish one deal and start another, quality starts to suffer. We are starting to experience some “tired” lettuce in the desert, while the new area of Huron is starting out small and light weight.

BROCCOLI–still a shortage of crown material and prices are high. The desert only has another week or two, and Salinas and Santa Maria are looking to increase supplies. Still, we are looking at light supplies of crowns all of this week, and into next.

CAULIFLOWER–good supplies currently. High retails have been set, and demand has really dropped off. This means prices are falling and there are good deals around. But, you need to take advantage of those deals NOW, because by this time next week, the market will probably be stronger. Supplies are coming out of the desert and Salinas/Santa Maria areas.

LEAF ITEMS–markets for red, green, and romaine are on the floor, and should stay that way for another week, at least. The desert should go through the middle of April, and then we move to Huron, Salinas, and Santa Maria.

CELERY–weaker trend here. Easter is usually a higher demand time for celery, and, while there are a LOT of ads out there, the market is not doing anything special. In fact, other than Dole, prices are lower.

STRAWBERRIES–quality-wise, this is the BEST time of year for California berries. With Easter coming fairly early, there are good supplies coming out of Florida AND California. Unfortunately, Florida is so cheap for Easter, California has no chance of competing. Another 2-3 weeks and Florida will be basically done, and California will be the only game in town. Upcoming supplies look good.

ASPARAGUS–it doesn’t appear there will be any shortage of supplies for Easter. Its a combination of things. First, Easter is early this year, and the desert is in full swing. Secondly, with our economy the way it is, folks aren’t really banging the doors down for “nonessential” items, such as asparagus.

Ed Brem
ed@producewest.com

2010 is already going by too fast. This past weekend started daylight savings time, Spring starts this weekend, and Easter business kicks in as early as this weekend, too. Like Ferris Bueller said “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around, you might miss it'”.
The desert is still the main area for the majority of vegetable supplies, but we are now seeing more broccoli and cauliflower show up in Salinas and Santa Maria. Still, expect to load this week and next for your mixers.
Long range weather in the desert shows highs in the mid to high 80s, lows in the 50s. Oxnard shows high 60s to low 70s, while Salinas is going to be in the 60s, but nights close to freezing. NO RAIN forecasted.
Trucks are available, but they are starting to push for higher rates.

LETTUCE–we are starting to see a real range in price now for wrap and palletized. In fact, there is a much as a $5.00/box spread in price. This usually means the overall market is starting to come down, so we are going to anticipate that. Huron, if you can believe it, is actually going to start later this week. But, overall, we expect to load in the desert this week and next.

BROCCOLI–still a real shortage of crowns. The desert, for instance is quoting $5-6.00/box MORE for crowns than bunch 14s. Even with higher retails set, we don’t see much relief until next week, which will be in time for Easter business, so that will keep demand strong and the market firm, as well.

CAULIFLOWER–light supplies here, too. Salinas has started, but only in a light way, and quality is very erratic, so we are watching that. Prices are upwards of $20 fob, so that is close to $25.00 in the Eastern markets. High retails are set, so that should cool off demand and possibly ease the market.

LEAF ITEMS–slightly weaker undertone here. Easter is no big deal for romaine, red, and green, so we don’t anticipate a run on those items. Supplies will continue to come out of the desert for the next 3-4 weeks, then start moving north to Salinas and Santa Maria areas.

CELERY–continued STRONG demand for all sizes of celery. The desert is winding down, Easter is around the corner, and Oxnard will be the main player. Prices, which are already closing in on $20 fob, should remain strong, and could go higher.

ASPARAGUS–prices are already at Easter ad levels, so the deal is set for the next few weeks. We will continue to load the majority of supplies out of the desert, although the Stockton/Lodi deal is starting, and even Salinas is starting to come in with some numbers.

STRAWBERRIES–with no rain forecasted in Oxnard, and Florida pumping out volume, this will hopefully be a pressure free Easter. HUH? Whoever heard of a “pressure free” Easter? You have to figure something will come up. Rain or heat in Florida, heat in the desert, rain and cold in Oxnard. Something.

Ed Brem
ed@producewest.com

As we move through the month of February, there is PLENTY of product available. Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, romaine, leaf, and even celery are promotable for the next few weeks, at least. We are trying to push ads on any and all items mentioned, so GET SELLING!

Long range weather forecast in the desert growing regions show a chance of rain on Wednesday, but aside from that, things look good, with highs in the 70s, and lows in the mid to high 40s. We appear to be over any threat of freeze, which is GREAT news. As we have mentioned, this is the first year in the past 5 that we haven’t had to deal with the affects and after affects of freeze problems. It’s nice to have that break.

Trucks are readily available, and rates are steady.

LETTUCE–plenty of lettuce available, and prices are low. Quality, weights, and condition are all good, so this is certainly a good item to advertise.

BROCCOLI–just too much broccoli around. Along with supplies coming out of the desert and Santa Maria areas, now the San Joaquin Valley as started. This certainly helps with arranging trucks. Quality is good in all areas.

CAULIFLOWER–still a few deals left this early week, then the market should start to go up by the end of this week.

LEAF ITEMS–no change. Plenty of red, green, boston, and romaine, and prices are VERY flexible.

CELERY–good supplies on all sizes of celery, especially the larger size 18s and 24s. Celery is FINALLY promotable.

ASPARAGUS–good supplies now, and we are getting ads going, so don’t miss out on this “seasonal” item.

STRAWBERRIES–problems ALL OVER THE PLACE. Florida had rain and cold, Oxnard had upwards of 3 inches of rain over the weekend, and central Mexico received more than 15 inches of rain this past week! As a result, there are VERY few berries around. For instance, orders that had 20 pallets to a load, are getting 1-2 pallets. Not good.

As we enter February, the majority of the vegetable markets are at, or close to the floor. Yes, even celery is coming down after weeks of $30-40.00 prices. Sales across the country are slow, which seems the way the economy is going. The standard comment is “well, people have to eat”. That’s true, but shoppers are watching their pennies in the produce section, as well. Folks are really shopping for the best deals, even if it means buying frozen peas, spinach, carrots, and staying away from those nonessential items and sticking to more of the basics.

Long range weather in the desert growing regions show a chance of a few showers Tuesday and Wednesday, with highs in the 70s all week, and lows only in the mid to high 40s. We can almost say we are free of freezing problems. ALMOST. Another 2 weeks and we will be home free. This is the first year in perhaps 5 that we can recall being relatively free of frost peel and blister damage on lettuce and leaf.

Trucks are plentiful, but rates are holding steady. They may have bottomed out for the year.

LETTUCE–there are plenty of deals around. Some shippers had even rolled some loads of lettuce over the weekend to various terminal markets. Sales are slow, and demand is only fair. This is certainly a good item to advertise.

BROCCOLI–slow demand and markets are low. Plenty of supplies in Santa Maria, Oxnard and the desert, so take your pick. We are expecting some rain in Santa Maria all this week, which will slow them down, but there still should be plenty of supplies and we don’t expect much of a market change.

CAULIFLOWER–there are a few deals yet available early this week, but supplies are expected to lighten up later in the week. That means we could/should see the shippers look to push their prices as supplies lighten up. Most of the supplies are coming out of the desert, but Santa Maria is pumping out some, as well. With the rain coming in, that will also effect things in the desert.

LEAF ITEMS–plenty of red, green, boston, and romaine, with demand and prices sluggish.

CELERY–this market is FINALLY starting to come down. We expect prices to be half of what they were last week, and may drop even further. But, if you recall when the market dropped last month, it jumped right back up about a week or so later. We aren’t sure what will happen here, because the desert is now a factor with supplies.

ASPARAGUS–every week supplies pick up. We are seeing more and more 28/1# boxes being packed, which is a further sign of increased supplies. Asparagus is certainly an item we try to push this time of year, and into Easter. We’ll see how our sluggish economy effects asparagus sales this year. This is certainly a “nonessential” item, so it remains to be seen how well ads do across the country.

STRAWBERRIES–Florida is the major source right now, with some supplies coming out of Central Mexico, and crossing  in Yuma, Arizona or McAllen, Texas. This weekend will be the first shot of stem berries going out for Valentine’s Day, and we expect LIGHT supplies. On top of that, rain is forecasted in Oxnard all this week, so they won’t be any factor at all.

While it is now safe to say that we are finally out of our 3 year drought in California, we didn’t expect to get all of water needs at once! This week, for instance, the Sierra Nevada mountains are expected to get upwards of 10 FEET of snow. In Northern and Central California, we expect to get 4-6 inches of rain in the valleys, and possibly 20 inches in the mountains. Flooding, mudslides, and other problems are expected. Go to our Produce West web site(producewest.com) for links for more information.

With all of this weather for our buying purposes, we are mostly concerned with the weather in the growing regions of Coachella Valley, Oxnard, and Yuma. Oxnard, where celery, strawberries, and various other items are located, will get hammered and wipe out strawberries and make celery harvesting next to impossible. The desert areas show rain coming in, but it is more scattered than anything else. It doesn’t take much to knock out harvesting in the desert because the soil is so clay-like, and there is little absorption, so the water just sits there. But, the clouds keep temperatures from freezing, which is a good thing. We would rather deal with some wet product for a few days, rather than peel and blister for a few months.

LETTUCE–with rain forecasted in the desert growing regions this week, we could see a stronger market. To go with that, there are quite a few ads out there for lettuce, since it has been quite a while since prices were this reasonable for stores to advertise, so there is big volume going out this week. There could also be a problem with wet fields and product may show dirt and mud.

BROCCOLI–still plenty of bunch and crowns early this week, but things could tighten up by the weekend. This is mainly due to the rains in Salinas and Santa Maria areas, where a considerable amount of supplies are currently coming from. This will put more pressure on the desert areas for supplies.

CAULIFLOWER–plenty of supplies early week, tightening by Wednesday and into the weekend. Once the shippers get their coolers cleaned out by today and tomorrow, we expect them to start raising prices.

LEAF ITEMS–plenty of red, green, boston, and especially romaine, where there are a LOT of deals out there. We don’t expect to see these markets go up much this week, unless we get more rain that expected, which will slow harvesting and tighten up supplies.

CELERY–well, we are now back up to $30 and $40 fob. This was all BEFORE the rains. Oxnard is expecting 6 to 10 inches of rain this week, which will slow harvesting to a standstill. The only thing that will keep this market from hitting $50 is the expected high retails which “should” slow demand.

ASPARAGUS–most shippers still packing 11/1# boxes this week, although there should be some 28/1# containers beginning later this week, as volume starts to pick up. There is still Peruvian asparagus coming in, but that should start to wind down as the desert picks up their numbers.

STRAWBERRIES–the rain will wipe out any supplies that were coming out of Oxnard and Santa Maria areas. The desert is coming up with a few, along with Mexico, which are transferred across the borders to San Diego and Yuma, but most supplies will stay on the West coast.

With the addition of celery and asparagus, the desert now has a full compliment of items that will carry us well into March and April. This certainly helps with truck loading, with regards to pickups and freight rates. It is also important to note that when a truck finishes in the Yuma area, as opposed to finishing in Salinas, it puts the truck approximately 8 hours CLOSER to the East coast. So, that also helps deliver a day earlier to provide fresher product.

Long range weather in the desert growing regions show dry days, with highs in the mid 70’s, which is perfect. The nighttime temperatures, which we watch very closely, don’t show much in the way of freezing, except for a few isolated pockets in the Coachella Valley. Still, unless it gets below freezing for extended hours, we won’t see much in the way of blister and peel issues. But, by next week, there appears to be a MAJOR weather change headed to the desert, with heavy rains expected. We will monitor the forecasts all this week.

Trucks are available at seasonal rates.

LETTUCE–plenty of lettuce available at affordable prices. Now that retail prices have been lowered, we are starting to see better demand for iceberg, and that could prompt shippers to look to raise their prices later this week. Still, we don’t anticipate a major jump.

BROCCOLI–a fairly wide range in price on bunch and crowns, depending upon the area. Salinas and Santa Maria are where the cheaper prices are due to being out of the way and some quality issues. So, the desert is where you want to be for the best quality, even if you have to pay a dollar or two more.

CAULIFLOWER–a pretty wide range in price, with as much as a $4.00/box spread. There isn’t much demand, overall, so even the shippers that are asking for more money are “negotiating”. We could possibly see this market start to go up towards the end of the week.

LEAF ITEMS–as far as markets are concerned, we are basically back to normal on all leaf. Red, green, boston, and romaine are all priced right, and are good ad items to push. Romaine hearts are still active, due to the heavy demand for romaine in the salads. At the retail level, hearts are still a better deal than buying a head of romaine.

CELERY–pretty strong market here. After dropping like a rock when the market was coming off a $30 and $40 range, prices came down lower than they should have, and have now bounced back up. We continue to point this out in our bulletins, so it is worth noting. Currently, the market for the “preferred” labels are at $20 fob, with the other shippers $2-4.00/box cheaper. Celery hearts are still VERY active and are close to $30 fob.

ASPARAGUS–more shippers are starting up, but good volume is still a week or two off. Still, it is time to think about ads for asparagus, as we get into February promotions.

After 2+ months of crazy markets, things are settling down to more normal conditions. Head lettuce, romaine, green leaf, red leaf, and broccoli prices have come back down to more of a “reasonable” situation, compared to the record-breaking prices we saw. It’s tough to put out any kind of decent retail when these feeding frenzies are happening, not to mention trying to advertise.

Long range weather in the desert growing regions of Coachella Valley and Yuma for the next 10 days show no rain, highs in the low to mid 70s, and nights mostly in the low 40s to possibly freezing. Right now, it doesn’t appear that we will see much in the way of freezing, but that could change. An hour or two of freezing is usually okay when we are talking about freeze damage to crops. It is when we get 4 to 6 hours of freezing that problems occur.

After the past 2 weeks of holiday issues, trucks are now getting back to normal, along with the rates.

LETTUCE–good supplies of lettuce now, with size and weights more normal. After the past 2 months of crazy markets, it is time to think about advertising lettuce.

BROCCOLI–good supplies of bunch 14s, 18s, and even crowns. Again, this is a good item to advertise. Supplies are mostly coming out of the desert, but growers are still harvesting in Salinas, Santa Maria, and Oxnard.

CAULIFLOWER–strong market. This is more of a typical roller coaster ride that we see with cauliflower during the winter months, when cold weather stops growth, and warmer temps bring it on. Right now, supplies are light, and prices are up.

LEAF ITEMS–good deals on red leaf, green leaf, boston, and romaine. Again, these are good items to advertise. Cold weather can turn things around on a dime, however, so it is important to keep an eye on that. Interestingly, romaine hearts are still VERY active, with fob prices in the $20’s. This is mainly due to strong demand for salads, which have more romaine in the bags than anything else.

CELERY–this market is still trying to find itself, after the past month in the $30s and $40s. Right now, there is a fairly wide range in price, with a spread as much as $8 to $10/box. This is typical after coming off such a high market. There isn’t a whole lot of interest in celery out there, but there isn’t much in the way of supplies, either. The desert is starting in a light way, which should help.

STRAWBERRIES–with the freeze in Florida, we are getting calls for California strawberries. It is important to know that January and February we basically have very few berries in California. Sure, Oxnard and Baja come in with some numbers, but, basically it is enough to supply the West coast, and little else. Don’t expect this area to cover the East coast and the rest of the country, when freeze or rains hit Florida.

ASPARAGUS–not much yet out here, but its coming. Small volume is coming out of Mexico, but mainly it is Peruvian supplies we are loading.

Believe it or not, this week will start the first shipments going to the East coast for Christmas business. They actually won’t start until the end of this week, but nevertheless, Christmas is here! Even though some of the markets are starting to finally hit the wall, like romaine, we see light supplies, strong demand, and active markets for the rest of this year on just about all commodities.
Long range weather in the desert regions, where the majority of the vegetables are coming from, show slight chances of rain, and days in the mid-60s to low 70s. The potential problem would be the nights. We see lows in the mid to high 30’s. This could mean that we may be dealing with ice and freezing, which can cause harvest delays, epidermal peeling and blister. It’s too early to tell, but historically, December and January are the months when we have this to deal with.
Trucks are plentiful, and rates are down. This weekend and next week will be the bulk of the Christmas push, so they may get a bit more scarce and higher priced.

LETTUCE–this market is hanging in there. FOB prices have been hovering around $30 for wrap 24s, and haven’t backed off. Retails are set high for small, light weight lettuce, and that usually means demand starts to fall off. But, again, supplies are so light, and the growers are so far AHEAD in their fields, that they can keep the market active. As mentioned, sizes are small, weights are light. On top of this, salad demand continues to be strong.

BROCCOLI–steady. Bunch 14s, 18s, and crowns continue firm and active. The best deals are still in Salinas and San Joaquin Valley.

CAULIFLOWER–this is the best bargain around. 12s and 9s are available out of the desert at good pricing and nice quality. However, take advantage now, because we could see supplies fall off dramatically as early as this weekend, and prices go up.

LEAF ITEMS–romaine has dropped nearly in half the past week, green continues to slide, while red and boston are hanging in tough. Romaine is showing as much as a $15.00/box SPREAD in price, depending upon the area and shipper. When prices get up this high, and start to come down, that is what usually happens. The market also goes lower than it should, then firms back up. That is what we are starting to see now.

CELERY–rain in Oxnard today has halted harvesting, and Oxnard is where the majority of celery is coming from. Rain is also forecasted off and on all this week, which will keep things unsettled and the market firm. Also, expect wet product, and mud in the celery and the sleeve bags, so be aware of that.

STRAWBERRIES–this rain is finishing off the Salinas/Watsonville deals, and with rain in Oxnard, there isn’t much in California for berry supplies.

This week and most of next week’s shipment’s is “tweener” period. In between Thanksgiving and the upcoming Christmas period, which could be sort of like a lull in the storm Normally, it means the markets settle down for a bit, then start firming back up. It’s hard to say what is going to happen this year. Most of the markets have been on such a roll that they are bound to come crashing down. Still, supplies of head lettuce, romaine, green leaf, and red leaf are so light, that they may come down slightly, and then firm right back up. Also, the weather this time of year will contribute heavily to what the markets will do.
Long range weather in the desert growing regions show mild days and cool nights for this week, then getting colder and forecasts for rain next week.
Trucks are a bit scarce out here today, as they try to get loaded out East to come West. There should be plenty of rigs by this weekend. Rates have slowed down after the Thanksgiving push, and should continue to drop this week.

LETTUCE–supplies are so light in the desert that $30.00 FOB’s are the norm. Weights are only 35-38# for wrap 24s, as shippers push their fields to take advantage of these high prices. It may not be a bad idea to start thinking about 30 size lettuce. The 24s are so small that they look like 30s anyway.

BROCCOLI–this market is starting to come down. Not so much in the desert, because of all the truck traffic, but Salinas, Santa Maria, and San Joaquin are your best bets for cheaper broccoli because of the lack of loads and commodities in those areas. There is about a $3-4.00 spread in price.

CAULIFLOWER–like broccoli, there is a very wide range in price, depending upon where you can load. Not many ads out there, and retails are set pretty high, so we see this market continuing to be unsettled this week.

LEAF ITEMS–romaine is FINALLY starting to crack. Naturally, when the market for an item gets up to $45-50.00 fob, it can only do one thing, and that is CRASH. We are already seeing as much as a $10.00 range, depending upon where you load. The desert is where the higher priced product is, because that is where the traffic is. As we have mentioned many times, when a market gets up too high and starts to back off, watch out. You don’t want to be caught on the way down. Red and green leaf are still short and high priced, although we should start to see those start coming down, too.

CELERY–after Thanksgiving, the market usually starts to drop, and this year is no different. In fact we are already seeing prices as much as $5-7.00/box less than last week at this time, especially on the smaller size 36s and 48s. Actually, 24s and 30s are a bit lower, but are  hanging in there.

STRAWBERRIES–Florida has started, and now California is taking a back seat for supplies. Driscoll has dropped their price on 8/1#, but are still about $6-8.00/box more than the general market. With rain forecasted for early next week, that may/should finish off the Salinas/Watsonville season.