In spite of normal weather and slow demand, several markets are making higher moves this week. Head lettuce, cauliflower, romaine, and green leaf, in particular, are off to fast starts this Monday. There are different reasons for the price increases, but they mostly have to due with supply gaps, and those reasons vary, which will be covered below.
Long weather forecasts in Salinas/Watsonville areas show steady, mild weather, with no rain. The fruit regions in San Joaquin Valley show VERY hot weather, with temperatures in the low to mid-100’s, which are above normal for this time of year by 3-5 degrees.

LETTUCE–stronger market overall. Supplies are down, and that is planned by the shippers. Historically, they don’t expect strong demand in July, with all of the fruit salads taking center stage, as opposed to lettuce salads, so they don’t plant heavily this time of year. This allows them to keep the market firm. Quality is mostly very nice, with good size and weights.

BROCCOLI–not much change here. The market for bunch 14s, 18s, and crowns has been flat for the past few weeks, and we aren’t seeing much change. There are plenty of supplies in either Salinas or Santa Maria areas.

CAULIFLOWER–a wild start for flower this week. We are already seeing prices doubled to where they were last week, and it is only Monday. Some shippers are still trying to figure out their prices, as they don’t want to push things too high, and kill the market. So, there is a pretty good range in price starting out, with as much as a $5.00/box range today. Still, we expect them to keep pushing things as this week progresses.

LEAF ITEMS–romaine is off the charts this morning, green leaf very active, and red leaf and boston are steady. The romaine market is strong because of the pressure for romaine hearts that are contracted, which shrinks the carton volume. Green leaf supplies are down for some reason, probably due to salad demand and planting gaps.

CELERY–steady. Demand is only fair, as Michigan and Canada are going, so prices are at the bottom, or close to it. We don’t see much change in the celery market for several weeks. Heart 12s and 18s are available.

STRAWBERRIES–stronger demand and higher prices here, especially on Driscoll. Driscoll is pushing their prices $1.00-2.00/box over where they have been, and are indicating even stronger by this time next week. They have “peaked” on supplies, and look to be down 10%, which is alot of berrries for them, when you consider their volume. Raspberries and blackberries are available, along with organic straws and raz.