Markets Settling Down

Now that the weather has started to settle down in the desert growing regions, with gradual warming days and less chance of freezing nights, the markets are following right along, and starting to settle down. Supplies on most commodities are increasing and that is the reason for the declining markets. Put that together with the fact that there is NO business out there, and, there you go.

Long range weather shows temperatures climbing in the desert growing areas, with highs closing in on 80 degrees. The real key are the nighttime temperatures. Two weeks ago, they were in the mid-30s, and now we see for the next 10 days only in the mid-40s to low 50s.
Trucks are plentiful to all areas of the country, and asĀ  the fuel costs seem to be bottoming out, the rates are also bottoming out.

LETTUCE–not much action out there, and the market is coming down. Last week at this time we were paying close to $20 fob, and today, we are about 1/2 of that. The quality of much of the lettuce is only fair. Lots of puffy, lighter weight, irregular head size. Along with that, there are still some effects of the freeze, with some epidermal peel and blister. Most of this is on the outside wrapper leaves, but it IS there.

BROCCOLI–market drifting down. We are starting to see more crowns available, and the wide range in the market that we saw last week, is shrinking. Most of the supplies are in the desert areas, but there is product available in Santa Maria and Oxnard, as well.

CAULIFLOWER–demand has come to a screeching halt. Shippers pushed their markets way too high last week and killed the demand. Nothing new. They do this all the time, and get the same results. Right now, they can’t sell the product, and there are some great deals out there, if you can put together last minute deals.

LEAF ITEMS–no change. Even when the head lettuce market was doing its thing last week, the markets on red, green, and boston didn’t do much. Romaine was a bit active, mainly due to quality issues cutting into supplies. This week, we don’t see any of the leaf items doing much and should stay steady.

CELERY–this market is FINALLY coming down. Bear in mind that this time last week, the market for large size celery was getting close to $30 fob. Today, we are already seeing quotes as much as $10 LESS than that. This is mainly on the smaller size 36s and 30s. 24s and 18s are still a bit stronger, but are coming down, as well. We don’t have a true grasp on the celery market, and how low it will go. It usually goes lower than it should, and then firm back up.

STRAWBERRIES–we had a pretty good shot of rain over the weekend in the berry country, but that didn’t seem to effect the market. Florida is pumping out some pretty good numbers and taking care of most of the East coast needs. California isn’t usually a factor in January OR February, anyway. Still, we have some excellent quality out here.

ASPARAGUS–desert shippers starting to pack the 28/1# cartons. This is always a sign that supplies are increasing, and they are. Good time to start looking for ads.

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