As the winter desert season hits its peak, there aren’t many changes to talk about. There continues to be ample supplies of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, leaf items, and various mix items. This also means there aren’t many changes in the market, much to the chagrin of the shippers. Marketwise, this has been a miserable season for growers, as prices hit the floor about 6 weeks ago, and haven’t moved much at all. With Easter just a few weeks away, we should see markets picking up at that time on certain items, such as asparagus, strawberries, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Long range weather in the desert growing regions show continued dry, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, and lows in the upper 40s to low 50s. We’re not quite ready to declare the freeze threat is over, but we are close!

Trucks still abundant for all areas of the country, but with fuel prices on the rise, we have probably seen the bottom with rates.

LETTUCE–sadly, from a grower/shipper perspective, the market continues to stay on the floor. From a retail standpoint, it’s certainly time to take advantage and ADVERTISE! Quality is mostly good, with better size and weights, so it’s a nice time to show off the quality with those LOW prices.

BROCCOLI–we don’t see any hope for this market to pick up for another 3 weeks, at the earliest. Easter is a decent ad time for broccoli. Nothing like Thanksgiving, but at this stage of the game, the shippers will take ANYTHING to increase enthusiasm.

CAULIFLOWER–continued up and down market(mostly down), and a wide range in price. We are seeing as much as a $5-6.00/box SPREAD in the 12 size market, depending upon the area and label. Santa Maria continues to be the area where the best deals are coming from on cauliflower(as well as broccoli) because of its  out of the way location. Either way, this is a good item to shop around.

LEAF ITEMS–no change in red, green, and romaine, with the market fairly draggy on all those items. Quality continues to improve, as the weather warms. Believe it or not, there are still some effects from the freeze we had in DECEMBER. Those young plants that were hit were only a week or so out of the ground and are just now being harvested,.

CELERY–the desert is in full swing now, as well as Oxnard, and the market is pretty flat on the large size 24s and 30s, while the smaller size 36s and 48s are commanding $2-3.00/box MORE than the larger sizes. Quality is generally nice in both areas, so its a matter of trucker convenience. Dole continues to top the market by $2-3.00/box, depending upon the size.

ASPARAGUS–this market continues to be on the bottom, and should remain until Easter business kicks in, which won’t be for another month. It is important to note that one of the reasons asparagus remains low priced is the economy. Asparagus isn’t what you would call an “essential” item that people HAVE to buy. Not like lettuce or potatoes. That is worth noting and one main reason why the market remains flat.

STRAWBERRIES–this is the only item that is tight. Cold temperatures in the growing regions are keeping the berries from growing. We don’t see volume picking up for California berries until the first week in March. That means another 2 weeks of TIGHT supplies. Quality is only about “fair”, with large, hard fruit, but not much color. White shoulders are EVERYWHERE. Florida weather looks good for the next 10 days, but they could pull the pin at ANY time.

Ed Brem

ed@producewest.com