Spring is Here

Officially, Spring begins this Friday. We think the WHOLE country is looking forward to this time of year. Warm, sunny days seem to help everyone’s attitude, thoughts, and general outlook. We certainly can use the shot in the arm for our economy. Let’s hope and pray that things will turn around SOON.
In the produce world, transition is upon us. We are seeing shippers wind down their Winter deals in the desert areas, and are now looking to move northward to areas such as Bakersfield, Huron, Oxnard, Santa Maria, and, yes, Salinas. Still we are figuring our trucks to continue to load the majority of the vegetables in the desert for this week, then the scattering begins. Again, as we mentioned last week, keep that in mind  when figuring your trucks. For East coast destinations, add another day’s worth of loading to your arrival schedule because of the different areas involved.
Long range weather in the desert shows days creeping up into the low 90s, while the Central Coast is trying to warm up as quickly as possible to begin the Spring deals.
Plenty of truck to all areas of the country.

LETTUCE–market a bit stronger. The desert supplies are winding down and that is making for a stronger market, even though demand is only fair. Huron will just get started this weekend, then most everyone will be going there by next week. We could see the shippers push this market as this week goes as supplies continue to lighten up. Quality is a bit variable. As the desert deal finishes, we are seeing more “tired” lettuce, with some decay and discoloration showing up on arrival. Typical for the end to ANY deal. We advise that you don’t hold lettuce, and move as quickly as possible.

BROCCOLI–a HOT market right now. Supplies are really dropping off fast in the desert, and the new areas are not producing as rapidly as we would like to see. ESPECIALLY on crowns!  We see light supplies of crowns for the next few weeks, and there could be a REAL spread in the market between bunch and crowns.

CAULIFLOWER–a gap here, as well. Heavy supplies were pumped out these past 2 weeks, and now there is a gap. Also, the desert is finishing up, and Salinas and Santa Maria aren’t picking up the slack. We could see shippers push this market to $20 fob this week.

LEAF ITEMS–still plenty of red, green, and romaine in the desert, then falling off rapidly starting next week.

CELERY–still plenty of larger size 18s and 24s, while the smaller size 36s and 48s are very tight, especially with the “preferred” labels, such as as Dole and T&A. The market is still reasonable, especially compared to where prices have been this whole year, so celery is still a bargain.

ASPARAGUS–still plenty of supplies at decent prices. The Easter business starts in 2 weeks, then demand will jump. By that time, the desert will be all but finished, so the Stockton/Lodi areas, along with Salinas, will be the major players.

STRAWBERRIES–Florida still the place to be for supplies, with California still trying to get some numbers. We WILL have a REAL battle for Easter. With that holiday falling on April 12th, and pulls starting around the 3rd, Florida will be basically done, and ALL the pressure will be on California to deliver the Easter business. We are here to say, its going to be a MESS!! California simply WON’ T have the numbers. It’s just too early. We usually don’t nave decent volume until after the 10th or so, of April. Book your orders now, and EXPECT to be cut!

Leave a Reply