August is done, and September usually starts us thinking about Fall, but we are nearly 4 weeks from there, and there is PLENTY of home grown and local product around the country to keep business out West slow for many items. Broccoli, cauliflower, celery, leaf, cukes, tomatoes, peppers, berries, and many other items are available, and will be for another month, at least.

With Labor Day weekend coming up and schools starting, trucks are a bit scarce, as they want to enjoy the last extended weekend. Rates are fairly steady from the past few weeks.

Long range weather shows slightly warmer in the Salinas/Watsonville areas and still hot in the San Joaquin Valley.

LETTUCE–the shippers pushed this market last week, and prices were $20 and higher for a box of wrap 24s on the East coast. This has stalled out the demand, and the market is floundering. We don’t see a lot of business after Wednesday, so the market could come off. Quality is holding up nicely, even with our mini heat spell last week.

BROCCOLI–a bit stronger market here, especially on crowns. Demand hasn’t picked up much due to the availability of broccoli on the East coast. Even so, shippers are trying to push prices upward today. We don’t see rally lasting very long.

CAULIFLOWER–the few hot days we had in Salinas last week hurt the flower deal a bit, quality and supply-wise, and the shippers have pushed their prices to nearly double what they were last week at this time. But, again, we don’t see this market holding up. There just isn’t much demand around the country, and business will probably slow down by weeks end.

LEAF ITEMS–plenty of romaine, red leaf, and boston, while green leaf is a bit more scarce, and higher in price. In a nutshell, receivers just don’t care about leaf items, and that reflects in the overall market.

CELERY–a bit stronger market undertone on 24s, 30s, and 36s. No real reason, except that supplies are lighter right now due to a slight supply gap. Like most items mentioned, demand is only so so, and the push for higher prices from the shippers don’t seem to make much of a difference to most receivers around the country.

STRAWBERRIES–Driscoll continues to lead the way with price and overall quality. They are consistently $2-3.00/box higher than the general market. Their quality is also consistently better than the rest, however with the cool Summer we have had, there are some nice boxes of fruit out there from various shippers.

Ed Brem

ed@producewest.com