MARKET UPDATE 01.12.25

Good afternoon,

It feels like WINTER in Florida! Temperatures plummeted this week across the entire South East. For perishable goods, this blast of cool weather should hit the sweet spot for some but could slow down production on others!

STRAWBERRIES out of Florida will be the prime beneficiary from this chill, at least when regarding our concerns for export. The cooler temps have already slowed down production and shortened supply. However, the benefits to quality far outweigh the costs of an additional few dollars per case. We expect to have well priced, FIRM and CRUNCHY Florida STRAWBERRIES for at least another week and likely more!

CELERY production is also on the rise here in the sunshine state. Cooler temps have slowed things down but the difference in freight cost leaves us with much cheaper CELERY. As production ramps up here in the South, we expect this pricing trend to continue into February!

Offshore MELONS remain in tight supply. We are still behind schedule on availability due to Tropical Storm Sara. The best availability remains on larger sizes so please be open to substitutions in order to keep orders filled at 100%.

WATERMELON quality has been below average at best. Due to adverse growing conditions, the melons out of Central America have not been able to ripen to full maturity. Combine that with limited supplies and we get higher pricing for a sub par product. We are now transitioned into Florida Watermelons so although we may still deal with tight markets for the next few weeks, better quality has already arrived.

The last of the California RED SEEDLESS GRAPES are arriving this week in a season that went much longer on reds than expected. The dry conditions aided the late season availability this year, preventing over valued markets. PERUVIAN grapes remain available and we are a few weeks away from any significant availability of Chilean fruit.

Our thoughts go out to all of the people in Southern California dealing with the devastating wildfire. Over 25,000 acres have burned including thousands of homes, buildings, and businesses. California provides over one-third of the United State's vegetable production and is one of the most significant agriculture areas in the world.

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill