MARKET UPDATE 03.31.24

Good afternoon,

The Easter pull has tightened up ASPARAGUS supplies this week. The holy week has increased demand and decreased labor, sending prices on the move. As the conditions remain steady in Mexico, chances are this peak in pricing is short lived.

AVOCADO prices are on the rise. As growers transition to higher elevation fruit, availability has become scarce, especially on smaller fruit. Similar to asparagus, most of the production is coming out of Mexico and will see some harvesting delays this week.

Canadian CARROTS are mostly finished for the season. Mexican supplies are in good standing, so we should thankfully have a smooth road to transition. Good news is often short a sweet.

Florida CELERY is looking at a two week gap, pushing up local pricing. Some deals are to be had in Southern California, where all sizes are available. Pricing may be slightly higher than what product is left kicking around in Florida but hoping for the best out of a supply gap is one way to not fill your orders. Look for California Celery for a few weeks while we wait for Florida supplies to recover.

LETTUCE and LEAF prices are hanging on to higher levels but we are FINALLY FULLY transitioned to CALIFORNIA ICEBERG and ROMAINE. Yay! Mixed leaf, like RED and GREEN, are still a week behind so those will be from Arizona for one more week. We should see improved quality on LETTUCE and ROMAINE as we are working entirely with new crop arrivals.

WATERMELON markets have reached a peak we have not seen in a very long time. There is nearly a complete lack of availability of Central American and offshore fruit. Pricing is near all time highs as there is barely any fruit available. We won't see any domestic supply until mid to late April so hold on and divert sales to other fruits where you can.

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill