MARKET UPDATE 11.17.24

Good afternoon,

Chilean CHERRIES are now available! The first fruit of the season is always flown in, resulting in high transportation costs. We will have 1.5lb clamshells, 18lbs of fruit per box, available for the majority of the season. Supplies look to be strong this year so we may see prices drop steadily over the next few weeks as importers look to keep stocks fresh. Once we get into late December, ocean fruit will begin to arrive and the pricing will significantly drop off.

ZUCCHINI and YELLOW SQUASH supplies managed to dodge the worst of the storms this Hurricane season. Production in Georgia and northern Florida is strong, keeping pricing affordable. Squash is maybe the one bright spot on easter veg for the next month.

TOMATOES were not so lucky. With much of the production for this time of year located in Tennessee and the Florida panhandle, areas targeted by both major late season hurricanes, we are left with little to work with. Mexican supplies are keeping the market afloat, but at very high prices due to demand outpacing supplies. We are still in for another month of volatile TOMATO markets.

LETTUCE and LEAF continue to be tight this week. Harvesting has begun in YUMA on lettuce and leafy greens in a light way. Demand remains strong on LETTUCE and ROMAINE but we should see a dip in usage in the next few weeks, while Americans load up on turkey and mashed potatoes. A slight ease in demand may be just what we need in the coming weeks while production ramps up in Arizona.

HONEYDEW and CANTALOUPE have transitioned well from domestic to offshore fruit. The desert season has hung on just long enough to get us through the first few weeks of arrivals from Guatemala. Increased availability and lower transportation costs have brought down pricing on MELONS for at least the next few weeks!

The next few weeks we will be shipping out for Thanksgiving and the first week of December, so we will be stocked up and ready to go!

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill