MARKET UPDATE 12.08.24

Good afternoon,

FLORIDA Strawberries have arrived! As California supplies have slowed, we have seen an increase in production out of Florida. The conditions right now are perfect for Florida STRAWBERRIES; cool nights paired with brisk but warm sunny days allows for fruit to mature without overripening. Just in time for the Christmas pull, we expect to see firm, sweet fruit in good supply!

The lime market has stabilized, and pricing is relatively firm. Large-sized fruit is peaking, including 150's and 110's. Overall fruit health has much improved. Small-sized fruit has slightly increased in price and will be more limited in availability throughout the remainder of Q4 until we reach the new production cycle. Overall demand is stagnant in the U.S., likely due to the aftermath of the Thanksgiving holiday. We expect costs to strengthen and availability to decline as we approach the beginning of Q1. We request that all lime orders are submitted at least 24 hours prior to shipping.

BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER markets remain elevated. Although we have seen a slight decline in the price of BROCCOLI, YUMA production is still gathering steam. Field reports indicate that we will continue to see steady improvement next week which should bring market conditions back to seasonal levels within 7-10 days barring any unexpected weather events.

LETTUCE, LEAFY GREENS, and ROMAINE have already made the drop in price as supplies have significantly picked up over the last several days. Quality is fair, but we expect steady improvement over the coming weeks. FLORIDA lettuce and leaf is also in production. The loose soil content we have here in the Sunshine state will prevent shippers from getting that clean California look, but FL leaf remains a great affordable option, especially for food service.

Smaller size CANTALOUPES and HONEYDEWS are nearly non-existent. A mix of the rain events in late November and port delays due to the holidays have left importers' coolers nearly empty here in South Florida. Bigger sizing is more available, so we may need to adjust orders into larger size fruit to get quantities covered in full.

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill