MARKET UPDATE APRIL 14, 2023

Good afternoon,

We are in the heart of the TRANSITION out west as goods such as BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER, LETTUCE, ROMAINE, SPINACH, and more, move from their winter home in Arizona, back up north to the Salinas Valley and surrounding growing areas. As the starts and stops of production fail to cohesively align, we are faced with production gaps that lead to higher market pricing and a lack of availability.

BROCCOLI is one of those items that has failed to overlap, resulting in a supply gap. As most of us have already seen, the BROCCOLI out of Yuma the last week or so has been dried out, showing signs of weakness and age. Ideally, we would be leaving that BROCCOLI up for processors and packagers while we load up on NEW CROP broccoli out of SALINAS, CA. Unfortunately, Salinas broccoli is not quite ready yet.

Due to these circumstances, we are forced into a poor purchasing situation where limited availability has elevated pricing, and the only available product is on its last leg, and not in top shape. If all goes according to plan, the week of April 24 we will have all new crop supplies and be completely done with Yuma. For now, though, we need to buckle up and temper ours and our customers' expectations. BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER are both in the same situation for the next week or two.

LETTUCE and ROMAINE seem to be bridging the gap fairly well. LETTUCE has the luxury of a pop up growing region south east of Salinas near the city of HURON, CA. Growers use Huron as an intermediary between the fall/winter Yuma season and the spring/summer Salinas season. For now, supplies are tight but at least there is some fresh product to be harvested. Better supplies are present on lettuce and leaf, but the timing of a complete switch over to fresh crop looks to be the week of the 24th as well. Lower priced product is going to be old crop out of YUMA, so don't immediately jump on the cheapest purchase without knowing exactly what you are getting!

The GRAPE overstock we have seen for the last few months looks to be coming to an end. PERUVIAN supplies are all but finished as CHILE looks to remain the only grape supplier in the western hemisphere until Mexican grapes become available sometime in May. All varieties will see some market activity over the next four weeks as supplies become limited.

More as it happens and hopefully some good news next week!

Parker Tannehill