MARKET UPDATE MAY 21-25, 2021

Good afternoon,

The long awaited arrival for California grapes is finally here. Next week, we will have new crop GREEN, BLACK, and RED SEEDLESS out of California! The new crop fruit will provide a much needed change of pace from late season Chilean fruit. Look for CLAMSHELLS and GLOBE grapes to start domestically in another few weeks.

Along with California grapes, we are getting into the swing of CHERRIES, PEACHES, APRICOTS, and NECTARINES out on the West Coast!

LETTUCE, ROMAINE, and LEAFY GREENS are in great supply. Favorable weather in the Salinas Valley has led to strong production and good quality for the last several weeks. Consider lettuce and leafy greens for your upcoming weekly ad.

Florida veg continues to move further up the state and GREEN PEPPERS are this week’s victim to short supply. A few farms here in South Florida have shut down earlier than expected, forcing orders further north or out west to Mexico. Expect higher pricing on GREEN BELL PEPPER in the coming weeks.  

MUSHROOM farmers in the U.S. are facing an acute labor shortage. Since mushrooms must be harvested by hand, this shortage of labor leaves many growers struggling to harvest all their crops. The difficulty with production, coupled with increasing costs of raw materials and rising freight rates, means mushroom production costs are on the rise.

Import MELONS have one more week to go and we will be switching to California/Arizona supplies. Smaller sized fruit will be scarce for a week or two, but it looks like we will see a smooth transition from import to domestic fruit.  

Heavy rain in Texas and Mexico have slowed down ONION harvests. Muddy conditions have made it nearly impossible to get harvesting machinery in and out of fields. Slower harvests, higher freight costs, and a lack of labor will lead to higher prices on onions in the short term.

Make sure to check out our weekly fresh for some great specials this week!

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill