MARKET UPDATE FEB 22-25, 2021

Good Afternoon,

Severe winter weather has caused major disruptions around the U.S this week. I-10, the major highway that connects the West Coast to the South East, is completely shut down in several areas due to accident pile ups and icy conditions. Trucks have been delayed for days on end, causing a 15% plus raise in freight costs compared to last week.

Cold storage facilities that hold produce coming into the states from Mexico are out of power. Without refrigeration, facility coordinators are not willing to take in any fresh product, leaving supplies stranded in Mexico waiting for the okay to cross. While both TOMATO and PEPPER markets were improving last week, this supply disruption will bring some uncertainty into the market.

LETTUCE and LEAF markets are still running cheap! The cold weather has shut many Americans in their homes, unable to go to the grocery store and stock up on fruits and vegetables. YUMA and FLORIDA are producing great numbers of lettuce, so a combination of strong supply and weak demand is going to keep this market aggressive.

GRAPE supplies are starting to get tight. The rain damaged fruit from Chile has started to arrive here in the US, leading to more rejections and higher pricing. GREEN SEEDLESS supplies are going to be the hardest to source, while RED SEEDLESS pricing will move higher just as a substitute to green.

STRAWBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLACK and BLUEBERRIES are all in short supply. Cold weather and transportation issues are going to show in the fickle items first.

BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER markets are still in good supply. Pricing is a bit higher on CAULIFLOWER but there are still deals to be had.

LIME markets continue to surge this week. The issues from the seasonal gap we were facing will only be amplified thanks to the winter storm. Supplies will remain tight into March.

While the rest of the country deals with freezing temperatures, conditions in Florida are seasonal. This should lead to the continuation of healthy supplies for PEPPER and SQUASH.

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill