MARKET UPDATE FEBRUARY 21-27, 2022

Good afternoon,

The phrase, "AVOCADOS from MEXICO", represents many things: an ad slogan, a countries flagship fruit, even an entire marketing company built to facilitate sales all over the world. On possibly the most important week of the year for Mexican avocados, just one phone call drastically changed the AVOCADO market. After a United States APHIS officer received a death threat from a supposed cartel member, the U.S decided to temporarily block all imports of "AVOCADOS from Mexico" into the U.S.

The U.S government has remained mostly idle concerning cartel intervention in Mexican produce exports. There is a documented history of cartels charging duties, limiting export permits, keeping workers out of fields, and taking multiple measures to limit supplies on products like LIMES and AVOCADOS, pushing prices higher growing cartel profits. While the actions take place in Mexico, U.S and global consumers are stuck paying part of the bill. The temporary ban should be lifted in the coming weeks, thanks to nearly 20 million avocados per day worth of incentive. In the meantime, expect drastically high pricing on AVOCADOS.

ASPARAGUS markets have a less interesting story, but supplies are just as limited. Peruvian product remains in transition, while U.S and Mexican supplies also fall short of demand. The last two weeks, markets have been rescued by North and Central American supplies. Cold and windy conditions came for ASPARAGUS stalks at just the wrong time. Next week, we are seeing limited availability out of all three major growing areas, resulting in a near complete lack of supply.

COLORED BELL PEPPERS are dealing with the same cool, windy conditions in Mexico. Look for COLORED PEPPER supplies to be light heading into next week.

BLUEBERRY markets look to loosen next week. An abundance of Chilean blues is being offered out cheap in the Northeast, pushing market prices lower. After attempting to cover some of the less pricey pints, we've noticed several shippers baulking due to quality concerns. We will stick it out with the better quality 6oz available here in South Florida. The good news is that the overall availability is bringing market pricing down on all BLUEBERRIES.

STRAWBERRY supplies have had a difficult time bouncing back this week. Historically, markets start to fall almost immediately after Valentine's Day. While prices have started to come off, rainy days and last weeks near freeze have created a difficult environment for the berries to bloom in. All signs point towards markets to fall and availability to grow, but mother nature is stringing out the recovery process a little longer than anticipated.

PINEAPPLE supplies remain restricted this week as limited container space on ships out of Central America and unreliable port clearances pose a continuous problem. We have seen a slight improvement in availability this week, and we believe that this trend should continue next week.

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill