MARKET UPDATE JANUARY 18, 2024

Good afternoon,

Marking the midpoint of the import fruit season, Chilean PLUMS are finally bumping the docks here in South Florida! The last of the stone fruit family to come available is also arguably the most sought after. Pricing is reasonable as the fruit is coming in by container, rather than air freight. So far, RED PLUMS represent the majority of availability and our reports indicate better supplies of BLACK PLUMS in the next few weeks.

Cool conditions continue to challenge growers across North and Central America. We are seeing significant setbacks on both east and west coasts, as well as with our friends south of the border.

Here in Florida and up the East Coast, overcast skies and cold temperatures have stumped production on several commodities. SQUASH, PEPPERS, TOMATOES, EGGPLANT, CORN, CABBAGE, CUCUMBERS and well, mostly anything coming out of the ground this time of year, are seeing lower yields and harvesting delays due to recent weather patterns. We expect elevated market pricing and short supplies for at least another week.

Over on the West Coast, frost delays and rain events have brought on challenges to LETTUCE and ROMAINE. We expect to continue to see slight epidermal peel, fringe burn, and blistering across items like ICEBERG and ROMAINE lettuce. It is an industry wide situation that should have us all temper our expectations. Please try to keep your customer base informed that the product is freshly harvested but the quality issues are coming in straight from the fields. Later next week, forecasts anticipate a slight return to seasonal conditions so we will keep our fingers crossed!

BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER markets have jumped up due to the colder conditions. Contrary to lettuce, broccoli loves the cooler weather so quality is looking great! The growth is going to be slowed from the recent chill but our hope is that we actually get that slight warm up next week and see some improvement from there.

CANTALOUPE and HONEYDEW supplies are currently running step for step with demand. Market pricing is competitive thanks to great quality and availability. The import melon market is in a good spot this week but we need to keep an eye on it with all of the inclement weather we are seeing in Mexico.

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill