MARKET UPDATE JUNE 14-18, 2021

Good afternoon,

Temperatures are beginning to rise in the Salinas Valley. The marine layer draped growing area that is home to LETTUCE, ROMAINE, LEAF, CAULIFLOWER, and BROCCOLI, is seeing its first summer like conditions of the year. With the warming trend coming on slowly, we should continue to see a strong push in supply.

Florida TOMATO production continues to taper off as domestic supply transitions into South Carolina. Mexico's supply is also transitioning between regions, leading to a slight hike in prices from our neighbors to the South. Freight costs have nearly doubled out of Mexico compared to last year, adding a significant lump sum to the price increase.

PEARS are nearly finished in Washington. The availability of Argentinian pears remains in mostly large sizes for both D'ANJOU and BOSC varieties. As supplies in Washington wrap up for the season, look for market pricing on imports to continue to rise.

LARGE and JUMBO ASPARAGUS is in short supply. A strong foodservice demand is eating up all the large size grass while supplies remain steady on standard and small sizes.

The paragraph below details several external pressures we are facing in the produce industry. It is not commodity specific but explains some important challenges that are reshaping the cost of doing business.

Exterior variables continue to have an unprecedented effect on the produce industry this year. While not pertaining to any commodity in particular, several factors have increased the cost of doing business drastically overall. LABOR has been in short supply and the cost of labor is on the rise. This trickles into every element of the supply chain from growers to the storefront. Mushroom shippers increased their price by $1 overall just a few weeks ago due to rising labor costs. FREIGHT costs have continued to rise over the last 6 months. The price of GAS is moving higher and is expected to be the highest summer average we have seen in years. A shortage of drivers paired with rising gas prices is sending TRUCKING COSTS to the moon. Believe it or not, the compounding costs continue. PALLETS have nearly tripled in price just in the last year. Good pallets that used to run $4 per unit are now around $10-$12. The heavy-duty pallets that are used by APPLE shippers now cost over $20. We

received notification this week that there will be a new line item on invoices out of the Northwest that will charge $.50 per case on APPLES and $.25 per case on CHERRIES to account for the price of the pallets alone. On the bright side, most products are in good quality and supply.

We will have CHERRIES, PEACHES, NECTARINES, PLUMS, and even APRICOTS available in CLAMSHELLS next week!

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill