MARKET UPDATE MARCH 21-25, 2022
Good afternoon,
ASPARAGUS suppliers are flush with product! Jumbo sizing remains slightly scarce, but availability on standard and large grass is strong. After a few weeks of turbulent ASPARAGUS markets, we are finally in the clear and ASPARAGUS is primed for promotion.
BELL PEPPER supplies look to remain tight next week. GREEN BELLS in Florida are transitioning to the Northern part of the state, raising market pricing. RED, YELLOW, and ORANGE PEPPER in Mexico are also beginning to see a slow down in supply. Although market pricing remains flat on the bushel pepper out of Mexico, prices are on the way up on the hot house half box pepper.
PINEAPPLE availability is great down here in South Florida. Importers are receiving containers without too much delay, and the market is nearly flooded in PINEAPPLE. Pricing is low, availability is high, and pines are priced to sell!
STRAWBERRIES are all but finished in Florida. The late season fruit is going to be overripe, bruised, and cheap for a reason. New crop berries out of Oxnard California are in great shape. While pricing may be higher, DRISCOLL'S is out there harvesting fruit a day or two early, to preserve shelf life for export customers like us. Now is the time to make the switch from Florida fruit to California fruit.
BLACKBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, and RASPBERRIES are in good supply. Mexico is producing all three in solid numbers and we are beginning to see some early Florida Blueberries. CHILEAN import BLUEBERRIES are available out of the northeast, but we are working with much better quality out of Mexico.
BROCCOLI pricing looks to remain low for at least the next few weeks. A few suppliers informed us that they are already harvesting BROCCOLI up in Salinas, about two weeks early. That spells good news for pricing as Yuma and Salinas supplies are going to overlap through transition and shippers will be happy to move BROCCOLI at a low cost.
GRAPES are in great supply and it seems we have found steady market pricing. The only thing separating prices today are quality and size. As this market levels off, be cautious of importers looking to get rid of undersized, undersold, and poor quality fruit. A few dollars per case will be the difference between getting solid, sweet fruit or weaker fruit.
LETTUCE and ROMAINE supplies continue to struggle out of Yuma this week. The only good news is that we are one week closer to the new crop starting in Huron, and then Salinas. Huron will start sometime later next week and Salinas around the 4th of April.
More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill