Good afternoon,
October is here and that means new crop FALL APPLES have arrived! We have seen almost all varieties start up over the last few weeks, with only a few specialty varieties left on the trees. Look for better availability moving forward.
Vegetables on the east coast are making their move down South. As cold temperatures start to chill northern growing regions like Michigan, New York, and Canada, production of PEPPER, CUCUMBER, SQUASH and more finds new home in southern states like North Carolina, Georgia and eventually, Florida. As of now, it looks like we have a steady transition down south, where these goods should make a clean handoff from one state to the next.
TOMATOES did not get so lucky and market conditions may be a warning sign of things to come for other eastern vegetables. Unfortunately for TOMATO crops, they get moving south into Florida much sooner than other items like squash and peppers. Tomato harvests were set to begin this week in Florida and due to the catastrophic damage of HURRICANE IAN, many fields were put underwater or had early plantings ripped out of the ground by severe winds. MEXICAN crops will have to fill the void in the market and will struggle to do so. Expect elevated market pricing on ROUND, ROMA, GRAPE, and CHERRY TOMATOES for at least another few weeks while the market finds its footing.
In the aftermath of last week's hurricane devastation, we received one bright spot of news on FLORIDA STRAWBERRIES! Fortunately, no seedlings had been planted before the storm, and our strawberry growing partners fields were spared from any severe damage. The post storm conditions have been cool and sunny, leaving ideal conditions for STRAWBERRY planting. Expect to see FLORIDA STRAWBERRIES in mid to late NOVEMBER.
LIME markets look to soften into next week. Better availability out of Mexico has helped bring down pricing from the brief bump we saw in late September.
All LETTUCE and LEAF items out of California are going to see decreased availability, and marginal quality throughout the month of October. California leafy greens are in their last four weeks of the season before we transition to Arizona and expect these increasingly high price levels to hold through the month and into early November.
BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER crops and dealing with the same seasonal struggles as lettuce and romaine. Expect tough times on both commodities through October.
GRAPE market settled in, and although we still see a two-tiered market, the better quality fruit has gotten a little more affordable over the past week.
More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill