MARKET UPDATE WEEK #20

Good Afternoon,

We are now into new crop CALIFORNIA and MEXICAN GRAPES. After a solid season of fruit from South America, supplies are finally closer to home. As is common in transition and early season harvests, we will be dealing with some elevated prices until new crop harvests catch up with demand. Quality and shelf life should improve quickly as supplies will have less transit time on them and therefore more shelf life. Keep an eye on grape markets and don't buy too long as prices should start to come down weekly as supplies ramp up!

Heavy rains passed through California a few weeks ago and although we have had clear conditions since, we are still dealing with some of the residual effects. STRAWBERRY supplies were damaged and export quality fruit has become hard to come by. Market prices are up, and shippers are prorating larger orders, keeping customers to their 10-week averages.

SPINACH is also seeing some issues from the heavy rains a few weeks back. A fragile leaf, spinach will hold onto moisture for longer than most commodities. Growers are holding product in their cooler for up to two days after harvest to allow the product to completely dry out before shipping. This is causing a delay in the supply chain to go along with the quality and condition issues we are seeing. The recent dry weather out in California should help relieve this situation soon.

GREEN SKIN AVOCADOS have become limited this week. Supplies out of the DR are basically finished and Florida production is still behind schedule. With HASS AVOCADO markets tight out of Mexico and California, we will see some activity on all avocados for the next week or so at least.

Produce on the Eastern seaboard is transitioning up the coast. GREEN PEPPERS are in good supply in Georgia and markets have come off. SQUASH markets have been low for over a month but as we get further away from South Florida supply, procurement will get more difficult. Markets are up partially due to longer transit times and therefore additional freight cost, but we are also seeing some shortages through the transition. MEXICO has quantity buys available, but quality has been hit or miss. We will make sure to provide the best option for next week!

Thank you all for your continued support and enjoy the remainder of the week.

More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill