MARKET UPDATE WEEK # 30 - 2020

Good Afternoon,

Markets seem to have settled out in California. Conditions will be cooler this week, which should help crops continue to recover from the higher temps of the last few months. CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI, and ICEBERG LETTUCE are all in good supply.

ROMAINE and ROMAINE HEART supplies are still a bit snug. Production remains lower than average, and although we are still dealing with a soft demand, light availability has been enough to hold prices up for another week.

CANADIAN LETTUCE is in full swing. CABBAGE is also available from our neighbors to the north. Quality has been great so far!

VEG production up the east coast remains a sloppy situation. PEPPER, SQUASH, EGGPLANT, and CUCUMBER are all available in several different areas, with different levels of production.

GREEN BELL PEPPER has seen some relief this week. Supplies out of Michigan and New Jersey have helped move things along and lower market price levels.

SQUASH and CUCUMBER are in a similar spot as favorable supplies have provided us with some competitive pricing.

EGGPLANT is the eastern veg outlier this week. No matter where you look, supplies are tight. Plan on higher pricing and light availability on EGGPLANT for at least another week.

TOMATOES continue to see short supplies this week. Like a lot of the products we have already mentioned, there is no concentration of supply in any one location. We are waiting on two big focal points of production, Tennessee, and Alabama. Once those states get some significant volume, we should see some improvement in the tomato market.

As we move later into the current LIME season, growers are seeing more and more shrinkage in their pack-out. Heat has been abundant in the growing area, causing several defects that packers then must grade out. Market prices will start to creep up next week and continue to climb from there.

RED, GREEN, and BLACK SEEDLESS GRAPES are fully transitioned into California. With supplies fading or finished in Mexico, pricing will be a bit stronger for the next few weeks. RED GLOBES will be our only grape out of Mexico next week.

CANTALOUPE and HONEYDEW markets should be coming down by now, but we are seeing most of the availability in larger sizes. Better volume and softer markets should be only another week or so away.

Remember to check out our Weekly Fresh this week!

More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill