MARKET UPDATE WEEK # 33 - 2020

Good Afternoon,

Fruits and veggies continue to feel the stress of summer conditions. Multiple shippers continue to report fringe and tip burn on leaf items, supplies are moving slowly due to a deficient food service demand, and COVID-19 precautions are slowing the rate at which product is harvested. The frustration these limitations cause is very real. In an effort to adapt our program to the recent challenges, we have reallocated some of our team to help receiving with quality control, we continue to be as thin as we can on inventory, and we maintain our philosophy of working to start each week with fresh product.

As we push forward with a priority on quality, we deal with many factors that are out of our control; summer heat, late trucks, expensive August freight rates, volatile orders, late cancellations on containers, harvesting rates, national demand, etc. We will work with the unknown as we always do, but the closest answer we have to a "cure all" treatment, is consistency! In these uncertain times, consistency can be incredibly difficult, but the closer we all get to some regularity, the sweeter the deal will be for both parties.

FREIGHT RATES from the west coast have reached an annual high of $9,000 plus. Lighter supplies of drivers and a higher concentration of goods in California this time of year cause this annual spike in rates.

ORANGES size 88 and SMALLER are VERY TIGHT. Our suppliers are asking for orders a week ahead of time and are prorating to 6-week averages from there. Please submit large orders as early as possible to give us the best chance to cover.

We still have a few more weeks on STONE FRUIT out of California but CHERRIES are nearing the end. Chances are, next week will be the last week on CLAMSHELL CHERRIES.

LIME markets continue to hold on to high levels from the last week or so. Most signs point to this trend continuing for another few weeks.

PINEAPPLES are typically flat in cost, but we are seeing limited supplies next week. Less availability has led to a slight bump in pricing for next week.

GINGER has become extremely limited. Supplies are tightening up around town and with that, we are seeing higher prices.

We have seen a split market on BLUEBERRIES. BC blues are typically very nice, but we have seen some issues on the cheaper fruit this week. Domestic blueberries out of Washington and Oregon have cost a bit more but look much more suitable for export.

More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill