MARKET UPDATE WEEK # 4 2020

Good Afternoon,

Unseasonably cold conditions continue, slowing down growth and backing up supply lines. This can be said for most growing regions, Florida and Arizona included. Mexico, currently in supply of peppers, avocados, berries, and other goods, is seeing similar conditions all while dealing with the lingering effect of heavy rainfall. Across North America, we are expecting gradual warming next week. That may be exactly what we need to kick production into gear!

After several days of ice delays, YUMA and CALIFORNIA growing conditions have improved. The slight warming has allowed for ICEBERG, ROMAINE, and BROCCOLI, to get out of their supply shortages. Some shippers are still behind on these commodities so expect to see prices vary from one supplier to the next. Hopefully this trend will catch on with GREEN ONIONS and CAULIFLOWER, but we will need some favorable weather for that to happen!

In such an unpredictable industry, there are few things that we can see coming. One of those things that we can predict is, The Super Bowl. Every year in early February the game is played and supermarket chains all over the country run nation wide retail promotions on AVOCADOS. With every supermarket in the country pushing the popular fruit, demand grows and grows. Fortunately, supply on avocados is up this year compared to last. That should help this market level off after the big game next week!

WATERMELONS have been a burden the past few weeks. Supplies out of Mexico have been of average quality and light supply. This week, we are really seeing the supply shrink and market price levels are representative of that. We are still a week or two out from the arrival of offshore watermelons. Once Guatemala and Honduras come into play, we should see some relief.

SQUASH in Florida has taken a hit from the cold! The plants have not had the chance to catch up to demand as we have seen cold front, after cold front here in Florida. With slight warming on the way we will see a bit of relief, but all reports lead to another week of tight supplies.

TOMATOES are in a very similar spot as Florida SQUASH. Cold temps have been reluctant to let any significant harvesting take place. Even when the market begins to improve, we will see some sustained damage from loss of blooms. Mexico is a big player in the supply of tomatoes and they have had their own struggles this season. With both of the main supply lines struggling, the tomato market may struggle for at least another few weeks.

More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill