MARKET UPDATE WEEK # 51

Good Morning,

Mother nature is back at it again with some chilly conditions! California and Arizona will see some freezing temps as a low-pressure system moves through the West Coast. Rain has been on and off through Florida this week and it will not be the last! Another storm system is scheduled to pass through the South East and bring some cold weather behind it.

So far, conditions have been decent for Arizona Veg supplies. We are still seeing some competitive markets on LETTUCE, ROMAINE, BROCCOLI and even CAULIFLOWER. All signs point towards continued flat markets next week, but low temps, scheduled frost, and labor shortages might bring a bit of disturbance. We'll see next week!

Offshore HONEYDEWS are seeing some difficulty. Growers are struggling to come up with enough supply, especially on smaller sizes. After the holiday, we should see Honduran supply get going, bringing some relief with it!

TOMATOES have been on the rise for a week or so now. Large storm systems in Mexico decimated a significant portion of supplies. FLORIDA production is picking up slowly due to the cool weather. Although we are seeing better numbers in Florida this week, much of that fruit is being sent out of state to cover nation wide shortages. Cold weather this weekend may slow supplies down even further.

As usual, FLORIDA STRAWBERRIES are off to a slow start. A more positive person might say, "hey, at least quality has been great". While that may be true, pricing is still around $30 for solid fruit and cold weather isn't helping production pick up. IF weather permits, we should see this market come down rather quickly after the holiday.

BLUE, BLACK, and RASPBERRIES are all in good supply out of their respective areas!

CHILEAN PEACHES, APRICOTS, and NECTARINES are arriving weekly here in South Florida. PLUMS will be a later start in CHILE, and we have already seen the end of BLACK PLUMS in California. We still have some CALIFORNIA RED PLUMS that might get us close to bridging the gap between the end of domestic plums and beginning of offshore supply.

Overall, we may see some PRICE INCREASES next week due to labor shortages and adjusted freight rates for the holidays. Harvest schedules will be shortened, and we will see some supplies fall behind. Those changes should be short lived but we will see what happens next week!

More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill