NORTHWEST

January 21, 2011

ONIONS

Export demand remains slightly above normal. Domestic movement has been a bit slow for the last couple of weeks. Historically, this is a slow time of the year but can change overnight. The timing is ripe for this deal to take off. This market has experienced this same scenario many times in the past few years; “The calm before the storm”.  The YELLOW market remains somewhat steady, reflecting slightly weaker prices with a few shippers.  Demand and price has decreased on both jumbo and medium REDS as well. Red onions are readily available. White jumbos have been a bit of a struggle this season with staining for the most part but overall good quality.  Many good deals if you use #2 Whites.  Certified Washington Sweets are also available along with Organics and stickered conventional onions on all colors.   

POTATOES-Northwest

WA/OR Russets, new crop export demand continues to put pressure on small carton sizes. Large cartons are in higher demand with increasing prices.  Idaho’s shortfall on large cartons will be WA’s gain.  We may see steady price increases within the next month or so as demand is strong on the larger cartons.  Consumer packs are in good supply with steady FOB’s.  Quality remains excellent in the NW. 

Idaho new crop overall supplies are tight due partially to a small profile.  Many shippers are still playing catch up from the extreme cold temps last week and the lack of ability to run.  But the general consensus is that there is a lack of size.  Large cartons are in tight demand.  However, with the upcoming “Potato lovers month” the situation could change in that most promotions will be on consumers thus creating inventories on the needed large cartons.  Quality and appearance is very good.

Colored Potatoes

Mt Vernon district is producing good supplies of Red, purple and Fingerling potatoes. Yukon supplies are dwindling. White potatoes are finished for the season in the North West.  Look to California for White potatoes.  Quality is good.

 APPLES/ PEARS

January, 2011 storage report shows the apples have grown to 106,594 million versus the earlier report of 102,710 million, so roughly up 4 million, which is a mirror to the 2007 crop.  The biggest growth were in the Fuji and the Gala’s, with many of the Fuji, Washington Extra #2, so we will see some good buys on the Bags.  We have seen shrinkage in Golden, Honeycrisp and Jonagolds, but seeing much larger profile on the Golden’s.  Overall the FOB prices will remain strong, although the size profile is dropping too much smaller size in Red’s.  The Granny Smith market continues to be tight in all sizes, so FOB prices will remain high. 

On the Pear front the market continues to stay strong with the demand from the Global market pushes the FOB prices up.

 Salinas News

January 21, 2011

The BROCCOLI deal seemed to have a little wobble to it as last week ended…but we don’t think that its signaling a selloff…just a little correction due to demand. Most shippers are still expecting light supplies for the next couple of weeks. Quality issues are still around…pin rot along the coast, and yellow bead and brown bead as well as frost discoloration are showing up in the desert. Crowns will still be in shorter supply than bunched.  

LETTUCE market got active last week and then stalled. Demand just doesn’t seem to be there, however, there is a pesky little disease called Sclerotinia going around. This disease can be crippling to supply. With that said, don’t expect market to come crashing down this week. Quality is fair, still showing blister and peel.

 LEAF Lettuce market is very strong.  Romaine is all but non-existent with just slightly better supplies on red & green.  Quality is just fair with not much improvement in sight.  Expect the market to continue to increase this coming week as supplies & market will remain tight.

CELERY demand remains strong especially on the larger sizes. Oxnard and Yuma/Mexico are the main production regions. The past extremely cold and wet weather has beat up this crop, quite a bit of product is unusable, making for short supplies. Overall quality across the board is just fair to fairly good, some pith, light color and cracking of some branches. This situation looks to be out there for the next few weeks.

STRAWBERRY volume is slowly improving. Plants have been stripped and are on the rebound. Favorable weather is really helping this crop. We should see numbers continue to ramp up as we head into spring. Berries will be snug but available for the Valentines pull; stems will be out there as well. With this weather pattern look to see good numbers mid Feb.

Cauliflower quality has been good with weights between 26 to 30 lbs depending on the shipper. Weather has been good so expect more flower through the week and markets to come down.

FRESNO NEWS

January 21, 2011

Chilean/Import GRAPES are going well on both east & west coast.  Imports are kicking in and as such the market is adjusting down.  A lot of the fruit is sizing at this time smaller 10/16th berry, very light supplies of large/ Jumbo (12+/16th berries).  Institution pack/ Lunch Bunch grapes are now available with light numbers for the next 10 days then we should be into decent volume, market is still strong here.

Cali/Italy Kiwi is packing out all sizes & pack style: 1 layer, volume filled & tri-layer.  Market is up slightly; fruit is firm, good sizing, and a nice shelf life.    

Melons MX/ Off Shore product are in full swing on both coasts and fruit is looking good at this time.  Overall quality on is good. 

Cantaloupe market is off slightly, supplies mostly 9/12’s and good demand.  Color is mostly light tan to concrete; good net; 1/2 slips. Good quality.  Look for Cants to tighten up again in 2-3 weeks as we hit a slight harvest gap.

Honeydew market is steady sizing mostly 8/9 with light green to cream color. We will continue crossing from MX as well as have off shore product available. Supplies should continue good for the next 6-8 weeks.

Watermelons are finally showing some supplies with quality being nice.  Fruit is sizing up slightly on Seedless; Seeded still remains tight, with just fair quality.  Most of the fruit on the west coast is from MX with offshore supplies the east.

Carrot market on Jumbo/Cello/Cliptop is UP with light supplies. Baby (processed) is steady, good supplies. 

Cali Red/ White/ Yukon POTATOES are harvesting in Bakersfield/San Jacinto.  Skin & color both look good, with fair supplies, light supplies of #2’s.  

Hass Avocados demand is good with the market continuing to increase.    

Mexico quality is good.  The oil is good with fruit is ripening quickly.  Pricing out of MX is up with grower holding back harvest, so supplies are very light.

Chilean look and taste good with nice oil content.  Fruit is ripening well; supplies are on the light side.

Lemon supplies are fair coming mostly out of district 1.  Sizes are peaking 165/ 200 /140’s but all sizes are available.  Market is up slightly on 140’s & larger, but still set to move. 

NAVELS continue with small sizing 113/88/72.  Larger size NAVELS remain somewhat light with the occasional lot of looking to move.  The pack out is fairly clean heavy to fancy. 

Seasonal Citrus: Grapefruit is limited in supplies out of Arizona right now.  Varietals are available-Meyer Lemons, Cara Cara, Clementine’s, Minneola, Royal Mandarin, Pummelo, Oro Blanco’s, Melo-Golds. Call for sizes & supplies.

MX Limes are coming loading in Texas as well as consolidation in Calif.  Market is way up with SOS (Sweet Orange Scab) issue on crossing.  All sizes are tight and trucks are waiting for product.  The fruit in general is sizing 250 and smaller with a lot of shippers pushing down on size… beware of cheap prices.  Demand is VERY good with various packs available.

GEORGIA/ FLORIDA NEWS

January 21, 2011

Florida’s Bean and Corn supply is starting to increase and we should see more volume by the end of January. Zucchini, Pepper, and Squash supplies are more available but nowhere near what they should be. Expect Florida Market Prices to come down soon to compete with Mexico. However all Supplies will remain light for another few weeks.

Imported Cucumbers, Cantaloupe and Honeydew Melons are shipping and volume is good on.  The Watermelon supply is still extremely tight.

Transportation:  Trucks are readily available.  

TEXAS/ NOGLES NEWS

January 21, 2010

PEPPERS

RED growers are cutting mostly choice. California desert continues with mostly choice pepper. Nogales production has slowed due to cooler weather. Supplies should increase hit the later part of January.  

HOT HOUSE COLORED Nogales has had limited production due to cooler weather in the Northern regions. The southern areas are starting to see increasing volume over the next 1-2 weeks. Baja volumes will remain light but steady for next few weeks.

GREEN, cooler weather in the east will push demand up in Nogales. Nogales has good steady supplies but cooler weather has also affected production. New fields are coming on board so larger sizes (jumbo/xlarge) will become promotable in the next 7-10days.

SQUASH

GREEN Nogales has good supply with the southern regions kicking in. The north will be finishing up soon.

YELLOW & GREY scenario is similar to as zucchini for the crop update. Volume will increase about a week behind the zucchini.

ACORN, BUTTERNUT, SPAGHETTI & KABOCHA Nogales production is very good with all items available and increasing over the next few weeks.

EGGPLANT- Nogales has light but steady production and volumes remaining this way through the month.

CUCUMBERS- Nogales production is good and will stay steady as we move through the month & into the front part of February. Demand is as good as production so don’t look for big price breaks.

GREEN BEANS- Nogales has volume but cool/wet weather in the northern regions has caused some issues. New acreage and warmer weather will be coming on soon so look for supplies to improve.

TOMATOES

ROMA volume will continue steady for the Mexican regions weather permitting. Baja is winding done over the next 1-2 weeks.

25# GAS GREEN, Naples/Immokalee has limited supply. Homestead also has limited production for the next 14 days. Nogales has good supply that is increasing for the next 2-3 weeks.

VINE RIPES/ GRAPE Baja is finished for the season in the next 1-2 weeks. Nogales is seeing good volume as we move through the month. Grape tomatoes out of Baja have slowed down due to cool weather. They are nearly done for the season. Nogales has good production will continue to rise as we get deeper into the month.

BEEF HH supply has improved. Mexican product is coming on and will improve each week.  Texas & Oxnard all have limited production.

TOMATOES ON THE VINE very similar setup as the beef tomatoes.

MELONS

Watermelon/Mini Melons: Nogales is crossing fruit but it is limited and prices have eased a little. Overall quality is good and sugar is fair. Mini melons are also in short supply out of Nogales. Prices have also moved higher and size 8’s & 9’s have been very hard to come by. Many growers are still in a gap. 

Cantaloupes are available in Nogales but these are offshore only. Imports are loading in LA, CA.  Quality is good overall. 

Honeydew very similar shipping points as the cantaloupe but in Nogales FOB prices that were very aggressive have now inched up.   NORTHWEST 
January 21, 2010

ONIONS

Export demand remains slightly above normal. Domestic movement has been a bit slow for the last couple of weeks. Historically, this is a slow time of the year but can change overnight. The timing is ripe for this deal to take off. This market has experienced this same scenario many times in the past few years; “The calm before the storm”.  The YELLOW market remains somewhat steady, reflecting slightly weaker prices with a few shippers.  Demand and price has decreased on both jumbo and medium REDS as well. Red onions are readily available. White jumbos have been a bit of a struggle this season with staining for the most part but overall good quality.  Many good deals if you use #2 Whites.  Certified Washington Sweets are also available along with Organics and stickered conventional onions on all colors.   

POTATOES-Northwest

-WA/OR Russets, new crop export demand continues to put pressure on small carton sizes. Large cartons are in higher demand with increasing prices.  Idaho’s shortfall on large cartons will be WA’s gain.  We may see steady price increases within the next month or so as demand is strong on the larger cartons.  Consumer packs are in good supply with steady FOB’s.  Quality remains excellent in the NW. 

-Idaho new crop overall supplies are tight due partially to a small profile.  Many shippers are still playing catch up from the extreme cold temps last week and the lack of ability to run.  But the general consensus is that there is a lack of size.  Large cartons are in tight demand.  However, with the upcoming “Potato lovers month” the situation could change in that most promotions will be on consumers thus creating inventories on the needed large cartons.  Quality and appearance is very good.

Colored Potatoes

-Mt Vernon district is producing good supplies of Red, purple and Fingerling potatoes. Yukon supplies are dwindling. White potatoes are finished for the season in the North West.  Look to California for White potatoes.  Quality is good.

APPLES/ PEARS

January, 2011 storage report shows the apples have grown to 106,594 million versus the earlier report of 102,710 million, so roughly up 4 million, which is a mirror to the 2007 crop.  The biggest growth were in the Fuji and the Gala’s, with many of the Fuji, Washington Extra #2, so we will see some good buys on the Bags.  We have seen shrinkage in Golden, Honeycrisp and Jonagolds, but seeing much larger profile on the Golden’s.  Overall the FOB prices will remain strong, although the size profile is dropping too much smaller size in Red’s.  The Granny Smith market continues to be tight in all sizes, so FOB prices will remain high.  On the Pear front the market continues to stay strong with the demand from the Global market pushes the FOB prices up.

Salinas News
January 21,  2010

The BROCCOLI deal seemed to have a little wobble to it as last week ended…but we don’t think that its signaling a selloff…just a little correction due to demand. Most shippers are still expecting light supplies for the next couple of weeks. Quality issues are still around…pin rot along the coast, and yellow bead and brown bead as well as frost discoloration are showing up in the desert. Crowns will still be in shorter supply than bunched. Book your BROCCOLI early, and have our birddog check your order.

LETTUCE market got active last week and then stalled. Demand just doesn’t seem to be there, however, there is a pesky little disease called Sclerotinia going around. This disease can be crippling to supply. With that said, don’t expect market to come crashing down this week. Quality is fair, still showing blister and peel.

 LEAF Lettuce market is very strong.  Romaine is all but non-existant with just slightly better supplies on red & green.  Quality is just fair with not much improvement in sight.  Expect the market to continue to increase this coming week as supplies & market will remain tight.

CELERY demand remains strong especially on the larger sizes. Oxnard and Yuma/Mexico are the main production regions. The past extremely cold and wet weather has beat up this crop, quite a bit of product is unusable, making for short supplies. Overall quality across the board is just fair to fairly good, some pith, light color and cracking of some branches. This situation looks to be out there for the next few weeks.

STRAWBERRY volume is slowly improving. Plants have been stripped and are on the rebound. Favorable weather is really helping this crop. We should see numbers continue to ramp up as we head into spring. Berries will be snug but available for the Valentines pull, stems will be out there as well. With this weather pattern look to see very good numbers mid Feb.

Cauliflower quality has  been  good with weights  between 26  to  30 lbs depending  on  the  shipper.  Weather  has  been  good  so  expect more  flower  through  the  week and market to come down.