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AUAI

The Source

April 17, 2013 © 2013 PRO*ACT, LLC

T H I N G S Y O U

S H O U L D

K N O W :

COMMODITY ALERT:

Small Granny-Smith apples are extremely

short

Weather: Tim Lynch

The high pressure ridge building out west will bring warmer and dry conditions to California into next week as winds begin to subside today. Inland regions will reach the mid 80s with low 70s expected near the coast through the weekend. Long term forecasts keep this warm pattern through next week.

Freight: Mike McIntire

Trucks in California remain tighter than normal as we

continue to see less and less trucks running into

California. Trucks in the Northwest are steady. Crude oil

dropped slightly and is 87.80 per barrel. The national

average on diesel fuel remained steady and is currently

3.942. California prices were also steady and are 4.147

per barrel.

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Commodity Updates

APPLES/PEARS John Tole New York is still packing Golden Delicious, Red delicious, Red Rome’s, McIntosh, Wine saps, Stamens, and Empires. The availability remains fair and most of the fruit is heavy to the larger sizes except in the McIntosh which have ranged in size. The larger New York shippers are still expecting to pack through April. Washington Reds are steady and are still peaking on extra-fancy 88/100’s. The smaller sizes & lower grades are still fairly short. Golden delicious are also steady and continue to peak on extra-fancy 88/100’s. Lower grade Golden availability is fair. Granny-Smiths are steady to higher and are peaking on higher grade 64-80’s. Small size granny-smith remains very short especially in the lower grades. Galas are still peaking on 80-100’s and the Washington extra-fancy grade. The Gala market is steady but strong due to very steady demand. Washington Fuji’s continued to peak on 64-80’s and are producing more of the Washington extra-fancy grade. The Fuji volume is up this year and there are still deals to be had. Pink-Lady’s, Cameo’s, Jonagolds, Braeburns, Rome’s, and the other varietals are still available with most suppliers but the supplies are starting to dwindle as we approach the end of the season. Washington D’Anjou's are still peaking on the larger sizes and the US#1 grade but the availability remains light. A few Bosc pears remain and the remaining fruit is of the US#1 grade and mostly 110’s and larger. There are also a few Red pears left. ASPARAGUS Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market has become stronger with all suppliers. Mexico supplies have had a lot of issues with quality. California production is decent but the increase in demand due to the Mexican decline has created a stronger market. Peruvian grass is available in LA, as well. AVOCADO Tim Kelley Mexico is holding steady on harvest and supplies coming into the US. California growers are still waiting to gain size to their fruit, but we are starting to see a better harvest on 48’s coming in. Size is still heavy to 60’s and 70’s.

Commodity Quality Market

Apples Excellent Steady

Asparagus Good Higher

Avocado (Mexican) Excellent Steady

Avocado (California) Excellent Steady

Bell Peppers (Western)

Good Steady

Bell Pepper (Eastern) Good Steady

Berries: Strawberries Good Steady

Berries: Raspberries Good Steady

Berries: Blackberries Good Steady

Berries: Blueberries Good Steady

Broccoli Good Steady

Carrots Good Steady

Cauliflower Fair Higher

Celery Fair Higher

Citrus: Lemons Good Steady

Citrus: Oranges Good Higher

Cucumbers (Western) Good Steady

Cucumbers (Eastern) Good Steady

Eggplant Good Steady

Grapes, Green Fair Higher

Grapes, Red Good Steady

Green Onions Fair Steady

Lettuce: Leaf Good Steady

Lettuce: Iceberg Fair Higher

Melons: Cantaloupe Good Steady

Melons: Honeydew Good Steady

Onions Good Steady

Pears Good Steady

Potatoes Excellent Steady

Squash (Western) Good Steady

Squash (Eastern) Good Steady

Stone Fruit Good Higher

Tomatoes (Western) Good Steady

Tomatoes (Eastern) Fair Steady

Watermelon Good Steady

Commodities at a glance…

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Commodity Updates continued

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They will continue to increase volume as we move through the month. The market looks to be stabilizing 48’s and larger fruit. BELL PEPPERS Western Bells: Mike Cantu Green bell market is very unsettled; market is moving upward on large fruit. Supplies are mostly on choice and smaller fruit. New spring crops are around the corner. Open field colored Red bell market is perking up due to some fields sizing down as some of these fields are running their course. This market will continue tightening up as week’s progress. Gold bells market continues unsettled as production is sporadic. Slight demand exceeds. Eastern Bells: Janine Baird The pepper market seems to have stabilized. Several shippers in the Plant City are of Florida will be working pepper this week, which should bring the market on bigger pepper down a bit. Look for off grades to continue to be tight. BERRIES Mike Gorczyca Strawberries: Market is steady with a split market due to quality and size with Santa Maria and Salinas/Watsonville getting Premium. Oxnard growers have switched some of their fields to the freezer market due to quality and market conditions. This has not affected the market due to all three areas in production currently (Oxnard, Santa Maria and Salinas/Watsonville). The best quality is currently in Santa Maria followed by Salinas/Watsonville. Raspberries: The main area that raspberries are coming out of currently is Mexico with limited supplies in Oxnard and Salinas. Supplies will still be limited for the next couple of weeks. Quality is being reported as good. Market is steady but firm Blackberries: Supplies are starting to improve with most shippers. Market is steady to slightly lower. Some shippers still have limited supplies but that should improve as this week moves on. Quality is fair with a few good lots. Blueberries: Florida and California have started with limited but building supplies. Market is steady but will start to weaken over the next week or two as supplies build out of these new areas. Quality is being reported as good.

BROCCOLI Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady. Good deals are being offered in Santa Maria and Salinas. Production has picked up in Salinas, and will be strong throughout the week. Supplies in Yuma are finished. The overall quality is reported as being good. CARROTS Tim Kelley California carrot supplies are lighter will yields lower and sizing is small. Demand remains good and market is firm. CAULIFLOWER Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is stronger. Light supplies exist with the twelve counts, and this sizing is commanding a higher price. Supplies out of Yuma are finished. Salinas and Santa Maria are light in availability. This pattern of production will exists throughout the week. There continues to be sporadic reports of brown spotting being reported upon arrival. CELERY Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is stronger. Seeder has become an issue with many suppliers in the Oxnard region. Supplies in Yuma are finished. Salinas has not yet begun production. Small sizes, 36s and smaller are commanding a higher price with most suppliers. Expect pricing to be active throughout the week. CITRUS Tim Kelley Lemons: The Ventura and the Central Valley are now the lemon producing areas. Volume is good on the small sizes of 165’s and 200’s, while the larger sizes are less abundant. We are seeing good demand. Quality is good. Oranges: The Navel crop is starting to run short on small size, 113’s/138’s fruit. Fruit is currently peaking heavy to the Fancy grade and on 88’s/72’s, with 56’s and larger are very tight with heave export demand. Some shippers are starting Valencia in a light way. Limes: Supplies look to be a little better to start the week off. Still some quality issues showing. Demand still is good. CUCUMBERS Western Cucumber: Mike Cantu Market is settling down as weather and production have improved. Market is not

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freefalling but gradually coming off. Eastern Cucumbers: Janine Baird The cucumber market seems to have settled with plenty of availability, with the exception of the #1 product. With more domestic product available in Florida and markets dropping out West, we should see this market progress downward through the week. EGGPLANT Western Eggplant: Mike Cantu Market is on an upward tick. Demand exceeds current supplies. Eastern Eggplant: Janine Baird The eggplant market is beginning to soften. Look for a downward trend in this market as the week goes on. GRAPES: Amy Grolnick We will see effects from the strike with several shippers gapping about 10 days on arrivals starting today. It does seem like there is plenty of a product currently but it may tighten up on the red come the end of the week into next week. The green grapes are very limited on good quality fruit and the market is up. The black grape market has strengthened and is firm. Globes are available with good quality. GREEN ONIONS Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is firm. Supplies have tightened up with many suppliers as production has fallen off in the Mexico region. Overall, supplies are expected to be moderate for the week. There continues to be issues of yellowing, slime and decay being reported upon arrivals. The complaints are sporadic. LEAF LETTUCE Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco Romaine and romaine hearts will have moderate to good availability for the rest of the week. Salinas has become the main area of production with most suppliers. Santa Maria also has production on all leaf items. Good supplies do exist on red and green leaf. LETTUCE Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is stronger with all suppliers. The gap in pricing has closed compared to last week. Supplies are almost finished in Huron and it is likely that all loading will be out of Salinas on Monday. There continues to be

complaints on mechanical damage, pink ribbing, and epidermal peel, though the complaints have been much less than in past weeks. MELONS: Amy Grolnick Cantaloupe: The market is steady to lower with good availability and quality this week. The west coast continues with good availability as well. Honeydew: Both offshore and Mexican dews are available with good supplies this week peaking to large fruit. ONIONS John Tole All areas are slightly lower on yellows. Texas is down slightly because they have more volume and the northwest is trying to clean up. Expect the market to remain weaker until the northwest cleans up. Most northwest and Texas packers are peaking on jumbo yellows. The California desert shippers expect to begin packing at the end of this week or the beginning of next. Vidalia, Georgia is starting to pack sweet yellows this week. We expect a smooth transition from old-crop to new. Reds are steady to lower but strong in all areas due to light supplies. The Texas red volume remains limited and the northwest is almost finished for the season. Expect reds to stay strong until California’s Imperial Valley hits its volume in approximately three to four weeks. Whites are steady in the northwest and the supplies remain short. Mexican/Texas whites are steady to higher. The onion quality has been good in all areas and on all colors. POTATOES John Tole The Idaho market is steady to slightly higher on Burbanks and is up slightly on Norkotahs. Burbanks are still the variety that most shippers are packing and the availability is on the smaller counts right now. Idaho continues to peak on 70-count and larger in both variety’s but a bin promotion is taking many of the larger counts out of the fresh market. Very few Idaho suppliers are running Norkotahs. Washington is steady on all sizes and they continue to peak on the larger counts. Colorado is steady on 70-count and larger and slightly higher on the 80’s and smaller. The russet quality has been good to excellent in all areas. The Bakersfield,

Commodity Updates continued

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Commodity Updates

Continued

California shippers continue to pack new-crop desert red, gold, and white potatoes. California reds are large while the gold’s and whites are small and producing more B-size. Florida continues to pack all colors but the availability remains light due to strong demand. The markets for all three colors are steady. North Dakota is still packing reds and gold’s but the quality is variable. The new crop quality has been good in Florida & California. SQUASH Western Squash: Mike Cantu Market continues unsettled on both Italian and Yellow S/N. Lighter supplies of yellow s/n as some older fields have played out. Italian squash showing also on an upward tick as some older fields play out also. Eastern Squash: Janine Baird The market on green squash has loosened up and yellow is finally following suit. Central Florida / Plant City area will be working small volumes of squash at the front of the week. STONE FRUIT Amy Grolnick Offshore peaches and nectarines are all but done with plums available through the end of the month. The California stone fruit season will start with apricots available at the end of the month and peaches and nectarines available around the first week of May. Cherries will start with the brooks varietal at the end of this month. TOMATOES Aaron Aliotti Western: Recent heat has caused softening in tomatoes, especially in Romas and has caused a reduction in quality and supplies coming from Mexico. Cherries are also reported fair to poor in quality. Eastern: The Florida market is growing in strength due to limited supply in Florida until May when transitioning to the Palmetto/Ruskin region. Currently, there is a range in quality on rounds between 2

nd and 3

rd pickings. Cherry

and grape tomatoes are also a bit tighter this week expecting relief in May also. VALUE ADDED Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco

The supplies on lettuce have lightened up considerably. The Romaine supplies are moderate to good. Most of the leaf is now being harvested in Salinas. Broccoli supplies have increased with some suppliers. The cauliflower

supplies are light and this pattern of production will continue throughout the week.

WATERMELON Mike Cantu Market continues unsettled but availability is

improving. Larger fruit is light due to cool evenings. Demand exceeds on s/less watermelon. Northern area is scheduled to start within a week. Supplies however continue light. Availability on seeded watermelon is sporadic.