PRO* ACT The Sour ce

AUAI

The Source

December 3, 2012 © 2012 PRO*ACT, LLC LLC

T H I N G S Y O U

S H O U L D

K N O W :

COMMODITY ALERT:

Stem strawberries are very limited due

to small sizing currently in California

Industry wide

problem with quality and supplies of

strawberries shipping out of

California. Lowest production point of the year currently

There’s a west coast port strike which is

delaying vessel offloading

Domestic green and red grapes finishing

up quickly

Weather: Tim Lynch

The exiting Pacific storm system will provide lingering showers in Southern California today before clearing by this afternoon. A weak high pressure ridge keeps the region dry with temperatures in the high 60s through the week. The desert regions will see mostly sunny skies with possible record high temperatures mid week. Temperatures will remain above normal in the high 70s to low 80s through the week.

Freight: Mike McIntire

Trucks in California have loosened up slightly this week

after the Thanksgiving pull. Trucks in the Northwest and

Idaho remain tight and will most likely remain that way

throughout the fall season due to Christmas trees. Crude

oil remained steady and is currently $89.31 per barrel.

The national average went up slightly last week to 4.034

and should trend steady when it comes out later today.

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Commodity Updates

APPLES/PEARS John Tole New York is currently packing Empires, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and McIntosh. They also have limited numbers of Courtland’s and Red Romes. All New York varieties are large except the McIntosh which is small. Washington Reds are still peaking on 88’s & 100’s with higher color. The availability for small lower grade fruit is light right now. Golden delicious are heavy to size 88/100’s and the Washington extra-fancy grade. The Golden’s are producing lower grade fruit. Granny-Smiths are still heavy to the higher grades and size 72/80’s. Lower grade Granny availability is low and the market is stronger. Gala’s are producing more of the Washington extra-fancy grade and are peaking on 80’s through 100’s. The demand for small lower grade Gala’s still exceeds supplies. Washington Fuji’s are heavy to 64/72/80’s and are producing more of the Washington extra-fancy grade. Pink-Lady’s, Cameo’s, Jonagolds, Braeburns, Romes, Jazz, and other varietals are all still available as well. California has finished for the season. Washington Bartletts are still producing mostly 110 and larger fruit and are heavier to us#1 grade. Washington D’anjous is heavier to the larger sizes and the US#1 grade as well. Bosc and red pears are also available. ASPARAGUS Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady to start the week. Jumbo sizing continues to be unavailable in Yuma, but can be purchased in LA if desired. Standard sizing is the most readily available. The pricing is less if loading in LA. Yuma grass will be higher priced. Mexican product is light to moderate to start the week. AVOCADO Tim Kelley Mexico continues with good volume. California is done with this season’s crop... We are starting to see some limited supplies of Chilean fruit starting to hit the market. Mexican fruit remains the major supplier and remains aggressively priced. BELL PEPPERS Western Bells: Jaime Contreras Green bell market is settling. Southern California is currently shipping green bells from Thermal and Coachella. Warm weather in California ought to help increase some

Commodity Quality Market

Apples Excellent Steady

Asparagus Good Steady

Avocado (Mexican) Excellent Steady

Avocado (California)

Bell Peppers (Western)

Good Steady

Bell Pepper (Eastern) Good Steady

Berries: Strawberries Fair Higher

Berries: Raspberries Good Steady

Berries: Blackberries Fair Steady

Berries: Blueberries Good Higher

Broccoli Good Steady

Carrots Good Higher

Cauliflower Fair Steady

Celery Good Steady

Citrus: Lemons Good Steady

Citrus: Oranges Good Lower

Cucumbers (Western) Good Steady

Cucumbers (Eastern) Good Steady

Eggplant Good Steady

Red Grapes Good Higher

Green Onions Fair Steady

Lettuce: Leaf Good Steady

Lettuce: Iceberg Good Steady

Melons: Cantaloupe Good Steady

Melons: Honeydew Good Steady

Onions Excellent Higher

Pears Good Steady

Potatoes Excellent Lower

Squash (Western) Good Steady

Squash (Eastern) Good Steady

Stone Fruit n/a n/a

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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production. Increasing crossings through Nogales; sizing will be more toward large fruit; supplies are adequate. Colored Red bell market is steady but still very light supplies. Growers are anticipating slightly lighter production as older districts are playing out and cold weather passes through. Coachella/Thermal California have started. Extreme Demand exceeds market. We anticipate open field colored bells to start crossing through Nogales first week of December. Gold bells are settling but, they continue demand exceeds supplies. Eastern Bells: Janine Baird Florida is starting to ramp up their pepper volume as both south and central Florida are working pepper. Quality has been excellent. Market should soften through the week. BERRIES Mike Gorczyca Strawberries: California Strawberry growing areas received anywhere from ¾ inch to 2 inches of rain from this series of storms the end of last week. This will have a major affect on supplies and quality this week. We are already in the lowest production point of the year for strawberries and this weather has made things even worse. We will see extremely light supplies for the next 4 to 6 weeks. Sizing continues to run very small and quality is marginal. Stem berries will be non-existent for the foreseeable future. Most shippers are switching to 8/1# berries and subbing for other packs in order to extend their ability to cover orders; as well as protect the quality of the fruit. We expect to see this continue well into the near term as normal production does not begin to ramp up until the middle to end of December. The intermittent inclement weather in Mexico has slowed supplies out of this area. Florida has started harvesting but supplies will be very limited for the next few weeks. Raspberries: Lighter demand and supplies is keeping this market steady but once demand picks up watch for this market to firm up. Quality is being reported as good to fair. Blackberries: Supplies range from plentiful to fairly tight depending upon which shipper we are dealing with. Despite this inconsistent supply quality remains good across the board. We currently have a wide range in price and expect that to continue for the near term.

Blueberries: Supplies have tightened up for most shippers. Argentina is slowing winding down for the season. Chile will start breaking ground this week. Market is stronger with limited availability. Quality is being reported as good. The main pack size is 6oz with a few 4.4oz being packed. BROCCOLI Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market has steady. Suppliers have quoted cheaper pricing if loading in Salinas, but Yuma production has increased. Pricing, overall is very competitive and deals are available for volume type orders. This is a good time to promote this commodity. Santa Maria has production if desired. Overall, the quality has been favorable with little to no major issues worth reporting. CARROTS Tim Kelley California carrot supplies are beginning to lighten. Demand is much better as other growing regions finish for the season. Market is rising. CAULIFLOWER Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady. Supplies may loosen up by the middle of the week but again supplies are light to begin the week. Demand continues to be good. There are still a few complaints on brown spotting being seen upon arrivals so please be aware. Supplies are all but finished in Salinas. If needed, we can check on availability. CELERY Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is firm. Smaller sizing, 36s and smaller continue to have the lightest availability. The supplies on 24 counts are light in availability as well with most suppliers, but there is availability. Salinas, Santa Maria, and Oxnard are the areas of production for this commodity. A two dollar loading fee will be incurred if loading in Yuma. CITRUS Tim Kelley Lemons: Ventura crop harvest is done. The Desert crop volume is good. Size continues to be heavy on the smaller fruit (140 and smaller). Quality is good and improved availability on the larger fruit is beginning to show with some shippers.

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Oranges: The Navel crop volume is good. Gas time is down to 48 hours or less and should be moving down from there over the next few weeks. Fruit is testing well and color is improving with the cooler nighttime temps that growing areas are now getting. Fruit is currently packing on heavy to the Fancy grade and peaking on the smaller sizes. Limes: Supplies are fair with some quality issues showing up due to past rains in the growing regions in Mexico. The marked is firm. CUCUMBERS Western Cucumber: Jaime Contreras Market is steady; production has increased as well as new acreage coming online. Cucumbers are crossing through Nogales and are good quality. Expect steady supplies as growing areas anticipate seasonably warm weather. Eastern Cucumbers: Janine Baird South Florida now has all of the volume on cucumbers, with Georgia being completely finished and Plant City dwindling down. The off shore deal is due to start up in another 7-10 days. In the meantime, the market should remain steady. EGGPLANT Western Eggplant: Jaime Contreras Market is settling increasing supplies crossing through Nogales; excellent quality. Warm weather ought to keep supplies adequate and steady. Eastern Eggplant: Janine Baird Georgia is finishing up with their eggplant for the season and Florida’s cooled weather has brought about a very slow start to their eggplant season. As Florida’s volume increases this week, we should see the market decline steadily. GRAPES: Amy Grolnick The market is steady to higher on grapes as most domestic shippers have finished harvest of both red and green grapes. Color is still a problem as shippers finish up what they have in storage. Greens continue to be limited. Brazilian green have started on the east coast with good quality but still very pricey. Peruvian red and green will have started with supplies on the east coast and limited supplies on the west. Black Seedless with good supplies and red Globe are limited.

GREEN ONIONS Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady. Suppliers are stronger out of Mexico. We have a split market currently as the pencil onions seem to be readily available while the larger sizes are tighter. LEAF LETTUCE Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco The market is steady. Production is all but finished in Salinas. The quality in the desert on romaine Hearts is reported to have very little bleaching. The hearts are not cupping well either. The product is very green. Sizes and weights are reported to be good out of Yuma on carton romaine, as well as green and red leaf. LETTUCE Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady. The weights on the palletized lettuce are running 42-46 lbs. Demand is on the light side and suppliers are looking to make deals. Issues on lettuce have been minimal, as the quality is good, overall. Yuma is the main growing area for this commodity now. MELONS: Amy Grolnick Cantaloupe: The desert domestic fruit is pretty cleaned up for the season. Offshore fruit is coming in with better volume and next week will increase. Pompano area with good availability on the larger sizes. There is limited availability on the west coast as the port strike has stopped vessel offloading. Quality is good on the first shipments we’re seeing in. Honeydew: Good availability of Mexican honeydew coming in with shippers looking to move the fruit. The desert is finished up with the domestic fruit. Offshore has started on the east coast with mostly large fruit available. There is some light availability of large fruit coming into the west coast but the port strike has cause extreme limited availability. ONIONS John Tole Idaho/Oregon yellows are up slightly. Export demand is strong from Washington and the stocks-on-hand report shows storage inventories are lower than last year so the shippers remain bullish. Idaho/Oregon is still producing larger size yellows and is limited on mediums while Washington still has more jumbos and mediums. Jumbo reds are slightly higher in both areas while medium reds are

Commodity Updates continued

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Commodity Updates continued

steady. Most suppliers say that red inventories are lower than last year at this time, so they are bullish on them as well. Whites are steady but strong in both areas. The quality has been good in both areas and all colors. POTATOES John Tole Idaho cartons are steady to lower on most count sizes. Demand has been light. Most Idaho packers are running Burbanks this week but several will have norkotahs next week. 40-70’s are still the bulk of the Idaho carton production while 80’s and smaller remain limited. The Washington market is steady on all sizes and they are also heavier to the larger counts. Colorado is also producing more of the larger counts and is more limited on 80’s and smaller. Colorado counts are also steady. Expect Colorado to continue to follow the Idaho market. The russet quality has been good to excellent in all areas. Stockton, California is still packing whites and golds but they are nearing the end of the season. Both varieties are still heavier to A-size. Washington, Wisconsin, and Minnesota continue packing pack new-crop reds & golds and they are all mostly steady and also have better availability in the A-size. Idaho reds and golds are also both peaking on A-size and the availability is good. B-size is limited in Idaho for both varieties. The colored potato quality has been fairly good to excellent in all areas. SQUASH Western Squash: Jaime Contreras Market continues unsettled on both Italian and Yellow S/N. Supplies are improving as new acreage begins harvesting but, some current growing areas are experiencing un-anticipated gaps. California continues with light production from Coachella, Ca. light numbers expected. Eastern Squash: Janine Baird South Florida is now into good volume on squash, bringing the market down. Quality has been good. STONE FRUIT Amy Grolnick Domestic fruit has finished for the season. There are both Hichiya and Fuyu persimmons and pomegranates available with good availability and quality. There is some off shore apricots and cherries that are being flown in, but they are very pricey.

TOMATOES Aaron Aliotti Western: The tomato market is steady this week with Florida helping the transition of rounds from California. Demand remains very good as California cleans up their last pickings. Florida growers/shippers are not quite at 100% of production, and we are still a few weeks away from full production in Mexico. We are seeing overall good demand with the holidays amongst us and continue to anticipate a stable market as more growers come on line. Just about all shippers in the San Joaquin Valley have finished the season but may still have some commodities in the sales channel. Early speculation is for light volumes to begin coming across Nogales in the first weeks of December. Eastern: As Northern Florida Producers finish up, the majority of Florida Tomatoes will be coming from Central Florida and Southern regions. Cool weather has caused concern with regard to production, however crops are said to be excellent. Grape Tomatoes remain of good quality and are in ample supply while Cherries are less abundant and quality is mixed. VALUE ADDED Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco

The quality on lettuce is stronger. The Romaine supplies have good availability. Broccoli supplies have loosened up. The cauliflower supplies are light and this will continue throughout the week. Supplies, for now are good enough to meet the processors needs on cauliflower.

WATERMELON: Jaime Contreras Market is showing signs of upward trend in FOBs. Demand exceeds on s/less watermelon. We anticipate lightening supplies as Northern growing districts play out and wait for Jalisco districts to start. Most availability will be in cartons. Availability on seeded watermelon is sporadic. Seeded W/melon crossing through Nogales, supplies are improving as other growers start harvesting.