The Source

PRO* ACT The Sour ce

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The Source

May 16, 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 :

Red and Green grapes extremely

limited

Small oranges are extremely limited

Romaine, Green Leaf, and Red Leaf

are showing signs of blister and

epidermal peel

Weather is seasonal

in most growing areas with

temperatures being seasonal and warm

in some areas

Freight: Mike McIntire Trucks in California remain steady again this week with rates higher than normal due to increased fuel costs. Trucks in the Northwest remain steady as well. Crude oil remains below 100.00 per barrel and is currently at 92.97 per barrel. The National Average dropped slightly to 4.004 per gallon.

Weather: Central California will see a typical summertime weather pattern this week as a series of low pressure systems pass well to the north. As these systems brush the region they will bring cooler temperatures along with a deepening marine layer (fog and low clouds) especially along the coast. Temperatures will fluctuate as these systems pass with high 60s to low 70s in the coastal regions and inland temperatures reaching the 80s through the week.


Commodity Updates

APPLES/PEARS John Tole New York is still packing light volumes of McIntosh, Empires, Rome’s, and Red Delicious but they are almost finished for the season. Washington Red Delicious is still peaking on higher grade 88 & 100’s. Lower grade reds remain tight as we approach the end of the storage season. Golden Delicious are heavy to the higher grades and 88/100 sizes as well. Lower grade Golden’s are also tight. Granny-Smiths are heavy to higher grade 88/100 sizes too and are also limited on the lower grades. Galas are peaking on 88’s and smaller and the higher grades but remain limited. Washington Fuji’s are peaking on extra fancy 72/80’s but supplies are very short right now and the market is higher on all sizes. D‘Anjou pears continue to peak on the US#1 grade and are evenly spread across the size spectrum but supplies are limited especially on the fancy grade. Washington Bosc pears are still heavy to the smaller sizes but supplies are very short. There are a few Red Pears still available but they are almost finished. ASPARAGUS Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market continues to be active. Suppliers are very light in availability. Supplies out of Mexico continue to be very light. Production from Peru shows light availability as well. Domestic grass is being harvested in the Salinas, Bakersfield and Stockton region. Demand exceeds supplies. Suppliers are dealing with the issue of seeding and feathering with this commodity. With the Mother’s Day pull over expect supplies to be very light in availability for the entire week. AVOCADO Tim Kelley Very good demand continues to drive the avocado market. Mexican supplies are declining weekly and will so through June as they major season come to the end. Maturity and flavor are excellent. California fruit harvest continues at a steady pace and is now out pacing the Mexican harvest. California fruit has good maturity, flavor and oil content. BELL PEPPERS Jaime Contreras Western Bells: Green bell market is steady, continuing light supplies of fancy large sized green bell pepper keeping that market steady. Adequate supplies

Commodity Quality Market

Apples Excellent Higher

Asparagus Fair Higher

Avocado (Mexican) Excellent Steady

Avocado (California) Excellent Steady

Bell Peppers (Western)

Good Steady

Bell Pepper (Eastern) Good Steady

Berries: Strawberries Good Lower

Berries: Raspberries Good Lower

Berries: Blackberries Good Steady

Berries: Blueberries Good Steady

Broccoli Good Steady

Carrots Good Steady

Cauliflower Fair Steady

Celery Fair Steady

Citrus: Lemons Good Higher

Citrus: Oranges Good Higher

Cucumbers (Western) Good Steady

Cucumbers (Eastern) Good Steady

Eggplant Good Steady

Red Grapes Good Higher

Green Onions Fair Steady

Lettuce: Leaf Fair Steady

Lettuce: Iceberg Fair Higher

Melons: Cantaloupe Good Steady

Melons: Honeydew Good Steady

Onions Excellent Higher

Pears Good Higher

Potatoes Excellent Lower

Squash (Western) Good Steady

Squash (Eastern) Good

Steady

Stone Fruit Good Lower

Tomatoes (Western) Good Steady

Tomatoes (Eastern) Fair Steady

Watermelon Good Steady

Commodities at a glance…


Commodity Updates continued

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on choice and small fruit. Some growers winding down on production as older fields play out. Some southern California product starting but will be into mostly big fruit. Colored bell pricing is settling. Demand still exceeds on all red bells lighter supplies and will continue until other districts in Baja California and southern California begin to come online. Nogales will continue to with colored bells but, supplies are gradually becoming lighter as some growers wind down. Eastern Bells: Janine Baird Bell Peppers have tightened up tremendously this week. Florida continues to finish up and quality has been very inconsistent. Minimal amount of GA pepper starting next week and what pepper will be picked will be mostly JBO and XL. There was some hail damage sustained earlier this week in GA, unknown to what extent at this time. Expect to pay more and supplies to run short on pepper for at least next week. BERRIES Mike Gorczyca Strawberries: The strawberry market continues to be strong. Quality in the Santa Maria and Salinas/Watsonville areas is being reported as good. The volumes coming out of Santa Maria are dropping as that region has peaked. The Salinas/Watsonville deal is still running light on volume as we are several weeks behind our normal production for this time of the year. Demand continues to be very good in anticipation of Memorial Day. Raspberries: Quality and supply remain good. Harvested volumes continue to increase daily with the market adjusting slightly to reflect this. Blackberries: The blackberry market has dipped to seasonal lows due to a large influx of volume. However, recent rains in Mexico could adversely affect supplies coming into the U.S. If this happens we have the potential for a rapid turnaround in fob pricing with limited volumes available. Quality is reported as good. Blueberries: The blueberry market has dipped due to increased volume. Recent rains in the Eastern growing regions could change this. West Coast suppliers are experiencing an influx of business from the East Coast. This increased demand is cleaning up available supplies and we are beginning to see a firming on the fob market as shippers begin to sell out. Quality is reported as good.

BROCCOLI Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady on bunched product. Supplies have lessened on broccoli crowns; however there is plenty to fill all orders. Suppliers continue to listen to offers on crown business so please keep in mind. Salinas and Santa Maria are the main growing regions for this commodity. Demand is expected to pick up at the end of the week, but for now, this market is steady. CARROTS Tim Kelley

California carrot supplies remain good. Sizing of the carrots are improving with steady warm weather, with availability of jumbo size carrots improving. CAULIFLOWER Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady. The main sizing is coming in the twelve counts. Pricing has flexibility with a few suppliers. Demand has lowered slightly. Light brown spotting is being seen upon arrivals, so please be aware. Most shippers are dealing with this issue. CELERY Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market is steady. Supplies have become lighter, particularly on the small sizes. Many suppliers continue to deal with seeder, and yields are down. There have been reports of browning on the ends of bunches. Supplies continue to vary amongst different suppliers and this has created a pricing gap of two to three dollars. Oxnard is the main area of production on this commodity. Santa Maria also has light production. CITRUS Tim Kelley Lemons: Ventura crop harvest is going at full production. Demand is exceeding supplies on 140 and 165 lemons which are normal this time of year. We will not see much relief until Chilean imports begin sometime around mid July. Oranges: The Navels production and supplies are light. Size curve is peaking on 56’s, 72’s. Smaller sizes, 88’s, 113’s, 138’s are demand exceed on supplies. There are a few Valencia oranges being packed, but still limited on them. The sizing of the Valencia’s this year is larger, and many shippers expect 138’s will be a demand exceeds supplies situation throughout the Valencia season. Limes: Supplies are good on all sizes.


CUCUMBERS Western Cucumber: Jaime Contreras Market is unsettled, Fancy product is lighter supplies some growers wrapping up wide range of quality. Eastern Cucumbers: Janine Baird Cukes quality in Florida has started to decline over the past week and some shippers are close to finishing up. GA cukes volume is still relatively light but quality is good. Rain earlier this week and cooler nights may slow the volume down over next few days. EGGPLANT Western Eggplant: Jaime Contreras

Market is steady. Still light production on fancy fruit and most availability is on choice and smaller fruit as some are winding down in

production. Eastern Eggplant: Janine Baird Quality still good on FL product, supplies should remain steady for next week. Large/JBO eggs still remain somewhat snug. Still 10 days at least for GA eggplant to begin. GRAPES: Amy Grolnick The market on the red grapes is steady to higher. The West coast is done with Chilean product and East coast is extremely limited. Mexican Flames and Perlettes are just getting going this week and will be very limited. Sugarones should start in a light way next week. GREEN ONIONS Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco This market has not changed. There are good supplies coming out of Mexico. This has made pricing very competitive. The quality continues to have a few issues with decay upon arrival. Pencil sizing will have the best availability. Supplies are expected to be good throughout the week. LEAF LETTUCE Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco The leaf market is steady. A few shippers tried to increase romaine in price but that idea fell off quickly. Demand overall is light to begin the week. There is Epidermal Peel, Blister, and tip burn showing up in romaine, red leaf, and green leaf. Supplies out of Santa Maria are expected to be light in availability throughout this week.

LETTUCE Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco The lettuce market is active. Due to past weather fluctuations, suppliers are having issues with this commodity. Pink ribbing, discoloration, decay, and brown butts are issues that most suppliers are dealing with. Yields are down with all suppliers as packing a consistent box of lettuce has become very difficult. Santa Maria has production also available, with weights similar to Salinas’s lettuce. MELONS: Amy Grolnick Cantaloupe: Central American melons are nearly finished. Mexican fruit is crossing into Nogales and volume is slowly picking up. Quality on the Mexican melons has been good and looks to continue the trend of improving. Brawley, CA has good availability and quality is good. Honeydew: There are still some off shore dews out of Florida. Mexican fruit continues to cross over into Nogales where both volume and quality are good. The Imperial Valley has good quality and availability of honeydew with mixed melons starting next week. ONIONS John Tole Texas had another storm hit although not as heavy, but nonetheless they will have limited supplies for the balance of the week. They will be packing next week weather permitting. California is slightly higher on all yellows but is handling the increased demand. Allow a couple extra days to cover orders though. California reds are still short but are available. Expect the red market to remain strong this week as Texas isn’t much of a factor. White onions are available in all areas and are steady. New Mexico is supposed to start packing a few yellows at the end of next week and Huron, California could start packing light volume the week after that. POTATOES John Tole The Idaho market is being quoted steady but several suppliers are looking to discount on volume orders and the availability is good. Number-two’s remain steady due to stronger demand and light supplies. Idaho is still peaking on 80’s and smaller. Washington


Z



potatoes are steady to lower and are peaking on 60-80’s. Many of the Washington shippers are still offering volume discounts as well. The Colorado market is steady to lower and they are still peaking on 50-80’s. Most Colorado shippers are also flexing on volume. The russet quality has been excellent in all areas. Bakersfield is packing new-crop red, gold, and white potatoes and the availability is good for all colors. California is heavy to B-size and smaller right now. Idaho is still packing a few storage reds and golds and they continue to peak on A-size. Florida continues packing all colors and the market is steady on most sizes and varieties. Most Florida packers are still heavy to A-size in all colors and are limited on B’s and smaller. SQUASH Western Squash: Jaime Contreras Market continues unsettled to upward trend on both Italian and yellow straight neck squashes. Lighter supplies on both yellow s/n squash and Italian squash as some older districts run their course and/ or cease production. Eastern Squash: Janine Baird Squash has tightened up somewhat in both GA and FL. Markets have also increased the past 2 days and could quite possibly be a little higher on Monday. Quality on green squash has improved in GA, various reports on quality for yellow. Cool nights and rain should keep supplies somewhat low for next week. STONE FRUIT Amy Grolnick California apricots, peaches and nectarines are starting to get better size and quality is excellent. We will see better sizing and availability over the next few weeks. Plums are just starting off with light availability. TOMATOES Jay Martini Western: Volume is definitely diminishing in some Mexican districts, even with harvest out of newer fields. Prices have begun to increase on the mature greens as more business has come out their way due to higher prices in the East. Roma tomatoes have spiked in price as well, with quality variable. Eastern: The crown (1

st) pickings in the

Palmetto/Ruskin district in Florida are about finished, and reports have the 2

nd and 3

rd picks

to be minimal because of the heat that bunched up the initial harvest that had been staggered. As we move towards late May, expect yields to decrease more and if demand stays constant, prices will continue to trend upwards. The next area on deck around Memorial Day, the Quincy/Tallahassee district, has reports of much less planted than in previous years. WATERMELON: Jaime Contreras Markets are steady. Continues demand exceeds on s/less watermelon. Current availability on Seedless watermelons is light but, supplies are improving as Northern growing district is coming on line which will help settle the market. Most availability will be in bins on s/less. Lighter production from Northern Growing areas is keeping FOB’s strong. Availability on seeded watermelon is sporadic as those growing districts wind down in production. VALUE ADDED Gabe Romero/Mike Pacheco

The lettuce quality continues to be suspect and this will likely affect the shelf life of all value added items using this commodity. The Romaine supplies are better but quality is marginal. Broccoli supplies are ample for all orders. The cauliflower supplies should be moderate to good for the entire week. Occasional brown spotting has been reported on this commodity.

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