Eastern Canada's Market Update

ICEBERG- Iceberg lettuce availability is slightly limited to start this week as the recent cold weather has slowed growth rates in the field and demand has increased. Although temperatures in the growing regions have been better this week, yields are down. Crews have been able to harvest earlier compared to past weeks, but the quality is an issue. Common defects with this crop include blister and peel, puffiness, misshapen heads, lightweights, fringe burn and mechanical. Quality, needless to say, is fair at best. Growers are concerned what kind of damage has been caused to the crop by the past freezing temperatures. Further defects will likely surface 3-4 weeks later. Rains have also been an issue in the growing regions of Yuma. Shippers have also had difficulties having steady crews daily after the holidays. Weights are ranging between 36-42 pounds. Expect this market to be active throughout this week. Yuma and Brawley are the primary shipping points for iceberg lettuce off of the west coast.

ROMAINE / LEAF- The market has become stronger on romaine, hearts as well as all leaf items. The freezing temperatures in past weeks have caused damage that is significant. Yields are down. Common defects include blister and peel, mechanical, windburn, twisting, and slight insect damage. Like lettuce, romaine and all leaf items are fair at best in terms of quality. It is important to point out that all shippers are reporting these defects. This is an industry-wide issue. Demand has picked up. Growers are expecting future quality issues with the plants due to the freezing temperatures weeks later. The quality is expected to be fair through the month of January and weeks into February. Expect the market to get stronger throughout the week. Yuma, Brawley and Coachella are the primary shipping points for leaf lettuces off the west coast.

SPRING MIX/BABY SPINACH/BABY KALE- The tender leaf market continues to be strong on spring mix, baby kale and baby spinach with the colder weather in Yuma. Quality issues are fair with minimal yellowing and bruising of the tender leaves. Look for these items to continue to remain strong going into next week.

ROCKET ARUGULA / WATERCRESS– Baby arugula supplies are meeting current demand. Quality remains good. Bunched watercress quality and availability is good.  Red watercress is available.

BROCCOLI -Broccoli market has reacted to the recent cold weather and supply has really tightened up with all suppliers. Quality is fair with slight purpling, some mechanical damage, and occasional yellow cast. Look for supplies to continue to be tight going into next week.

ASPARAGUS– The market and demand are very strong with slow production out of Mexico, and Peru wrapping up their season.  Mexico: There was cold rain in the growing region of the southwest desert this past weekend, and volume from Mexico is very light. What little that is available is selling extremely high on the spot market. We should see better weather and production in about 10-14 days. Peru: Volume from Peru has fallen off as well as the main Peruvian season has come to an end. Ciudad Constitucion has wrapped up production due to weather, and seasonality. Both regions in Peru (Trujillo/Ica) are wrapping up due warm temperatures, and seasonality. The spot market in Miami has started to react upwards. Expect higher pricing through the next two weeks of January with Mexico anticipated to start to come back into the market with volume the weekend of January 26.

CAULIFLOWER– The cauliflower market has really picked up in recent days with the recent freeze in Yuma. Overall, the quality is fair with minor bruising and some yellow cast with weights in the 25 to 28-pound level. Look for this market to continue to stay strong going into next week.

BEANS– The green bean market is steady at normal levels. There are much good supplies out of both Mexico and south Florida. Quality is very good. Wax (yellow) beans are now available as supplies are steady from Florida. Snipped: Snipped bean supplies are good with good quality.

CELERY- This market remains active. Production has begun in Yuma but in a light way. Production numbers are expected to be stronger in this region in about two weeks. Common defects to this commodity include bowing, leafy tops, mechanical and insect damage. It is important to note that freezing temperatures were occurring in southern California in past weeks just like in Yuma and Mexico. Yields are down and the markets are expected to be active throughout this week. The Imperial Valley is on schedule to start over the next 2 weeks and there is some frost damage expected in the first few blocks. Florida has started with light volume and is expected to reach full production before the end of the month. Oxnard and Santa Maria are the primary loading locations for celery off the west coast.

GREEN ONIONS– The green onion market has really tightened up with the recent freeze in Mexico. This cold weather has been causing occasional leaf minor and mechanical damage. The green onion market will continue to be very tight going into next week.

EGGPLANT- East: Supplies of fancy grade eggplant are very tight, growers are still packing mostly choice grades. The larger producers of eggplant in Florida are finishing for the season. Over the past few years, production of eggplant in Florida during the winter months has drastically decreased for various reasons; there will still be light supplies through the winter, many consolidators will supplement with Mexican product. Quality is hit and miss with the older fields, most of the product is choice. West: Eggplant continues to be harvested in the Mexican State of Sinaloa. Cooler weather in the past few weeks has slowed down production and sizing. Light volume expected to continue through next week. Low numbers of fancy and choice grade are currently being packed. Market on eggplant has risen and is expected to remain steady through the week. Quality from Sinaloa has been fair to good.

ONIONS– The yellow onion market has experienced moderate increases in all sizes at the start of last week. Demand remains very strong, despite the short weeks due to the recent holidays. Reds onions are steady, while the white onion market is extremely limited with a red-hot market. This trend will continue on the white onions until new crop Mexico onions start crossing in the coming weeks. Quality in the storages remains excellent. Transportation is limited but should improve over the next week.

CILANTRO- The cilantro market has picked up a bit with the colder weather in Yuma and Mexico. The cilantro quality is fair and will be affected by this colder weather. Look for the cilantro market to continue to stay strong going into next week.

IMPORTED CABBAGE- Markets remain elevated with limited supply across all regions. The southeast crop has started harvest. The Texas crop is also expecting to slowly start and ramp up volume as we start January. Expect the overall market to remain elevated.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS- The brussels sprouts market has picked up this week with supply being affected by the recent weather. The quality has been affected by the rain and cold weather and sizing tend to run smaller due to this colder weather. Look for the brussels sprout market to remain tight going into next week.

CORN- Florida is harvesting good volume on corn and quality is very nice. There will continue to be product available baring any weather event.

ZUCCHINI– Due to adverse weather in northern Mexico, production has been limited and quality has become a major concern. Product is arriving with heavy scuffing and mechanical damage. This should be the trend over the next couple weeks. East Coast: Zucchini supplies are very tight, plants seem to have shut down overnight. Zucchini plants tend to run in cycles and we are in a down cycle plus demand is up with less volume crossing from Mexico. Weather this week will not be conducive for good production so look for tight supplies to continue through the week at least. Quality is holding up on green, there are some scaring issues with yellow. High winds from weather fronts the past few weeks have temporally hurt zucchini fields. Growers do expect fields to rebound when the temperature warms up. West Coast: Very light supplies of both green and yellow are currently crossing through Nogales from Mexico due to rain and cooler weather in the growing districts. Supplies are expected to remain light through the week and into next week. More green is currently being packed with yellow being in much shorter supply. Quality on green is mostly fair to good. The quality of yellow zucchini has been mostly fair recently. Demand exceeds supply, especially on yellow zucchini.

EAST COAST PEPPERS- Green: Green peppers are in very tight supply and may get tighter by the weekend. Supply is concentrated in south Florida on both coasts where two weather fronts have passed through the region over the last 3 weeks producing tropical storm force winds, blowing blooms and small fruit off plants. The market has been very steady at high prices. Now with the weather and cold temperatures in Mexico look for prices to rise further. Planted acreage in south Florida is down considerably over the last two years which magnifies the situation that recent weather has caused.

BUNCHED KALE- The kale market continues to stay strong with the recent and current cooler weather in Yuma. Quality is fair with full bunches, and only an occasional yellow leaf being reported.

FIELD CUCUMBERS– East: Florida is finished for the season, there are steady supplies coming in from Honduras. Cold temperatures in Mexico during this past week have cut supplies coming across the border creating a lot of demand for import cucumbers loading in Florida. Temperatures in Honduras this week will be moderate, so supplies should continue at their current pace but not increase. Honduran production should start to peak around the middle of January. Quality has been good with all shippers and should remain that way through the week. West: Light supplies of cucumber are being harvested in Sonora, Mexico. Growers out of this district are expected to finish in January. Quality out of the Sonora district is being reported as just fair. Cucumbers also being harvested in the Mexican State of Sinaloa. Cooler weather in this region has slowed down production. The cucumber market from Sinaloa is expected to move higher through the end of the week with Sonora finishing up. Quality out of Sinaloa is good.

WEST COAST PEPPERS– Due to adverse weather in Northern Mexico, the markets continue to climb. Condition of product has been fair to good. This should be the trend over the next week or two. Availability could be an issue. Green: Lighter volumes of green peppers are arriving in Nogales from Mexico. Cooler weather in the Sonora has slowed the harvest of green peppers from the Northern growing region. Currently, light volume is being harvested in Sinaloa, but production could slow down due to rain that is expected to start the week. Quality on green peppers from both regions is good. The market on green peppers is steady and expected to remain steady going into the week. Red: There is better volume of red pepper available to load in Nogales, Arizona from Mexico. The market on choice red peppers remains high, although production has increased slightly in Nogales, from Sinaloa. There is mostly choice and medium size being packed in 1 1/9-bushel box. Better volume is expected as the harvest continues through the month of January. Quality of red pepper from Sinaloa has been mostly good.

POTATOES– Canadian: After the toughest fall harvest since 1983 growers are still trying to figure it all out. The Canadian holdings report shows a reduction of almost 8%, the US shows an increase in storage potatoes of 2.8%. Talking with growers across North America we hear that everyone is short and not taking any new business. The fry, chip and dehydrators are scrambling to find enough product to see them thru the season. European production has dropped from a massive over supply last season to a shortage this year. This has increased export shipments from PEI by 50% year to date putting further stress on a tight supply. Losing over 8,000 acres to the early frost in October has made the supply situation on PEI desperate for all shippers and processors. Traditionally packers in the US, Quebec and Ontario will supplement supply with PEI product in the spring which will not be available this year. Prices are high enough to slow shipments but it will still be a struggle in Canada to get from May to July without a big pull from the new US crop. Supply being what it is we expect prices to hold steady for now. The next USA report is in February so we will see if that paints any different picture. U.S.A: The potato market has experienced moderate increases on 80 count and larger with 90 count and smaller steady. Shippers are trying to catch up with demand from last week’s short and very cold week. Retail demand is very light and shippers are only running limited hours. Russet Burbank potatoes are the main variety being packed, which are peaking on 90 count and smaller. This looks to be the trend into at least the middle of February. Quality is still looking good with few reports of issues upon arrival. Transportation is still limited but will get better next week.

SEEDLESS WATERMELON- Supplies are still very tight on seedless watermelon. Crossings from Mexico are still slow with the cooler weather in the growing area. Supplies should pick up in a couple of weeks out of southern Mexico. Melons are coming from the Jalisco, Mexico area into Edinburg, Texas and Nogales, Arizona. Offshore melons have started and supplies will be light in January as Guatemala has lower yields due to disease. The market on watermelon being reported as steady and high and expected to remain the same through the week. Quality on new crop watermelon being reported as good.

GOLD PINEAPPLES– Current supplies are limited and will continue through the end of January. The decrease in supplies is due to Costa Rica having issues with Basal Staining. This causes a discolored ring around the base of the pineapples causing too much moisture in the soil from previous heavy rains. Shippers have stepped up their selection process for packing to ensure the best quality arrives, hence causing lower volumes moving forward. This is industry wide and forecasted to remain limited until January. Weather conditions are reported as mostly sunny. No natural flowering events are reported at this time. Yields on 5 count and 6 count remain much lower with weather conditions still affecting output on large count fruit. Quality is reported as good, with solid 14+ brix reported at the farms. 5 and 6 count availability is down once again this week. The last USDA crossing report is showing a significant drop on inbound loads from Costa Rica last week at 794 loads vs week prior at 530 loads. Volumes should gradually increase as we move through the first quarter of 2019.

STRAWBERRIES- The strawberry market continues to be in light supplies in the Oxnard and Santa Maria California. Adverse, weather conditions have continued to take its toll on both yields and quality. Rains this past week totaling 2 inches in some areas caused severe shortages of product last Monday. Unsettled weather is expected according to the forecasts. The market is steady with very little open market fruit available for sale. The plants in Oxnard are mostly new crop and are handling the rain much better than previous weeks harvest. Mexican berries are still crossing in increasing supplies as we move through the week. Weather conditions are ideal and growers are getting into the thick of their product. Yield quality has been good. Florida continues to have somewhat dry weather and is produce moderate numbers of fruit. The quality is just fair, but growers are looking forward to the new bloom sets which should be ready in the next week or two.

BLUEBERRIES– Imported blueberries continue to be readily available from several countries. Pricing still fluctuates on all pack styles. The market should continue to be soft due to so many growing areas filtering product into several shippers.

RASPBERRIES / BLACKBERRIES– Raspberries: Raspberries continue to be a hit and miss proposition for many shippers. The product is all Mexican at this point and crossings into from Mexico are getting steadier. the quality is good but there is still the occasional delay at the border causing fill rates to be enacted. Demand exceeds supply. This should remain this way through the end of this week. Blackberries: Good supplies of the Mexican berries has caused a wide variety of pricing to be offered according to loading point, quality, and volume on larger orders. Quality has been good and the market looks to hold steady to lower with some volume buy opportunities coming available from some importers.

MANGO- Volume from Ecuador is now dropping quickly as we approach the end of another season. The sizing profile continues to be heavy to 12 and 10 count mangos. Quality has been marginal with many mangos requiring sorting due to defects such as sunken areas and mixed maturity. The Peruvian mango season has begun and growers are harvesting and shipping, with some containers already making arrival. Due to the holidays and the fact that Peru has not reached peak production will cause volume to remain limited for the next few weeks. Sizing is peaking on 9 and 10 count mangos and quality reports are good to excellent. Between the drop in volume from Ecuador and the fact that Peru has not reached peak production supplies will remain limited and prices are expected to be increasing.

LIMES- Lime volumes spiked just before the Christmas break, but packing has been light due to the holidays the last week resulting in tight supplies at the moment at the border. Markets are tight in Mexico as well and the Texas prices are rising due to very limited availability for this week. Rains are in the forecast for Veracruz this week. No one knows when or if there will be another flush of product hit the market because growers are holding back trying to raise the market. The market could be up or down a week from now. It is a very short cycle supply vs. demand market. We will continue to monitor the market closely.

LEMONS– California: Lemon supplies have continued to increase each week with markets coming off and suppliers able to offer promotional opportunities. Currently harvesting out of all three districts with the majority coming out of District 3 (Desert crop). The Southern California growing regions are expecting rain this week, but most supplies are packing ahead with good inventory and not expecting any shortages. All regions have a good run on sizes and expected to continue to improve as weather permits.

STONE FRUIT- Import fruit from Peru and Chile has been a challenge in regard to timely arrivals and release from the port. Vessels are being delayed at the port due to labor shortages. As a result, fruit is not being inspected and released in a timely manner. These delays in addition to already limited volumes have caused some supply issues on all stone fruit. This holds true on both the east and west coasts. Shippers are expecting more arrivals of fresh fruit next week and the labor situation to improve. For the next 5-7 days, we expect to continue to see limited availability and higher prices.

AVOCADOS- Industry arrivals last week totaled 39.4 million pounds. Mexico delivered 38.4 million pounds and Chile shipped 965,000 pounds. Inventory levels drop down to the 51-million-pound level stemming from holiday activity; Mexico continues to be the dominant source of supply. Mexico- The state of Michoacán harvested 53.5 million pounds last week, of which 38.45 million pounds shipped to the United States. Field prices have maintained, and volume is predicted to escalate for this week and weeks following in anticipation for Super Bowl. The weather forecast for the state of Michoacán calls for cloudy days and intermittent rains. California- California presented no harvest last week. Projected harvest for this week and next is 400,000+ pounds/ week. Crop size remains estimated at 165 million pounds. Chile– Chilean volume totaled 965,000 million pounds for last week. Arrivals for the next couple of weeks are expected drop to 1 million and 500,000 pounds respectively. Given the current market situation in Europe, volumes are expected to trend downward. Market Outlook– Harvest in Mexico remains consistent with no expectation for a change leading into the Super Bowl.  As a result, the market should remain stable with good promotable volumes for the big game. Trees are starting to produce more #2 fruit and the overall crop size is bigger meaning 20’s and smaller remain tight.

PAPAYA- This month harvesting volume has been slowed down due to the cooler temperatures in the growing region, currently having mid-70-degree days with some 50-60-degree nights. Current volume is slowing. Sizing is heavier to 12s and 16s due to the cooler weather. About 80% of the fruit arriving are 12s & 16s with very few 8s & 9s. Demand appears to be picking up due to limited supply available on all varieties.

GRAPES– The transition from California grapes to imports has not been entirely smooth, as a backlog of Peruvian containers are waiting to be inspected and have made imports extremely limited so far in January. Each container is now taking an average of 5 days to be released after arriving, with virtually all of the grapes coming off the pier each day already sold. Availability is expected to remain tight until next week, when arrivals from both Peru and Chile pick up. From a variety standpoint, most red seedless volume is either a Crimson or Flame, with green seedless arrivals being predominantly a Sugraone or Thompsons. Imported black seedless are virtually non-existent at this point in the season. Green: With the California supplies of green grapes finished, the industry is relying on import fruit to fill demand. Unfortunately, there has been a major setback at the ports of entry on both the east and west coasts. Labor shortages, increased demand, and late vessel arrivals are all contributing to the extremely light green grape supply. This week, we have seen 3-4 day delays at the port and we do not expect things to improve for another 5-7 days. Green grapes are especially short due to the fact there is no California fruit left. The industry is in a demand exceeds supply situation and market prices are climbing. Shippers are expecting fruit to be released gradually over the weekend, but challenges and delayed load times are expected. We anticipate next week to bring some supply relief. Red: Everyone is relying on import fruit to fill orders. However, with the strong demand and the complications of delayed arrivals at the port, supplies of red grapes has been very limited. Labor shortages at the port of entry have created some major setbacks this week on both the east and west coasts. These delays are stretching out 3-4 days. As a result, supplies have become very limited and market prices are higher. The industry is now facing a demand exceeds supply situation. Some flexibility on loading days will be necessary. We expect supplies to gradually improve over the next week.

CHERRIES- Unlike other import fruit, cherries seem to be steady in supplies. Not a lot of change week over week. Fruit is readily available. We have several sizes available. Market prices have come down slightly. Quality is being reported as very good. Demand seems to be very light.

CALIFORNIA ORANGES- California navels are moving along and markets are down with good supplies across the board with plenty of promotable volume and great quality. The pack has been mostly fancy grade with limited choice. With retail bag business, the choice fruit supplies continue to be limited. With rain expected this week in the growing regions in the San Joaquin Valley suppliers are packing ahead to avoid shortages for the week. We’ll continue to monitor this closely as weather permits. Brix averages remain at 10-12, some 13. Cara Caras and blood orange supplies continue to get better each week, also California grapefruit started up this week with good volume to start.

CLEMENTINES- The Moroccan clementine season continues and harvest has really started to pick up. The clementine’s are still green and gas durations are about 96+ hours. The fruit size structure is 32, 28, 36 and 24. The clementine season will run through May.

GRAPEFRUIT- Florida: Supplies on the large sizing will continue to be limited as the majority of the pack outs have shown peak sizing of 56/48/40 count. The crop this season has been smaller this season, but we expect to see better availability on 36 count and larger as the crop matures into January.

PEARS– D’anjous, Bosc and Bartlett pears have a steady market with moderate demand. Quality is good. D’anjous are peaking on 70/80, Bosc peaking on 80/100 and Bartlett are peaking on US#1 80/90. Bartlett pears quality is good, but you don’t want to sit on them for too long as it is late in the season. Red pears remain steady. Snow will limit transportation over the next couple of days.

CANTELOUPES / HONEYDEWS– Offshore– (Guatemala/ Honduras) Growers in the Zacapa valley of Guatemala were all affected by whitefly during the first growing cycle. This is largely in part to a lack of rain during the fall rainy season this last year. The lack of rains allowed the whitefly to maintain their population and the plants affected allowed the population to manifest itself. Some suppliers were significantly affected the majority of the first cycle while other suppliers were impacted the last three weeks. Yields were significantly lower which translated to a severe drop in production and sizing is smaller. Some growers are seeing decent volume out of Honduras with fair quality and no weather issues. Quality on both honeydew and cantaloupe has been fair as the market is steady with moderate demand. We are seeing a limited supply and fair quality this week on fruit from the growing region of Choluteca, Honduras and Zacapa, Guatemala. The market is steady. Nogales–(Arizona/Mexico) We are in a demand exceeds supply market. Smaller fruit is easier to come by as large fruit is very limited this week. There is new crop out of Colima Mexico but no harvest this weekend due to low sugar levels. We can expect some fresh arrivals Wednesday/ Thursday in Nogales.

TOMATOES– While supplies and prices have improved, contracts remain triggered. Quality on what is being shipped is very good. East Coast: The Palmetto/Ruskin growing region is finishing up operations for the winter and the bulk of Florida’s tomato production has transitioned to the far southern areas for the winter growing season as scheduled. The Naples/Immokalee growing districts are producing nice quality fruit with consistent volume, with steady demand is keeping prices firm. The Homestead Florida area will begin harvest this week helping to meet overall demand. A cold front will move through Florida early next week which brings the potential for further supply reductions as the cold will slow the maturity of the tomatoes. West Coast: Tomato operations have concluded in Baja and Eastern Mexico shifting all western demand to farms growing in mainland Mexico where growers battle the effects of cool weather which has definitely slowed the start of their season. A week-long cold snap has caused damage to some commodities in Sinaloa Mexico, however, no major damages have been reported for tomato crops at this time. Warmer weather in the coming weeks should produce a flush of fruit helping to reduce pricing. But at this time, markets remain steady showing little change from last week.

APPLES- Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Honeycrisp are in demand exceeds supply situation. This will continue through to next season’s crop. Markets are active on these varieties with small low-grade Granny Smith being the most limited. All other varieties are steady. Water core is showing up in the Red Delicious and Fuji’s which is typical for this time of the season. Heavy snow in the area has slowed transportation down to crawl. The forecast is calling for clearing as this week moves on.

CASTLEFRANCO / FORLELLE PEARS / PERSIMMONS / FLORIDA JUICE ORANGE / FLAT BEANS / CHERRIES / CLEMENTINES / CARA CARA / D’ANJOU PEARS / APRICOTS / PEACH / NECTARINES / BLOOD ORANGE

BLACK TRUMPETS- From California. Just starting.

PINE MUSHROOMS- From California.
HEDGEHOGS- From Oregon. Limited.
YELLOWFOOT- From Oregon. Limited.
CHANTERELLE- From Oregon. Very Limited. Larger, drier, ugly.
WHITE TRUFFLES- From Italy. Available now.

WINTER TRUFFLES- From Italy/Spain. Now starting.

VALES SOVEREIGN POTATO / RED BELGIUM ENDIVE / PRICKLY PEARS / SEVILLE ORANGES / FIDDLEHEADS / RAMPS / ONTARIO RHUBARB / RED CURRANTS / ONTARIO YELLOW PLUMS / GALIA MELONS / ONTARIO PEACHES / ONTARIO NECTARINES / ONTARIO GRAPES / ONTARIO PLUMS / QUEBEC ROMAINE / ENGLISH PEAS / CALIFORNIA POMEGRANITE / FAVA BEANS / GREEN OLIVES / QUINCE / RED PLUMS / BLACK PLUMS