Good Afternoon,
RED, YELLOW, and ORANGE BELL PEPPER continue the trend they were on last week. Cooler temps and lower production levels have kept us in a demand exceeds situation for a few weeks now. GREEN PEPPER crops are dealing with some cool conditions as well but as we are closer to peak season here in the Sunshine State, the market swings have been less dramatic.
ROMA TOMATO markets have started to ease. Crossings out of Mexico are picking up this week, helping bring down the cost domestically. Once we see some warmer temperatures here in Florida, we should see GRAPE and ROUND tomato markets ease up as well.
CAULIFLOWER and BROCCOLI markets are finally hitting the floor. Strong supplies out of YUMA on both commodities are going to keep shippers honest for at least another week or so. If you are looking for some items to special out next week, look no further than BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER!
The CELERY market is also in motion, unfortunately in the opposite direction. Prices in Arizona and California are exceeding $40 before freight costs! Luckily, we are seeing Florida supply come available right on time. There will be some supply shortages on celery coming up, and without a doubt plenty of growers in Florida will be sending their product out west for better money. At least we will see lower freight costs picking up in Florida compared to hauling product down from Arizona.
With all this cool weather we are seeing in Florida, the struggle on STRAWBERRIES continues. We will see a tight strawberry market until the sun comes out for at least a week. RASPBERRY and BLUEBERRY markets seem to be heading towards the same direction.
GRAPE markets are holding on to higher averages but there may be some relief around the corner! Peruvian fruit is making up the vast majority of the product available in the U.S right now. Once we start seeing significant volumes of Chilean fruit available, in about a week or two, we should see more competitive markets.
Light arrivals of MANGOS into South Florida have brought up prices for the next few weeks. We should see an increase of a few dollars until supplies improve.
We now have PEACHES, APRICOTS, NECTARINES, RED PLUMS, and CHERRIES available. Consider a mix of all 5 sweet stone fruits to help add some color to your shelves!
More as it happens,
Parker Tannehill