MARKET UPDATE WEEK # 39

Good Afternoon,

NEXT WEEK WILL BE THE LAST FOR CANADIAN LETTUCE AND ROMAINE! Shippers up in Canada will continue to have product, but the quality for the last few harvests will not be suitable for export. Supplies will move out exclusively to California until FLORIDA lettuce becomes available in MID to LATE NOVEMBER. CABBAGE, CARROTS and other goods will continue to be available from our Northern neighbors but with temperatures getting colder, Canadian lettuce will be better left up North.

As lettuce wraps up in Canada, California markets have started to gain strength. Currently, Salinas is the major lettuce growing area in California and supplies are starting to become scarce. HURON, CA is next up for harvest and is about 120 miles South East of Salinas. Huron will produce lettuce and leaf for a short window of time, but will bridge the very important gap between California and Arizona harvests. As we get closer to the end of the month, expect a lot of activity in lettuce and leaf markets.

ASPARAGUS supplies are finally moving in the right direction. After several weeks of short supplies and elevated markets, harvests out of PERU and MEXICO have caught up to demand. With the increase in supply, we are seeing PRICES COME DOWN. We are expecting similar conditions for at least another month.

It was just two weeks ago when we mentioned BROCCOLI hitting a supply gap. Now, supplies have caught back up and shippers are moving prices back down. Quality reports have been favorable out of MEXICO so there may be some great deals available. Check out our, "Weekly Fresh", that will be sent by email this Friday for special pricing on BROCCOLI CROWNS!

KIWI is still in a gap. We are expecting this to continue for another week to ten days until Italian and California supplies to get going.

SMALL VALENCIA ORANGES are still tight. Back to school demand has been too much for supplies but we should start seeing more FLORIDA CITRUS pop up over the next few weeks. We have already seen some Florida ORANGES and GRAPEFUIT, now TANGERINES will follow in another few weeks.

There is very good supply on most eastern dry veg. SQUASH, PEPPERS, CUCUMBERS, and their growing partners are all holding up well through the transition back into Georgia. In just another six to eight weeks, we are going to have cabbage, lettuce, romaine, and squash all in our backyard. Transit times will be quicker, providing better shelf life and pricing. Just another month or so and Florida crops will be back in business!

More as it happens,

Parker Tannehill