Trend Report

Apple

The Apple market is mixed depending on the variety and size constraint, and overall, we expect pricing to trend upwards over the next few weeks. Granny Smiths are tight, especially for the smaller-sized fruit. Pricing for small Grannys and Red Delicious are expected to continue to increase over the coming weeks due to demand outpacing supply. Fujis are also tight for smaller sizes, with better availability for larger apples. See Apple availability.

Broccoli

The Broccoli market remains steady but somewhat tight. Supplies continue to tighten, resulting in higher prices. Upcoming cooler weather is expected to drive the market even higher. See Broccoli availability.

Cabbage

Cabbage supplies are starting to come down, with demand increasing simultaneously. This has driven market pricing up. You can find organic Napa out of California on the Marketplace now.  See Cabbage availability.

cauliflower

The cauliflower market is extremely tight at this time with supplies out of Salinas and Santa Maria, CA both limited. Heat, rain, and then cold temperatures have affected availability and prevented more supply from coming online. Demand is high, and you can expect the market to remain tight over the next week at least. See the Marketplace for availability.

broccoli

Broccoli suppliers are limited at this time. Recent rain in the Salinas, CA area has further limited an already tight supply as the end of the season approached. There have been some quality issues causing lower yields as well. You can expect this market to remain high over the next week. See Broccoli availability.

celery

The celery market is very active as demand increases due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Oxnard and Santa Maria, CA are the main growing areas with strong availability as Salinas is finishing up. Supply is peaking on larger size. Recent rain and cold temperatures have begun to slow down production, but quality remains good. See Celery availability.

Lemon

Lemon supplies are improving as the new crop volume increases with mostly Fancy grade, mid-sized fruit. The older crop is dominated by choice-grade, smaller fruit. The California Desert/Arizona and San Joaquin regions are now the main growing areas. See Lemon availability.

CARROT

Overall, carrot supplies are steady except for organic rainbows. Extreme heat back in August and September tightened supplies and drove the market up. Supply should continue to increase throughout the rest of November and drive the market back down.  See Carrot availability.

BROCCOLI

The broccoli market is steady, with supplies improving and demand slightly down. We are hearing good demand, good supply, and fair-to-good quality this week. Recently, some issues with pin rot causing lower yields, but this has improved. See Broccoli availability.

Broccoli

Recent heat waves and rainy weather have limited supplies and increased prices out of Mexico and California. There are some quality concerns around rot and hollow core due to the heat Markets are expected to continue rising. See Broccoli availability.

Lettuce

Prices are high, and supplies are very limited on California Lettuce (Romaine, Green Leaf, and Red Leaf). The INSV virus, a thrips-borne (insect) pathogen, has heavily impacted lettuce production in the Salinas, CA region this season. The main symptom of the virus is necrotic spots that appear on the leaves, which often end up killing the plant. It spreads quickly between plants through insects and infected sap, which is why there have been such large impacts on the monocultures of romaine and green leaf. See the Marketplace.

orange

California Valencia Orange supplies are tight at this point of the season, especially for 88/138 ct. Quality is good, and pricing is steady, while on the higher side. Demand is beginning to exceed supply, and markets are expected to increase. Navels will come online in about a month or so.
ts. See Orange availability.

Broccoli

Broccoli supplies remain steady with good availability coming out of multiple growing regions. Salinas and Oxnard, California are the primary pull locations at this time. Organic Broccoli out of Salinas began in April. Supplies have been strong after a smooth transition, and quality has been excellent. See Broccoli availability.

Carrot

Demand remains high on all types of carrots - conventional and organic, out of the US and Mexico. Mexican supply is mostly conventional and loading out of McAllen, TX. Supply has been light, however, due to delays at the Texas border crossings. Organic availability out of California remains light as demand outweighs supply. We expect supplies to increase in May as more supply comes online. See Carrot availability.

LEMON

Growers are reporting steady supply and demand of conventional and organic lemons in California. Organic volumes are expected to remain steady through May, and conventional through July. You can expect a gap between July and September when Mexico ramps up, so we recommend buyers stock up on lemons now to be covered during the gap while supply is strong out of CA. Sizes are peaking on the larger side due to fruit hanging on the trees longer while the market was low with light demand earlier in the season. See Lemon availability.

CARROTS

Organic carrot supply is still super tight. There is conventional product available out of Mexico with solid pricing, though. The supply limitations are typical this time of year but have been exacerbated due to labor shortages and low organic yields. You can expect the gap on organic product to continue for the next 4 weeks or so. Head to the Marketplace for up-to-date availability. See Carrot availability.

Broccoli & Cauliflower

The broccoli market is lower this week. Supplies from Mexico are volatile, but availability out of AZ and CA is improving and should be enough to cover demand. Cauliflower market pricing has also started to come down as supplies increase. We were experiencing a gap in the market for the last 2 weeks in January, but we are seeing more supply come online now and expect that to continue through February. See Broccoli and Cauliflower availability.

Orange & Mandarin

Orange supplies are somewhat light and are expected to remain that way for the remainder of the season. According to a new report from The Packer, “California citrus groves look remarkably different than they did last year, when a record crop weighed down mandarin trees and navel oranges stayed on trees late into the summer months due to shipping issues at congested ports.” We expect to see lighter and shorter seasons for Navels and Mandarins due to a combination of drought, water, and rising cost issues. We expect the season to last through May for Navels and June for Mandarins. See Orange and Mandarin availability.

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Freezing temperatures in the Arizona and California desert growing regions have slowed down the broccoli and cauliflower harvests. We are seeing limited supplies and increased pricing overall. Mexican supply loading out of Texas is also expected to tighten as demand shifts away from the desert. See Broccoli & Cauliflower availability.

Lettuce

The Yuma growing region has experienced freezing night-time temperatures, causing morning ice and harvest delays. Iceberg and Romaine lettuce fields have been affected and are showing blister and peel. We expect this quality issue to also result in shorter shelf life on Processed/Value Added lettuce packs. See Lettuce availability.

Orange

True Valencias will start out of Mexico at the end of the month. The early season product you are seeing now are Hamlins. Out of California, supply is stronger on the larger fruit peaking at 56 / 72 ct. Overall, product remains tight though due to recent rains delaying the harvest. See Orange availability.

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Weather has not been favorable for broccoli and cauliflower supply. Warm weather out of Yuma for the first six weeks of the season pushed the cauliflower crop ahead of schedule by 2-3 weeks. This means the crop that was supposed to be harvested now was actually harvested 2 weeks ago, and there is limited supply out on the fresh market. Now, the weather is cool and icy. We expect a 2-3 week gap on Cauliflower. Broccoli has not been as affected, but rain recently has caused some damage to the crop.
See Broccoli & Cauliflower availability.

Lemon

Mexico is officially done with their lemon season. California is in full swing with Desert fruit, and we expect supply to be strong for another month. Small fruit is very limited, because rain last month increased the size of the crop. The new year has caused price increases across the board for growers in labor, packaging, and freight costs. See Lemon availability.

Orange

Mexican Valencias are tight after the new year with higher pricing over the last week. We expect availability to improve this week. True Valencias should start at the end of the month (1/25). Sizing is currently peaking in the 113ct-138ct range. Pricing is up this week for California Navels due to heavy rains at the end of December. Overall, we are seeing steady supply on Fancy, Choice, and Juice grade. See Orange availability.

Broccoli

Broccoli supplies continue to be tight, meaning pricing also continues to be on the higher side. We anticipate pricing to come down, but recent cold weather could delay this. You can find organic and conventional product on the Marketplace now. See Broccoli availability.

Cauliflower

The Cauliflower market is steady with supply available out of Mexico, Santa Maria, CA, and Yuma, AZ. We anticipate pricing to start to increase given the recent cold weather in the growing regions. See Cauliflower availability.

Oranges

Navel supplies are tight. California experienced rain that limited the harvest. This caused an increased demand for Mexican fruit, resulting in higher pricing. We anticipate demand overall will pick up to start the new year. See Orange availability.

Broccoli

The broccoli market is volatile. We don’t expect to see it steady off for another 2-3 weeks due to various challenges. Both commodity and value-added (florets) products could be impacted. Quality is still mostly good. See Broccoli availability.

Lemons

Lemon supplies out of California are good, with solid availability from both the desert and the valley regions. Quality is strong. Some of the very large fruit is getting fairly tight, but we anticipate more supply coming online in the coming weeks. Mexico is finishing up its lemon supply - weather problems caused the season to end early. See Lemon availability.

Oranges

Orange supplies are very light due to recent rains delaying the harvest. The majority of fruit is fancy grade and size is peaking on 88ct. 56ct and larger fruits are limited right now. See Orange availability.

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Yuma AZ, is expecting freezing weather temperatures in the mornings starting this week. These temps will reduce availability and could cause increased pricing on cauliflower and broccoli. Oxnard, CA is also expecting freezing temps and rain this week. We still have some solid pricing and availability on The Marketplace now, so we recommend getting in orders ASAP before the weather reduces supply. See Broccoli and Cauliflower availability.

Oranges

Conventional and organic early Valencias are in full swing! We have product available out of Nogales. Brix levels vary per grower but are generally 10.5 - 11.5 right now. Sizing is peaking in the 113ct - 138ct range. Conventional and organic Navel oranges out of California are also in full swing. The quality is solid, and there is choice and juice grade available. Brix levels are 11 - 12 currently. Sizes are peaking at 88ct, 72ct, and 113ct. See Orange availability.

Grapefruit

Mexican organic grapefruit is in full swing now with plenty of product available. Growers are peaking on larger-sized fruit. We also have a grower with weekly load volume of CV juicer product from now through February that is open for contracting. California organic grapefruit supply is steady. See Grapefruit availability.

Broccoli

The Broccoli market is tight this week with volatile supply and higher pricing. The main growing region has transitioned down to the Yuma area, while there is little supply out of Santa Maria, CA. See Broccoli availability.

Oranges

CA Navels & MX Vals are in full swing. Navels are packing very clean with limited juice fruit. Available sizes are 88 count, 72 count and 113 count. See Orange availability.

Lemons

The lemon market is up this week. With the Mexican season pretty much wrapped up, the main source of product is coming out of California. Head to The Marketplace to find both surplus #1 and juicer grade lemons posted now. See Lemon availability.