Melon, Grapes, Vegetables, Berries, Tomatoes Market Report
MARKET REPORT 7/6/09
Melons: Extremely high heat in the California and Arizona desert will probably finish up the cantaloupe crop for the summer. Thankfully we are seeing a nice transition to the central California crop. Look for one more week of cheap melons as desert shippers blow out the fields before they melt in them. Mexico is still competing with the San Joaquin Valley for the honeydew market. Prices are very good. We are seeing some good watermelons coming in from Phoenix. Quality is better than the central California crop right now.
Grapes: The grape market is following the same path as the melons. Coachella and northern Mexico are wrapping up for the season as high heat drives crops northward. Quality is looking excellent on first arrivals of flames and sugarones from the north. Look for prices to get better over the next few weeks.
Vegetables: The green bell market looks to get easier this week as we have quite a few different growing areas going currently. The red and yellow bell market is a very different story. Both bells are slow getting started in northern California. Another week or two of high temps should turn them around. Prices on yellow have become very high as demand far exceeds supply. Reds are a much better value. No real change in the squash market. Italian and yellow are still fairly cheap with very good quality. Desert eggplant is pretty much toast now. Look for slightly higher prices as we get into the Fresno crop. Blue lakes beans are having another strong week with excellent quality and very good prices. Good supplies on Baja cucumbers will continue this week.
Berries: Strawberry volume is projected to pick up later this week. Hopefully we will not see any damage from the heat. Quality is still very good. Raspberries look to back off slightly this week. Blueberries will probably be the best bet as Oregon looks to be shipping good volume over the next few weeks. California blacks are also coming off this week. Look for riper berries in the clamshell as the heat brings this crop on strong.
Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes are up slightly this week as we are experiencing a short gap in the market. Quality is still good. Round tomatoes have gotten much easier as the east coast demand has dropped off and California volume has picked up. Quality on Mexican fruit is still much better. Cherries and grapes have also come off this week. Chose either one as both are good buys and quality is similar.
Tropicals: Bananas look to increase again as we are seeing much less fruit hitting the ports over the next few weeks. The big push on pineapple is over. Most of the central and south American crop has cleaned up and prices will be getting firmer. We have three varieties of mangos crossing from Mexico.
The Kent variety is the best eating mango but has the least amount of exterior color. Tommy Atkins and Hayden varieties will have very good blush on the exterior but will not eat as well.
Onions and potatoes: Yellow onions will back off this week as high heat has brought about curing and size for the time being. This should be short lived and turn around next week as we are still in a short market. Large size yukons have become almost non-existent. Prices are much higher this week.
Tags: Produce Reports
