What Chefs Want

Produce Market Report for May 20, 2022

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Market Alert! Celery and Fingerling Potatoes

We are seeing very tight markets in both celery and fingerling potatoes. For celery, the prices are elevated due to low production numbers. Harvest is limited to a small number of areas. There will be a gap in the growing season for fingerling potatoes leading to shortages and higher prices.

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Apples: Steady

Asparagus: Steady. Very nice quality!

Avocados: Up $5

Bananas: Steady

Broccoli: Steady

Cauliflower: Remains higher

Celery: Up Significantly

Corn: Steady

Cucumbers: Steady

Grapes: Steady

Lemons: Steady

Lettuce: Remains active, slightly tighter

Limes: Down significantly

Melons: Coming down some

Onions: Remain strong but easing a bit

Peppers: Green steady. Colored up $5

Potatoes: Steady

Shallots: Stable

Squash: Stabilizing, good value

Strawberries: Up $2

Tomatoes: Up $4-5

More Market News:

There will be a gap in the growing season for Fingerling potatoes. This will lead to shortages and higher prices for the next month or so.
Brussel Sprouts are still high in price as the market is very tight.
Romaine and leaf lettuce have steadied. Iceberg harvest numbers are down. Prices on all lettuce remains slightly higher.
Celery is extremely high due to low harvest numbers.
Cauliflower prices are a little elevated and broccoli is likely headed that direction.
Local asparagus is a bit higher but outstanding quality. The asparagus market in general is steady and great quality.
Navel orange market is steady, with Valencia’s starting to mix in.
Melons including cantaloupe and honeydew are still imported but will be transitioning to Southern California with the next few weeks.
We are seeing cabbage escalate a bit in price as the transition from southern crops to northern crops has begun and there is a slight market gap.
Yellow squash and zucchini remain great spring items as the quantity is plentiful and quality and appearance are fantastic.
Both red and yellow peppers up in price due to the transition in growing season. Green peppers are steady and price is trending down.
The lime market is falling. Quality and harvest numbers are improving. The 200 count have come down in price, the larger fruits remain harder to find and higher in price.
Avocado supply remains low and prices remain high.

Produce Market Report for May 6, 2022

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Market Alert! Limes and Avocados

We are starting to see relief in the lime and avocado markets. The fill rates of limes are improving some. Larger fruits are still tough to find. The avocado market is starting to come down some, but the market is still volatile. 60 and 70 ct. avocadoes are still expensive, but 48 ct. are coming down in price.

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Apples: Steady

Asparagus: Up $6-8, larger sizes higher

Avocados: Down $5

Bananas: Steady

Broccoli: Steady

Cauliflower: Steady

Celery: Up Significantly

Corn: Up $2

Cucumbers: Down $3

Grapes: Up $4

Lemons: Steady

Lettuce: Remains active, slightly tighter

Limes: Finally, coming off some

Melons: Lopes and Dews remain higher

Onions: Remain strong but easing a bit

Peppers: Green coming down some

Potatoes: Steady

Shallots: Stable

Squash: Stabilizing, good value

Strawberries: Steady, good quality

Tomatoes: Rounds down $2

More Market News:

Peeled Garlic prices are trending upward. Supplies are tight and you may see some different brands than you normally expect.
Brussel Sprouts are still high in price as the market is tighter.
Smaller sizes of oranges are still tough to find. Larger oranges (56 ct.) are in better supply than smaller sizes. The transition from navels to Valencias is near, but there is currently a harvest gap. Late harvest navel oranges are good, but harder to find.
Melons including cantaloupe and honeydew are rising in price as the market is tight. These are currently imported. Once the domestic crops start to be harvested, we should see relief.
We are seeing cabbage escalate a bit in price as the transition from southern crops to northern crops has begun and there is a slight market gap.
Green peppers are starting to come down in price a bit after weeks of high prices.
Yellow squash and zucchini are great spring items as the quantity is plentiful and quality and appearance are fantastic.
Red grapes are still strong on good quality product. The transition to crops from Mexico is about 2 weeks away and we should see some relief once that happens.
White grapes are way up in price. We are seeing some amber color which is typical at the end of the harvest. Amber color does not affect the quality or taste of the fruit, but can be undesirable in appearance.

Produce Market Report for April 29, 2022

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Market Alert! Limes!

Limes continue to be in an extremely volatile market. The border issues discussed on last week’s market report continue to persist and limes are very hard hit. The market is very limited, especially on larger lime sizes. Shippers have been us smaller limes in place of larger. 200 ct. and 150 ct. are still available, but limited. 110 ct. are non-existent as of now. The quality is marginal at best and prices are elevated.

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Apples: Steady

Asparagus: Up $6-8, larger sizes higher

Avocados: Remain very high

Bananas: Steady

Broccoli: Down $4

Cauliflower: Down $5

Celery: Steady

Corn: Down again. Good supplies

Cucumbers: Remain higher

Grapes: Up $4

Lemons: Steady

Lettuce: Getting active, slightly tighter

Limes: Remain crazy high with supply issues

Melons: Lopes and Dews remain higher

Onions: Remain strong but easing a bit

Peppers: Green coming down some

Potatoes: Steady

Shallots: Stable

Squash: Stabilizing, good value

Strawberries: Steady, good quality

Tomatoes: Up $2

More Market News:

Let’s talk about the produce transition. The Transition happens twice yearly, in late-Spring & late-Fall. As the seasons change & arable fields move geographically, our loading areas move as well, between the 2 major hubs of Yuma & Salinas. When this happens, entire operations pull up roots & relocate: field equipment (tractors, combines, harvesters), processing equipment (choppers, washers, chillers), plant machinery (forklifts, conveyors), vehicles, offices, staffs, and families. Here’s a great video showing the transition of this massive operation.

Many may have heard about the massive fire last week at Taylor Farms’ Salinas facility. Fortunately, they had not yet transitioned into the building. As they were preparing to transition from Yuma to Salinas, a welding incident at the Salinas plant sparked the fire, destroying much of the facility.
As a result, Taylor is now forced to split operations. Their processing equipment is still in place and operational in Yuma. But the product is coming to harvest in fields 10 hours away in Salinas. They are forced to harvest in Salinas, and transfer the product to Yuma for processing. This also forces our trucks to split pickups between Yuma & Salinas, 10 hours apart. 
The ripple effect from this disruption has been huge, during an already difficult transition. Delays have spread across other loading docks in the areas, and an already-thin supply of trucks has been stressed further. We’ve seen unprecedented delays at loading docks, both Taylor’s and others.

Produce Market Report for April 22, 2022

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Market Alert! Limes!

Limes continue to be in an extremely volatile market. The border issues discussed on last week’s market report continue to persist and limes are very hard hit. The market is very limited, especially on larger lime sizes. Shippers have been us smaller limes in place of larger. 200 ct. and 150 ct. are still available, but limited. 110 ct. are non-existent as of now. The quality is marginal at best and prices are elevated.

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Apples: Steady

Asparagus: Up $2, still a good value

Avocados: Up significantly, border issues

Bananas: Steady

Broccoli: Up $4

Cauliflower: Steady

Celery: Steady

Corn: Down again

Cucumbers: Up $3

Grapes: Up $4

Lemons: Steady

Lettuce: Up slightly

Limes: Remain crazy high with supply issues

Melons: Up $6

Onions: Remain strong but easing a bit

Peppers: Green up $6

Potatoes: Steady

Shallots: Stable

Squash: Stabilizing, good value

Strawberries: Steady

Tomatoes: Up $2

More Market News:

Let’s talk about the produce transition. The Transition happens twice yearly, in late-Spring & late-Fall. As the seasons change & arable fields move geographically, our loading areas move as well, between the 2 major hubs of Yuma & Salinas. When this happens, entire operations pull up roots & relocate: field equipment (tractors, combines, harvesters), processing equipment (choppers, washers, chillers), plant machinery (forklifts, conveyors), vehicles, offices, staffs, and families. Here’s a great video showing the transition of this massive operation.

Many may have heard about the massive fire last week at Taylor Farms’ Salinas facility. Fortunately, they had not yet transitioned into the building. As they were preparing to transition from Yuma to Salinas, a welding incident at the Salinas plant sparked the fire, destroying much of the facility.
As a result, Taylor is now forced to split operations. Their processing equipment is still in place and operational in Yuma. But the product is coming to harvest in fields 10 hours away in Salinas. They are forced to harvest in Salinas, and transfer the product to Yuma for processing. This also forces our trucks to split pickups between Yuma & Salinas, 10 hours apart. 
The ripple effect from this disruption has been huge, during an already difficult transition. Delays have spread across other loading docks in the areas, and an already-thin supply of trucks has been stressed further. We’ve seen unprecedented delays at loading docks, both Taylor’s and others.
Smaller sizes of oranges are still tough to find. Larger oranges (56 ct.) are in better supply than smaller sizes.
The Florida grapefruit season is over. We are now seeing imported grapefruit.
Melons including cantaloupe and honeydew are rising in price as supplies are tighter.
Green peppers are very high in price as supplies are tight.
Yellow squash is coming down. We are seeing relief from the past weeks of shortages.
Limes are still very high and we have not seen any relief yet. Quality is marginal. We don’t expect relief until the 1st or 2nd week of May.
Avocados continue to rise in price with the current border delays in place in Texas.

Produce Market Report for April 15, 2022

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Market Alert! Texas border crossing

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has placed additional safety inspections in place for trucks entering the U.S. from Mexico. These safety inspections take hours, not minutes, and are in addition to federally mandated ones already in place. This has caused a backlog of trucks miles long, and reports indicate truck drivers have waited more than 30 hours to cross over the weekend. As a result of this situation, we have received information from several growers stating that Mexican truck drivers have caused a blockage as a result of the new policy. Friday, there were delays, however, it is now a total blockage at the Texas border crossings.
Drivers carrying products from Mexico to the U.S. say these inspections are inhumane and they are without having food, water, and access to toilets making this an impossible situation. This blockage will create disruptions within the U.S. and of course, this event comes when harvesting in Mexico will already be reduced this week because of Holy Week. The following commodities may be affected by the blockage: Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Avocados, Limes, Chiles, and others.

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Apples: Steady

Asparagus: Up $2, still a good value

Avocados: Up significantly, border issues

Bananas: Steady

Broccoli: Down $4

Cauliflower: Remains strong, easing a bit

Celery: Steady

Corn: Down $6

Cucumbers: Steady

Grapes: Steady good quality

Lemons: Steady

Lettuce: Down again this week. Better quality

Limes: Remain very high

Melons: Up $6

Onions: Remain strong but easing a bit

Peppers: Green up $6

Potatoes: Steady

Shallots: Stable

Squash: Stabilizing, good value

Strawberries: Up $2

Tomatoes: Up $2

More Market News:

The iceberg, green leaf and romainelettuce market is steadily easing off. Markets are close to normal for this time of year. Good harvest capacity. Romaine hearts are still a little tight. Green leaf is seeing normal harvest numbers and the market is the best it can be.

Cauliflower is getting better. Harvest numbers are rising and product is becoming more readily available.
Celery is softening up a bit as the harvest is stabilizing.
Brussels sprouts and asparagus are starting to see higher prices and shorter supplies.
Smaller sizes of oranges are getting tougher to find. Larger oranges are in better supply than smaller sizes.
The Florida grapefruit season is over. We are now seeing imported grapefruit.
Melons including cantaloupe and honeydew are rising in price as supplies are tighter.
Green peppers are very high in price as supplies are tight.
Yellow squash is coming down. We are seeing relief from the past weeks of shortages.
Limes are still very high and we have not seen any relief yet. Quality is marginal. We don’t expect relief until the 1st or 2nd week of May.