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Commodity Updates
Keep up-to-date on how weather and other conditions across the country and the globe affect the quality, availability, and pricing of your fresh fruits and produce.
THE FORECAST...
Romaine & Iceberg Lettuces - Please be advised, in the next 5-7 weeks you will see: Lighter supplies (25-50% reduction) and gaps in production with the transition from Salinas to Yuma. Grower/shippers will be working on averages. This will be an industry-wide challenge. Expect increased prices and shortages. Please keep this in mind when planning your menus.
Challenging quality issues (excessive fringe burn, core length, and internal burn) persist as a result of the erratic weather patterns throughout Salinas' summer season. As a result of those quality issues, yields have been drastically impacted the last few months and this projection of lighter product availability will continue through the Salinas to Yuma transition on Romaine and Romaine Hearts.
In addition to those challenges at the field level, the product in Salinas had been consistently 10-14 days ahead of schedule. Now, as we transition down to Yuma, Romaine and Romaine hearts scheduled for the weeks of 11/2-11/7 and 11/9-11/14 are not coming ahead of schedule like in Salinas has. This product in Yuma has also endured 105-115° temperatures and the monsoon that hit on 9/9 and caused widespread field flooding (6 inches of rain fell on a region that generally gets 2-3 inches of rainfall per year!).
COMMODITY ALERTS... 
Blueberries - Pricing continues to climb as domestic fruit has ended and demand has continually increases for the short supply of offshore fruit (from Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru). The volume of offshore fruit is expected to increase later this month, then even more so when Chile ramps up supply in November. Strawberries - Demand exceeds supply; strawberries are in very short supply across all California growing regions. Delays are expected as fruit is limited and slow to come in from the fields each day. Daily harvests continue to be lower volumes than estimated. Labor is presenting another challenge as picking crews have transitioned into planting fields for the Spring crop, limiting the amount of pickers to harvest daily. Quality issues resulting from high temperatures in recent weeks are being reported in all areas.
Lemons - Demand remains very high. Availability is better on 140-count and larger fruit. Demand is still exceeding supplies on 165 counts and higher coming from the new Desert crop, this shortage on smaller fruit should continue through the month.
Oranges - Valencia supplies are nearly cleaned up for the season. Some shippers are beginning to pack this year's California Navel crop in limited volume; and others will start over the next couple of weeks. Start up will be slow, but should come on quickly if the weather cooperates.
 PEAK SEASON...
Asparagus - Supplies are steady and quality is being reported as good in all growing regions. Avocados - Mexico is beginning to harvest this year's crop. Transition from Flor Loca into all new crop should take about 3 to 4 weeks. Supplies look to remain steady with good volumes and very good quality. Keep in mind: This early season fruit will have a tendency to remain green when ripe, as the skin isn't mature enough for it to darken. Color is not an indication of ripeness, pressure is. >>Click here for information on avocados<< Raspberries - Quality and availability of California fruit has improved in recent weeks. Mexican raspberries began crossing in; some arrivals have been delayed due to inspection, but the arrivals have been excellent quality. | 
