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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 4-6 weeks you will see: Lighter supplies (25-50% reduction) and gaps in production with the transition from Salinas to Yuma. Growers and 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... 
Avocados - Hurricane Patricia brought heavy rains over the weekend, halting harvest and closing roads in the growing areas. No real damage was experienced. Harvesting has started back up. Good supplies are available and we do not expect it to gap too much. 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.<< Blueberries - Pricing continues to climb; domestic fruit has ended and demand has continually increased for the short, sporadic supply of offshore fruit. This is an industry-wide shortage. Volumes of offshore fruit are expected to increase when Chile ramps up in November.
Strawberries, Blackberries, and Raspberries - Thankfully, the damage incurred from Hurricane Patricia was far less than expected. The storm passed through and was downgraded to a tropical depression in northern Mexico. As anticipated, rain and wind was strongest in the state of Jalisco (which includes the growing areas of Tapalpa, Ciudad Guzman, and Jocotepec). In these areas, growers incurred some damage to the hoops for blackberries and raspberries but (again) was minimal considering the intensity of this storm when it made landfall.
At this point, the major concern is fruit damage/loss and flooding/mudslides in Tapalpa and Guzman, (primarily strawberry growing regions). It will take the crews a couple of days to get into fields (some were not accessible this past weekend due to water pooling and mud) to assess damage, strip, and discard affected fruit and clean up the plants. Production from this region will be affected for at least the next 5-10 days.
Cauliflower - The is a market shortage, evident by the current high market prices. This shortage could potentially intensify as the Salinas production slows down for the season and demand increases for the holidays and winter season. Cauliflower has a hard time growing this time of year and this year is certainly no exception. Challenges include uneven growth, low yields, and poor quality. Early reports indicate that Yuma is on schedule for mid-November harvest.
Broccoli - Quality has been a challenge, much like cauliflower contributing to limited supplies and a tight market. Kale - After 6-8 weeks of a flat market, this commodity has gotten stronger. Supplies out of California and Mexico are moderate. Overall quality continues to be good.
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