The overall market seems to continue to be strong. USDA orders & a shorter crop, have kept the market strong. The retail movement continues to be steady, in the wake of COVID-19. Quality has been good, overall.
The avocado market which has remained relatively steady inched up slightly last week with crossings down. Feild prices are definitely up in MX and logistics and weather are definitely playing into this. Sizing is 60/48/70 with fruit starting to size up slightly. Look to see pricing increases here for the next month or so. Calif’s new crop is now all released for picking though we won’t see much volume until mid-March as growers would like to get slightly better size on the fruit before picking. The crop size report finally released numbers and looks like January winds took out about 20 million pounds with a new estimate of 280 million pounds.
Demand exceeds supplies on BLACKBERRIES this week and into next week. Cooler temperatures have hindered production. Should not see an increase in supplies until the first of the month.
The BLUEBERRY market remains steady. As more ships arrive, supplies will increase. Peru is about finished, while the Chilean fruit continues to increase arrivals. Mexico remains steady with adequate volumes and Florida is about ready to start. California fruit is ready to begin harvest in late March.
Like the strawberries, RASPBERRIES will remain very limited into next week. Imported supplies from Mexico and limited availability of domestic fruit will keep the market firm.
STRAWBERRIES will remain tight on commitments through the next couple of weeks. We are past peak production from Central Mexico and cooler temperatures in Oxnard will slow production. The market should remain steady.
Off-shore Grapes from Chile and Peru market is firming up. This is especially true on Green Seedless. Greens are in a demand exceeds situation which is expected to remain into mid March (on both coasts); high markets. South American weather is the main cause which slowed harvest and caused some quality issues. Look for the Red Seedless market to rise to do to increased demand for grapes in general.
KIWI is now predominately Greece and some Italian… Chile not expected till late March. Calif growers are winding down fast with 27’s and larger to move. The imports have more sizes available but until Chile starts we are still looking not much smaller than a 36’s. All pack styles are available and will be packed fresh out of bins for orders. The market is starting to move up. The east coast is seeing the better volume of imports.
The lemon market is steady out of District 1. The fruit is peaking 140/165/200 good mix heavier to fancy than choice; Fancy is moving out well for export. Nice yellow color/clean. Also available– Meyer Lemons, great for cooking think curds/ lemons pie and Lemon squares.
Quality: Good performance will be 62%. The current regions of lime: Gulf of Mexico: Weather forecast rains this week. Quality medium skin breakdown, low green color, high presence, blanching, and scaring. Due to rains, we expect delays with harvest and shorter days of harvest. The availability continues to within the middle sizes. In the Pacific Region: Low to medium skin break down, high presence of blanching and scaring. The sizes available will continue in the medium sizes. The availability 250’s-2%, 230’s-22%, 200’s- 28%, 175’s-31%, 150 -110’s – 22%
The movement of Ataulfo expected to increase seasonally. Supplies light and in few hands. Trading early moderate, late slow. Prices Ataulfo 14s much lower, others lower. Quality is variable.
Honeydew is mostly coming from Mexico with just bits and pieces from offshore. Quality is good to excellent. The market still remains flat with a good run of sizes.
Cantaloupe supplies are finally picking up and the market is settling down a bit. Larger sizes 9/ Jbo 9 are still in shorter supplies so big demand and will get a premium. Supplies from Guatemala & Honduras. Look for supplies to improve in early March. Quality is currently good to excellent.
Calif Navels look very nice with good orange color. The fruit has sized up as a result the 113/138 are getting very limited; this will be the situation for the balance of the Navel season. The small fruit market will be increasing pretty regularly for the time being. Quality has been good to excellent for the most part though we have seen an occasional puffball. The fruit continues to pack out heavier to fancy than choice…. and choice is selling out faster. TX got hammered this last week and expected to get more this weekend… there is some damage but until the weather clears the extent is not known. We will keep you posted. Florida on the other hand who is seeing the weather in the 70’s+ is still going with juice oranges, not a pretty as you get out of Calif, but they eat great and they do have a little better supplies of small fruit. Call your favorite Amerifresh representative and get details.
All varieties of pears are available. Small pears are extremely tight. Pricing continues to be very strong. Quality is good.
Movement expected about the same. Trading 8s very slow, others fairly slow. Prices 5-7s slightly lower, 8s generally unchanged. Quality is variable.
Mandarin/Clementines are in full swing harvesting the desert up through central Calif. Fruit is looking and eating great. Sizing is peaking 32/36/28; the market is steady with good demand. Pummelos/Oro Blanco (Sweeties) look good with nice sizing 10/12/8’s with a very nice color. Desert and Central Calif have Minneola which is sizing big this year peaking on 80’s. Calif Grapefruit is back up and picking in the desert and Bakersfield with light supplies (with TX under the weather this market is jump).
We continue to have Arils (pomegranate seeds) now processing from Peruvian products– all packs available. Asian Pears are available with both Yellow and Brown skin varieties and expect to continue with this fruit into early spring. Imported Peach/ Plums/ Nectarines are now available mostly in tray packs with strong market and light supplies.
Movement expected to decrease. Harvest curtailed by rain and wet fields. Trading Fairly Slow. 24-inch bins per bin Red Flesh Seedless type approximately 35 and 45 counts supplies insufficient and in too few hands to establish a market. Quality is variable. No sales reported due to the high cost of limited transportation caused by freezing temperatures throughout Texas.