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 remains steady with Mexico still crossing record numbers. and the US is eating them up. Look to see MX supplies steady through June sizing 60/48/70 with fruit starting to size up slightly. With the volume being picked we could see a slight drop in the market on certain sizes in the coming weeks. Calif’s new crop is now all released for picking though we won’t see much volume until late Feb early March. The crop size is estimated to be less than 300 million pounds at this time.
BLACKBERRIES will be very limited for the next couple of weeks. Rains and cool temperatures have hindered production. The market will go up next week.
There are still major delays of imported fruit due to recent problems at the California ports. Ships are waiting to be unloaded, we will see short supplies for about another week, but then volumes will increase as ships get unloaded.
Same story, recent rains, and cooler temperatures have slowed down the production of RASPBERRIES. The market will remain firm and will continue for the next couple of weeks.
We are upon the busiest time of the year for STRAWBERRIES. Valentine’s Day is almost here. Due to recent rains and cooler temperatures, all Berry shippers are running short on supplies. The market will continue to strengthen and fruit will be limited for the next couple of weeks.
Off-shore Grapes are finally picking up in volume out of the west coast and demand remains stronger than supplies on both Red and Green. We are continuing to see better supplies out of the East. Look for this market to remain strong with light import supplies for the next 10 days due to port delays. Quality on the imports is very nice but as stated limited. Don’t expect to see any real changes in the market until mid to late Feb.
KIWI is all repacking out of storage with products from Calif and Greece (Calif is winding down). The fruit is big mostly 30 and larger, just a few 33/36 (these are getting better money). Sizing will remain this way for the balance of the domestic season. All packs are available. The market is steady is expect to move up over the next 6 weeks, East coast is seeing better supplies of Greek imports 36 and larger.
The lemon market is steadily picking out of District 1 mostly. In general, the fruit is peaking 140/165/200 good mix of fancy and choice. Quality is looking very nice, yellow fruit is clean. Currently seeing good demand for export on fancy grade. Also available– Meyer Lemons, great for cooking think curds/ lemons pies/ and Lemon squares.
Quality: Good performance will be 67%. The current regions of lime: Gulf of Mexico: Rain forecast at the beginning of the week. Low to medium skin break down, high presence blanching and scaring. Good Green Color. The size availability will be mid sizes. In the Pacific Region Forecast rains during the week and as consequence will have a medium presence of skin breakdown, scarring, and blanching. The good green color in the fruit. The sizes available will continue in the medium sizes. The availability 250’s-5%, 230’s-10%, 200’s- 30%, 175’s-25%, 150 -110’s – 30%
Mango season is over in Texas. Very few Peruvian available.
Honeydew supplies are doing well with a good run of sizes. Mexican supplies are starting to drop off a bit but offshore is coming on nicely to fill that gap. The market is steady at this time.
Cantaloupe supplies are finally starting to show improvement. We are starting to see a little dip in the market. Supplies from Guatemala & Honduras. Profile of fruit remains mostly 9/12’s. Quality is currently good to excellent.
Navels are looking very nice with good orange color. The fruit has sized up quite nicely with the recent rains as a result small fruit is very tight 113/138. We will see jumps up in the market over the next month on these sizes as a result. Quality is good to excellent though you may see some puffballs on larger sizes 48/56’s.
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 early moderate, late fairly slow. Prices are lower. Quality is variable.
Mandarin/ Clementines are in full swing harvesting from 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) are also currently picking … sizing 10/12/8’s with a very nice color. Grapefruit going again out of the desert with very light supplies. Desert and Central Calif have Minneola supplies are size is on the larger side.
We continue to have Arils (pomegranate seeds) through the winter packing fresh to order. 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 increase slightly. Trading is moderate. Prices are lower. Quality is variable. Most supplies crossing through the Progresso Port of Entry.