We are still inching to the end of the 2019-2020 crop of reds. new crop Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, & Golds are now available. USDA orders have kept the market strong. The retail movement continues to be steady, in the wake of COVID-19. Quality has been good, overall.
Calif harvest is slowing down picking out of the northern groves; this will continue with light supplies into Oct. Mexico has been slow to harvest in an effort to push up the markets however this doesn’t appear to be working; in general, the market is steady. Mexico has a good volume. Mexico will be in the driver’s seat as far as pricing goes for the next few months. Sizing is peaking 60/48/40. Look for Chile to bring in some fruit this month with the majority of that corp going to Europe; Columbia will likely start arriving here in mid-Oct.
Steady supplies of Blackberries. Watsonville continues to produce, and Oxnard is receiving transfers every other day. Mexican imports are also starting to arrive.
Except for a few small growers, the Domestic season is finished. Imports from Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Chile are increasing weekly. The market should start to adjust next week.
We should start to steady supplies of Raspberries arriving from Mexico next week. We still have local Watsonville /Salinas fruit being harvested, but volumes are declining.
We are still harvesting fruit from Salinas/Watsonville, but production will continue to drop as the season comes to an end. Santa Maria / Oxnard will continue to increase each week. The warm/hot weather in California is turning into cooler days and cooler nights. This is good for fruit quality, but not good for producing volumes. Active market next week.
Central Calif green/ red/ black seedless grapes; availability is good and we will have good supplies through Nov when the crop starts winding down. The green seedless market is up slightly as we get into later varieties and supplies of them decrease. Red seedless are expected to see us through the end of the year. Black Sdls and Globes are in light supplies. The quality and condition of all grapes are very good to excellent. There is a little bit of a split market based on berry size with some great deals to be had on a small berry.
Calif shippers have started to harvest (this fruit will be hard so plan to condition). All sizes and packs are available. The market is up at this time and will stay that way for the next 3-4 weeks as Chilean cleans up and Calif fills the supply line.
Lemon currently available from Calif/ Mexico/ Chile/ Argentina. The market is lower on the imports and inching up on domestic fruit. Calif harvesting finishing out of Dist 2 (Ventura area) and has started size picking in Dist 3 (Desert). in general, the fruit is peaking 140/115; quality fair out of Dist 2 issue you will see are scaring/ blemishes/ discoloration/ soft and occasional decay; Dist 3 quality is very nice though the color is lighter/ hard firm fruit.
Movement expected about the same. Supplies 110-150s very light, 230 -250s heavy. Trading is fairly slow. Prices 110-150s much lower, 175s lower, others slightly lower. Quality is variable.
The season finished in Texas.
Honeydew supplies are down as well with shippers transitioning. The quality has been mixed out of all areas so be sure to have your fruit checked. The market is seeing some increase due to lower supplies. Sizes mostly 5/6’s.
Cantaloupe profile is peaking on Jbo 9/9 with limited 12 and smaller. Harvest is slow as shippers transitioning out of central Calif back down to the desert. As such the market is up and expected to stay this way for at least the next 2 weeks. Quality has been good to excellent. Look for Mexico to start crossing in mid-Oct.
Valencias are hanging in there by a thread. Demand remains strong with extremely limited supplies… prorates are occurring on smaller fruit…. shippers working to stretch this to the limits. Most shippers are done just waiting for Navels. Fruit quality has been just fair with some softness/ and fuzzball on receiving. This fruit is being gassed to bring back the color which is not helping the shelf life. The grading has been hard and mostly fancy grade. Sizes peaking on 56/72 with small fruit just not there. The market is strong and continues inching up. On a good note, Calif Navels are looking to be available in about 10-14 days…. all are dependent on the gassing. Offshore Navels are winding down fast.
New crop Bosc, Bartletts & D’Anjou are here, along with red pears. Pricing has been very strong for the beginning. Quality is good.
Movement expected about the same. Trading 5-7s moderate, 8s very slow. Prices 8s generally unchanged, others slightly higher. Quality is variable.
Tangerines imports should finish. What remains of imports we are seeing occasional gassing scars and fuzz balls in the box. Domestic growers anticipate starting the end of this month. Check back here for updates.
Nectarine & Peach are done with just a few stragglers left. Though we do still have Plum varieties which should continue into late Oct. These Plums are in few hands so be sure to call for more information. Pomegranates are going and Persimmons should start this week.
Movement in Texas expected to increase; Oklahoma expected about the same. Trading is moderate.