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Market Insider September 18, 2020

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  • Steady

Beans

Beans
steady

Moderate supplies out of Florida from Guatemala; French type. Prices are slightly lower. Quality is variable.


Bell Peppers

Bell Peppers
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Green bell supplies have tightened. Prices are up this week. The product is available in Central California. Red pepper supplies have improved. Yellow and orange peppers are steady. Moderate supplies from Michigan and North Carolina. Prices are higher. Quality is good overall. A few growers in North Carolina continue to experience a production gap. Some harvest curtailed due to rain and wet fields.

 


Chiles

Chiles
steady

Movement expected about the same. Trading is moderate. Prices on Jalapeno and Poblano slightly higher, others generally unchanged. Quality is variable.


Corn

Corn
steady

Steady supplies from Michigan and Virginia. Prices are higher. Quality is good overall.


Cucumbers

Cucumbers
steady

Cucumber prices are steady this week. The product is crossing from Baja. Supplies are steady, but the quality has been nice. There are a few crossing through Nogales but very limited quantities. Light supplies from Michigan. Prices are higher. Quality is generally good. Light supplies from North Carolina. A few growers continue to experience a production gap. Some harvest curtailed due to rain and wet fields in North Carolina.


Eggplant

Eggplant
steady

Moderate supplies from Michigan and Georgia. Prices are higher. Quality is good overall.


Onions

Onions
steady

NW Onions OR & WA, Demand is good overall on all colors including Sweets. Harvest continues under less than perfect conditions. As with all production areas on the West Coast, overwhelming Smoke from the West Coast fires is impairing harvest due to very poor air quality. The good news; Cooler weather is allowing growers to fill long term storage and also stabilize the market at the same time. All colors of Organic Onions are available including sweets. Mexico’s movement is expected to be about the same. Supplies in too few hands to establish a market.


potatoes

Colored Potatoes

Colored Potatoes

steady

Colored Potatoes

Mt Vernon: the harvest is in full swing. All colors are available including Fingerlings. The market is steady. All other districts in the US are harvesting and markets are holding a steady pace on good demand. Organics are available. Eastern WA continues with a supply of Red & Yellow potatoes along with colored Fingerlings. Quality is good. ORGANIC colored spuds and fingerlings are available as well.

Russet Potatoes

Russet Potatoes

steady

Russet Potatoes

Russet Potato prices have fallen but are somewhat stable. Under pressure from typical oversupply during harvest, not to mention the COVID Craziness effect, finding the right price seems to be a moving target. Large count supplies are tighter than in past years but are available. Market confusion is subsiding even as Food Service struggles to regain a foothold and retail takes on the extra pressure. Idaho sheds are pushing to fill bale orders for retail while dropping count prices that normally fill the restaurant trade sector. For the most part, WA/OR are holding the line on tight supplies of large size cartons whilst trying to compete with the other producing districts. Quality is outstanding. Organic Russets are available.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

steady

Sweet Potatoes

Moderate supplies from North Carolina. expected to decrease as a few shippers have finished with 2019 inventories and are transitioning to 2020 crop. Prices are generally unchanged. Quality is variable.


Soft Squash

Soft Squash
traffic light with yellow light lit up

Zucchini – Fresno and Santa Maria are harvesting, supplies have tightened and prices are up. There is also some product crossing from Baja. Nogales has started crossing some zucchini but supplies are very limited. Moderate supplies from Michigan and North Carolina. Prices are higher. Some harvest curtailed in North Carolina due to rain and wet fields.

Yellow Squash – Product is shipping from Santa Maria, Fresno, and Baja, same situation as zucchini, supplies are tight and prices are up. We should start seeing some product cross through Nogales towards the end of the month. Light supplies from North Carolina as some growers are experiencing a production gap. Some harvest curtailed due to rain and wet fields.


tomatoes

Grape Tomatoes

Grape Tomatoes

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Grape Tomatoes

The East: Availability is super tight due to heat and rain over the past few months is showing. We don’t expect any type of relief until more fields come online in Oct.

The West: Doesn’t have much supply to help the east. Baja is dealing with extreme heat and Central Mexico is on a week lull in their production cycle. Expect this market to be tight.

Roma Tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes

steady

Roma Tomatoes

The East: Availability is better than the other varieties yet is only enough to fill the current demand. Expect the Fall transition in the next month.

The West: Baja and Eastern Mexico are waiting on new crops in the next few weeks so supplies are light. California is feeling the effects of an earlier heatwave; quality is mostly wind scarring.

Round Tomatoes

Round Tomatoes

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Round Tomatoes

East Coast: The majority of the crop’s volume has lightened due to weather; sizing and quality are typical for a first pick, however, the expectation is increasing sizing and improving quality in the next week.

West Coast: Baja and Eastern Mexico are wrapping up their summer crop. Eastern Mexico is set to start the end of this month with Baja following a few weeks later. These coming online will help volume. The majority of California’s green crop is seeing volume issues due to the heatwave stressing the plants. Quality is good with minor amounts of scarring.