MARKET REPORT - DEC. 2ND 2015

Squash is either good, or going bad, right?  Wrong!

Below normal temperatures across Northern Mexico and Southern California have slowed growth across the board and tightened markets on several commodities.  Supply hasn’t rebounded after the US holiday, and by all counts it was a stunning Thanksgiving for organic produce sales in the States.  Many, many shippers are only listing 15 – 20% of their usual programs, having been decimated last week, and now not having fields to harvest for a few days.  Can’t blame them!  When demand is strong and prices high, you would be cutting everything in sight as well, wouldn’t you?  So just warning you to watch your retails on some greens.  We are seeing the same market conditions on conventional pricing as well, so we’re not alone. Now here’s the good news.  The first Cara Cara Navels arrive this week – always a great show-stopper if you cut a few open.   There is a bounty of melons – probably too many Mexican growers growing too many melons for the US holiday market, so lots of deals to be had.  California grapes are nearly done – we just have a few more skids on their way and that will be it from our nest of shippers.  Satsuma sales are strong and a warning that although we have multiple listings, many of those growers will be done in 10 days with very high demand and a short season this year.We have been trying, waiting, sighing for years to see organic Mexican Papayas finally make it across the border.  These are the real big orange papaya, not the specialty ones from Hawaii and it’s about bloody well time we saw them.  USDA has very, very strict rules on Papaya for some reason, so we’re just going to consider it a bit of a miracle.Wildflight Farm up in Mara has opened the root cellar doors, done an inventory and are offering us a few roots – Hermann and Louise have great storage and grow mostly on contract for customers in the Okanagan, but if they have extra they start dribbling it out to us, and they are great root crop growers – look for their Watermelon Radish and Rutabaga on today’s list.BC Squash inventories are drying up quickly on some varieties and we’re not sure if we will make it through to the end of the year or not – we’re already having to supplement with California and Mexico.  Word has probably spread that Canada allows the cultivation of GMO Squash, and that may have inspired more people to buy organic – sales are certainly up over last year.  Speaking of squash – you will see Choice Butternut listed.  Squash is either good, or going bad, right?  Wrong!  Unlike any other variety, butternut has very hard skin, but is subject to cracking while the squash are growing, and then those cuts harden up – they are called “healed splits”.  So the squash is just fine – and considering it’s going to get baked who really cares, it just has a healed crack in it – the price is substantially lower.  10-20% of a butternut crop can crack with a sudden change of weather and excess rain, and larger growers have contracts for their split butternuts – that’s why you see so much butternut squash soup in the grocery aisle, but for smaller growers who may only have a few hundred pounds, they’re kinda hung with them, so we are offering them to you guys instead – and maybe for your deli.