MARKET REPORT - MAY 14TH 2016

A great line-up of FT product for the last two weeks of May!Here’s a run through of changes we’re seeing for the upcoming week:Apples – pricing continues very high.  We are trying to pull as much CA Fuji as possible – and aiming for the WAXFPREM grade – stunning fruit, although the priciest in the market.  Not sure when this situation will change – really all depends on supply and demand through the summer.  Remember, though, we’re just 8 weeks away from the first fresh BC Apples! Grapes – whoosh!  If this week was any indication, seems that there is very strong demand right out of the gate – 3 varieties on the go and this will widen out over the next few weeks to a very wide range of Fair Trade options, including a couple of new introductions from last year that were eye-poppers.Grapefruit – We’ve come to the end of the season on our Fair Trade grapefruit program from coastal Michoacan nearly a month later than previous years so expect listings to disappear over the next week as we run through the last of it.  Except we are just weeks away, fingers crossed from the first new crop grapefruit from orchards literally 6000 feet higher that are just starting, so this program may, for the first time, end up going year-round – not a promise, just a wish!Mangos – A great run of Mexican fruit has begun with great quality on the first load, and Monday sees the arrival of our first load from our Fair Trade Pragor growers.  We’re building into a great line-up of FT product for the last two weeks of May, a good thing, considering this is Fair Trade month!Stone-fruit – Yup, those are nectarines listed in both colours – let the stone-fruit party begin – squeeze your shelf, get rid of anything boring and load up on grapes, melons and stone-fruit – the three big winners for the late and very warm spring (for some of us).  Yes I know it snowed in many parts of the Prairies mid-week, but with 30C today in parts of the Lower Mainland and across the BC Interior it’s hard not to be thinking summer thoughts.Strawberries – finally we have hit promotable and consistent volumes.  Was a rough patch for early varieties clashing with the weather for far too long, but that seems to be behind us.  Quality is excellent, pricing is dropping a bit and all is good!The same burst of great growing weather and little rain has brought on good volumes on broccoli and cauli – prices are stable and down a tad on cauli – recent arrivals have been excellent quality.More local product with Dandelion, Bok Choy, Napa, Kohlrabi, Lettuce and now the first of local Kale.  Volumes are fairly low on some of this stuff, grown under row cover to speed things up, and certainly early!  And we’re sure you’ve noticed a substantial and growing list for BC Salad Mix from Mr. Adventure – Troy Harker, one of many younger, enthusiastic and adventurous growers populating BC fields – gives us great pride seeing a wave of professional producers spreading their selections to create more local food supply – and often using expensive and well planned growing schemes to hit these early windows, including row cover and hoop houses.  Hope you appreciate all the effort!Simultaneously, our Agrofresco program will also slow down over the next few weeks as our lettuce and kale programs wind down just as BC product kicks in.That’s about it for news on greens.  Roots are very stable, with good supply on onions and continuing excellent supply on Canadian spuds.Salad continues to be a struggle, but volumes are increasing with more production areas, especially farther away from the coast where it is harder to grow salad because of temperature extremes, but a lot less mold issues.  Spinach, California is a mess – we’re lucky to have reasonable supply from BC and Washington growers, but still not enough to meet demand, and with temps very warm locally, production should increase on those.