MARKET REPORT, NOV. 20TH 2015

Local apple supply is still strong, with lots to choose from

With hard frost the last two nights in the Fraser Valley and colder weather to come, consider local season done, including Washington and Oregon – except for those few cold hardy greens like Brussels sprouts, collards and leeks, what was harvested yesterday, and a few brave souls who have covered their crops with hoop houses and row cover to stop the frost.  Supply on greens out of the south is awkward this week only because it just always is the week of US Thanksgiving.  It has been raining quite a bit in southern California, good for groundwater, bad for harvesting, which is fueling higher prices on things that shouldn’t be as expensive as they are, like kale.   Quick note:  OriginO is done with LE cukes for the season – gotta wait 3 months before you see more!  Another quick note:  Fairtrade Eggplant, first time we’ve listed it now on its way from Francisco Tepia at Rico Farm – awesome! All the long range forecasts and El Nino warnings seem to have gone haywire – this last week was the strongest week for El Nino – meaning that the ocean temperature off the coast of S. America was the hottest it has been, compared to normal, in history.  We didn’t expect the long range forecasts for a strong El Nino to be accurate, because the last comparison year is 1997, the last time we experienced one this large, but ocean temperatures are substantially warmer than two decades ago.  Long story short, predictions for above normal temperatures for the West haven’t panned out so far, nor the below normal precipitation, and new models in the last couple of days now show a much different story for California – lots of rain, but cooler than normal for the desert growing regions.  I guess we’ll find out, but in the meantime will quit talking about what things should be like, because it appears that no one can even guess accurately.Local apple supply is still strong, with lots to choose from, but you can expect to see a few varieties move to the U.S. shortly with thin supply – you will be able to tell as prices rise on remaining BC inventory to match U.S. selling prices.  We’ve hit a good stride on bananas and have moved primarily to Ecuador fruit for now, where we’re seeing most consistent supply, good shipping schedules and far less issues than we were seeing from other areas.  The rest of the fruit category is fairly stable – prices on most citrus is levelling out as colder weather in the Central Valley has brought on more lemons, Navel supply is increasing, the Mexican Valencia season is now on, and varietal citrus will become more and more available.  You will see lots of listings on Satsuma, and the first Tangerines as well.  California grapes are just about done, and expect to see higher pricing as growers wring the most amount of cash out of the latest varieties.   Then we will wait for a smattering of expensive southern fruit for many months.  The first Ecuador mangos are arriving, but we are 2 months away from receiving our first Fairtrade containers from Peru.Melons are ramping up with good volumes, and reasonable production in inland Sonora as well as down the coast.  Prices are falling on melons with the Thanksgiving pull out of Mexico finished and there is more supply than demand expected so see some great specials on Fairtrade fruit.  Persimmons and Pomegranates still in strong supply.    Hold your nose when you see the strawberry price – cool rainy weather in all regions, even in central Mexico and high demand this weekend are limiting volumes substantially, but the story is the same for conventional, with clams retailing as high as $12.As mentioned, green veg is on the pricey side, and honestly, there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight with demand exceeding supply pretty consistently.  Nice that organics is growing, but sad there aren’t enough farmers converting fast enough.  We will see the occasional gap from Agrofresco over the next few weeks, after a couple of weeks of wet cool weather, but the weather has recovered and is expected to stay warm and dry looking forward..Roots are stable, with solid BC supply on most items.