MARKET REPORT - NOV 29TH, 2015

NOVEMBRRRRR and its Arctic Blast!

When I was a kid, many decades ago, it would be a little cold and frosty and we called that winter.  When it was really bloody cold, for the Coast, it was a cold snap.  We used to look forward to those because it meant that it would end with a good dump of snow.  Those days seem to be over.But the language changed and it became an Arctic Blast.  Same temperatures, but sounds better on the news!  It doesn’t make sense for Canada to call cold an Arctic Blast – it’s just winter – but when those cold temperatures dip south, it is really is worth talking about.  It nearly froze in San Francisco last night and there are frost warnings out for a huge area of western coastal California.  Even if it doesn’t get cold enough to get “ice on the windows” it certainly slows down production. The combination of sending some Canadian winter air south and the Thanksgiving pull have put some limits on availability and even higher prices – especially on broccoli and cauli.  The desert is just opening up – 3 weeks later than last year and especially for those two crops, it’s just a mess.  Romaine is suffering too – it takes longer to grow and just isn’t ready in Imperial or Yuma.   Celery has escaped because so much more is being grown in central Mexico for major shippers.Here’s a fast rundown:  Fruit is stable across the board, with a few exceptions – grapes are about done – the harvest should end about now especially with frigid temperatures in the Central Valley with lows well below freezing for the next few days.  Mangos – sheesh!  Ecuador’s crop is suffering from El Nino, with organic exports down 65% so far in the campaign and prices are definitely reflecting it – and we’re 6 weeks away from our major Peruvian program.The citrus section continues to grow as more specialty fruit winds its way north, and those cold temperatures are going to colour up a lot of different varieties quickly.  Cara and Blood aren’t too far out.  Melons continue to be in great supply with very unseasonal pricing on honeydew especially.Veg supply is fine – prices are hurting on commodities mentioned above.  We have some flexibility and hope you are peeking at our ad sheets to see the pricing we can offer on our Mexican contracts on broccoli, celery, kale and lettuce.  That program will continue to grow with the addition of stronger supply of Napa, Broccoliini and a few others over the next few weeks – and finally after a multi-week border delay, the twist ties we printed up in Arizona are now on their way south, so expect to see some better packaging on all the Agrofresco product over the next few weeks.You will start to see bulk kale on the list – that’s maybe something you should think about – not just for your juice customers, but if people are willing to spend the big bucks on clamshell kale, why not sell it in bulk?Roots are about stable as can be, including full ranges of carrots, potatoes, onions and yams.Carnival peppers?  We have to explain that to newbies (here especially) every year.  Green peppers mature into red, yellow and orange, and at the end of the season, growers harvest the green ones that have started to turn before they shut down.  OriginO will be ending their pepper program any day for about 4 months.    Carnival peppers are just green peppers in the throes of becoming something un-green, and actually by the time your customers buy them, take them home, forget them in the crisper – well, they will end up with peppers that are more likely red or orange or yellow.