MARKET REPORT - SEPT. 4TH, 2015
Blueberries and kiwi-berries from Oregon, bins of BC fruit and more!
Well, the kiddies will all be in school by Tuesday, taking, we hope, fresh organic goodness in their lunches! It’s hard to know when to shift to a “fall” theme, because fall weather is hit and miss. It has been well below normal, if not downright cold the last week, and with heavy rains in some areas there has been surprisingly few production challenges for all BC vegetable growers. And there is no consensus amongst forecasters about the long term look at the next couple of weeks, except that there is a clearing and warming trend for all areas. (The only interloper is Hurricane Ignacio, which will, like Typhoon Loke, move across the North Pacific now that it has said goodbye to Hawaii, and hit the West Coast sometime next week as an “extra tropical” storm. These storms are very small in size, but pack a huge punch, which we certainly witnessed last Saturday here in the Lower Mainland and well into Washington. Where Ignacio’s remnants will hit is unknown, although most forecasts having it landing farther north, but leaving the door open for changes. Fun to watch if you’re a weather nerd!
Lots of news this week. First, expect to see more bins of BC fruit which we usually order as orchard run. As explained a few weeks ago, this is a mix of XF, FCY and C grade – about 70% being export grade fruit. No, they didn’t run through the orchard and hurl them into bins – but the over-all cost is reduced substantially, considering the cost to pack out boxes with trays, stickers etc. is around $12 a box – that’s where your saving is. If you have a door big enough for a bin, they make great draws at your front door.Why do we have blueberries? Well, there is another production area in Oregon that comes on way later than everyone else, and once California, then Oregon, then Washington and finally BC are all finished harvesting, this late Oregon crop appears on the market. The other Oregon news this week is the first shipment of those amazing little Kiwiberries. There are over 50 varieties of kiwi that grow in our climate (being from Oregon north), and there is actual Hayward kiwi production on Vancouver Island. These Kiwiberries taste just like Kiwi, they are just the size of grapes. Most kiwi are quite small except the commercial fuzzy Haywards that are grown all over California, NZ and Chile. This is a short run, and weather variable because they don’t like rain, but jump on it while you can – they are always a hit. Huge run on BC grapes this week with all growers and varieties in the market – weather dependent, this great crop should be around for a month at least. California is now past its peak and we’re seeing much higher prices as we go through a market correction.
Lemon pricing seems to have stabilized at these crazy prices, and long term expect to see relief creep slowly in through the fall as cooler desert nights will colour up more fruit (lemons need a little cold to inspire them to turn from green to yellow.) There is very little choice grade fruit available, which will give you some relief, and pricing is very high on choice as well.When weather cools down, some plants, already exhausted, just slow right down, while others react to the change and speed up (their little brains convinced they have to give it their best before their done.)Green zucchini quits flowering, and blossom rot usually takes most of them out when it’s raining. Field cukes slow down to a crawl but continue to flower. Tomatoes quit flowering, but there is already tons of green fruit waiting to ripen. These are just a few of the changes on that front. Lettuces love cool weather and rain, but the sudden change last week has caused a few gaps, but we expect full recovery on later plantings. Corn is about done – started early and ended early. Some late plantings may still produce some, but there certainly won’t be any volume.