Produce Update-February 11 2015

Randy: Supply Gap on Bananas!  A back log with the Canadian Border Services has our banana containers (which arrived at exactly the right time for continuous supply) sitting at the port for extra days now, waiting.  Our first Peruvian mango container of the season is in the same situation.  So unfortunately we are going to be out of bananas for a few days - at least until the weekend, and desperate attempts to find short-term fill-ins came up empty. Everyone we contacted, right down the West Coast are short and have been pro-rating their customers for some time because of the ongoing US Port Strikes, which are just getting worse.  Our total apologies, but this is totally out of our control.Jodi: Like Randy said up top, we’re seeing a gap in bananas this week as we wait impatiently for our next containers to clear at the port. There’s a shortage reaching all down the entire West Coast with the port disruptions in the states still going strong. Suppliers are starting to re-route shipments into East Coast ports as container ships are stuck bobbing around outside West Coast ports for up to 2 weeks waiting for a call. In the perishable produce world this is resulting in a lot of bad arrivals and loss of sales, and heightened stress for all.On the other hand: Citrus! We’ve got lots of listings now and adding more every week. Bloods were off to a shaky start, but are stabilizing now. Cara’s are done for the season already, but golden nuggets, and lots of fun mandarins are ready and waiting for you! Prices are high because of the recent rains causing sketchy harvests, but mostly supplies are good across the board.Stefan: The weather in the growing regions of Mexico where we draw our supply of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant and beans through the winter has been pretty good lately and this consequently has finally dove-tailed into consistent and solid supply on all lines. We have not seen much relief in pricing though as the consistent cold in the eastern part of the continent has led to increased demand from the Mexican supply chain. The continual slide in the Canadian dollar has not helped either.  Our BC apple supply is starting to run a little thin with only Gala, Fuji and Spartan still in abundance. Look for more and more Washington apples on our lists in the coming weeks.Annie: Strawberry season is slow starting, limited volume is keeping the price up a bit higher than most years. Blueberries are great, price and quality are excellent. Blackberry season is not steady, fruit is coming in bursts, and thankfully the gaps have been minimal. Lettuce and cilantro quality continue to improve, kale is abundant and priced as such, broccoli prices are coming down, and the flavor has been extra sweet this winter, beautiful lime green romanesco is back in stock now from Capay, with Coke Farms just a few days behind.