Produce Update-March 27 2015

Wow, is it ever spring!  Most of you are likely experiencing what we are on the Coast, with temperatures 10C above normal.  There seems to be no end in sight to this amazing run of warmth and it’s sure to bring on summer greens weeks earlier than what we used to call ‘normal’.  Generally speaking, the season has started early right down the Coast, and temperatures across the Salinas / Watsonville area are perfect.  The transition from the southern deserts to those central California areas is well under way with many shippers forecasting ever-increasing production of faster growing items like broccoli and lettuce, so the sharp pricing we have seen, which has sharpened further for next week, will likely calm down soon.The avocado market, amongst others, is quite zany right now.  European markets are looking at prices 50% higher than here, with shortages being experienced from Spain, Africa and Chile.  This of course is putting huge pressure on Mexico, which also exports vast amounts to Europe. The last of the Chilean crop has been damaged with torrential rain and is being diverted to domestic markets.  Michoacan growers are now estimating that up to 20% of the fruit remaining on the trees has been damaged from those crazy storms which only adds to pricing pressure.  We are so glad to have had such good partners in Pragor for many years – all experienced and wise growers!  The same storms that ravaged Michoacan also hit surrounding states, including the areas with the highest volume of lime production in Mexico, both traditional Mexican limes (what we call key limes) as well as Persians.  There has been a swing to much higher production in that area because of perpetual problems on the eastern coast (Veracruz area) with citrus re-greening disease, which, for limes, means re-yellowing disease.  Limes are one of few varieties in the citrus category that don’t need cold nights to produce fruit – grapefruit being the other one.  But hail has ravaged a substantial amount of the lime crop.  The only ones we could try to capture were rejected by the USDA – the old “snail on a pallet” problem, and hence fumigated and diverted to the conventional market.  Growers are asking $50 USD at farm-gate in Mexico for conventional limes today, which would translate to a landed cost of ‘crazy.’  When prices get this high, lime loads become nearly as expensive as avocados and the usual perils of transport from Michoacan come into play.  A couple of years ago we had a similar shortage and many trucks were hi-jacked – the return on contraband limes at that time was better than on pot.No matter how tough life is, be thankful you are not a rural farmer in northern Chile, where for some places near the Atacama desert, they received 24 years of rain in one day.  That is not a typo!  A huge helicopter rescue is on, with people stranded hundreds of miles from passable roads, and thousands of hectares of vegetables washed away – not export crops – food crops for rural people living over a vast area of harsh terrain.We walked away from the last of our previous mango container and are now shipping ones harvested 5 weeks later.  This year’s mango campaign from Peru was a disaster from the get go.  Crop sizes were down as much as 70%, but the US port strike caused havoc, with so much fruit arriving very late and in piss poor condition into Los Angeles.  We ship mangos very differently – first, they aren’t hot water treated, and we ship in controlled atmosphere containers so the mangos go to sleep – and that has always worked perfectly, except we suffered the same port and delivery delays.  With the Michoacan season about to start, we are hoping to move this last container quickly, so don’t be shy with offers of large ads, including case lot plans!Oh, and by the way, yes those are Origino bell peppers on the list.  The volume is light, and it’s probably good if you don’t expect to get them, and be surprised if you do.