Buyer's Notes - April 15, 2022
Buyer’s Notes - April 15, 2022
Stefan Misse, Carter Selmes-Blythe, Brody Irvine, Jon Maheswaran - Discovery Organics
Here’s your market updates from our buying crew, who seem to be pretty pumped today with lots of change in the produce world.
Weather is in the news for one major reason today and that’s the record cold Arctic air mass hovering over the Pacific Northwest and southern BC. Overnight lows have dropped to the -3C range several nights this week in the Fraser Valley, keeping soil temperatures very low and damaging new transplants of tender veg. In the Interior, temperatures of -4 to -5C are damaging cherry blossoms, with growers in BC relying on helicopters to push heat down over their orchards. In Washington, they are spraying trees to coat them in ice, which although seems counter-intuitive, actually protects blossoms.
From Stefan:
Apples - BC fruit is nearing the end! We still have good supplies of Ambrosia but expect full transitions to Washington fruit shortly. Speaking of Washington fruit…. Many are in bloom right now and Washington has been walloped with cold temps and snow storms this week. This will have a strong impact on many orchards this year. Bees cannot do their work the blossoms are covered in snow. And if its too cold the flowers will freeze and drop.
Avocados - pricing remains firm and suppliers relatively short. Steady volumes out of Mexico and the USA for the time being.
Blueberries - good supplies from Berries Paradise and Dovex and quality is sharp on both packs. Pricing is inching up as their season is winding down. USA is trickling in and once the main growing regions in the valley are on we will transition north. BC isn’t far behind.
Grapefruit - the Mexican crop is nearly done aside from some large fruit still packing. Volume deals are available on 27ct and 32ct. The USA crop overall is steady with even sizing.
Grapes – 1 more month to go until we see the start of the Mexican season. Hopefully in time for the May long weekend here.
Melons - good volume on mini watermelons moving forward as we head into the Hermosillo region for harvests. Cantaloupe should be available in the next week or so. Our friends at Access Organics will be starting up in El Centro in 3-4 weeks as well. Here is a shot of their cantaloupe in the field this week.
Oranges - Navels are still available but the end is nigh! Maybe 2 weeks? Lots of Mexican Valencias for promotions till June. Just ask! Fruit is eating like candy right now. Orange flavoured candy.
Pears - Washington supplies are nearing their end. Imports from Argentina are arriving to the Ports (finally) now and we should see smooth transitions.
Strawberries – There was rain in Watsonville this past week which halted the Martinez program for a bit. We aim to be back on board with them mid week. Thanks for all the great sales this Easter weekend. We brought in loads of strawberries and you sold them all!
From Brody:
Artichokes – the spring artichoke season is amongst us and our pals at Coke Farm are coming through with fantastic crop. Expect the tips of the artichoke leaves to be ‘frost kissed’ as they grew throughout the winter. It’s just a bit of browning on the outer edges of the inedible leaf, and by growing through the cold winter nights you can expect the edible artichoke heart to be absolutely delicious.
Bok Choy – both the baby shanghai variety and the large white stem variety are back and readily available. The is all new crop product from the California coast and Bakersfield area so will be clean and in high quality.
Broccolini – the baby broccoli market is hot and flying! Quality is outstanding and the sweet flavour of these broccoli spears is perfect for the Easter weekend. Great for roasting, steaming, or grilling.
Broccoli – getting into a solid flush of availability right now and Coke Farm is coming through with fantastic quality.
Cabbage – we had a small gap in supplies this week but just received a new shipment from Josie’s… always an outstanding grower and packer. So we are ready to go with all your needs heading into the weekend and we’ll have steady supplies going forward.
Raabs – this is the last week of availability for sprouted cabbage/collards/kales so get these while you can! Our local growers in Longview and Ralph’s Greenhouse did an excellent job harvesting these this spring and they are delicious and tender. Cook up similar to asparagus and broccolini.
Carrot Bunches – we’re seeing a fresh arrival of the delicious nantes carrots from Capay arrive today and also have some amazing purple and rainbow bunch carrot options from Sunrise Organic Farm – a tremendous Latino owned/operated farm just outside of Santa Barbara that we are always excited to work with during the spring season.
Cauliflower – welp this has been a tricky crop this spring… while we are back in the coastal growing regions there has been some major weather challenges (heat waves and then rains) which have affected quality. We’re working hard to source the cleanest and highest quality flower for everyone and are seeing fresh arrivals today and all weekend too.
Chard – it’s a chard knock life! Get your chard here! Cal-O is blowing our minds with their quality lately.
Dates – we just received a fresh shipment of the ‘melt in your mouth’ Mazafati dates from Azin Foods. These are insane! And it’s Ramadan as well so now is the perfect time to create a date display and promote some sweet treats.
Fennel – this is a spring time must for the veggie rack! Pairs so well with overwintered local leeks and some wild harvested fiddleheads.
Kohlrabi – Coke Farm is at it again with these beautiful bunches of purple kohlrabi. These add a much needed splash of colour to the retail shelf and the dinner plate, plus are just a healthy and delicious snack.
Lettuce – we have fresh and clean arrivals from Cal-O coming in for some US grown options, and a brand new shipment directly from Ecocampos is arriving to us early next week as well. It’s time for a salad party.
Radishes – we have local radish already! What!? Yes we dooo! Two EE’s is hopping to it with jaw dropping bunches of red radish that they nurtured through the early spring days and we could not be happier. Snap these up while you can as it’ll be a short window of availability.
Rhubarb – wow! Living Rain is a grower with the utmost attention to quality and flavour and they never disappoint. Their rhubarb has finally landed in our warehouse and we are ready for it! Strawberry rhubarb pie here we come.
Spinach – another local springtime favourite, the spinach from Olera Farms is here and is just stellar. This is the type of spinach that just sells itself!
From Carter:
Asparagus – Thanks for all the support on our grass program here at Discovery! We’ve seen some fantastic movement over the last 3 weeks. We will be staying ahead of the market again for next week. Look for pricing to increase the following week.
Beans – FT Covilli beans inbound Sunday to Vancouver. New crop beans from Bridges will see its first arrival in Vancouver on Friday. Grown in Costa de Hermosillo, these will run until middle/end of May
Carrots – Last arrival of the season on 24x2# BC Fountainview carrots will be Wednesday, April 20th
Eggplant – Steady as she goes on eggs out of Nogales
LE Cucumbers BC - Quality has been excellent to start the season on HH grown Cucumbers from OriginO. We are well stocked with another fresh pickup on Monday
Fiddleheads – Let our sales team know on any orders needed. 5# bulk and package available
Onions – Rocking WA yellow for another few weeks. We will make the switch over to new crop desert onions from Heger. We have our last arrival today of 3# yellow bags from Peak of the Market, that will be a wrap on Manitoba till new crop begins in September
Hot Peppers – We will be stocked up again starting Sunday on all hot peppers (Anaheim, Habanero, Jalapeno, Serrano, and Poblano)
Zucchini – Promotional opportunities available for next week. Please talk with our sales team
Roma Tomatoes – Sold out till Sunday. Should see good volume into next week. Look for Llano JBO size to arrive Wednesday next week
OriginO – We are up and running on Heirlooms and TOV’s.. We will be into heavy volume on both by end of next week
From Jon:
I’m on a small Easter holiday!