Buyer's Notes - January 21, 2022

Buyer’s Notes - January 21, 2022

Stefan Misse, Carter Selmes-Blythe, Brody Irvine, Jon Maheswaran - Discovery Organics

Well its been a rough week on trucking again as new Canadian Federal regulations coming into effect requiring all international drivers coming into Canada to be double vaccinated. The USA plans to do the same shortly for their country. What this means is just like the public there are still around 10-15% of adults that are not vaccinated and the same falls true for the trucking population. 10% less trucks means 15% less space and more expensive loads again. It is a problem that has ripples through the supply chain as North America wide trucking demand far exceeds what is possible. We have heard of loads being left for better pricing and there are bidding wars on the spot market to get goods moved. This week there has also been some bananas shortages as Port Hueneme in Oxnard CA is a major center for imported fruit from the global south. The ongoing port delays have finally stacked up at Hueneme causing the banana shortages. We do have good supply as we are using trucks for our Coliman loads but we do not usually ripen extra bananas above and beyond our usual sales. If you are looking for extra please give us a few days heads up on your needs and we will see what we can do.

From Stefan: 

Apples - not much new to report on the local scene. BC Granny’s are nearly done and we have some USA imports coming.

Bananas - good supplies on hand and we have heard of some shortages elsewhere due to ongoing Port issues. If you need more than usual please give us a few days heads up to ripen what you need.

Berries - all 4 majors are in good supply now. We also have ReadyCycle strawberries from our friends at A&A. Blues are finally off the boats and in our hands. Blackberries still hit and miss with arrivals due to ongoing red cell issues. Raspberries steady.

Citrus - the Daisy tangerines are eating great. High brix (sugar) and such flavour.

Grapefruit - pretty steady overall. We do have some nice sized pumelos in now as well. Flavour is fantastic on these.

Limes - watch your retails! Pricing has jumped to nearly double as we hit a supply gap due to hurricanes in the summer. Stormy weather blew most of the blossoms off a few months back and now we are in the period that this fruit should have been mature to pick. Instead we see very limited availability for a few weeks.

Lemons – steady supplies here too with the smaller 140s available for promotions. Bigger sizes are still commanding a premium. We have some Mexican lemons on route to help mitigate the price pressure up.

Oranges - Navels and Valencias are in strong supplies with promotions on Valencia bags available. The USA harvests and packing have been slowed due to COVID issues with the picking and packing teams.

From Brody:

Bok Choy – the baby/shanghai variety has just been absolutely gorgeous from Capay lately and we’re going to keep that train rolling. Expect pricing to come up a little bit in the coming week though as supplies are getting tighter.

Broccolini – continues to be a pricey and tight item… it is very labour intensive to grow and harvest so we do not expect much relief in pricing for a while yet.

Broccoli Bunches/Crowns – while prices are high right now on broccoli and supplies have been low, we are expecting major changes on this in the coming week or two and expect broccoli to be promotable soon 

Brussels Sprouts – our partner grower in Mexico, Green Earth, is just amazing and is showing up consistently with fantastic quality.

Carrots Bunched – if you are looking for that perfect carrot, that one that knocks your socks off, then look no further than the bunched carrots from Capay Organics!

Cauliflower – similar story to broccoli. The weather in the Imperial Valley of California/Mexico has been hitting ideal growing conditions for the past week and the forecasts are good too! Finally some relief will be coming on this commodity, we’re just not there quiiiite yet.

Celery – Campos Borquez is a new grower for us. Based just south of the US/MX border, they are growing and shipping some really nice quality product. Their celery is outstanding and best of all… they are certified Fair Trade with Fair Trade USA! Our main man in Mexico, Rafael, was there to visit the fields and packing shed back in November and was very impressed with their operation! Woohoo.

Collards – we’ve found a great deal on collards so expect some hot opportunities in the coming week. Time for some veggie wraps!

Spring Onions/Spring Garlic – Coke Farm is shining right now with their seasonal offerings.

Kale – all hail kale! All hail kale! All hail kale!

Leeks – if this is not your favourite allium yet… then you are missing out. The Leek King, aka Ralph’s Greenhouse, survived the winter freeze and is sending us the usual jaw dropping quality we all love.

Lettuce – very promotable right now so ask us for some deals.

Parsley – also quite promotable. Time for some tabbouleh!

Spinach – we are still 3-4 weeks away from local BC spinach… but it’s that close to our local season starting again already. Wow!

Radish Bunched – very very limited right now on red availability so we have brought in the Easter Egg variety instead. Super nice and beauty bunches to help fill that spot on the retail shelf.

Turnips Bunched – you may notice some bunched turnips on our lists, and best order them up! Coke Farm pulled out all the stops with these and they are fantastic.

From Carter:

Asparagus – production is much healthier this week out of Northern Mexico. Prices still remain high! We have a fresh arrival into Calgary on Monday. (Hippie Organics) We also have a new suppler in house in Vancouver (Campo Borquez) 4th generation farmers out of Sonora, Mexico.

Beans – steady pricing into next week. New arrivals Saturday (Vancouver) and Monday (Calgary).

Brussel Sprouts – FT Covilli 10# Brussels are back in stock! And our partner grower in Mexico, Green Earth, is just amazing and is showing up consistently with fantastic quality - although they are reporting a gap in supply coming up.

Carrots – 24/2# back in stock Saturday. Snack pack carrots remain snug into next week. Last arrival of the season on Fountainview carrots inbound Jan 27th.

Eggplant – steady supply all around into next week.

Garlic – our 2nd arrival of Alberta Red Russian inbound tomorrow from Mans Organics highlights for sure are the spring onions/garlic. They are absolutely stunnnnnning!

Mushrooms – looking good for poundage across the board from Highline next week. Champ’s is still limited to JBO and M whites. With the warmer temps for next week Oysters should be back in the mix.

Peas – new arrival inbound Saturday from Del Cabo! Few snow and snap bags available as well.

Peppers – new inbound pallet of Green Peppers arriving Monday. Good supply of colored bells, promotable volume available… Promotional pricing available on Mini Sweets, please chat with our sales team.

Potatoes (Fraserland) – it’s been a good year for yields at Fraserland, storage units are full! We will be rocking into late March!!!!

Hard Shell Squash – new acorn arrival Monday / Buttercup back in stock from Harkers / Delicata limited into next week / new green kabocha inbound Monday / Secrest spaghetti squash arriving mid next week.

Zucchini – great supply and price on the 45# pack from Aztlan.

Roma Tomatoes – new fruit in today from Divine. Look for a 2nd arrival on Monday from Covilli.

Grape Tomatoes – promotional pricing available next week Lots of supply to go around.

TOVs – limited till Monday.. Pricing will creep up next week.

From Jon:

Organic Girl Salads - product availability is improving, hoping to be back on track next week.

Yams - quantities and quality are strong! Steady supply here.