8/25/08

Greetings Food Lovers!

This past week my wife and I were having a heated discussion over dinner about the Presidential elections and Obabma’s selection of Biden and how McCain will counter with his selection for his Vice President candidate. It is an interesting debate. I think that Colin Powell will be into the mix and if so, it should turn into a very interesting several months.

Our conversation lead to why anyone would ever want to run for that office and all the media attention your family, friends and business would get. I would never do it. I can just see the opposition get into my old life of a wandering backpacker traveling around Asia for 5 years (notice I did not use that word I dislike, Hippy.)

I can only imagine what these “presumed" candidates think about every day when they get up. What not to say, what to wear, how to smile, how to shake hands, where to go for lunch and all those other things. Do you think that they have people for all that? I am not so sure. It is almost impossible for most people not to make a mistake during their normal day, but to have someone watching you that closely? I have enough dealing with my two brothers. Not me! I guess that is why I am the Grocer and those other people want to have a chance at that Oval Office.

Produce Talk

California is having major issues with insects. The weather has been unseasonably warm for the last few weeks; this causes a huge spike in insects, and some of the crops get inundated with insects to the point where they disc them under. This takes volume out of the mix, which is not good for pricing. Broccoli, Lettuce, Romaine, and Romaine Hearts are some of the big ones that are affected. For next week, expect all these items to increase. Romaine and Romaine Hearts are the hardest hit: prices have jumped up 200% from last week and next week will be the same. Don’t be shocked when you don’t see certain items on the shelves for the next weeks.

The amount of rain that is dropping on Florida is unprecedented in the state’s history. What you have to remember is Florida is or was going to plant all of their crops in the next few weeks, and if they get delayed for any long period of time, prices will be affected. Our saving grace in this is all the local product that is available. The small farmer down in Florida will be facing issues because they can’t compete against the big guys. He has to cut corners somewhere, and usually it is food safety: he doesn’t do it. In this age of food scares, the new buzz word for the wholesalers and distributors is origin of product. We are now demanding to know where their produce is coming from, which is a good thing.

Concerns about the Florida storms will hit home in the next weeks. Not only will we see a potential delay in product grown there, but imported product coming from Central and South America use the ports there as a destination into the United States. Ships will be diverted to other regions and we might see shortages of some product or higher costs due to fuel costs.

Tomatoes

There are abundant supplies from multiple growing areas. Jersey product has issues due hail damage a few weeks ago. Lancaster County has had fantastic tasting tomatoes and there have been some great tasting jumbo vine ripe product arriving from North Carolina and Alabama . All of the areas have had ideal growing conditions creating excellent yields and quality.

Berries

Strawberries and raspberries are in good supply out of Salinas . Watch for a steady supply of Driscoll berries as we head toward Labor Day. Blackberries will be a tight item as yields are not meeting projections. Blueberries are now from British Colombia, that is far west above Seattle in Canada . You will notice the higher price.

Grapes

The market on red seedless grapes will firm up as flames wind down. Growers will begin to struggle as they begin with Rubies and Crimson seedless. The white seedless grapes have the highest sugar levels of the season. They are nice and firm. They won’t be like that in a few weeks!

Peaches

There is currently plenty of local and Jersey peaches with exceptional color and quality. The market in California and Washington is still very weak. Growers from both areas are desperately looking for business resulting in plenty of deals to be made. The quality of fruit is good.

Plums

The large supply of plums will begin to wind down as growers finish up on Friars and move into Howard Sun. Angelinos will be the last variety of black plums for the season. Red plums will finish in the next week to ten days.

Nectarines

There is a good supply of nectarines this week from California that has good quality. This should continue over the next few weeks. New Jersey now has a small supply with great color and quality.

Oranges

The market on California Valencia oranges is gradually rising and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season. Some growers are finishing and others are dropping in volume. The smaller size fruit is in limited supply. South Africa , Australia and Peru have a good amount of imported navels. Quality and color are very nice and the price is reasonable considering the distance traveled.

Lemons

This week the lemon market has dropped more in California as they are feeling pressure coming from imported fruit out of Mexico and Chile . Most of the imported fruit has been peaking on the small size.

Cantaloupe and Honeydew

After the market showed a little strength last week on cantaloupe it has dropped this week. Quality and color are very nice. Growers are trying to move volume on honeydew this week as the market has tanked.