Kleins Supermarket - Market Report

2/20/10

Greetings Food Lovers!

February is Potato Lovers Month. To celebrate this momentous occasion, which is an excuse by the potato growers association to increase sales; shall we dig deeper into history?

The potato, which originated in Peru , took a long journey to reach North America . The Spaniards took it back to Spain in the 16th century; from there it made its way to Italy and Northern Europe, then to Bermuda and the Virginia colonies of North America.

Potatoes are sensitive to chill damage, and warmer temperatures will increase sprouting. Store potatoes at 45 to 50 degrees. Avoid prolonged exposure to light; this will cause potatoes to turn green. Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XV, was known to wear potato blossoms as a hair decoration.

The first permanent potato patches in North America were established in 1719, most likely near Londonderry (Derry), New Hampshire . Did you know: The ' Idaho ' potato or 'Russet Burbank' potato was developed by Luther Burbank in 1871. Clark is the Potato Capital of South Dakota. It is also home to the world famous Mashed Potato Wrestling contest. I prefer Jell-O!

Produce Talk

California Citrus

The navel orange and lemon markets are both stable this week with some flexibility in price on volume business. Quality on navels are outstanding. Minneola tangelos continue to be in strong supply. Murcott mandarins will begin this week and are expected to arrive by the end of the week. The Murcott mandarins are similar to clementines in that they are easy to peel, seedless and have a deep orange exterior color.

Florida Citrus

The grapefruit and tangerine markets have not changed and supplies remain good. The juice orange market is stronger with the start of Valencias , which will run on the larger size.

Grapes

Grape supplies are currently tight. Due to the snow and blizzard conditions last week, very little fruit was unloaded at the piers. Also, since President’s Day was on Monday, the USDA will not be working until Tuesday. Therefore, we can expect that grapes will not be available after inspection until Wednesday. What does this mean, slight shortages and tight prices.

Strawberries

Demand exceeds supply. The combination of rain in Mexico and Southern California , limited volume from Florida due to the lack of blooms during the January freeze, and the Valentine’s Day pull is going to keep this market very firm. The quality of strawberries from California is fair and shippers are not recommending that any of the fruit be sent further east than the Mississippi River . The fruit is firm, but due to cloudier skies, the fruit is showing excessive white shoulders and lighter colored fruit. Expect to see drastic price drops during the first week of March as both Florida and Southern California will be peaking with volume.

Tomatoes

Florida round tomatoes have become very limited. Almost all tomatoes leaving Florida show signs of chill damage upon arrival. This means that the tomatoes will have a spongy feel or give more slightly than usual. Currently, the best source for round tomatoes is Mexico . Last week, I began purchasing hot house product as the Florida tomatoes just were exploding in the boxes. Much too much waste. Roma tomatoes from Mexico continue to be steady. Grape and cherry tomatoes are also a bit tighter this week; however, Florida still has enough volume to cover most demand.

Leaf Lettuce

Supplies exceed demand at this time. Coachella Valley , in Southern California , has been receiving the best quality reports due to the fact that this growing region did not receive as much rain; however, their demand remains flat as well. I prices to remain weak during the next 7- 10 days. Although I was told this is a great time to promote leaf lettuces, my supplier also told me to be aware that there are quality defects due to the heavy rains from earlier this month.

Iceberg Lettuce

There are currently ample supplies of iceberg lettuce available from the Yuma growing districts since demand is light. The heavy rains from earlier in the month have caused some quality defects such as epidermal peel on the outer leaves, the occasional broken mid rib and pink discoloration to the mid rib.

Green Beans

The supply of green beans have tightened up due to recent rains in Mexico . At the current time, both processors and bulk buyers are sourcing from Mexico . Florida is expected to begin harvesting around the first week in March. Hint: High Prices.

Cucumbers

The cucumber market was active last week due to heavy rains in Mexico . The growing regions in Mexico received more rain again last week and has further delayed harvesting and caused a decrease in product availability. Expect prices to increase due to this shortage. There is a fair volume crossing through Nogales , Arizona and the quality is reported as good. Honduran product shipping through Florida is available, but the quality is listed as fair.

Green Bell Peppers

Green bell peppers are in short supply and therefore, the prices are very high. The rain in the Mexican growing regions caused growers to stop harvesting for a few days. Weather did improve for a few days, but then more rain fell late last week. Once again, growers were forced to halt production until the fields were dry enough to begin harvesting again. Expect prices to increase on bell peppers and the availability in Nogales , Arizona to be limited. This market has been tightening up for a few weeks already because Florida has only 25% of their normal volume for this time year due to the damages of the January freeze.

Most buyers are forced to buy Mexican product. Look for this situation to stay expensive until early Spring when the Southeastern growing region begins their season.

Have a fruitful week!

2/12/10

Greetings Food Lovers!

THANK YOU!

These are the words I received countless times last Saturday and Sunday from my customers as they came trudging in to my Supermarket, searching out food staples or a special item for a chile recipe. What I did was nothing special. I just came to work and opened the doors, the same our family has been doing since 1892. It is a privilege to be of service.

Behind the door, if you are not in the food business, this weather event does take planning. When we first got wind of the potential storm, we found a great web site to monitor. http://philadelphiaweather.blogspot.com/

Planning is important. Customer traffic increases and the purchases are larger. We have to take an educated guess to increase our orders of bread, milk, produce and meat. Our suppliers deliver daily, which makes it easy. Groceries are a different concern as we receive a big order every Wednesday, so we have to estimate what we will need for the week. During the big storm in 1996, the entire eastern coastal region was hammered, a state of emergency was declared and for 4 days commerce was disrupted. Dairy farmers couldn’t get their milk picked up and were forced to dump milk when their storage tanks were full. Chicken farmers on the Delmarva Peninsula couldn’t get the trucks out to deliver chickens to the processing plants. Supermarkets couldn’t get supplies and customers were accepting alternatives. All this because of snow. Imaging what can happen if something serious occurs.

All this and a bag of beans!

Produce Talk

California Citrus

Navels supplies are good despite the rains. Quality and color are outstanding. The lemons are going up in price. Quality of blood oranges and Cara Cara navels are amazing!

Florida Citrus

This is an interesting time for Florida produce. The last big freeze promised doom and gloom, along with sky high prices. Now reports coming in tell us, wait a minute, it’s not so bad. Valencia juice oranges will begin this week. This is the next variety as the season moves on. Expect the pricing to be higher. There are ample supplies of Temple oranges and growers are making deals to increase movement. Both red and white grapefruit are looking good, but the larger sizes are still way up there in price. Supplies of honey tangerines are good and the prices are reasonable.

Tomatoes

Doom and gloom! Florida is now entering into the shortage period that was anticipated since early January. Most shippers have not been harvesting, therefore, supplies are very limited.

Volume will be very sparse going forward, especially on small sizes. Mexico will have good supplies on round and hothouse tomatoes. Plum tomatoes remain in good supply from Mexico. This low priced market should turn around within a week or two. Grape tomatoes will be in good supply this week, but the market will turn quickly. Most shippers are entering a production gap for a few weeks.

Strawberries

Currently demand is exceeding supply due to gaps in production as Florida is recovering from January’s freeze, Mexico ’s rain that limited harvest, and clean up from California ’s recent rains. Quality from California is becoming better since most of the berries damaged by the rains has been cleaned up. There are still excessive white shoulders and some lighter colored fruit; however, expect these issues to improve during the week. This is based upon Southern California avoiding any further rains. Florida is expecting to flush their fruit during the week of February 22nd. At this time, there is a lot of white fruit on the plants that look to be ready.

Stone Fruit

Cherries have finally ended. Nectarines are tight this week with new arrivals expected shortly. There are good supplies of peaches and plums. Apricots from New Zealand are outstanding, but the prices are high.

Grapes

The prices on red and white grapes, which was decreasing, received a boost over the weekend. A vessel was delayed in arriving due to the snow storm that hit the East Coast. This has caused a gap in supply and moved prices up. By mid-week, markets are expected to return to normal with a wide range of prices on various sizing of both white and red grapes.

Green Bell Peppers

The green bell pepper market has been active due to the full affects of Florida ’s freeze. Prices increased, but shippers are keeping prices “reasonable” because they are sensitive to the fact that too high of prices will affect demand. There is fair volume crossing through Nogales , Arizona on mostly larger sized bell peppers. Also, growing regions in Mexico are expecting rain. If the rain is heavy, growers will need to stop harvesting until the fields are dry. With these possible production delays, market prices could go up and availability will become even more limited as demand from East Coast buyers has increased.

Leaf Lettuce

Supplies currently exceed demand. The heavy amounts of rain received during the past two weeks have pushed harvests together thus causing shippers to price very aggressive this week.

Iceberg Lettuce

There are supplies of nice quality iceberg lettuce now available out of the desert growing districts. Demand is light and prices are expected to be extremely aggressive this week. The heads showcase a nice green color and good weights.

Cucumbers

The cucumber market has been steady this week. Cucumbers crossing through Nogales , Arizona have good volume and quality. The growing regions in Mexico are expecting rain, which would delay harvesting. If the weather does become an issue, prices will increase due to low production due to the Florida freeze. Within the next few weeks vessels will be arriving from Honduras which will reduce the strain on our supplies.

Green Beans

Steady supplies are arriving from Mexico at this time, but prices remain high due to zero production from Florida . Expect the market to remain stronger until late February or early March when production begins again in the Southeast.

Celery

Pricing has decreased as supplies have increased and demand is remaining soft. Moisture in the fields after the rains from a few weeks ago along with mild temperatures has made for rapid celery growth. The desert region is now almost to full-scale production.

Have a fruitful week!

2/7/10

Greetings Food Lovers!

In the thirty years of operating Kleins Supermarket, I have never witnessed such a multifaceted approach of damaging weather conditions such as we are presented with now.

Last week, I received a flood of emails alerting the industry of intense storms approaching the California coast from the deep Pacific Ocean region. This time of year, the central growing regions of California receive about a half inch of rain. The first storm’s wallop was promising 5 to 6 inches in a 2 day period, with mountain snows promising 3 to 10 feet of powder. This, plus the second storm, will stop workers from getting to the fields, hamper transportation to the east and will curtail distance shipping due to some of the harvest will just not have enough life to remain stable.

Many Florida vegetable packinghouses remained at a standstill Jan. 21 as Florida grower-shippers recover from nearly two weeks of freezing temperatures that devastated their crops. State agricultural officials say produce shipments have declined significantly and Florida ’s growers will likely sustain hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Packings have ground to a halt in Immokalee — the principal winter tomato and bell pepper growing region — and in Homestead and Belle Glade where growers grow and pack other vegetables such as green beans, sweet corn and squash.

Fred Moore, a salesman for Five Bros. Produce Inc., Homestead , said no one has been running green beans, which suffered up to 95% damage. He said the Miami-Dade County production region also suffered up to 70% losses on yellow and zucchini squash. Five Bros. tried to run a crop of beans on Jan. 20 but because of the load having too much frozen and dehydrated damage, the packer after an hour had to stop and dump all the beans into the cull shoot, he said. “It is absolutely devastating what we have suffered here,” Moore said Jan. 21.

Growers in Homestead, along with Belle Glade and Immokalee, which also sustained heavy freeze damage, grows beans through late April and early May. Spring bean plantings, however, remain unscathed and should start on-time as normal in early March, Moore said. On Jan. 21, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported light supplies of green beans, with bushel cartons at $45, compared to the market high of $11 at the same time last year. The freeze is affecting markets of Mexican green beans, with 30-pound cartons up to $32.95, more than twice the f.o.b. at the same time last year.

Buyers of Florida winter vegetables and tomatoes should expect smaller volumes and higher than normal prices until the new spring plantings mature.

Many of south Florida ’s packinghouses that would normally be busy with green beans, sweet corn, bell peppers, squash and tomatoes remain at a standstill, causing some prices to shoot to very high levels. On Jan. 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it expected Florida beans, peppers and tomatoes of all types to decline in movement during the next two weeks. We should see supplies down up to 75%.There will be a roller coaster ride of supply and quality issues for the next two months.

Winter is prime time for lettuce in Yuma , Arizona with nearly all of California ’s major lettuce grower-shippers relocating there to keep leafy green supplies consistent. Growers continued to face muddy conditions in Yuma , Ariz. , the week of Jan. 25 as a powerful storm dropped record rainfall days before in desert growing region. Crews have been struggling to get harvesting equipment into the fields, sometimes towing equipment with trucks, and were forced to stop work during heavy rains.

Produce Talk

California Citrus

Growers were able to get into the fields and pick navel oranges; however, more rain is expected. There is good availability on choice and fancy fruit for the week and prices are holding steady. The lemon market is steady on larger sizes, but smaller sizes are becoming tight and prices are increasing. Ample supplies of Minneola tangelos, Pummelos, Blood oranges, Cara Caras’ and

Clementines are available.

Florida Citrus

Grapefruit is peaking on the smaller sizes with limited amounts of those real big ones we love to eat.

Growers are packing juice oranges, which are running on the bigger sizes. Honey tangerines have good supplies on all sizes and we should see great quality lasting into March. Temples and Orlando tangelos are in great shape even with all the talk of gloom and doom from the Florida freeze. Honeybell tangelos are finished for the season.

Grapes

The grape market is sloppy on both red and white seedless varieties. Prices are everywhere with a variance of up to $10 a box depending on size and color. There are great deals out there but the higher prices are going for those extra large gems.

Strawberries

It has been over a month since I last saw some nice strawberries and this situation will remain for some time. Southern California suffered heavy rains last week. If the rains continue to taper off there should be some availability early this week. Any strawberries shipped will show rain damage and have a lighter color. Shipping farther than the Midwest was not recommended; however, orders were still taken.

Central Mexico still has good supplies and Florida ’s supplies are increasing, but expect the market to tighten towards the end of the week. Expect most of the berries to be arriving from Mexico during the next few weeks.

Cucumbers

The demand for cucumbers from Mexico should increase dramatically by the middle of the week due to the shortage in Florida product. There will be substantial market increases in Nogales on Mexican product as demand grows and production is limited. The growing regions of Mexico received rain last week, which halted some of the harvest. Supplies were light, but should improve this week.

Asparagus

Asparagus remains high due to most shippers beginning to transition from 11 lb. to 28 lb. packs. Mexican grown asparagus will be the majority of the volume, although some Peruvian imports will continue to arrive in Miami . The market could have a slight increase in demand this week, but no price changes are expected.

Green Beans

The prices are going up and will remain higher as all product is being sourced from Nogales in Mexico due to the freeze earlier this month in Florida . Expect prices to remain high until late February when product becomes available again from the East Coast.

Broccoli

Demand is down and good supplies of broccoli are available from multiple growing regions. Shippers are making deals daily to try to spark movement.

Green Bell Peppers

We will begin to feel the affects of the Florida freeze this week. Normal volume is expected from Mexico , but high demand for product will come from buyers that normally purchase from Florida . The high demand for product from the East Coast will cause a dramatic upward trend in pricing until Florida ’s spring crop begins. Also, Mexico had rain last week, which prevented some shippers from harvesting. Due to this gap in harvest, supplies were light, but are expected to improve as February begins.

Tomatoes

Supplies of round tomatoes continue to be steady. Florida has cleaned up most of its supplies that were harvested prior to the freeze. Expect to see prices climb within a few weeks. Most of the volume will be from Homestead , Florida as growers were not as adversely affected by the

cold weather.

Plum tomatoes also remain in good supply. We should continue at these low prices for another week until supplies become more limited. Quality has been exceptional on all Roma tomatoes. There are ample supplies of grape tomatoes for the next few weeks. Cherry tomatoes are very limited at this time and are arriving from Mexico .

Zucchini

Prices remain reasonable on zucchini considering the damage done in Florida , but yellow zucchini is extremely high. The rains in Mexico are the reason behind these high prices since yellow is more delicate than green and shows the sign of rainy weather.

Celery

Demand currently exceeds supply. Rain and cooler weather in California has created shortages. Prices are up about 50 cents a bunch.

1/12/10

Well folks, if you have been complaining about the cold this past week, put those worries away because there has been a whole lot of suffering going on down in the deep south. I am not talking about just the elemental pain and suffering, but serious calamities going on. This week I have had a tidal wave of emails reporting near term disaster of crop freezes in Georgia to Southern Florida . Heck, even my parents down in Del Rey , Florida told me that they had the heat on due to 20 degree weather.

Here is what we know. In our current economic climate, every retail operation looks to promote produce as a vehicle to generate traffic into the store. We work out deals with our suppliers who in terms work out the deals with the growers and shippers. For example, retail ads may go more heavily toward Texas citrus instead of Florida citrus, or California berries instead of Florida strawberries. Making the move to other supply regions can sometimes hurt the bottom line by increased transportation costs.

Florida farmers produce nearly all our nation’s domestically produced fresh fruits and vegetables during the winter. There is much at stake, both for our farmers and for consumers all across the United States who count on Florida to provide them with fresh domestic produce in the winter.

Strawberries, citrus fruits, and tomatoes cannot withstand prolonged exposure to a hard freeze, considered by the National Weather Service to be five hours below 27 degrees. With temperatures possibly dropping to the high-teens last weekend, it is unclear how crops will weather the chill. When you’re talking about temperatures in the mid-20s or even lower in some areas for a sustained period of time, there’s only so much growers can do. Along with strawberries, citrus fruits, and tomatoes, Florida broccoli, cabbage, and corn are also at risk.

With several major crops facing significant losses, costs most likely will rise. We just don’t know the duration or the total extent of the damage.

Produce Talk

My product supplier told me to think of ways to make up for the lost sales due to product shortages and high prices. California broccoli, cauliflower, celery, lettuces, citrus (navels, minneolas, blood and cara cara oranges, Fairchild tangerines, Satsuma mandarins) are all available at reasonable prices with out damage due to the freeze. Imported produce such as cantaloupes, grapes, stone fruit. Washington State apples will all be in full supply at regular pricing. Customers see the value in these commodities. This is our alternatives besides frozen or canned product due to the high priced Florida product.

Strawberries

The strawberry market is having serious issues due to the cold weather in Florida . Florida growers have water coated the plants nearly each evening for the past 2 weeks. Temperatures over the weekend have prevented any harvest on Monday or Tuesday. Fruit then looks to be available for a few weeks, but will show signs of the excess water treatments. Long term issues caused by this weather will be even more important to recognize. Plants have not had any new blooms in nearly 2 weeks and it takes a plant 4 weeks to go from bloom to fruit. Therefore, at the beginning of February, expect a 12- day gap in supply out of Florida . The freezing temperatures have hindered harvest in Mexico as well, which has caused buyers to become dependent on California product to fill orders. At this time, the Oxnard region continues to produce sufficient supplies but at outrageous prices.

Tomatoes

The tomato market is showing some strength now that Florida has been hit with extremely cold weather.

Damage is evident in some of the fields in the Immokalee area, whereas Palmetto and Ruskin areas in Central Florida are harder hit. Expect to see this market tighten and move up over the course of the next two weeks, but especially as we enter February. Be aware that this market adjustment is inevitable. Mexico will have some fruit, but it will not be enough to offset the shortage in Florida . Grape and cherry tomatoes will be steady this week, but the weather has also affected these crops. Mexican Roma tomatoes are in good supply. This market spiked recently and will remain high as we head into February

Florida Citrus

Growers watched as freezing temperatures entered the region last week, although most citrus growers are reporting little damage. Most of the damage reported is occurring in Central Florida . Some damage was seen on Honey tangerines, which are a new crop. After growers are able to access the damage from the past weekend’s cold weather and snow as far South as Vero Beach , we will have a better idea how the market will be affected in future weeks.

Iceberg Lettuce

The cooler weather from last week as caused some quality defects on iceberg lettuce. Shippers are reporting blister and peel, as well as the occasional dehydrated head. It is nearly impossible to find product without these defects at this time. Field workers are trying to make the appearance as appealing as possible by stripping the outer leaves at harvest, but the defects are still apparent. Weights are lighter and overall sizing is smaller as well.

Leaf Lettuce

Supplies exceed demand and carton weights have picked up. Blister and peel is evident in most boxes of romaine that have been harvested in Yuma . There are no signs of defects in the red and green leaf lettuces. Market prices have finally weakened and look to remain soft due to the lack of demand.

Broccoli

Broccoli demand has decreased since the holidays are over and shippers are looking to make deals to reduce their supplies. The domes are tight with good color.

Green Bell Peppers

The hard freeze in Florida and continued freezing weather forecasts have caused the green bell pepper market to significantly spike. Florida growers stopped harvesting peppers early last week and more than likely will not start again until the middle of the week. The damage of the freeze will not be determined until temperatures warm up and the quality defects become apparent. Concerns include disease to the root of the system due to extensive watering, blistering and stem decay. There is a fair volume of green bell peppers arriving into Nogales from Mexico that may be an option this week; however, look for this market to stay stronger until all of the details of the Florida freeze are reported.

1/5/10

Happy New Year!

Those of us that had the luxury to take the week off between Christmas and New Years Holidays are now shuffling back to work. It is the same with the produce business. Many shippers and distribution centers were forced to load up before the approaching holiday. Truckers took time off to spend time with their families which presented issues.

By this time each year, the endless spans of green row crops have left the Salinas Valley in California for warmer climates. Nearly every crop heads south to the desert for the coldest part of the year, and many companies become transplants themselves until March when production shifts back north. These grower shippers will pack up portions of their processing facilities and move then all the way to places like Yuma, Arizona, where they are reassembled in as little as 48 hours for continuous production.

Winter travel. Growers are actually in the business of providing food for us and searching out new locations to grow what we want. These businessmen are busy this time of the year catching flights every week between Salinas and Coachella or Yuma to check on the multiplicity of crops growing to feed a hungry nation. And it is a hungry nation that wants its leafy greens, celery, carrots and artichokes year round regardless of how cold or snowy it is in much of the U.S.

Here in Philadelphia , the end result of the growing, reaches our Philadelphia Produce Market. There on the sales side is the main mid-end points for growers final product which will end up on our kitchen table or in a restaurant kitchen. This is the dark side of our business. Everything happens at night. There are personalities, schedules to be kept, demands for product and product to be loaded onto trucks to make it to another destination. Prices fluctuate for certain items; different buyers arrive at different times, what happens when a seller is stuck with a glut of oranges (for example). This is the economics of produce.

If one waits for quality products to come down in price as the night moves to day, one might have to make compromises and accept a lesser quality product. For example, Idaho potatoes are sold out, and then one has to choose a North Dakota baking potato (I assume no responsibility in slandering Dakota potatoes).

What goes first in the market often ends up on shiny plates in the white table cloth restaurants and quality supermarkets such as Kleins Supermarket.

So here it comes. We might be under snow like our recent blizzard provide us, but California, Arizona, Mexico, Chile and so many Southern Hemisphere countries continue to send boatloads and truck loads of fresh produce to places where nothing is growing, including Salinas.

Eat well, live long and be happy.

Did you know

The Hass avocado was developed in 1926 and was patented in the US in 1935. Hass avocados are a medium sized fruit, weighing 7 –10 ounces. When ripe, the skin will turn a dark, purplish-black color,

and it will yield to gentle pressure at the stem end of the fruit. Hass avocados should be kept between 50°F to 60°F .To ripen properly, avocados should be stored outside of refrigeration. Once ripe, should be refrigerated.

In the late 1920’s, Mr. Rudolph Hass, a postman, purchased the seedling tree and started the new variety of Hass avocados in his own orchard. Hass avocados are grown in California , Chile , Mexico , the Dominican Republic and New Zealand . This provides us with a ready supply of fresh fruit 365 days a year. Hass avocado trees have a tendency to bear fruit only in alternate years. Avocados provide nearly 20 vitamins andminerals in each fruit.

It’s great in salads, as a dip, a spread for crackers or on a sandwich.

12/21/09

It’s that time of the year again. I don’t mean it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. It’s cold, the farmers are drinking coffee and reading the paper in the mornings instead of getting up at the crack of dawn to tend to the budding crops. However in several parts of the country, the deep south, California and Arizona where they are growing our fresh produce there have been issues.

Out west, the demand exceeds supply still is fueling a hot lettuce market. We were lead to believe that the hot lettuce market would cool down after Thanksgiving weekend is not the case and all signs point to no letup on the immediate horizon.

Down in Florida , tomatoes are in the hot seat. Prices climbed to regions where I was at the point of considering not to offer them to my customers. Say what you want, but spending $3/pound for a tomato with marginal taste does not win friends in my book.

Most of us know what our apples and pears look like, but not many of us understand the undertaking it requires to get the product from the growers to your favorite supermarket and on to your kitchen table.

It is December now, probably going on two months that the Washington State Apple and Pear crop has been harvested. After the first picks were processed, graded, packed and shipped, the remaining crop is placed in storage rooms that have a controlled atmosphere. These rooms are sealed and have less oxygen in the atmosphere to insure the product doesn’t get over ripe. You might notice on apple or pear boxes “CA”. In this environment, the fruit will remain perfect until it is released for shipping later in the season. We can enjoy this great product till next harvest arrives.

Last week, I had lunch with Barry Clevenger from the Washington State Growers Association. He gave me some interesting information.

While the orchards are dormant, there is still work to be done. If an apple tree, or any fruit bearing tree, were left completely alone, it would grow taller and taller. All the new shoots would be on the outside perimeter of the tree. The best fruit would be on the outside of the tree, as you moved deeper in, the fruit would get smaller and have less color. In the darkest areas of the tree, there would be no fruit at all.

This type of management system would not work for production agriculture. During harvest time, pickers use ladders to reach the higher portions of the tree. If they didn’t prune the trees each dormant season, it would be impossible to reach the high points. Pruners control the natural growth of the tree and keep it "in a box". They trim the growth to insure the tree is no more than 12 feet high and four feet of limbs radiating out from the trunk, with a maximum diameter of eight feet. The newer plantings are being maintained at only ten feet in height and five feet in total diameter. This smaller tree structure keeps people on the ground where there are fewer injuries and improves work efficiency.

It takes several months each off season to maintain the investment. The first step is to use a mechanical hedger. They then work through the blocks with highly trained crews who make the big cuts, the tough decisions. They take the biggest, ugliest limbs that cause the most shade. Then crews of workers with loppers to do the detail work. They remove the oldest, down hanging, weakest spurs and the vertical branches. Their goal is to leave branches that are in the right position to grow high quality fruit in good sunlight where the fruit can hang free and clear away from the rub marks that can be caused by wind and tree bark.

After the cutting, workers begin training and bending the limbs to the positions, using kite string to tie them into empty spaces in the right aspect to produce the best apples possible. The weather turned cold recently, creating stiffer limbs with increases them to snap. It is a never ending process, the leaves fall in early winter and reveals another crop of big limbs that must be cut to make room for newer, younger, more productive branches.

Each property has its own challenges: irregular shapes, canals, roads, ponds, telephone poles, power lines, neighbors, rocks...everything needs to be carefully planned so that future farmers on the ground will not be wondering why in the world we planted trees where we did.

I think I will stick to just making a phone call, placing my order, unloading the truck and stocking the produce case! God Bless the farmers, growers and workers who help provide us with our daily food.

Produce Talk

Stone Fruit

The supply of Chilean cherries is good and prices dropped from last week, my first order was sent back because they had more whiteness than deep red color. The first arrival of peaches, black plums and apricots from Chile will arrive early this week with nectarines coming in the following week. Remember, they will be expensive.

Florida Citrus

Sunburst tangerines are small in size with heavy supplies and the season will end by Christmas. There will be a gap on this item with Honey tangerines starting around the beginning of January.

The volume of grapefruit is peaking on smaller fruit. Supplies have been tight because of rain and holiday demand, therefore prices are up a bit.

Navel oranges are limited and will finish by mid-December. Hamlin juice oranges have a large volume on the small sizes. Supplies are good on Tangelos, but are running heavy to the small sizes.

California Citrus

There is a good mix of citrus now with navels, Cara Cara navels, Orlando tangelos, Minneola tangelos, Fairchild tangerines, Pummelos and Oro Blancos. Blood oranges should start this week. Heavy rains are predicted early in the week, which may delay the blood oranges and interrupt the supplies on some of the mix varieties. There are plenty of navels already harvested, so the rain will not affect this item. The lemon market continues to be steady, but is showing some signs of strengthening.

Grapes

There will be beautiful California red and white seedless grapes available through Christmas, which has been excellent all season. There are good supplies of red and white grapes from Peru with the first vessel from Chile due in early this week. Grape prices remain high and are not expected to drop any time soon.

Strawberries

The strawberry market is very tight and FOB’s have reached into the $20’s. Rain and below freezing overnight temperatures last week has caused the harvest to halt in Santa Maria , Oxnard and Mexico . More rain is expected, which will prolong this situation. Florida has started with better production and volume will continue to increase throughout this week.

Blueberries(my favorite)

The blueberry harvest is now underway. Currently, the blueberry market is tighter for two reasons: (1) cold weather and (2) Chilean shippers overloaded the vessels and did not leave behind enough product for air orders. This week looks to have good availability, but we will see gaps in the markets until mid-January.

Broccoli

Cooler temperatures have slowed production in Yuma . The market is unchanged from last week and is still not expected to increase in pricing for the week. Quality is fair, though we may start to see some purpling on the domes due to the cold overnight temperatures. Product is currently available for loading out of Salinas , Santa Maria , and Yuma . Broccoli production will increase from the desert districts beginning next week. Mexican product is available for loading out of Texas at aggressive prices.

Cauliflower

Lighter supplies of cauliflower, due to colder temperatures have stabilized the market, but are expected to climb the early part of this week. The product has nice white color and good weights. Florida will help fill some of the gaps in supply since their product is now available.

Leaf Lettuce

Better leaf lettuce supplies are available this week. The expected rain last week in Yuma was minimal, although certain areas saw more precipitation. With colder temperatures and rain in the forecast, shippers have tried to build inventories as high as possible last week. Quality and appearance should steadily improve. Windy conditions in the desert may lead to wind burned tips and excess dirt/dust.

Iceberg Lettuce

Growers are still experiencing issues with weight and size on the new iceberg lettuce crop out of Yuma. Cooler temperatures and rains over the last few days have added to these issues. There are still some misshapen heads, but overall quality is fairly clean. The market is not as strong as it was over the last couple of weeks and pricing is starting to trend lower.

Tomatoes

Extra large fruit remains tight right now. Tomato prices have been able to hold at these high figures due to demand. Florida ’s Roma tomato supplies are increasing and Mexico still has good volume.

As Florida comes into more production over the next two weeks, we should see the market begin to settle out. Quality on all fruit has been gorgeous. Grape and cherry tomatoes are in great shape right now. Supplies have improved in the past week and should continue this trend as we head into the holidays.

12/05/09

The talk of the industry this past week is about our salads. Weather has been the issue and as a result, you might have noticed, the prices have skyrocketed. The California season is winding down and the winter growing regions in Yuma , Arizona is just getting started. To give you an example, the delivered price of a case of romaine went from about $20 to $53 last week. Mind you, that price will be short lived. At that price shippers were rationing supplies to wholesalers. If you are a lover of packaged salads, Fresh Express Salad Company has been shipping about 25% of the product ordered to my wholesaler. There you have it or maybe I will not!

Produce Talk

Clementines

Clementines from Spain and Morocco have limited volume until the end of the week. The Moroccan clementines have better color than the Spanish fruit at this time.

Florida Citrus

Florida red grapefruit has a steady volume with the fruit peaking on smaller sizes. Larger size fruit remains tight, but volume is slowly improving. Navels are experiencing a very short crop this season. The navel season is expected to continue through mid-December. Hamlin juice oranges are heavy on the small size fruit and growers are offering great prices to move the product. Tangelos are now being packed by all growers with very good volume. As with all the other citrus items this season, the tangelos will also be on the small size. Sunburst tangerines will be available until mid-December. These tangerines have a great sweet taste and are easy to peal.

California Citrus

Production is very good on California navels this season. The color on the navels is very nice and quality is outstanding. This season’s crop is peaking on larger sizes. Look for prices to drop this week, but not for the 3 pound bags, as the smaller sizes are in short supply.

Other Citrus

The lemon market is still very weak and quality is very good. Growers are offering deals on all sizes to move product. Satsuma mandarins will be available through mid-December. Orlando tangelos and Cara Cara navels are expected to arrive by the end of the week. Blood oranges and Minneola tangelos will start to ship by the third week of December.

Apples

The apple market remains the same this week with the exception of Honeycrisp and Royal Gala apples. Honeycrisp apples will wrap up for the season this week. The Royal Gala apple is smaller in size than anticipated and the market price will start out on the high side and increase in price as the season winds down.

Avocados

The market on Chilean avocados is very weak. By the end of this week, the market price will start to inch up to match the price on the Mexican avocados. Now is the time to buy!

Grapes

Green seedless grapes from Brazil continue to be available. The predominant variety being offered is Sugarones with limited volume of Thompson grapes. Despite overall volumes being much less than last season, there should be enough product available through at least the middle of December, hopefully providing a smooth transition into the first arrivals from Chile . The earliest grapes from the Chile started to harvest last week with the entire region harvesting 10 to 14 days. The first vessel is expected to depart from Chile by November 29th and should arrive to the US East Coast between December 8th and December 12th.

Strawberries

Oxnard and Santa Maria continue to be the main shipping points for strawberries.

The berries are firm with good color and the overall quality has a fair rating. Yields are beginning to wind down and the Fall crop from California should be finished by mid-December. Central Mexico continues to increase strawberry production and is crossing product into McAllen , Texas . Mexico will be the primary source of berries for December. Some Florida growers will start picking next week, but volume will be very light with fair quality. Look for wide ranges in pricing, depending on where Berries come from.

Blueberries

Blueberry harvest is now underway and we should see good supplies by the first of December. Blueberry acreage has increased in Argentina , Central Mexico and Chile this year, however yields are still only producing numbers close to last year and that is why prices are staying up.

Iceberg Lettuce

Markets will continue to increase through this week. Shippers have finished in Huron and are now harvesting out of Yuma . Quality in Yuma is good. Weights are light, but the product is clean and has nice green color. The only defect being noted is occasional windburn on the outer wrapper leaves.

Leaf Lettuce

Demand exceeds supply at this time. Many fields were harvested early due to the high demand over the past few weeks. Business is expected to be slow over the next week and a half in order for customers to work through holiday and transition inventories. The expected decrease in demand along with new fields beginning in the desert region should decrease pricing and increase supplies.

Celery

With the Thanksgiving holiday now over, supplies are currently meeting demand. Shippers feel larger size celery will still be in the greatest demand this week. Color is still a bit light, but no major quality issues are present at this time. Oxnard celery is now available and shippers are looking for business. Expect this market to remain steady or become weaker this week.

Tomatoes

The round tomatoes market remains tight. Florida has had more volume this week, but the prices haven’t changed since demand has been good. Vine ripe tomatoes are now being harvested in Immokalee. Roma tomatoes should be in good supply this week as Florida has ramped up in volume. Grape and cherry tomatoes will continue to be tight this week. The weather in Florida is expected to be cooler after Thanksgiving, which will limit yields since the fruit will mature more slowly. Look for this market to remain active for a couple more weeks.

Broccoli

Temperatures have cooled down, which has slowed production. The market is currently unchanged and is not expected to increase in pricing this week. Quality is good though we may start to see some purpling on the domes due to the cold nighttime temperatures. Product is currently available for loading out of Salinas and Santa Maria . There are a few shippers who have started harvesting broccoli in Yuma . Mexican product is available for loading out of McAllen , Texas and prices are aggressive.

11/22/09

With thanksgiving here, almost every household in America hosting dinner will require celery for the stuffing and the tossed salad.

Celery is native to the Mediterranean and the Middle East and was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans as a flavoring. The Ancient Chinese used it medicinally. The celery that we all buy in the local supermarket is Pascal variety, first cultivated in 1874 in Michigan . The two main types of celery are Pascal and Golden Heart.

Celery is nutritious and versatile. It works well in salads, sautéed or raw. You can add celery to your favorite stir-fry, use in stuffing for their favorite holiday dishes, toss with pasta or even use as a pizza topping. When purchasing celery, select fresh stalks that do not bend or break easily or appear limp. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, including celery may reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and the development of cancer. Plus it tastes great!

Two billion pounds of celery are grown each year in our country. Celery stalks, celery seed and celeriac (celery root) are each grown commercially from different varieties of the plant. California produces more than two-thirds of the celery grown in the U.S. and Florida produces about 20%.

In its 1897 catalog, Sears Roebuck & Co. advertised a celery nerve tonic for sale. Per capita U.S. consumption of celery is about 9 to 10 pounds per person annually.

Celery Portabella Salad

Ingredients:

6 Ribs Celery with leafy tops

4 Lg. Portabella Mushroom caps

1 c. Flat leaf parsley

1 c. Arugula, chopped

1 c. Basil, torn

1 Lemon, juiced

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Clean and slice celery thinly on an angle. Clean portabella mushrooms with a damp cloth. Coarsely chop parsley. Combine all salad ingredients and dress with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place dressed salad on four salad plates and top with cheese shavings by using a vegetable peeler. Serve immediately. Servings: 4

Produce Talk

Dateline: California

Challenging weather conditions this past month that caused numerous quality issues in the Salinas growing areas have not manifested itself into major supply shortages on Romaine, Red and Green Leaf lettuce. The poor growing conditions in the Salinas area and the young product coming in from the Yuma, Arizona area have caused product yields both in the fields and in the manufacturing plants to drop by better than 25%.

As a result, we will be seeing shortages as well as quality issues. Some products, such as packaged salads will be taken off the production runs until conditions improve.

In the mean time, we always have other options. The world is not ending nor will it happen any time soon, regardless what the Mayan calendar suggests in 2012.

Enjoy your family and friends! From the Klein family to yours, have a fruitful Thanksgiving!

11/17/09

If you love tomatoes, they are going to cost you a whole lot more for the next month or more. Florida is the only game in town on the east coast and word of shorter Florida tomato supplies has sent the tomato markets skyrocketing. Prices last week for a 25 pound box went up $10/case, and that doesn’t include shipping costs.

Extreme heat and early rains stressed plantings and caused a lot of bloom drop on the early plantings. Now, the later plantings are also reported to be producing very light fruit. Buyers should expect decreased supplies through mid- to late December.

Reports from the fields are in crisis mode. “They are picking 6-8 pallets to an acre, working one day a week. Some of them are walking away from their crops. We have about another four weeks of this. From Thanksgiving through December, it could be a very unusual year.” Reported one Florida shipper. Recent winds from Tropical Storm Ida, which rolled through the Gulf of Mexico Nov. 6-9, damaged Palmetto-Ruskin’s late plantings.

He said Immokalee, which is less than two weeks away from starting its pickings, should also bring light production as temperatures have continued to stay above average, which has harmed yields.

This situation will be for all tomatoes, round, plum, cherry and grape. Summer is over!

With the fall weather upon us and the air becoming crisper, thoughts of the approaching Thanksgiving dinner should be in our minds. Besides the traditional turkey(even for the vegetarian writing this), our dinner would not be the same without our crandberry sauce

The cranberry, along with the blueberry and concord grape, is one of North America 's three native fruits that are commercially grown. Cranberries were first used by Native Americans, whodiscovered the wild berry's versatility as a food, fabric dye and healing agent.

Today, cranberries are commercially grown throughout the northern part of the United States . Fresh cranberries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months in a tightly sealed plastic bag. When buying your berries, they should be shiny, plump and range in color from light to dark red. Cranberries should be stored between 38°F to 45° F. If you love this berry, buy extra bags now when they are in season and freeze for later use. Do not thaw the cranberries, but to simply rinse in cold water and cook them as you would fresh ones.

Dennis, Massachusetts was the site of the first recorded cranberry cultivation in 1816. Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow in water. It takes one ton of cranberry vines per acre to plant a bog. The cranberry got its name from Dutch and German settlers who nicknamed it the “crane berry” due to the shape of its blossoms.

Produce Talk

California Citrus

The California Navel season is well underway. The color and size of these navels have improved and prices are starting to come down. The lemon market is weak with many of the growers looking for sales. Mexico has flooded the market with an abundance of lemons, which has now impacted movement and prices. Fairchild tangerines, Satsuma mandarins and Pummelos are arriving. Oro Blancos, Cara Cara navels, Blood oranges and Minneola tangelos will all start mid-December.

Clementines

Spanish and Morroccan clementines are available with good quality and volume.

Florida Citrus

Volume is increasing on Florida large size grapefruit. Fall Glo tangerines has now finished up and Sunburst tangerines (they are the easy to peal type) are arriving. The navel orange market continues to be tight, but with the California product arriving, does any body care! Hamlin juice oranges are arriving with a smaller size but a nice sweet fruit.

Melons

Arizona is winding down on cantaloupes with only small size fruit available. Melons from South America are arriving in Florida right now and should be hitting the Northeast piers in two weeks. The imported melons have only small size fruit available. Arizona honeydews are just about wrapped up. Mexico is shipping good volume of fruit with flexible pricing.

The offshore honeydew from South America will begin to arrive in less than 2 weeks.

Strawberries

The fall crop is now in full swing with good availability expected all week. Oxnard and Santa Maria have the best quality right now. The Watsonville area has smaller berries with some bruising. Quality has been the best we have seen in quite awhile.

Grapes

Grape markets are hopefully at their highest point. I have been buying the biggest and the best in all varieties as the smaller fruit is just not nice. Currently, the supplies on red grapes are tightening and as a result prices are climbing.

Celery

As we are approaching Thanksgiving, which is the largest demand period for celery, supplies are currently meeting demand. Expect prices to gain strength later this week and continue through the holidays. Color is still a bit light, but no major quality issues are present at this time.

Iceberg Lettuce

Shippers continue to fight quality issues in both the Salinas and Huron growing districts in California . Light weights, puffy heads, small frames, tip burn and rib rust are all issues that continue to affect yields.

Currently, growers are fortunate if they get around 50% of the cartons per acre they are supposed to. Most of these quality issues are due to the rain in mid-October, followed by warm temperatures and humidity. Demand is expected to exceed supply through the week. A few shippers have started harvesting in Yuma this week. Quality in Yuma is fair with good head size and clean lettuce. You might notice the issues when you break open your packaged salad mixes.

Leaf Lettuce

Demand greatly exceeds supply with large shortages in the market. Expect this market to remain active and volatile for about another two weeks until Yuma is in full production. Changes in weather conditions such as cold temps, precipitation or unexpected demand will significantly affect the limited product that is left in the Salinas Valley . The following quality issues are expected during early November: lighter carton weights, excessive trim, lighter color and undersized heads.

Cauliflower & Broccoli

Lack of demand has caused an increase in supplies. Prices have declined and shippers are looking for business. This could all change once the Thanksgiving holiday begins. Markets will continue to rise and fall until we get into stable supplies around the first of December.

Demand has decreased on broccoli and better supplies are available this week. Quality has improved, although there may be some purpling on the domes due to the cold nighttime temperatures in California . Broccoli is currently available for loading out of Salinas and Santa Maria. Mexican product is available for loading out of Texas . Yuma will begin harvesting next week.

11/3/09

California has received “varying climatic conditions” in the Salinas Valley which has negatively affected the growth and quality of romaine and iceberg lettuce. Over the past month, heavy rains, followed by extreme heat and strong winds, interrupted harvesting. For the next weeks we will see quality issues on packaged salad mixes as well as heads of lettuce. Strawberries are another product facing shortages due to the weather. Expect prices to go up due to market conditions.

The market on gala apples increased as the season transitions into storage fruit. Two new varieties will be arriving this week, the Washington Jazz and the Canadian Ambrosia apple. The pear market continues to be steady. Bartlett pears are now being shipped in MAP (Modified Atmosphere Pack), which will prevent the pears from ripening too quickly.

The last of the Valencia oranges will be finishing up this week. The first load of navels has arrived. Large size navels will be limited for 1-2 weeks until the volume increases. The lemon market took a dive with the independent growers due to the supply of new fruit from Florida , Mexico and Spain . Satsuma mandarins and Fairchild tangerines have a steady supply with very nice quality.

Hamlin juice oranges have now arrived! The Florida navel crop is small so far this season and the market is starting to strengthen. The grapefruit market is still tight on large size fruit, but has dropped on smaller fruit. Fall-glo tangerines are beginning to wind down for the season just as we transition to Sunburst tangerines.

With good volume of avocados arriving from Mexico , Chile and the Dominican Republic , prices are unusually cheap right now

The grape market is climbing and is expected to continue to rise. The remaining supply of non-domestic white grapes are spread between a few shippers who are asking top dollar right now. The market price on white grapes is not cheap, but worth what you spend. Red grapes have not experienced the price jump that white grapes have. The Autumn Royal variety is the black grape to have, it has a phenomenal taste.

The berries from the Watsonville , California area are not traveling well and most shipments East of the Mississippi are showing up with excessive bruising and some decay. Find another fruit for the next few weeks.

Heavy winds in Huron this past week has caused quality issues with the iceberg lettuce out in the transition growing region. Shippers in the area reported wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph and described the area as looking “like a dust bowl”. Because of these conditions, shippers expect to find dehydration, fringe burn and dirt throughout the entire crop harvested over the next couple of days. The weather issues in Huron coupled with the end of the season in Salinas Valley are giving a very bleak outlook for the next 2-4 weeks for both price and quality. Several shippers have already sent out letters on company letterhead to alert customers of the severity of the problems.

Demand exceeds supply at this time. Expect this market to remain active and volatile until Yuma starts. The changes in weather conditions significantly affected the limited product that is left in the Salinas Valley .

Supplies out of California have now decreased causing the market to tighten again. Expect this up and down market to continue through December due to weather and yields. Eastern broccoli is an option out of Virginia for the next couple of weeks. The Eastern product will be branchy and have a purple cast to the crown. Lighter supplies of cauliflower are expected due to yields being down and demand increasing. Markets will continue to have peaks and valleys until there are stable supplies of cauliflower around the first of December.

Round tomatoes have finally increased in supplies for the time being. Prices have dropped significantly. All fruit right now is from Palmetto, Florida and this will be the best quality fruit available. There has been some great deals on hothouse grown roma tomatoes. These tomatoes have been firm, clean and beautiful upon arrival. Grape tomatoes will be in excellent volume, but pricing is not ideal. Central Florida is in excellent production right now and quality has been great. Cherry tomatoes continue to be very tight with limited supplies. Hothouse tomatoes are in excellent supply right now on both clusters and beef from Mexico and Canada .

10/26/09

Romaine is an American term for this long leaf lettuce, also called Cos lettuce. Romaine was believed to originate on the Greek island of Cos , off of the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. Romaine lettuce has been cultivated and eaten cooked or raw for almost 5,000 years and may very well be the oldest form of cultivated lettuce.

California is the leading growing state in the US . About 25% of all lettuce grown in the US is used to make fresh cut or bagged salads. Romaine lettuce takes 12 weeks to mature. All lettuce varieties are harvested by hand in the field, packed into boxes or bins and immediately transferred to a cooling facility.

4 sm. Hearts of romaine; ¼ Red onion, medium, thinly sliced; 20 Kalamata olives

2 Tb. Olive oil; 1½ Tb. Lemon juice; ½ tsp. Oregano, dried; ¼ tsp. Salt to taste; Black pepper,

Wash romaine carefully and dry. Cut each romaine heart in half, leaving the stem end intact so the leaves stay together. Top each with a few rings of onions and place 5 olives in a small pile on the plate. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle some of the dressing over each lettuce half and serve. Enjoy!

The markets on all apples are relatively steady. Only Gala apples showed a little strength going up by a dollar or two. The crop this year will peak on larger fruit with small fruit being limited. The price on Anjou and Bartlett pears showed a little flex on orders of substantial volume.

The market will drop on small grapefruit next week. There is good volume on these sizes, but larger fruit are limited and the price on these will remain high. Navel oranges were on the tight side this week due to a small crop on navels this year. Most growers were delayed from picking last week due to the rainy weather leaving no fruit available. Hamlin juice oranges started this week, but the fruit is small with little or no larger sizes available. Supplies on Fal Glo tangerines are good and prices are down. Sunburst tangerines will start in about two weeks.

Independent lemon growers were aggressive on prices this week, with prices coming down about 20%. I guess they were frustrated dealing with competition from imported markets. Valencia oranges are now in the “death throws” of existence and we are waiting for the first California navels. These navels are forecasted to load by Monday or Tuesday having fruit to deliver for next weekend. The first Satsuma mandarins have arrived in the 5 lb. gift box and 3 lb. packages. This fruit is seedless, peels easy and tastes great.

It looks like the first ships will be arriving with Spanish fruit on November 2nd. Supplies will be light through November and prices are predicted to hold firm throughout the month.

The market will remain strong on grapes, both red and green. As we move into November and into the holidays, look for prices to continue to rise. The quality on the best fruit will be excellent with great taste and extra large berry size.

The rain from last week caused harvesting disruptions. Growers in the Watsonville and Salinas districts are just now getting back in their fields to harvest after a week of stripping damaged fruit. Yields out of both the Southern and Northern districts are going to be very light this week.

There should be more fruit starting next week and decent availability through the middle of November from the Southern growing regions. Quality is best out of Oxnard and Santa Maria with the new fall crop.

The market has weakened as high prices from the last two weeks have finally caught up to the consumer and slowed demand. The rain from last week has caused some quality defects. There is more pink rib, fringe burn and lighter weights in the Salinas and Santa Maria Valleys . Some shippers have started harvesting the fall crop out of Huron. Initial quality reports from Huron show small head size and weights, but overall appearance is clean. Some shippers will not be moving to Huron and will take the risk of shipping out of Salinas until they transition to Yuma around the middle of November. The market can fluctuate quickly during the next few months based on yields and weather.

Expect this market to remain active and volatile due to being at the end of the growing season in the Salinas Valley and about a month before the Yuma area starts.

Changes in weather conditions or increased demand will significantly affect the limited product that is left in the Salinas Valley . The following quality issues are expected during October and early November during the end of the Salinas Valley growing season: lighter carton weights, excessive trim, fringe burn, lighter color and undersized heads.

Look for the tomato market to improve over the next few weeks as supplies begin to increase out of Palmetto and Ruskin districts in Florida . Quality on crop pick fruit out of these areas has been absolutely beautiful. Look for gorgeous large tomatoes all week. Roma tomatoes are also getting into better supplies.

Grape and cherry tomatoes will be in excellent supplies out of central Florida .

Hothouse tomatoes out of Canada should also be in good supplies this week. Look for more Mexican shippers to begin over the next couple weeks with better volumes. This will keep the hothouse market from moving up.

10/13/09

This news flash probably will have no effect on our eating habits, it is important to pass this on.

Texas food-safety authorities are warning consumers not to eat certain imported dried plums and products containing dried plums that have high amounts of lead. On Oct. 1, the Texas Department of State Health Services issued a consumer warning about several products, most of which are sold as salted or candied treats in Asian and Hispanic markets, according to a news release from the Texas department and posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s site. While there was no conclusive evidence as of Oct. 1, Texas officials thought the dried plums and products containing dried plums came from Asia . Excessive amounts of lead were found in products tested at a Department of State Health Services laboratory.

All of us have been wondering, but the official results are in! Americans prefer chocolate chip cookies more than three-to-one over other cookie types, according to a survey commissioned by Downtown Cookie Co. conducted by Impulse Research. Some 53% of adults polled named chocolate chip cookies as their favorite. Peanut butter came in a distant second, with 16% naming it their favorite. Oatmeal cookies came in third at 15%, and sugar or shortbread cookies were fourth at 11%. About 5% of respondents named "other" as their favorite. I prefer ginger snaps.

Washington State has very good supplies on Bartlett and Anjou pears along with Bosc just starting to be harvested. California still has a good supply on Bartlett and Bosc pears. As the Washington State pear season comes on strong, there will be some deals on the California fruit as receivers look to prevent the transition.

With the exception of plums, we will be cleaning up on stone fruit until the Chilean season begins. Both red and black plums are still available out of California . Prices on this fruit have increased markedly as a result of lighter supplies. The quality will not be as it was last month.

There are some early Wonderful variety pomegranates available in California . If you have been wondering why they have cost so much in the past years, consider all the various pomegranate juices in the market place. Fuyu persimmons have begun with decent sizing available. This good eating flat variety is now available. This is a firm eating fruit. You don’t have to wait until it gets very soft.

California is winding down their melon season and Arizona is just getting started with cantaloupe. The Arizona growers are stating that this year’s cantaloupe and honeydew are some of the best they have seen in years. California will wrap up on the King of the West label and we will transition to the Del Monte label from Arizona . Expect the same great quality from either region.

Due to the summer heat taking its toll on the fruit, white seedless grapes will be very tight in supply. There will be some lesser quality fruit in most boxes. The premium product is the only product to purchase if one wants white grapes. In the next 10 days, Autumn King white seedless grapes will begin and the quality will improve significantly. Red Seedless, Black Seedless and Red Globe grapes all have a steady supply and market price with good quality.

Volume will continue to decline as we head into October, mostly because of low producing acreage is being taken out of production. Markets will remain at current levels through the week, but prices will gradually begin to climb. Quality is fair at best.

Steady supplies of domestic raspberries are available. The market will strengthen as production declines in October. The Argentinean blueberry season is soon underway. Acreage has been increased for this year and the crop looks good. Current quality reports show nice clean fruit with good sizing. Mexican blackberries are scheduled to start arriving in the United States by the first week of October with the expectation of very good quality.

Fall plantings are getting started, which correlate to less acreage being harvested. Demand is still light, which will help keep prices in check. Quality has been good with clean heads and nice green color. The fall transition to Huron, CA will start around October 15th and run for a month. Yuma , AZ will begin to harvest around November 15th.

Good supplies of leaf lettuces are available for shipping. Market prices continued to decline over the past week and there are deals to be had. Heat related quality issues, such as tip burn and internal burn continue to be the most significant factors affecting leaf lettuces. We are now beginning to see some seeders as well. Shippers will be cutting early to avoid internal burn issues or increasing trim to discard damaged leaves.

Shippers are finishing for the season in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Tennessee while shippers in Quincy, Palmetto, and Ruskin, Florida are gearing up for the fall season. Quincy , Florida has actually started harvesting in a small way. The crop in Quincy is expected to last about 4 to 5 weeks and the crop should be in great shape. The Quincy area has had ideal growing conditions and the fruit should be looking very nice. Shippers in Palmetto and Ruskin , Florida are set to begin harvesting the first two weeks of October. The good news is that there shouldn’t be any supply gaps this year as we make the move South.

California should be in good shape on vine ripe two layer tomatoes out of the San Diego area. This deal with Oceanside Pole usually satisfies the demands out West preventing additional pressure on the Eastern market. This tomato crop should last into November.

Grape, cherry, and roma tomatoes should be in good supply for the month of October. Florida is expecting better volume this month on both items.

9/29/09

I can feel it in the air. Crisp cool evenings, some day’s warmth other days cooler. It will be a short time now till we have our first frost, but our local farmers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are reporting the fall growing season should (I emphasize) be highlighted by good quantities of high-quality produce.

After a cool and wet June, which disrupted harvesting and planting schedules and sporadic, localized bad weather events, the next four weeks, look good. The fall season harvests spinach, lettuces, turnips, radishes, white potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Many pumpkin growers, including a major NY shipper, are reporting losses due to heavy rains this summer. NY product will be looking at at least a third smaller than normal. Looking only at large-volume pumpkin-producing states, the weather problems could be limited to New York . More normal crops in Canada and Michigan could help meet East Coast and Midwest demand. Expect to find higher prices as a result.

Eastern apples have started! Jonagold, Cortland and Macoun apples now arriving. The Washington State apple season is now in full swing. As volume picks up, pricing will decrease on most varieties.

Washington State has very good supplies on Bartlett and Anjou pears along with Bosc just starting to be harvested.

California still has a good supply on Bartlett and Bosc pears. As the Washington State pear season comes on strong, there will be some deals on the California fruit as receivers look to prevent the transition.

There are still very nice peaches available out of California , but we have finished with New Jersey fruit. Both yellow and white nectarines are available from California , but the volume is disappearing rapidly. These nectarines should be done for the season next week. Both red and black plums are still available out of California . Prices on these plums have increased markedly as a result of lighter supplies. Say good-bye to pluots. The entire product has been harvested and put into storage sometime ago. Expect to find some perfect looking gems to not taste so very good.

Due to the summer heat taking its toll on the fruit, white seedless grapes will be very tight in supply. There will be some lesser quality fruit in most boxes, so plan to purchase the premium fruit to get the best available. In the next 10 days, Autumn King white seedless grapes will begin and the quality will improve significantly. Red Seedless, Black Seedless and Red Globe grapes all have a steady supply and market price with good quality.

The Valencia orange season will wrap up in the next 2-3 weeks. Here is the update on the upcoming California Citrus season: Navels will begin as early as October 15th. The crop will be similar in volume to last year’s, but the fruit size will peak at larger sizes. By the end of October, Fairchild tangerines and Satsuma mandarins will begin with Oro Blanco and Clementines starting around mid-November. Minneola, Blood oranges and Cara Cara navels will begin in December.

The Florida citrus season is just around the corner and almost at full production. We have grapefruit now arriving with the Indian River district scheduled to begin in two weeks. Fall Glo tangerines are here with very nice quality.

The navel season has started, but we are waiting until the color and flavor improves before purchasing. Quality is expected to improve in the next 7-10 days. Ambersweet oranges have started, but we have opted to wait for the true juice oranges to start in late October.

Product is available out of California , Maine and Mexico . The local deal has begun. Good supplies on cauliflower along with light demand have made for a buyers market. Quality has been very nice with good weights and nice white color.

Tomatoes continue to be steady at this time. Supplies are still in good shape across the board on all rounds and romas. Quincy , Florida started running this week in a small way. Look for volumes to improve over the next couple weeks as they overlap with the Tennessee crop.

Grape and cherry tomatoes have moved up in price this week. The Eastern Shore and local season have ended. Growers have just started to harvest in Georgia as they begin making their way back to Florida for the winter season.

Hothouse tomatoes from Canada will also move up in price this week. The cooler weather and lack of sunlight has caused cluster and beef tomatoes to mature at a slower rate pushing the price up. Quality has been nice.

California growers are starting to move into the fall plantings, which mean there will be less acreage being harvested. Quality has been good and the heads have been clean with good green color.

09/22/09

A California grower-shipper has recalled 1,715 cartons of spinach that may be contaminated with salmonella. Salinas-based Ippolito International LP voluntary recalled bunched spinach distributed in 12 states and three Canadian provinces, according to a company news release.

The recall was announced after routine testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Microbial Data Program detected salmonella. No illnesses have been reported.

The spinach was distributed in California , Alabama , Arizona , Florida , Georgia , Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Michigan , Minnesota , New Jersey , New York , British Columbia , Ontario and Manitoba . There are no worries for us in Pennsylvania ; however this just proves there are problems and the system works.

A concerned grower in Salinas California reports, “This is becoming an everyday occurrence with the micro-analysis available in current quality control testing. Also, there was an interesting show on CA cable describing the "Pig Bomb" as the dramatic increase in wild pig population throughout the East, South, and West. These critters are unchecked and one major cause of serious crop damage and transporting bacteria to field crops in the U.S”

A new era of reporting potential fresh produce safety problems to the Food and Drug Administration has begun. This solution has been a long time coming. With all the food born illnesses reported in the media over the years, consumers will now have a venue to discover the problems from the source.

The FDA launched the Reportable Food Registry at http://rfr.fda.gov/ and the start of new reporting requirements on Sept. 8 - including a 24-hour deadline for shippers and processors to tell the FDA if they find a "reasonable probability" food will cause severe health problems or death.

In other news, researchers are awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval of a laser etching system that supporters say could replace sticky produce labels.

Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been examining a laser system that can etch product information directly on individual pieces of fruit and vegetables much like a tattoo.

Hot Topic! Just received from my supplier. Last week’s West coast hurricane caused different levels of damage in Mexico which will affect supplies to our markets during October and November. Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, melons and peppers will be problematic considering some areas received between 20 and 25 inches of rain in a 24 hour period

The imported apples season will be wrapping up this week. Eastern apples are having a large crop this year and the shipments coming in have excellent quality.

Washington State is expecting to have a similar size apple crop as 2008, but the fruit size will run a little larger. The Washington State and California pear season has started. Now arriving are: Bartlett, Golden Bosc, Red, Comice, Seckel and French Butter.

Florida grapefruit and Fall Glo tangerines will begin to arrive in a few days. This early season citrus is expected to have decent flavor and real nice color. Florida citrus from the Indian River region will arrive in 2-3 weeks.

The California lemon market continues to remain high and pricing is expected to climb. Imported lemons has had little to no impact on the current lemon market. Valencia oranges have higher pricing due to the growers trying to stretch this product to last until the navel season starts in middle of October.

The white seedless grape market will be a challenge through October. The hot temperatures took its toll on most growers causing many of the growers to abandon the fruit still on the vine. My supplier told me that the best value on white seedless grapes would be to purchase premium product and just pay the higher price to get the best product and reduce shrink. That is what I will do and unfortunately you will see higher prices on these gems. The price on red seedless has been a little high as many growers are struggling to start with Crimson seedless as they wait for the fruit color to increase.

The Westside in California is winding down and pricing on the better quality fruit is solid with little flexibility. Arizona will start their Fall crop in about 2 weeks. Summer is over and with it a guaranteed great tasting cantaloupe.

We will no longer being carrying peaches or nectarines from New Jersey due to the recent wet weather that has affected the fruit. The only game in town are California peaches that are very good quality at a reasonable price. There are some nice looking white or yellow nectarines from California , but remember they are now storage product and you might get the occasional mealy tasting fruit. California red and black plums have a markedly higher price this week due to the lighter volume of fruit available.

An unexpected rainfall hit the Watsonville and Salinas growing regions last week. Harvest schedules were disrupted due to the measurable rain (some spots receiving in excess of a ½ inch). Growers had extensive damage and had to strip the plants of all the rain-damaged fruit. The berries that were packed will show some rain damage and are staying out West, which is causing heavy prorates to East Coast customers. Growers are finished with the stripping process and are now getting back to normal production.

Stable supplies of California raspberries are expected for the remainder of September. The blueberry growing regions in the Northwest are beginning to finish up, which is creating a demand exceeds supply market. Expect the market to remain tight for the rest of the month. Argentina

blueberries will begin early October, but is not expected to achieve good volume until the third week of the month. In the mean time, you will find shrunken as well as moldy berries in your package. I will wait for the fresh crop to arrive.

California growers are starting to move into the fall plantings, which mean there will be less acreage being harvested. The markets could strengthen slightly over the next week or so due to less availability. Current demand remains light, which will help keep prices steady. Quality has been good and the heads have been clean with good green color.

Good romaine lettuce supplies are available for shipping out of Salinas and Santa Maria . Market prices have declined over the past week. Supplies were greater than demand throughout this week. Heat related quality issues, such as tip burn and internal burn continue to be the most significant factors affecting leaf lettuces. Shippers are cutting early to avoid internal burn issues and increasing trim to discard damaged leaves. There continues to be a wide range in quality.

Canadian romaine continues to be a good cheap option. Supplies currently exceed demand for green leaf lettuce. Market prices have come off over the past week and shippers are struggling to move product. The most common quality defects affecting green leaf are uneven tops and some wild growth.

Vine ripe tomatoes will be in good supply from Ohio with a value pricing and Jersey with high priced options again this week. Florida is expected to begin harvesting next month.

Roma tomatoes continue to be on the tight side as Tennessee is one of the only games in town. Volumes are very light out of the West causing many buyers to step into the Eastern supply to fill these voids. Quality has been excellent on fruit from Tennessee . Grape tomatoes are in good supply.

09/08/09

This summer we would all agree (I speak in the past as we are now over Labor Day) would be called a great summer. OK, before you get yourself up in an uproar, I had some great weekends down the shore and up in the Poconos. But, the weather has been very inconsistent.

Farmers have been reporting to my produce buyer that it was way too cold at the start and now they have too much rain. If you thought for a minute farming was easy, forget about it. That is one tough job and I thank God most of them are really good at it or the rest of us would be in trouble.

Recently I read an article about farmers and a conversation with consumers. One interview didn’t understand how the farmers had to work so hard. All this person had to do was to go down to the local supermarket and get her produce and other food items, so why worry about the farmers. HELLO. This was an actual reply. It just is proof that many people are so ignorant about food supplies in our country. We are so very fortunate living here in the U.S as well as those in Western Europe . We produce enough food for all of us and have enough surpluses to export. That creates jobs.

Other parts of the world are not so fortunate. They have to deal with political crisis, drought, poverty, financial instability and so much more.

Thank you farmers for taking the risks, all of us are receiving the rewards. Happy Labor Day!

Red Savina Habanero is believed to be the hottest chili pepper. This pepper originated in 1994 in the U.S.A. This pepper is twice as hot as your average orange habanero and 65 times hotter than the hottest jalapeno chile pepper.

Harvest projections have continued to decline since peak production in July. Supplies will continue to decline as we head into the fall months. The market remains stable because demand has been light over the past week. Prices have firmed up as the holiday pull is going. Quality remains a challenge for most shippers and bruising seems to be the biggest issue at destination points. Most product is expected to arrive with bruising.

Stable supplies of California raspberries are expected for the remainder of the month. September should be a great time to enjoy this tender fruit. The quality is great!

The blueberry growing regions in the Northwest are beginning to finish up, which is creating a demand exceeds supply market. The party is over!

There is no significant change expected this week. The higher temperatures over the weekend have caused some lighter color product.

Temperatures from the Central Coast to Santa Maria in California were very warm last weekend. Heat related quality issues; such as tip burn and internal burn are expected to become more of an issue later this week. Bug damage and mildew are the most prominent quality issues affecting Romaine at this time. Shippers may be cutting early to avoid internal burn issues or increasing trim to discard damaged leaves. There continues to be a wide range in quality.

Supplies have been meeting demand for Green Leaf and will continue to do so. The most common quality defects affecting Green Leaf are uneven tops and some wild growth. Eastern Canada has been shipping some nice product except for the coating of dirt forcing one to wash and wash.

Areas in the East, such as Michigan and New Jersey , are currently producing good volume but will finish up soon. Quality is fair to good. We will soon need to start looking to the West Coast to fill our needs but the problem could be the approach of Hurricane Jimena . The hurricane could potentially cause damage to some Sonora fields, which would cause a delay on their cucumber production. During this time we will see high prices on cucumbers in the West, especially if the fields are affected by the hurricane.

Product is coming primarily from Peru as Mexico has finished up. Volume out of South Peru is starting to increase and we should start to see more volume next week. Markets have strengthened a lot and will likely stay strong for a couple of weeks until the Southern district of Peru gets going.

No extreme changes are forecasted over the next ten days. All growing districts are expecting steady supplies to continue. Besides California , Maine and Canada are producing stable supplies for the East Coast markets. Mexico is now crossing product at the borders. The quality out of Mexico is fair at best, with some knuckled domes and hollow core.

09/01/09

Plenty of fine organizations drive home the message of promoting fresh produce. Especially of late are efforts aimed at getting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. Let us not forget about the adults like former President Bush the first proclaiming, I hate broccoli!”

State and Federal government agencies promote healthy eating but the process began so many years ago with the most important person in our lives, our mother.

It’s like the old bit about two kinds of mothers who send their kids off to school. One mother leans out the front door and yells, “Come back! You forgot your books!” The other kind of mother hollers, “Come back! You forgot your LUNCH!”

As homage to Mother Klein, she told us the old adage, “School is important, eat your breakfast because you can’t go to school and think on an empty stomach”

As school once again gets back into full swing it’s time to focus on what gets stuffed into those lunch bags for students and adults alike. Healthy and much cheaper than the lunchroom options.

Vegetables: easy-to-pack items such as celery and the multitude of cut carrots. Package up sliced peppers; snap peas; cucumbers; cherry tomatoes; broccoli and cauliflower florets — all with or without little packs of dressings for dipping.

Fruits: Most any fruit works, but small sizes serve especially well for junior’s Snoopy-adorned lunch pail. Besides favorites of apples, stone fruit, bananas, pears and citrus. Some fruit scores especially big with kids, such as cherries or grapes.

My favorite lunch box from the old school days? Three Stooges. With bananas — hands down. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

With back to school talk, the initial harvest of pumpkins is expected to begin on approximately Sept. 5.

Move over, hot dogs and nachos. Apples, peaches, bananas and other fresh fruits are now being served at the Yankees' and Mets' baseball stadiums in New York . Could we possibly see this healthy options with the Phillies?

The spinach growers are having problems out west and there are now reports of shortages so severe that there will be rationing on quantities for the next month or so.

There are still plenty of peaches out of California , but volume is not as high and pricing remains steady. White peaches are also available, but supplies are dwindling out of New Jersey . Production of all peaches from New Jersey should finish in about 7-10 days. Both yellow and white nectarines are available. Supplies and pricing remain steady on nectarines. New Jersey ’s nectarine crop is now finished...

Red and black plums are now available out of California . Due to lighter supplies on this fruit, prices have increased. The supply on apricots has completely dried up. There may be still a few cases available, but expect pricing to be very high.

The market has shown no change since last week. There is still a wide range in pricing depending on the size of the fruit. The red seedless market could start to show some strength as Flames wind down and the Crimson season begins.

This week, the Eastern apple crop will increase in volume. We are looking forward to September to see additional varieties arriving of: Paula Red, Jersey Mac, Gala, Honeycrisp, Cortland and Macoun. Red and Gold Delicious will begin in October along with a few other varieties.

Growers in Washington State are now harvesting Ginger Gold apples and will start to harvest Royal Gala apples this week.

The Valencia orange supply will begin to tighten up as many small independent houses finish up in the next week. Prices will continue to increase for the rest of the season, which ends in October. The lemon market remains strong even though imported product has started to arrive.

Some growers are seeing about 25% less in crop due to the freeze last year that killed some dead wood in the trees. There is also a shortage of crop due to the drought conditions after the bloom period.

The expectation for this year’s crop is good fruit with average sizing. Expect high prices to offset the problems that were documented due to the rains in June and July.

continue to have good supplies. Cooler nights will certainly have an impact on the maturity of the fruit, which will limit yields. Jersey is still shipping product, this year the prices were much higher than years before due to the cool and damp early summer.

Stable supplies of California raspberries are expected for the remainder of the month. September will be great time to enjoy raspberries with full production coming out of Oxnard and Watsonville.

The blueberry growing regions in the Northwest are beginning to finish up, which is creating a demand exceeds supply market. Expect the market to remain tight for the remainder of the month.

The market on round mature greens and vine ripes should remain steady as September arrives. The Eastern Shore growers along with Tennessee shouldgn="left">

California will be gearing up, which should keep demand on the West Coast and Midwest satisfied. Quality is excellent so far. Roma tomatoes should remain steady for the next couple week with slightly increasing supplies out of Tennessee , Ohio and Pennsylvania .

having an outstanding year with production on both items and excellent quality. Our main local grower in Ephrata , PA uses Haygrove High Tunnels, which enables him to continue harvest into October keeping the plants extremely healthy and extends the growing season.

08/24/09

The grape is one of the oldest fruits to be cultivated, going back as far as biblical times. Spanish explorers first introduced the fruit to America approximately 300 years ago. Californians have been cultivating grapes for more than two centuries. Some of the most popular ways for usage of this fruit is in preserves, canned in jellies or dried into raisins

Grapes are small round or oval berries that feature semi-translucent flesh encased by a smooth skin. The combination of crunchy texture and sweet-tart flavor has made grapes an ever popular between meal snack, as well as a refreshing addition to both fruit and vegetable salads.

Grapes are actually 80% water. The average American eats 8 pounds of grapes a year.

California produces 98% of the fresh grapes grown in the United States . The belief that grapes had healing properties dates back to ancient times. In ancient China , grapes were mixed with snakes, frogs and other creatures to cure sickness. One of the least known facts about grapes is that grapes are really berries.

There are still plenty of peaches out of California , but volume is not as high and pricing remains steady. White peaches are currently not in excess as demand equals supply, which is keeping prices elevated. Both yellow and white nectarines are available. Supplies and pricing remain steady on nectarines with demand exceeding supply. There are some nectarines being harvested in New Jersey.

Plum volume has suddenly dried up out of California , especially for black plums. This is an unusual situation for this time of year and many suppliers are scrambling for product at the moment. This should become easier to manage as soon as Sun World brand begins with their Angelenos.

Apricots are available out of Washington and Idaho . There is some fruit available out of California as well. The fruit is very nice with good color and flavor. Look for volume and quality on this fruit to decline due to the unseasonably warm weather in the Northwest.

Say good-bye to your little friends. The cherry crop has wound down and we are, for all intent and purpose, finished with cherries.

This is the last chance to take advantage of great tasting product as prices will gradually climb heading into the end of the month. There will be a good supply from California for the next two weeks. After that, many growers experience a lull in their supply with quality on the downhill.

Avocado supplies have started to increase from Chile and in turn the market took a significant tumble.

This week, the new Eastern apple crop will increase in volume. We are looking forward to September to see additional varieties arriving of: Paula Red, Jersey Mac, Gala, Honeycrisp, Cortland and Macoun. Red and Gold Delicious will begin in October along with a few other varieties. Growers in Washington State have started to harvest Ginger Gold apples this week and Royal Gala apples next week.

The Valencia orange supply will begin to tighten up as many small independent houses finish up in the next two weeks. Prices will continue to increase for the rest of the season, which ends in October. The lemon market remains strong showing little effect from the import product arriving.

Demand has remained steady as production has continued to fall off causing the market to continue to climb. Production has fallen off by about 30% over the past two weeks as we are well past the peak season in the Northern growing region. Quality issues, especially bruising are still a major issue at receiving point on the East Coast.

Blueberry prices have continued to climb as the recent high temperatures in the Northwest did severe damage to availability. Michigan is starting to wind down and is unable to handle the increase in volume. Look for pack sizes to change within the next few weeks, as we will be sourcing from British Columbia . The quality is not what we expect.

California lettuce supplies have been steady over the past week, but volume is set to fall off this weekend. Look for the market to strengthen for this reason. Canadian iceberg is available at cheaper prices than California and should help to keep the strengthening California market in check. Quality out of both regions has signs of lighter head weights and pale color.

The tomato market has gained some strength this past week as supplies have decreased. Local growing areas in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are suffering this year from late blight, which is caused by cooler than normal temperatures and wet weather. This is causing many local growers to lose their crop. Look for pricing on rounds and romas to be higher.

08/19/09

There are more than 200 varieties of plums available today. Plums have risen in popularity, becoming the second most cultivated fruit in the world (surpassed only by apples). Ripe plums can range in texture from firm to slightly soft. They have a wide variety of delicious flavors ranging from deliciously sweet to tasty tart.

Plums belong to the Prunus genus of plants and are relatives of the peach, nectarine and almond. Plums can be divided into two distinctively different groups that are known as Japanese plums and European plums. In 65 B.C. Pompey the Great introduced the plum tree to the orchards of Rome.

When you bring plums home, they like a high humidity atmosphere when you store them. Keep them dry. They are highly sensitive to freezing injury, so if you have a very cold spot in your fridge, keep your plums in the other area.

The white powdery film which sometimes covers the fruit is called bloom, a substance produced naturally by the fruit. The black plum is native to Japan and China , and grows on tall trees that bloom in the spring. Black plums in their dried form are prunes. About 90 percent of the plums consumed in the United States are grown in California . Plum trees are grown on every continent except Antarctica .

The local Jersey lettuce crop is all but over now. The past weeks there have been some very nice product arriving from eastern Canada , but the past few days the product arriving has been affected by the same weather we have had here in Phila. Heat and rain produces heavy mildew and leaf burn. I will be offering great California product instead.

Baking potatoes from Idaho ’s storage crop are now finished and the new crop potatoes should be ready in about 2 weeks. We will see great California spuds to hold us over till then.

This is a reminder to prepare your customers to see bruising on all strawberries. As Frank has reported from the vendor community, we should expect to see bruising on California strawberries this month. Stores should cut back displays and keep stock rotated well.

Bruising on all strawberries. Demand has remained steady, as production has continued to fall off causing the market to continue to climb. Production has fallen off by a total of about 30% over the past two weeks as we are well past the peak season in the Northern growing region. Quality issues, especially bruising are still a major issue at receiving point on the East Coast.

Blueberry prices have continued to climb as the recent high temperatures in the Northwest ( Washington State and British Colombia) did severe damage to availability and Michigan is winding down and unable to handle the increase in volume. Look for pack sizes to change within the next few weeks, as we will be sourcing from British Columbia .

California lettuce supplies have been steady over the past week but volume is set to fall off this weekend. Look for the market to try and strengthen for this reason. Canadian iceberg is available at cheaper prices than California and should help to keep the strengthening California market in check. Quality out of both regions has signs of lighter head weights and pale color.

Demand has been week and is expected to stay that way. Quality issues such as internal burn, tip burn and some ribby heads are showing on the California product. Canadian red leaf and romaine are in good supply green leaf is tighter due to smaller heads.

Local growing regions of Pennsylvania , New Jersey and New York are all harvesting strong numbers. Quality is excellent as product is crown pick (first harvest).

Michigan, New York , New Jersey and Pennsylvania are all now in full swing with harvesting cucumbers. The weather has finally cooperated with growers and supplies are plentiful. The recent high temperatures have pushed the product to ripen quicker.

The only game in town now is imported product arriving from Peru . There is limited availability and the shippers are trying to increase the prices due to this fact. With the lower demand due to a nice selection of local grown vegetables, the price increased might not work out.

The small gap in supply out of California has passed and deal will be available again.

Maine growers are in full production now and have supply that is plentiful. Many growers are using the California markets to gage how they should be pricing. Remember that Eastern product is purpler in color and have larger beads on the florets.

Harvest numbers have started to increase and prices have dropped. Quality reports are excellent stating that the heads have nice white color.

08/04/09

With the summer heat now finally upon us, some of my favorite fruits are here in peak form. Cantaloupes, honeydews and more. Melon varieties are now endless! Casaba melons do not have an aroma. Crenshaw melons can weigh up to ten pounds with a unique sweet and spicy flavor. Canary melons are similar to the casaba melon with a succulent flavor. Galia melons taste like a cross between a cantaloupe and a honeydew.

Many melons originated in the Middle East and spread its popularity across Europe . Melons are members of the cucurbit species which are thought to originate in Southern Mexico and Central America. The key melon season runs from April through December with crops coming from California , Arizona , Texas , Georgia and Florida . In the “off season”, we receive our melons from Central America. One of the earliest records of melons is in an Egyptian tomb painting from 2400 B.C.

Melons thrive in long, warm and frost-free seasons, making the southern part of the U.S. ideal for growing them. On average, it takes about 10 to 15 bee visits for proper pollination to grow melons.

The latest high-flavor stone fruit attracting oohs and aahs from consumers is the pluot. Each variety offers vibrant color, rich juice, overwhelming sweetness, and smooth skin. The varieties vary in color from golden yellow to green to dappled red to almost black and are available from late May through October.

Pluots are a hybrid fruit that is part plum and part apricot. They are known for their sweetness and flavor. A pluot’s flesh is extremely sweet due to their high sugar content. Pluots have an intense flavor with citrus overtones and nutritionally they are full of vitamins A and C. They are semi-freestone fruits, so their flesh will separate from the pit fairly easily.

Pluots are typically ¾ plum and 1/4 apricot. Today there are more than 80 different varieties of pluots, most of which come from California . Pluot trees were introduced first to the home garden market in 1989. The name “pluot” is trademarked by plant geneticist Floyd Zaiger, who originated the hybrid fruit some 20 years ago. When a pluot has ripened, its skin will lose its shine. One more thing, they cost about $3.99 lb. Ouch!

The Western cantaloupe market is steady and is predicted to hold steady for the next few weeks. Due to the markets being flooded with locally grown product, the demand for cantaloupe is very light. The quality on Western melons is very nice with larger sizes being shipped east again. Local cantaloupes have started this past week from Lancaster County and should look good for the next 3-4 weeks. This year, most growers have planted Athena and Aphrodite variety, which have excellent flavor profiles along with great shelf life. FYI, some farmers deliver their harvest with horse and wagons! King of the West brand Honeydews have been running fantastic. If you haven’t tasted this great vine ripened melon, you are missing a real treat!

There is a wide range in pricing on red and green seedless grapes. Quality is good on both colors with the determining factor on price being size. The best fruit with extra large grapes will hold the market with little flex in pricing. There are deals to be had on large size fruit and even better deals on medium size grapes. Black seedless and red globe (with seeds) grapes have nice quality too.

The market on Valencia oranges is strong with the pricing continually increasing. The lemon market is steady, but supplies are not as abundant.

Navel oranges from Chile , Peru and South Africa along with Minneola oranges, cara cara oranges and clementines are now available. Prices on all imported citrus have been soft due to lower demand. The quality on all imported citrus has been excellent.

The berry season out of Salinas/Watsonville is now past its peak and production is off by about 20% from last week. Demand has remained steady causing markets to increase over the past several days. Berry size is still on the larger size and is colored at 95% to full red. There are no significant quality problems at the shipping point, however the fruit is not making the ride to the East Coast without problems. The major issue on arrival is heavy bruising.

Blackberry availability is now past its flush of fruit and prices have reacted by going up. Availability is limited. There are still good supplies of California raspberries through the end of the month.

Blueberry markets have crashed, as product is available from three different growing regions: New Jersey , Michigan and British Columbia . New Jersey is at the tail end of their season and taking offers to clean up through the rest of what they have. Michigan and British Columbia have board prices that are $2 less than Jersey . Enjoy now, the party is almost over!

As a result of the hot weather, northwest cherry production is declining and the quality is going to become scarce. The past weeks, prices haven’t been this low in years. As the supply tightens, prices will go up and quickly!

Round vine ripe tomatoes will be in excellent supply for the month of August. Growers on the Eastern shore of Virginia , Maryland , and Delaware will be in the peak of their harvest during the month. Jersey product has had issues according to my suppliers.

Both yellow and white peaches are still available out of California . New Jersey has volume on good peaches. Both yellow and white nectarines are in the peak of the harvest from California , but as a result of higher demand yellow nectarines are tight. Volume on both black and red plums has increased and the fruit coming out of California is very nice. Apricots are available out of Washington and Idaho . This fruit is very nice with good color and flavor. Look for volume on this fruit to decline due to unseasonably warm weather in the Northwest.

The high prices on California green leaf and romaine lettuce from last week was due to high demand and limited availability due of mildew problems. This market was short lived as inventory continues to build this week and prices fall dramatically. Expect wide ranges in quality on product from California . Canadian leaf is available at prices much cheaper and at the moment better quality than California product.

Although shippers continue to fight mildew issues on product out of California , prices have come down due to diminishing demand. Expect to see lighter weight heads due to the need to peel off the outer leaves. Canada is also now shipping lettuce from Quebec region.

07/24/09

Bell peppers are native to Mexico , Central America and South America . Peppers were named by Christopher Columbus and Spanish explorers who were searching for peppercorn plants that produce the spice known as black pepper. In 1492, Columbus and his explorers discovered sweet and hot peppers in the West Indies and took samples back to Europe.

There are two types of peppers — bell (mild) and chili (hot). California leads the U.S. in bell pepper production, followed by Florida.

The taste of peppers varies with maturity — red have the most color and sweet flavor, while green peppers are bitterer. Yellow and orange fall somewhere in between. Bell peppers are a versatile vegetable and can be used in stir-frys, casseroles and omelets. They are not generally served by themselves, except on a vegetable tray.

Red Delicious, Gold Delicious and Granny Smith apples are the only domestic apples with good volume available. There are a few clean up deals on Fuji , Gala and Pink lady apples. There are plenty of imported apples from New Zealand and Chile available to meet the demand.

Imported pear suppliers are making deals on current inventory in preparation for the California Bartlett pear season that will begin in one week. Washington State will look to clean out their inventory of Anjou pears. This year’s pear crop in California is expected to have a higher volume with the fruit having a clean appearance.

The California orange prices are going up with very few deals even on the second quality fruit. Imported navel oranges from South Africa , Australia and Peru have a good supply. These imported navels have good color and flavor.

The market on lemons remains strong with little flex in price for California fruit. Since the California lemons are getting a good price, Spanish and Chilean growers have now raised their prices and demand has exceeded supplies.

The cantaloupe market is sloppy right now with supplies exceeding demand and prices are falling. These melons look great and taste even better! Just like watermelons, cantaloupes out of Georgia are done. Quality has gone down hill, and growers are pulling the plug. Look for new fields to be harvested out of North Carolina and Virginia this week with growers beginning in Pennsylvania and Delaware the following week. The local east coast variety is different from the California product we are used to. Don’t wait for it to get on the soft side. It will taste like “mush”, they must be eaten firm.

The Hass avocado has a strong market with short supplies due to the small crop in California . Mexico product is winding down and Chile has not yet begun.

Both yellow and white peaches are still available out of California and volume is steady. Deals on yellow peaches have not materialized, and white peach prices remain steady. New Jersey has volume on good peaches if you are looking for more locally grown fruit.

Both yellow and white nectarines are available. Supplies have increased on nectarines, but as a result of higher demand yellow nectarines are tight. Look for nectarine prices to level off and stay at current rates for the next week. Quality on nectarines is going to continue to be very good. Volume on both black and red plums have increased and the fruit coming out of California is very nice.

Dapple Fire and Sweet Treats pluots have arrived. Expect to pay about $4 a pound for this great tasting fruit.

Apricots are available out of Washington and Idaho . This fruit is very nice with good color and flavor. The prices are still very high.

Skeena variety cherries are available and on their way. Bings are, for all intent and purpose, done. Northwest cherry quality remains very nice and the prices are at the bottom.

The volume on red seedless grapes has hit its stride in the Arvin, Delano and Fresno areas. There is a wide range of pricing depending on size with some deals on medium-large and large fruit. The color and flavor on all sizes is very good. White seedless grapes have a stronger market as the Coachella district is finished and the Arvin and Delano area is slow to start. The grapes that are arriving are big, green grapes with very good flavor. There are nice big, full color black seedless grapes shipping from this same area.

The Salinas/Watsonville districts are now over their peak harvest volume. Supplies have tightened, prices have increased and will sit at their current levels for the remainder of the week. The berry sizing is getting smaller. Most of the product has good appearance and sheen with full, red color. You may find some bruising, especially next week due to the warm weather we are currently experiencing.

California and Northwest blueberries are available for loading in Watsonville . New Jersey is going through it final flush of fruit and will be finishing in the next ten to fifteen days. You will now see the reasonable prices going up and up.

The combination of good supplies and lack of demand from the East Coast due to regional product has created a weak market. California shippers want to make deals. Product out of Maine will start on July 20th.

Lettuce supplies are lighter due to less acreage in the ground and mildew issues. Growers have been fighting mildew during the last couple of weeks. Growers need to peel the outer leaves in order to clean up the heads, which is affecting the overall weight in the box. Lighter weights are expected throughout the month. Markets are slightly higher and will remain at their current levels for the rest of the week.

The green leaf and romaine market out of California has gained some strength over the past few days. Due to consistent mild temperatures over the past two weeks along the Central Coast of California and the morning fog lingering until the early afternoon, this has caused the products growth to be slower. These two factors combined with lighter summer harvests has allowed demand to surpass the supply.

We are all waiting for Jersey product to arrive in volume, but with the weeks past damage from the rains, it has been a struggle.

Tomatoes continue to be in great supply out of Virginia , North Carolina , and Alabama . I have had some great and absolutely beautiful vine ripes from Alabama cutting full red with outstanding flavor. Next week I should have some great “romas” plum tomatoes from a local grower, Paul Zook from Ephrata , PA.

Grape and cherry tomatoes also remain steady. Most of the supplies are being harvested in Virginia and quality has been great.

07/12/09

Last week was the start of the Washington State cherry season. You will see in your favorite supermarket the standard Bing cherry, which has a deep red color and exceptionally sweet taste. Arriving on the heels of the Bing is the Rainier , or Queen Ann cherry.

The Rainier is an exceptionally large yellow cherry with a bright red blush, giving it a distinctive appearance among sweet cherry varieties. Rainier cherries are available late June to early August. These cherries were bred in 1952 by crossing the well-known Bing variety with the Van cultivar. The Rainier cherry is the sweetest, prettiest and most pampered of cherries. It’s a finely textured variety with firm, clear flesh and colorless juice.

It is possible to freeze cherries. To properly do this, the cherries must be rinsed, drained and packed in freezer proof containers with any excess air removed.

Cantaloupes remain steady with good supplies, great color and sugar. Some growers are seeing a gap which will keep prices from falling. Lopes are arriving from Georgia and California . Honeydews are arriving mostly from California , the prices have been coming down to summer prices. The premium brands, such as King of the West, are holding the higher prices, they are worth the difference.

There is a short supply with a strong market on California Valencia oranges. Most growers are packing twice a week in order to extend product late into the season. The lemon market remains strong even with the arrival of Chilean and Spanish imports. Grapefruits remain strong with light supplies. South African navels are in good supply with great quality and flavor. Clementine's will be in good supply for the next few weeks with cheap prices.

Limes from Mexico will begin to start showing the stress of the summer heat. Expect to see lighter colors and 25% to 30% blanching until the new crop starts in the fall.

California yellow and white peaches are still available with good supplies. There may be some deals on yellow peaches as the week progresses with white peaches remaining steady. Peaches from New Jersey are good if looking for locally grown fruit. Nectarines are available in both yellow and white color with increasing supplies with good quality. Expect yellow nectarines to be tight as a result of high demand. Prices are expected to level off and stay at the current rate for the week.

Plum supplies have increased on both black and red plums with great quality on the fruit from California .

Pluots continue to be available in steady volumes. Expect two new varieties to start the next week in house. The Dapple Fire which resembles a dinosaur egg, and the Sweet Treat which is a green pluot and is great eating.

Apricots are becoming more available out of Washington with good color and flavor.

The new crop came on fast in Bakersfield and Arvin districts. The hot weather brought the fruit on so there are aggressive prices on some very nice grapes with great color and size. The Fresno area is not far behind so look for that market to weaken further.

Prices have continued to fall out of the Watsonville and Salinas district, as supplies will continue to be plentiful through July with great size and color.

Lack of demand has kept the prices down. Light plantings in the summer months in California coupled with hot humid temperatures are back and causing mildew problems. Expect a spike in the market.

Prices remained the same this week as product is coming out of the Salinas Valley . Freight prices out of California will be something to watch over the summer especially on celery because of the limited number of cases that fit on a truck. 50% of the delivered cost of celery is due to freight at the current time. Michigan summer celery has begun and prices to the East Coast are $4 to $5 cheaper per case than the product from California .

The market has remained high due to light availability from the East Coast. North Carolina , Virginia and New Jersey are all shipping product. Expect this market to stay active for the next two weeks as other regions will start.

The market on round tomatoes remains on the weaker side. Supplies continue to increase as more areas begin to harvest. East Coast growers and packers on the eastern shore of Virginia have started for the season with very nice quality. Vine ripes from Alabama have started and the product that has arrived looks sharp! There are Jersey tomatoes around, but they are expensive and the first of the season “pushed” to ripen quicker so farmers can get higher prices. Wait a few weeks.

Grape tomatoes are very steady with shippers finishing up down south. Virginia is now shipping grapes with excellent quality. Roma tomatoes remain tight with light supplies. Tennessee and Virginia should be seeing better volumes in the next two weeks with good quality.

07/07/09

Nectarines have a yellow flesh that has a noticeable pink tinge, with a distinct aroma and a more pronounced flavor. There are over 150 varieties of nectarines that differ only slightly in size, shape, taste, texture and color. Gaining popularity as a mainstream fruit, two or three new varieties are introduced every year.

Nectarines are available in white-flesh and yellow-flesh varieties. The white-flesh variety of the nectarine has a lighter taste than the traditional yellow-flesh and is less acidic. This summer sensation is aromatic, firm and has a very attractive bright, deep coloring. A plump fruit, nectarines are a pretty orange-yellow with striking red markings.

When taking them home, keep them in the refrigerator if you are not going to use them quickly. Ripen the fruit at room temperature. Keep your nectarines away from moisture, they will decay and become moldy.

The word 'nectarine' means sweet as nectar and this is very likely the obvious origin of the name. Nectarines are thought to have initiated from peach seeds and possibly derived from China 2,000 years ago. California grows over 95% of the nation’s nectarine crops today. One Chinese emperor was so enthralled with nectarines that he and his people referred to them as the “nectar of the gods.” Nectarines are actually a subspecies of the peach that lacks the gene for fuzz.

California peaches, plums and nectarine volume was expected to drop off the first half last week as temperatures peaked at 108 degrees. After mid-week highs around 104 degrees, temperatures will start declining down to the 100 degree mark at the end of the week. On the East coast, farmers are concerned with the exorbitant amount of rain that is hampering the growth of their product.

Cantaloupes from Georgia will continue to be harvested as new growers from North Carolina get started. Usually the best quality “lopes” come from the California Bakersfield and the Westside area, and this is the fact now. Now that the July 4th holiday is over, we should see pricing start to come down.

Growers in Georgia are experiencing an excellent supply of watermelon with deals on all sizes. The quality is OUTSTANDING and will only improve as the weather conditions remain hot and dry.

Prices are a little firmer on Red Delicious apples due to the low volume as shippers concentrate on packing and shipping cherries. There is an abundant supply of Gold Delicious and Granny Smith, especially on small sizes. Excellent supplies of imported Gala, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Braeburn and Fuji apples. California Bartlett pears will start around the 3rd week of July. There are good supplies of imported Packhman and Bosc pears and Washington Anjou pears are still shipping.

Honeydew out of Turlock and Firebaugh remain steady with great quality. King of the West will be the feature label in the premium lines with excellent quality. Great news! This label usually arrives in August.

There is a good supply and steady pricing on California Valencia oranges. Expect good prices and opportunities on. The lemon market remains strong even with the arrival of Chilean fruit. California supplies are limited, so prices are staying firm. South African navels are now arriving by boat.

California yellow and white peaches are still available with good supplies. Look for prices to come down beginning next week as the holiday is over. Southern peaches are done and New Jersey has started with great quality fruit.

Nectarines are available in both yellow and white color with increasing supplies and very good quality. Prices are expected to come down this week.

Plum supplies have increased on both black and red plums with great quality on the fruit from California.

Pluots are available on both the Flavorosa (black) and Honey Red (red) varieties. Expect more varieties to start as the season progresses. Apricots have limited supplies with good color and flavor.

Washington cherries are fantastic looking with great quality. The price remains very low for this time of year.

California red seedless grapes came on fast in Bakersfield and Delano area with Fresno/Visalia right behind. Great quality, color and size are expected on the red seedless grapes.

The California white seedless market is steady as the Coachella area will start to come to an end. Central California is still 2 weeks away from starting. Expect great deals on Mexican red and white seedless with plenty of good quality fruit. With the transition into US fruit, expect great deals to keep inventories moving.

Limited availability over the past week has been due to shippers from Watsonville and Salinas peaking a week early. There will be plenty of fruit to come by now that the holiday is behind us. Expect a decline in prices as we move into the next week.

Raspberries from California have now ended creating a small gap in supply and increased pricing. This shortage will be short lived as volume should increase by the last 2 weeks of July. California blackberries are now in full swing with aggressive promotions due to the large volume and competition from the Carolinas.

New Jersey blueberries are available with good pricing. California Driscoll’s blues have been arriving with aggressive pricing due to the competition.

Shippers are making deals to keep product moving again. Expect prices to be weak due to the lack of demand. The quality issues that were seen over the past two weeks have all cleaned up. Quality is good with green color and no signs of mildew.

Excellent supplies out of New Jersey have kept leaf prices on the East Coast down. Look for prices to slightly increase as Jersey product is set to finish in the upcoming week. Canadian shippers are ready to pick up the slack after Jersey is done with limited up charges for the added freight. Red leaf from California is priced reasonably but Romaine is still expensive. California prices have come off slightly as the mold problems caused by humidity a few weeks ago are now gone.

06/30/09

Here we are with the July 4th weekend arriving. This date has been marked on my calendar for some time. This is the traditional week for the start of the Jersey Blueberry season. With this in play, we should soon see Jersey tomatoes. A word of caution on the first of the season tomatoes. I was told years ago that the Jersey farmers pump them full of chemicals to get them to the market faster. The first of the season always brings much higher prices.

There are approximately 30 different species of blueberries with different ones growing throughout various regions. Blueberries grow in clusters and range in size from a small pea to a marble. The blueberry is the second most popular berry in the United States ; the strawberry is number one.

Blueberries were not cultivated until the beginning of the 20th century, becoming commercially available in 1916. Blueberries have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity. The fruit is a false berry with a flared crown at the end. The berries are pale greenish at first, then reddish-purple and finally blue upon ripening.

The native Americans were the first to introduce berries to their diets. Blueberries are related to azaleas, camellias, heathers, and rhododendrons. Colonists in America used blueberries to make gray paint. Ninety percent of the world’s blueberry production comes from the United States . Blueberries will not ripen once they are picked.

Foggy and damp conditions have caused major problems with red and green leaf lettuce and romaine. Mildew has created crop damage and shippers will not send product to the east coast. We have very nice New Jersey lettuce available. But, our recent pattern of rain in the past weeks created product to be delivered sandy and dirty. If you do not wash and wash, your salad will have a crunchy taste.

The watermelon market is very tight right now with limited production from North Florida and Georgia. Due to earlier weather issues, shippers are experiencing much lower yields this year. A typical grower will harvest approximately 60 bins per acre vs. 25 bins per acre this year. This is a significant shortfall considering that we are heading into the 4th of July.

Cantaloupes, and honeydews are winding down in the Southwest, but Bakersfield has started in a small way with the Westside starting on Monday, which should keep prices under control. However, they should be much cheaper this time of year but they are not.

Prices are a little firmer on Red Delicious due to most shippers will not pack for the next two weeks as they concentrate on packing cherries. Other prices were steady with the exception on Gala apples as packers look for some movement because of light demands due to the availability of imported fruit. Bosc pears are tight with a few New Zealand fruit hitting around July 1st. There are good supplies of Packham pears. Chilean and Argentine Anjou pears are limited, but we will have Washington fruit available through this month. California Bartlett pears will start around the 15th of July.

Our first South African navels will arrive by June 30th. There is a good supply of Clementines from Chile and a few lemons.

We have a good supply on Valencia oranges from California . The lemon market is strong even with the start of Chilean fruit. The first arrivals from Chile sold out quickly and did not have much of an impact on the market at this time. Think lemonade, the demand is strong.

Peach supplies out of the Southeast is very light. Growers are throwing a lot of fruit out because of disease and weather related problems. Jersey will start by the end of the week. California has good supplies with good color and quality and prices came off a little. Nectarines have good supplies, color and size. Prices are steady. Plum supplies are good on both red and black plums. Prices are firm on larger fruit with cheap deals on smaller fruit.

California cherries are finished and Washington State starting with good volume on Bings. The sugar content is much higher than last week.

The market on red seedless grapes finally broke this week. Most growers started in the Bakersfield and Delano area with 19-pounders causing Mexico to drop their prices to keep inventory moving. California fruit is expected to be down this week. The market on white seedless was a little steadier with Mexican fruit being at the low end of the market.

Lack of demand and strong production have weakened the market drastically. Shippers out of Santa Maria and Watsonville are looking to make deals on what they have.

California are beginning to lighten up in volume with the first large wave of production ending. Blueberries are now available from New Jersey , but at more of a premium price than California or Carolina product. Look for the continued split market as the other growing regions wind down and Jersey continues to build. Rains last week kept growers in Jersey from picking fruit, but the gap will be short lived as production in the fields continue.

California shippers are harvesting lighter numbers now due to decreased planting and the competition from the local growing regions on the East Coast and Canada . The cool overcast weather on the California coast hasalso played into the harvest numbers being smaller.

06/23/09

Raspberries belong to the genus Rhubus, which is part of the rose family. They are a very flavorful fruit with a tart-sweet, almost floral taste that can not be duplicated. A bramble fruit and cousin to the blackberry, raspberries once flourished wild in North America . For obvious reasons, raspberries were considered a luxury well into the mid 1800’s. Besides the popular red color, raspberries also come in black, gold and purple.

Unlike blackberries which are relatively firm, raspberries are hollow and are extremely fragile. Raspberries are derived from two species, the wild red raspberry and black raspberry. The purple type is a cross between the black and the red berry and the yellow type is a mutant red raspberry. There are over 200 species of raspberries. Our domestic raspberry is harvested from early summer to fall.

One of the main things to consider with this delicate fruit is that it is highly perishable. Keep it cold to ensure the longest possible shelf life for you.

Peaches are available out of California and the Southern growing regions and volume is increasing. Due to the cool weather pattern hovering over both the growing regions, prices have yet to make their summer drop in prices. remaining steady.

Yellow and white nectarines are being harvested. Quality on this fruit continues to be very good, but do not look for any big price drops until after the Fourth of July. Both black and red plums are available out of California . Look for volume to increase over the next week, but prices are still on the high side.

Apricots are available, but in limited volume and quiet expensive. This fruit is very nice with good color and flavor.

Cherries finished packing in California last weekend. This fruit is very nice with good size, color and flavor. Washington has now started to pack the Chelan variety. These cherries are very nice looking fruit and volume in Washington is ahead of schedule.

The market on cantaloupes is hot. Fruit has been arriving in very large sizes with very little smaller melons available. The prices are very expensive for this time of year

The market on red seedless is firm and will remain strong until red grapes begin in 2-3 weeks in the Bakersfield and Delano area. At this moment, there is only one growing region harvesting in California.

Prices dropped on white seedless grapes due to good volumes coming out of Mexico . The best deal will be on Mexican fruit, which is 15 to 20 % cheaper California grapes.

The cost on California fruit is strong with little to no flex in pricing at this time. The first arrival of Chilean fruit will hit this weekend and the price will be a little less because of the absence of freight charges from California . Chile product arrives in the Phila area by boat.

Florida Valencia juice oranges are done for the season. We will only see domestic oranges from California until the winter season begins. California navel oranges will also conclude this weekend with navels arriving from South Africa on June 30th.

There are no real changes in the apple and pear markets. Product will be moving from Washington fruit to New Zealand and Chilean fruit on most of the varieties of apples. There are a lot of smaller sizes in Washington and the prices are very aggressive on smaller fruit. Anjou pears will be available for another month from Washington , but they are showing their age with marks on their skin. California will start with the new crop in the middle of July.

Lack of demand and strong production have weakened the market drastically. Shippers out of Santa Maria and Watsonville are looking to make deals on what they have.

Raspberries from California are beginning to lighten up in volume with the first large wave of production ending. Look for prices to continue to increase throughout the rest of the month. Blackberry production out of California is now building. Blueberries are now available from New Jersey, but at more of a premium price than California or Carolina product. Look for the continued split market as the other growing regions wind down and Jersey continues to build. Rains last week kept growers in Jersey from picking fruit, but the gap will be short lived as production in the fields continue.

California shippers are harvesting lighter numbers now due to decreased planting and the competition from the local growing regions on the East Coast and Canada . The cool overcast weather on the California coast has also played into the harvest numbers being smaller. Quality reports are showing signs of light mildew due to the cool foggy days.

Round tomatoes continue to be steady with most of the supply arriving from Quincy , Florida and South Carolina . Volumes are still on the lighter side, but should improve as Western buyers fulfill their needs from California growers. Tennessee Mountain grown tomatoes are set to begin the second week of July. With the arrival of these tomatoes, it will add some relief to the market on round vine-ripes and mature greens. Roma tomatoes are in better shape as volumes out of Mexico have increased. A few shippers have started with the greenhouse grown programs from Mexico and the fruit has been beautiful.

Grape and cherry tomatoes volume have increased significantly and will only get better over the next two weeks. Quality has been very nice

There are sufficient supplies available out of the East Coast with low pricing, but play attention to quality. Hot weather in Georgia is taking its toll on anything not planted on plastic. Many shippers are having problems with arrivals due to soft ends, shriveling and light green color. These problems are not isolated to Georgia cucumbers, but are also on Carolina and Virginia product. Due to growing problems, we might see a very fast price increase.

Demand is fair at best as the New Jersey deal has ended. The only domestic production is coming out of Michigan at more premium prices.

06/18/09

Yellow and white peaches are available out of California and volume is increasing. Due to the cool weather pattern hovering over the growing region, prices are remaining steady. Southern peaches are arriving and the quality is getting better.

Yellow and white nectarines are being harvested. The cooler weather in the growing areas this past week (70 degree highs on some days) has slowed production. This aberrant weather pattern may cause slight shortages in availability for now, but next week should be back to normal. Quality on this fruit is going to continue to be very good, but do not look for any big drops in pricing until after the Fourth of July (Supply meets Demand).

Both black and red plums are available out of California . Look for volume to increase over the next week.

Cherries will be packing in California through The 19th of June. This fruit is very nice with good size color and flavor. Washington State should begin packing sometime around June 17 with the Chelan variety. Some deals are already being offered from Washington on 12 row cherries (these are the smaller size).

Supplies have become limited this week as growers finish up in Northern Florida and make the move into Georgia . Most shippers are estimating a 30% – 40% loss on crops in Georgia , which will certainly cause a stronger than usual market heading into the 4th of July. Look for higher prices over the next couple weeks.

Due to the cool, overcast weather that has been hanging over the California coast, berry production continues to be lower than normal levels. FOB prices have remained in check due to the other seasonal fruits that are weakening the strawberry demand. Quality of the fruit is good with the occasional full red and some green seedy tips that are seen most on the Albion variety.

California raspberry production is at excellent levels that will continue through the rest of June and into July. Blackberry levels are building. Blueberries are now available from California and North Carolina . Blueberry prices continue to fall as they anticipate the start of Jersey . New Jersey blueberry growers will begin to scratch this weekend and have the first product available to ship Monday with reports of good volume by Friday. Look for split markets on blueberries based on where you are sourcing product.

In the early part of the week, Jersey fruit will get a premium price, but this will be very short lived, as volume will build fast.

The growers in the Salinas Valley have started harvesting this past week adding additional volume to the numbers available out of the Oxnard area. The market is weak with both growing regions producing for the next two weeks. Currently, freight is more than the product itself. Quality is good and has good, green color.

Due to the cool overcast weather that has lingered over the California Coast , harvest numbers have been lighter. Iceberg lettuce prices have remained steady due to the availability of East Coast product. Later this month, we will start to see lighter planting from the California growers due to competition from the local growers on the East Coast and Canada . The growers in California has seen significant drops over the summer months for the past two years. Look for markets to stay relatively steady until one of the growing regions needs to push. There are currently some quality defects with product out of California due to the foggy morning conditions leaving some light mildew.

Prices remain higher due to the lack of availability out of Georgia . Storms from earlier in the year continue to have a negative affect on the product grown in the Southeast. We should see a drop in the market soon as we begin to source product from North Carolina . The start of North Carolina coupled with California ’s Bakersfield region starting will help the market drop.

The tomato market will remain extremely tight over the next two weeks. Supplies are basically finished coming out of central Florida for the season. Some growers are finally beginning to harvest in Quincy , Florida , and farther up the road in Beaufort , South Carolina . This market will take some time to turn around. Although these areas have started, the supplies are not enough to offset demand and provide relief to these higher prices. Quality on all rounds has been good. Roma tomatoes remain steady with better supplies to begin in South Carolina . There are also increased supplies crossing from Mexico into McAllen , Texas . This will help to alleviate additional pressures from the East as this will satisfy needs in the Midwest . Quality has been excellent.

tomato supplies are increasing out of South Carolina . Look for this market to be the first to slide. Quality has been excellent.

The asparagus market has firmed up and is relatively steady. New Jersey has finished up, Washington State is finishing and most of the product is being sourced from Michigan . Demand is now only expected to be fair at best because of the increased pricing.

06/11/09

Many of you have seen on TV or heard about the quality problems with the potatoes in Florida. The good news is that we were already near the end of the Florida season and starting to talk about sourcing from Carolina and Arizona . The bad news is that the shortages at the end of the Florida season will cause gaps in supply that will have the market to spiking significantly.

The same rain amounts that have affected corn, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, squash, athena cantaloupes, watermelon and tomatoes. There will continue to be severe quality issues due to the heavy rainfall that has occurred. Gaps in supply will be unavoidable until we move into growing region that have had better weather.

The Northwest Anjou pears are now finished for the season. Anjou and Packham pears have now arrived from Argentina along with Bosc pears from New Zealand .

Mexico did not produce the expected volume of red seedless grapes and California is struggling with color. With these two factors in play, the grape market remains tight with little decrease in price and is expected to remain high for the next two weeks. Mexico and California are doing a bit better in volume and supplies for white seedless grapes.

Arizona continues to struggle to get rolling on cantaloupes. Supplies have been light and the pipeline is dry leaving the market desperate for fruit. The East is having weather issues affecting Athena melons. Combining all these factors, the market prices are very high with little to no fruit available. Honeydews from Texas and Arizona have good supplies on all sizes and prices are down.

Within this past week, grapefruit supplies became very short in California . Prices shot up. My supplier told me that they have to book loads a few weeks in advance to ensure product will be shipped t. As of this week, grapefruit will be non-existent until this Fall when Florida ’s season starts. California navels are still available with very nice quality. The navel orange price has leveled off and should remain steady.

Navel supplies should last through June. Valencia oranges from Florida will be available for one more week while California supplies are just arriving. Valencia orange prices are much less expensive than navels.

The California lemon market continues to climb with many independent growers finishing with their crop. Lemons from Chile and Mexico are expected to arrive in the next 2-3 weeks. Expect lemon prices to climb much higher until volume picks up again. Mexico lime supplies and fruit size has started to improve. Expect lime prices to drop drastically over the next week.

Yellow and white peaches are available out of California and volume is increasing. Prices are slowly dropping and quality is steadily improving. Southern peaches are available. We will see quality and taste improve in the weeks ahead.

Yellow and white nectarines are being harvested. Quality on this product is steadily improving and pricing will continue to decline.

Black and red plums are available out of California . Pluots are loading this week and should be available early next week.

Cherries have increased in volume and the sizing tends to be on the large side. The growers will still be packing mostly Bings. As of now, it looks like California should finish packing about June 19th and Washington should begin packing sometime around June 12th. Washington should begin with the Chelan variety in low volume about June 12th.

Blueberry prices continue to fall as shippers out of both California and the Carolina ’s are looking to promote product due to increased volume. New Jersey is looking to start shipping blueberries somewhere between June 15th and June 18th. Raspberries production is beginning to peak in California .

Volume on berries is falling off slightly due to cool and overcast weather that has been along the California Coast for the past two weeks. Demand is down on berries, however because of all of the other seasonal fruit that is now available, there should not be any significant increases in prices.

There are currently lighter numbers being harvested due to the cool overcast weather that has been hanging over the California Coast . This has caused prices to increase by several dollars, but prices have now leveled off and should remain steady. Due to the current economic woes going on in the country and the increased use of local product last year, California growers will be cutting down their plantings of lettuce starting now. This decrease in planting is due to the anticipated competition from Canada and the East Coast to be similar to what they experienced last year.

The leaf lettuce market is extremely weak as competition from New Jersey has significantly affected the demand out of California . Overall quality is good from both growing regions. California has several defects right now such as: dehydration and burn.Product is still being shipped with these defects. As the New Jersey season winds down, look for product out of Canada to start between June 8th and 10th.

So far each week, the green bean market continues to be a roller coaster of prices. C & E Farms out of Virginia hasnow started and this will help alleviate some of the pressure that has been on the Georgia growers. Look for prices to slowly, but steadily fall until we start with the local deal in July.

Heavy rains from two weeks ago have severely affected the availability of corn. There is limited product out of Georgia and it is all being shipped with the notice of worm damage and dirty husks.

Prices are now fluctuating as we are working off of storage and shippers are trying to conserve inventory to get into the month of July.

05/26/09

Americans enjoy one of the safest and safest, most affordable food supply in the world. To keep it that way, to keep it that way, many state Universities offer educational programs help reduce sources of foodborne illness, from the farm to the consumer's plate. Recently the federal government installed a program of traceability from the grower to our kitchen. It seems that our politicians finally heard us after years of outbreaks. With all the rules and regulations in place we still have constant updates for problems. Last week there was a salmonella outbreak with alfalfa sprouts. The system is in place and the word now gets out quicker.

A major food shipper in Monterey California, Salyer American Fresh Foods has closed up due to the economic conditions (banks tightened the money supply) and have left an estimated $12 million in vegetables ready for harvest, forcing growers to sell at a loss - if they can find buyers in a market now inundated with product intended for Salyer American. One grower said his company has broccoli, cauliflower and several varieties of lettuce contracted and could be forced to plow the product under rather than harvesting and selling below their costs. This is serious money as their costs are $4000 per acre and they dedicated 30 acres of product per week.

It might be a speed bump for us or we just might see higher prices with one shipper out of the pipeline.

In other news last week, Florida was hit by a huge tropical storm. Everything growing down there has been affected. Lucky for us, it is now late spring and there are other sources for our fresh produce.

Vessels have started to arrive with imported new crop apples. Give the New Zealand and Chilean Braeburn, Fuji and Jazz apples a try!

Washington State will only have a couple more weeks of Anjou pears left from the 2008 season. There are good supplies for imported pears available with shipments ending in mid-June. Look for California Bartlett pears starting in mid-July.

The last of the Chilean red and white seedless grape will be sold over the holiday weekend. The California Perlette with Superior , Sugarone and Flame seedless grapes will be arriving this weekend. The market price is starting to come down and there will be a significant drop in price on the Mexican fruit.

Supplies on Florida oranges are very light this week due to heavy rains in Florida . Market price on all sizes are up $2-$3 dollars, but this might not be a weather related problem but one of the season ending and supply is tight.

California navel oranges will be available for another 2 weeks with much higher prices. The first load of Valencia oranges will be loading this week with limited volume, the new crop will cost much less than navels. California grapefruit has good supplies and quality.

Offshore cantaloupe will be finishing up this week. The importers will be dealing on price to be sure to get rid of their remaining inventory. Cantaloupes were definitely impacted this past week from the rain in Florida . Quality in the fields that received significant rainfall is sub-par, so most shippers are not harvesting. Cantaloupes will hold water causing shelf life to be limited and eating quality to be fair. Product will not be shipped until reports from the growing areas improve and the growers have had multiple dry days before harvesting begins again.

Yellow and white peaches are available out of California and volume is increasing. They are starting to ship larger sizes now. Prices should begin to decline next week as holiday shipping is done. Southern peaches are available, which is great. The travel distance and quality is usually much better.

Nectarines are going strong and are starting to ship the larger sizes. Quality on this product should be good and price will begin to decline.

Apricots are available and will be loading for arrival next week. This fruit will be very nice looking and good eating. Prices are reasonable

California cherries continue to be in short supply due to the high amount of culls being removed during packing. Look for a gap in cherry production next week until the bing cherries begin harvesting around June 1.

Pint blueberries out of North Carolina have started and are priced pretty aggressively to start. There are still a few smaller pack sizes out there mostly coming from California . The California fruit will be available through the month of June. New Jersey is set to start their harvest about June 15. California raspberries are in full swing and prices are very aggressive. Now is the time to promote these raspberries. Blackberry prices are the highest market of all berries as we wait for transition into California to finish.

Quality is finally looking good as most heads are full, green and clean in appearance. Deals are being made due to inventory levels being so high. This is expected to continue through the month of June.

Jersey leaf lettuce is now starting to hit high volume levels. California has very good supply right now and quality is excellent. There is Jersey product available but a word of caution. It is normally very sandy or gritty. You will have to wash is several times.

Heavy rains in Florida have stopped growers from getting into the fields to harvest causing some gaps in supply that have caused the wholesale prices upward. Nogales ( Mexico ) is now done with the pepper deal for the season and western peppers will now be sourced from the Coachella area of California .

Tomatoes have been extremely weak this past week as volumes out of Palmetto have been heavy. Quality on fruit has been excellent, but this will turn around very fast. Many of the growing areas in central Florida received anywhere from 5 – 10 inches of rain. Tomatoes harvested near the Memorial Day holiday will show signs of skin check on the shoulders, scaring and the shelf life will be somewhat limited compared to that of the new crop harvested during ideal conditions. Hothouse tomatoes may be the ticket for the best looking fruit over the next couple weeks. Grape and cherry tomatoes should remain steady.

The market is showing signs of weakening as product is coming out of California , Washington , Michigan and New Jersey . There are multiple market prices based on where product is being sourced.

Current weather situations in the Belle Glade Florida growing region has severely diminished the ability to harvest corn. This has caused some growers to enact the “Act of God” clause to work their way through the situation. The timing for this is horrible, but the positive is that prices did not increase.

05/20/09

Each week, I attempt to have a dialogue with you about the market conditions of the produce industry and how it affects both our pocket and nutrition. This week, before starting with food, I want to talk about an opportunity for you.

You might have noticed in stores and restaurants in Fairmount, The Fairmount Passport. The Fairmount Business Association is currently sponsoring this great idea. You can pick up your Passport at Kleins Supermarket and other participating businesses. You have to visit 5 businesses and get your Passport stamped. When you fill it up, drop it off or mail it to the Fairmount CDC on 2206 Fairmount Ave. Each week, a winner will be named and rewarded with a prize offered by participating Fairmount businesses. Give it a try.

The heat is coming soon. There is no better way to spend a few moments during the heat of the day with a nice cold thirst quenching watermelon.

Seedless watermelon range in size from 10 to 20 pounds on average. The fruit is oval to a round shape with a sweet flesh that is usually red or yellow in color. Every part of a watermelon is edible including the rind(but you won’t find me eating it!). The outside color will vary depending on the variety of the watermelon. A watermelon should be heavy in size and have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground.

Watermelons have a high level of antioxidants, which help fight cancer and other diseases. All varieties of watermelon can be classified into four general categories: picnic, ice-box, seedless and yellow flesh. You can also find the seedless variety as a long melon. It will have a dark rind with a narrow light green or yellow stripe. Often they are called an Allsweet type, which is the larger seedless melons and has become a favorite.

You probably didn’t know: early explorers used watermelons as their canteens to carry their water.

Though watermelons are commonly considered a fruit, they are actually a vegetable. Watermelons are 92% water. In 1939, seedless watermelon were developed by treating the un-pollinated flowers of watermelons with a specific acid. Watermelons take 70 to 80 days to grow.

This is the time of the year when our domestic supply begins to dwindle to just a trickle. The benefits of having a demanding food palate suggest other nations in the southern hemisphere grow and ship to where the demand is strong.

Washington State Braeburn apple volumes are dwindling, but new fruit from New Zealand is looking very nice. Granny Smith apples from Washington State continue in light supply with New Zealand being the place to be on this variety. Limited supplies on Gold Delicious apples out of Washington State and New Zealand is starting in the next 7-10 days. Chilean Fuji apples have a limited supply. Gala apples are available out of Washington , Argentina , Chile , and New Zealand . As a result of having so many growing areas going at the same time, pricing on Gala apples is very reasonable. Red Delicious apples also have good volume out of Washington State and the quality remains good.

Pears are basically all off shore from Argentina . Anjou , Bosc and Packham (barlett type) varieties are all available, but the quality currently is only fair.

Cherries have started out of California with the first variety being Brooks. There has been somewhat of a shortage due to the high percent being culled. Quality is improving, but prices are remaining on the high side.

This cross between an apricot and a plum, which boasts outstanding flavor, is now available out of California . Reports of quality show it to have good color and sugar. This fruit is the best eating stone fruit available.

Hopefully we will see some decent varieties beginning this week. The red beauties, which are available now, have a history of shipping poorly with very little flavor. Be careful. The price will be high!

Both yellow and white peaches are available out of California with light volume. They will arrive with a nice size fruit but prices will remain on the high side. Some southern peaches are becoming available and that is what you should wait for.

Nectarines are starting slowly and what you will see will be small in size. This fruit should be good but pricing will remain on the high side.

The Chilean grape season is winding down with only a few white seedless grapes available. Mexico and Coachella are up and running with Perlettes, which are the first of the season whites (and usually on the tart side) and Flame (red) seedless, but superiors(next crop white seedless)will not begin out of California until next week. The market price is dropping on Perlettes with Mexico having the best price right now.

Navel oranges will be available for the next two weeks, but pricing will be much higher. Valencia oranges are in good supply. The prices should start to decrease as many receivers are switching to Valencia oranges for price. The lemon market is strong with pricing on the rise for 115 ct. fruit and smaller. Rio Star and Star grapefruit are abundant at very good pricing.

Florida grapefruit has now finished up. Valencia oranges are the only citrus available out of Florida and the delivered price is cheaper than California .

It is the end of the offshore cantaloupe season with Southern California starting this week and Arizona starting the following week. Prices are dropping as the glut of Athena binned melons from Florida are flooding the market. It is the same story with honeydews as the transition from offshore product has started.

Santa Maria growing district is coming up on its peak season and product has been excellent. The favorable weather conditions in California over the past week have helped the Northern growing region of Salinas and Watsonville begin to harvest. Be aware that extremely high temperatures are expected, which may affect the quality of the fruit that arrives to the East Coast at end of next week. Look for prices to remain steady as long as growers do not have to remove too much fruit due to the heat.

Raspberry production continues to build and the F.O.B. pricing at shipping point continues to fall. Look for great prices on this great fruit by the end of May or early June as the California supply will start to peak. Blueberries continues to improve as product is now shipping from Florida and California . Blueberries out of North Carolina will start soon and at that point the industry will begin to change the pack size to pints.

Prices are very aggressive on lettuce and now is the time to buy because there are no significant quality defects. The warmer temperatures forecast for next week have growers worried about heat related damage. Time will tell

The market has finally come off. Transition is fully complete to the Salinas Valley and availability is good. The quality issues such as dehydration and lighter color are now past. Local product out of New Jersey has also started. My wish would be for the price to come way down.

The supply chain is full as product is shipping from Washington , Michigan , New Jersey and even Peru. The prices are over the board based on where product is being source from.

05/04/09

You knew it was coming. As sure as there have been scores of articles this year about how to stretch your food budget by planting a garden, we can now brace ourselves for a whole new kind of "how to" article. We will be advised eight ways to Sunday how to avoid the "swine flu" (I'm afraid that attempts to call it H1N1 will fall on deaf ears; Swine flu has entered the vernacular)

I have received updates from my supplier, which most likely comes from the Federal Government. It suggests if one is feeling ill: stay home, contain your cough, and wash hands frequently and to avoid crowds.

So far so good. It is all very logical. But the guidelines continue with: Eating and drinking

Eating and Drinking — Do not eat or drink after others without complete sanitization of containers or utensils. Swine flu can be transmitted by contact with infected eating utensils. The life span of a virus is different for each and can vary from as much as 48 hours to 100 years depending on the hardiness of the virus. Although there have been no known cases of swine flu transmission through fruit and vegetable consumption, there does seem to be some concern about the possibility. The best bet is to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables if possible. Make sure you wash your fruits and vegetables with water, and soak for greater effectiveness. Washing and using chlorinated rinses have not been proven to work. So far there have been no cases of swine flu transmission through fruits and vegetable sources.

If consumers are urged to eat only locally grown fruits and vegetables, the direct implication is that fruits and vegetables from another state or country are unsafe.

While eating "locally grown produce" seems to be saintly advice and above reproach, it is in fact a disservice to both consumers and marketers of fresh fruits and vegetables. Let's see such groundless advice end before it gains momentum.

By the way, the last tip is to: Visit your doctor. With any luck, the doctor should advise you to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Very strange weather patterns have affected availability of fruit even though product is shipping from all three growing regions. High temperatures had the first affect on fruit during the end of last weeks harvest when some shippers had to throw product away due to the excessive heat. The second weather related factor was the rains that hit the growing regions last weekend causing growers to strip fields on Monday and Tuesday of this week and the final weather related issues are the post rain cooler temperatures of lower than 65 degrees that slow the growth process of the plant and fruit. The weather related issues coupled with Mothers Day pull will leave small gaps in supply for the next week.

Good supplies of California raspberries are now available and prices are falling by the day. Blueberry prices have fallen the middle of this past week as now both Florida and California have fruit available. Blackberry prices will slightly increase as we are still in the transition period from Mexico to California .

Production out of Santa Maria and Salinas is now in full swing. Prices are relatively stable even with the weather issues that were mentioned last week. The biggest quality issues still remain tip burn, sunscald and rib russeting on the outer wrapper leaves.

Quality has improved on all varieties since last week along with prices decreasing. Boston lettuce is still the most expensive of the lettuces due to it being the most delicate and suffering the largest amounts of damage from the warm weather. Red and Green leaf prices have come off by several dollars. Romaine supplies continue to exceed demand. of the proper crisping methods to help with quality even though quality has improved.

There is a split market starting to form based on weather you are sourcing product from Florida or Mexico . Volume out of Mexico is fair due to the hot weather causing production to fall off therefore driving the market up. There should be availability until late May early June out of this area. Product from Florida is readily available and prices are very aggressive and should stay this way for the next several weeks. Look for prices to increase as we get closer to Memorial Day.

There has bee a huge glut of production in South Florida that has driven the markets down severely over the last week to the point that selling prices are lower than production costs. With that said, look for prices to move back up over the next ten day as production moves to Central Florida and then Georgia where product is running a week behind schedule due to heavy rains and late frost last month.

The market is holding steady as product is coming from California , Washington and New Jersey . Demand is only fair at best right now. There are large gaps on price based on where product is being sourced. Michigan is set to start the week of May 11th.

04/27/09

Ok, here we go again. California is the story. When our country relies on one region for our fresh produce stuff happens. “recent adverse growing conditions” was the subject of a recent email I received from my supplier.

The Salinas Valley has been besieged by severe weather related quality challenges. Last week we experienced two days of high winds, 40 to 50 MPH. Also, we had two nights with freezing temperatures. The last three days daytime highs have been 90 to 100 degrees. This drastic weather has and will continue to affect product quality. This can result in fringe burn, wind damage, wilt, discoloration, bruising and decay.

These same plants have been in the ground for 90 days, they are weakened and stressed. We are not experiencing anything near the conditions necessary of providing product all of us are normally accustomed to. We are being careful in harvest selection, tarping field loads, and cooling product as-soon-as it arrives to our cooler. Some defects and problems are not detectable at time of harvest.

So where do we go from here? California is also reporting problems with strawberries due to the extreme heat and rain for last weekend. This is bad news as I have been enjoying eating them on a daily basis. Time will tell!

Packing will begin in about two weeks. Estimates are around 50,000 cases! That is just one label reporting.

Apricots will start packing towards the end of the week of May 4th. Apricots are a spring item and look for a 6 week season ending around June 15th.

Plum harvest will start around May 15th with red beauts. The Black Diamond series will start around May 22nd with light volume through June until growers “kick into high gear” July 1st.

Nectarines will have 3500 boxes of nectarines packing between May 6th -14th. They will ship during the same time period as the peaches out of Bakersfield .

Coachella Mexico is projecting to start red seedless around May 10th. Light volume through May and normal in June. Superior white seedless will be available around May 15th on very light volume. Our peak weeks will be the 4 weeks of June. Organic Superiors should start around June 10th and be available over a 3 week period. Midnight black seedless will start May 24th with light volume for 2 weeks and will pick up starting the week of June 8 up to when we will see product arriving from California in July.

Texas grapefruit has finished up this week and Florida is experiencing sporadic supplies. California Ruby Red grapefruit will arrive this week.

Valencia oranges from Florida have abundant supplies, great flavor and very nice quality. The California navel season is just about concluded with growers switching over to Valencia orange packing. Navel oranges will be available into May with pricing slowly rising, especially on smaller size product.

The lime market is strong with a high demand on larger size limes. Most growers have little to no fruit available with product arriving on the small size. This supply issue is expected to last through June. The lemon market is also firming up and pricing will continue to inch up as we move into warmer weather. Supplies are good on lemons from California . Lemons from Spain , Mexico and Chile are

expected to arrive in 3-4 weeks, which will keep prices lower due to the competition.

The market on red and white seedless grapes continues to climb. The demand on red seedless has increased due to suppliers limiting white seedless grapes for quality issues and escalated pricing. The white seedless grape market will continue to struggle until product from Mexico and California starts in two weeks. Don’t be surprised if you don’t find white seedless as your favorite supermarket wishes to

Florida’s late spring corn crop is now in production and prices have dropped significantly. Warm weather is coming and now is a good time to enjoy this sweet tasting vegetable.

The Florida tomato prices are beginning to slide as growers begin to harvest the spring crop. Growers are anticipating a solid crop for the month of May.

Canadian grown hothouse tomatoes are starting to arrive in large qualities. Quality is fantastic with those big beefsteaks and the tomatoes on the vine

Prices are cheap with Florida in full production. Mexico is getting one last harvest in and the extra large size product is now available out of the Coachella growing region.

Large increases in volume out of both Florida and Sonora , Mexico are causing the market to crash. Low prices are expected to continue through next week. The quality on the Mexican product is superior to product coming from Florida . The only cost differences between the two is the freight to get product here from Nogales . Florida product has more yellow belly, where the

Both demand and supply remain steady. Washington State has started with light volume. New Jersey and Virginia will be starting next week with better volume. The Stockton/Lodi area of California continues to produce limited volumes. Look for a slight drop in price as all four regions are producing with prices going back up until Michigan begins around May 11.

04/13/09

The grape tomato is in fact grape shaped and generally has a thicker skin than cherry tomatoes. This small tomato has a very sweet, juicy and flavorful taste. Originally introduced as an exotic item in upscale grocery stores, the grape tomato has become extremely popular for both produce growers and consumers alike. In Southeast Asia , the grape tomato was originated by combining the thicker skin of the beefsteak-style tomato with the size and flavor of the Italian Roma tomato.

Grape tomatoes grow in clusters on a small vine and harvesting can be very labor intensive. The fruit must be picked at a point when the color is changing from light pink to a hint of red. A green grape tomato will not continue to ripen off the vine, and a red grape tomato will be overripe by the time it reaches the store shelves.

Do not refrigerate any variety of tomatoes. It stops the ripening process and not allow the full flavor to come through. Grape tomatoes can be stored in your home on the counter and used as needed for salads, side dishes or just as a snack. Ripe grape tomatoes will hold at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Production continues to be good out of the Southern California growing region. Supplies out of Santa Maria growing region continue to increase and should play a significant role in prices dropping starting early next week. Product out of Florida is still available and will continue to ship through the month of April however warm weather will play a major role in the quality of the product. Until all production is coming from the Santa Maria look for product to show signs of quality issues.

New crop Florida blueberries have started. This will help fill the gaps being created by the short supplies caused by the end of the season in South America . There is a huge diffence in prices between the South American product and the Florida product. Florida is about .75 cents/pack more! Considering the shorter distance, I consider that highway robbery! California is not set to start shipping fruit until the end of April. Blackberries are in good supply and continue to be a great ad item. Raspberry availability is still very limited and will remain that way through the rest of the month.

California celery continues to run large and have good weights. Prices are remaining steady, as there is significant price competition out of Florida . Product out of Florida is lighter in color and case weights are up to ten pounds lighter. Transition in California to the Oxnard growing region is set to start the middle of the month.

The market is up and should remain that way until the week of 4/13 when good supply starts out of Salinas . Production out of Huron is underway but supplies are limited due to less acreage being planted because of the California water crisis. Due to the limited volume out of Huron and Salinas most orders are still being pushed to Yuma . Product out of Yuma is the last plantings and quality issues such as rib rust, misshapen heads, light weights and tip burn are all evident.

Like the other crops leaf lettuce is transitioning to the Salinas growing region but there is no significant volume forecast until the week of 4/13. Markets are extremely high on Green Leaf and Red leaf with Romaine being slightly cheaper. Product coming out of Yuma is showing the affects of excessive heat in the fields during harvest. This will be most apparent on the butt end of the product where you will see dehydration and heavier amounts of discoloration.

Prices on peppers continued to come off this week as supplies out of Mexico and Florida both increased. Mexico will only go for a few more weeks until production out of Coachella begins.

Transition between growing districts combined with truck strikes in Mexico and a late start to the Florida product have had cucumber price at their peak. Look for these prices to fall and fall fast as Florida started harvesting this week and looks to have steady production all of next week.

The market remains very strong as is customary at this time of year. Mexican product is all but finished and the Stockton/Lodi region out of California is limited in volume. Demand looks to remain strong and volume will be limited as Easter approaches. Quality out of the northern growing regions is much better than the others.

There is better production on crowns(without the stems) as we move into the weekend and this market looks poised to fall even more next week. The gap between growing regions is closing as there is better production coming from the northern growing regions in California . Bunches of broccoli will stay a little pricier as both first and second passes in the field are being used to cut crowns.

Prices are on the floor as warm weather in Florida has caused plants to produce in excess.

04/02/09

One of the tell-tale signs of Spring are the abundant displays of fresh asparagus in your favorite supermarket. Asparagus is a member of the lily family and grows from a crown that is planted about a foot deep in sandy soil. It can be found in green, purple and white varieties. Green asparagus is the most common in the United States , while the white is more popular in Europe. Widely cultivated for it’s tender, succulent, edible shoots, asparagus cultivation began more than 2,000 years ago.

When selecting asparagus, look for bright green stalks with purple tinted buds. Store at 37o to 41o F and stand in shallow water or ice. One important thing to remember when storing fresh asparagus is to never mist the tops of the vegetable. The wet tips will cause rapid decay. Good quality product will be firm and have close, compact tips.

Under ideal conditions, an asparagus spear can grow 10" in a 24-hour period. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’s third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III.(which I keep with my cookbooks for references, my wife translates it for me). The name asparagus comes from Greek meaning "sprout" or "shoot". Asparagus was called the "Food of Kings." King Louis XIV of France was so fond of it that he ordered greenhouses built so he could enjoy asparagus all year-round.

I am a strong believer in a market economy. I feel that market conditions, whether it is the stock market, the produce market or what ever is in a supply and demand situation should be determined by what the forces will pay.

With this in mind, a peek into control tactics. Several weeks ago, when the California strawberry season was just ramping up, buyers were looking for advertising deals for the national chain stores. When they approached the strawberry growers association, they growers did not want to “push” their crop this year. Their thoughts were on maximizing their earnings on the available product, so no deals for the April holidays.

Well, things didn’t work out so well with that concept, the buyers found other deals to use for sale items and the strawberry shippers were left on the dock, so to speak. Now they are asking anybody to take product at any price just to move it through the pipeline.

A lesson in greed. Now they will take any price, consumers win, prices for the next week or two should be lower. Enjoy it now!

Be wary of the Florida strawberries, although at cheaperprices, quality will be weaker because they have been in the heat. The berries out of California are now coming from Santa Maria and are large with good quality.

Seedless grapes are now more ample in supply. Many grape suppliers are looking to move white seedless

grapes, so deals can be made on price. The red seedless market has more volume, but little to no room on price.

Even though California is experiencing a shorter crop this season, there is a lot of fruit available. Demand has not met expectations due to the higher prices and ad quotes. Growers are only seeing moderate sales and are scrambling to obtain more orders to move the product.

The lemon market is still quite cheap with deals on large fruit. Minneola tangeloes are selling very strong

The Florida grapefruit prices are picking up as the season begins to wind down. Look for prices to increase in the next week. Honey tangerines are finishing up, but product will be available with low volume into April. Valencia juice oranges are in good supply.

The Chilean stone fruit season is starting to wind down with California ’s season just around the corner.

The tomato market seems to be gaining strength this week as volume begin to slide from Mexico and

Florida. Another factor putting pressure on the market is the lack of product crossing from Mexico into Nogales due to a truck strike. Product will be sitting idle on trucks in Mexico until this issue is resolved causing orders to be cancelled or pushed off until a future date.

This will push buyers into the Florida market causing this market to spike and the pipeline to clean out. The

Growing conditions remain very good in Florida and the arriving product is great. Look for excellent size this upcoming week as the majority of the tomatoes will be very large. Roma tomatoes became very tight this past week. Mexico has been the biggest game in town, but volumes have dropped significantly. Florida is also very light with fruit. Look for this market to be the most aggressive and highest

Markets are remaining steady as we are now transitioning to a the Huron region. The end of the season product from Yuma has had severe defects that affect the appearance dramatically. Expect to seedefects such as weak tips, russeting and light color on product from Yuma , all of which are exempt from scoring on arrival. The Salinas growing region should start sometime during the first week of April.

The short lived flush of product from Mexico finished the middle of this week and we are now seeing the normal short supply situation we are used to for the Easter pull period. Prices have climbed six to eight dollars since Tuesday and will continue to climb as all product will be coming out of the Stockton/Lodi growing region.

Look for the broccoli market to remain strong due to product gaping as the desert growing region finishes.

Demand continues to exceed supply. Broccoli crowns(no stems) will be even harder to come by with only a limited number of fields in the Northern growing districts that can produce crown material.

03/25/09

You might have noticed foraging down the produce aisle of your favorite supermarket the prices of corn and beans might be way too high priced for your shopping budget. A series of freezes hit Southern Florida in late January into early February all but destroying the crop. As a result, less supply with a strong demand, pushed prices way up for the remaining available crops. Mexican beans are coming up but due to the situation, shippers are asking more for their supplies.

The rule of thumb is to follow your nose when choosing a cantaloupe, the sweeter the smell the better the melon. The other rule is softness on the opposite end from the navel of the fruit. If it has give, it is time to eat. Guatemala way down in Central America has been shipping north some fine product at reasonable prices. They have a nice sugar level. Try this great recipe I discovered!

Divide spinach between 2 serving plates. Arrange half the cantaloupe and half of the

avocado in a circular pattern over the spinach on each plate. Sprinkle with diced red peppers and fresh mint. To dress the salad, mix together the mint jelly, vinegar, oil and

Growers are looking to finish the season in Florida and Central Mexico and the warmer weather has some growers already pulling plants out of production because the quality of the fruit will not be good enough for them to ship. California continues to build inventory as the Santa Maria growing region is now shipping some fruit. Shippers are pricing the berries very aggressively to push volume. As long as the weather is good, we should see nice supplies arriving for the Easter/Passover holidays

Blueberries from South America are finishing up and the prominent pack size is changing back to the 4.4 oz. clamshell. Look for prices to remain higher until California and Florida crops start in April.

The market on Florida grapefruit will get stronger as the season winds down in the next 3-4 weeks. Prices will increase as supplies decrease. Honey tangerines coming from Florida are about finished and prices have jumped. Supplies on Florida Valencia juice oranges are good with deals available on volume business.

With a shorter crop for California citrus, many growers are finding themselves with an abundance of inventory and are making deals to move product. The California lemon market remains flat with cheap deals on the larger size fruit.

This week, California grapefruit shippers have kicked off their season and soon that will be the only game in town. Thick skin and not as sweet as Florida .

White seedless grapes are abundant in supply with growers looking to move volume. The best deals are on large and medium-large fruit at aggressive prices. Red seedless prices are moving up due to the transition to a later maturing variety

There are issues that are showing up now as the growing season in Yuma Arizona is ending. Expect to see lighter colors, tip burn, early decay and lighter weights in most products. Growers will be transitioning to the Huron California growing region on the week of March 23rd. This transition to a new growing region should help the quality issues, but due to water issues in the Central Valley , supplies can be limited and market will be active.

The leaf lettuce market is weak due to product shipping from Yuma and also now from Oxnard and Santa Maria . I have been told to be extra cautious about deals if buying out of the Yuma growing region. The product from Yuma has heat related quality issues. Growers will make deals to move the product before they leave for Huron. Growers will finish up in Yuma in approximately one week.

There has been a significant drop in prices in the middle of the week. California has two regions harvesting at the same time, creating a small flush in the market. Take advantage of these prices over the next week, because prices will start to climb when the desert deal finishes and just before the Easter/Passover holiday begins and prices will go back up.

The broccoli market is stronger right now out of California . Yuma has finished and Santa Maria and Salinas have not started. Expect this market to stay strong for one more week.

Hothouse tomatoes out of Canada have been absolutely beautiful. Look for supplies and quality to remain excellent. Tomatoes on the vine from Canada have also started in a light way. Look for excellent size to each cluster and bright, fresh, and green stems.

Round tomatoes out of Florida will remain steady this week with pricing holding firm and excellent quality. Look for sizing to improve as some farms are harvesting only the larger sizes.

Grape tomatoes have tightened up significantly this past week. Look for pricing to begin moving up as volumes drop. The cooler weather from a few weeks ago is finally showing its affect and causing some buyers to procure product out the West.