Berries--up, up and away! Florida strawberries lead the strawberry brigade and prices are higher. The good news is that each shipment seems to be a bit more mature, with larger berries and better color. Prices should recede quickly after the holidays. Raspberries are very tight and controlled by the Driscol Empire. Prices are in the high $40's for Mexican berries. Blueberries are inching upwards, though they are reasonable, and blackberries are moving north, also.
Grapes--Brazil and Peru are bridging the gap between California and Chile green grapes. They are in the right place at the right time this year as prices for perlettes and sugarones are very high. There are still some red and black seedless grapes out of California, though Peruvian Flame grapes have entered the market.
Broccoli and Cauliflower--are rising solely due to holiday demand.
Anise--prices seem to be going through the roof this year. I've seen prices already quoted in the $40's next week for small sizes.
Green Beans--another vegetable prized at the dinner table for the holidays. Prices are higher here for good quality beans.
Lemons--prices inch up a bit as most product shifts to Arizona for the winter. Quality is good!
Limes--prices are up a few dollars here, also.
Red, Yellow and Orange Peppers--product is being sourced from Spain as we wait for Mexican product to kick in. Prices are higher!
There is good news out there, also, as we approach the new year!
Tomatoes--the tomato market is starting to free fall. Grape tomatoes and Florida tomatoes lead the way, with Mexican vine ripes following behind. Next week should show some serious improvement.
Lettuce--good news here, too. Iceberg lettuce leads the way as prices fall under $30. Other lettuce varieties are falling also as the Yuma deal catches up to demand.
Green Peppers and Eggplant--Florida and Mexican product compete for business and demand is not affected much by the holiday.
Remember, it's basically a red holiday.
It's local somewhere!
Say hello to the beginning of the Texas growing season. Texas does a wonderful job growing greens such as parsley, bunch beets, arugula, dandelion greens, dill, swiss chard, cilantro and cabbage. We're also procuring our juice oranges and some ruby grapefruit from the lone star state.
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( 3 / 255 )You can't fight the weather. This is an El Nino year, isn't it? When you look up the potential effects of this El Nino cycle it's not too clear what should happen. But I can tell you what's going on right now. Cool, wet weather has invaded Florida which has slowed the progress of the strawberry and tomato crops. Cold, wet weather in the southern hemisphere has greatly affected the highly anticipated blueberry crop. Predictions of the size of crops in Argentina and Chile have almost been cut in half from earlier predictions and the crop is approaching a month late. This is also slowing the ripening of the grape crop which is getting quite expensive, today. California is in the same boat, as cool weather retards crop development. A recent freeze in the Salinas valley a few weeks ago had growers using water and wind to stave off the cold. The industry said $4 million was spent on the procedures to save the crop. Luckily damage seems to be limited.
Here's a look at what else is going on:
Cantaloupes--low demand causes prices to plummet. The melons, now coming from Guatemala, are quite inexpensive.
Tomatoes --are curretnly a major problem. Mexican vine ripes are not kicking in fast enough, and Florida tomatoes are slow to ripen also, and won't provide much relief until January. Buyers have few options but to purchase pink tomatoes just to fill orders. We pride ourselves in providing you with ripe tomatoes, though it's quite challenging to do so now. We apologize if we're temporarily caught with pale tomato syndrome.
Pineapples--have been on a roller coaster ride for several months now. High prices and poor quality, followed by low prices and high quality. Well, luckily, we're in the later situation right now, so use 'em!
Lettuce--this is a strange one. The romaine market has dropped first, so prices which were in the mid $50's are now in the high $30's. Still not a deal, but going in the right direction. Green and red leaf have hovered in the same area, but iceberg lettuce has risen a bit. Let's see what happens next week.
Berries--new crop Florida strawberries are trickling in, and we're flip flopping between Florida, Mexico and California for product. Florida berries are our preference moving forward, though cool weather and recent rains have slowed the deal down. Blackberries from Mexico have been a bargain, while raspberries from Mexico have been of high quality, though expensive. Blueberries are being sourced from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, and have moved from 4.4 ounce containers to mostly 6 ounce containers in anticipation of the recently touted huge crop. Quality is improving.
Specialty Citrus--is slowly gaining traction in the form of Meyer lemons, blood oranges, heirloom navel oranges, cara cara navels, kumquats, pummelos, mandarins and clementines. It's still a bit early to claim they are at the peak of the season. Grapefruit options range from pink to star ruby or red, to white, and they're getting sweeter by the week. Our grapefruit juice is improving also.
We are currently sourcing juice oranges from Texas, and they are quite sweet. Gotta get my shot of vitamin C. I just read today that one sixth of the population has had H1N1. Wow!
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( 2.9 / 170 )And prices were climbing, when we showed them to clients they all started crying! Lettuce in the $50's, tomatoes in the $40's, what in the world's going on. I received an industry wide tomato e-mail about a week ago, stating that "Florida growers were possibly seeing the worst shortage of tomatoes in the last twenty years." This is due to the abnormally high temperatures in late September and early October which has caused a shortage of product. Lettuce from California is in about the 3rd week of extraordinarily high prices. Romaine and romaine based products lead the way in the mid $50 range. Compare this to last years prices below $20. Iceberg lettuce, green and red leaf, and boston lettuce are in the mid $30 to $40 range. These high prices could last until mid December. At least quality is beginning to improve as product shifts to Yuma, Arizona.
Tomatoes --while Florida is far behind in production, Mexico claims to have a great looking crop and as supplies increase prices should begin to fall. The worst is over as prices are slowly beginning to fall. Grape tomatoes and romas are fairly reasonable, leaving gassed green Florida tomatoes and Mexican vine ripes being outrageously priced.
Lettuce--the worst was thought to be over, though prices remain very high. Supposedly the transition to Yuma lettuce should have pushed prices down, but high demand is forcing growers to pick lettuce while young, which is exacerbating the problem. Let's hope for warm weather in Arizona.
Berries --the warm weather in Florida has accelerated the crop, and significant volume should hit our market by mid December. Florida strawberries have been excellent over the past 5 years or so, so we welcome their arrival. Prices could be reasonable by Christmas.
Blueberries have begun being shipped from Chile as well as Argentina and Uruguay. The supposed gigantic crop has been downsized due to poor weather in South America. Blackberries from Mexico and Guatemala are a bargain, while raspberries remain stable.
Broccoli and Cauliflower--from California are following the lettuce market. Demand far exceeds supplies and prices are higher. As product moves further along in the desert, prices should come down.
Asparagus--felt a little bump from Thanksgiving, though prices will fall a bit this week. The market for asparagus is quite soft as over planting in Peru and Chile has stuffed the market.
Citrus --product is heating up here. Florida and Texas juice oranges have supplanted California valencias. As usual for this time of the year, the juice is a bit thin and pale, though certainly not offensive. Each successive variety will improve the flavor. California Navel oranges continue to gain maturity. Quality is quite good for this early in the season.
Cranberries--product seems to be dwindling quickly, so if you think you might need some product for the holidays, don't wait too long before purchasing them.
Mexican product--such as cucumbers, green peppers, zucchini and eggplant is coming on like gang busters giving relief to these commodities. Prices are dropping as supply exceeds demand here.
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( 2.9 / 178 )
Well, we've dressed up our newest Frog Truck with "Lady Frog" or maybe she's Froggie Mama. It's about time we've graced Ann Arbor with a lady frog, don't you think? You should know our style by now. Every new truck gets a new Frog "cartoon" which we hope puts a smile on your face. There's enough serious stuff going on out there, so we try to keep things on the lighter side while we truck around the city trying to deliver you the best produce around. I love it when I see kids in a car pointing at our trucks, laughing their heads off. Our good friend and, of course, local artist Zeke Mallory, has painted all the Frog trucks. Thanks Zeke, for the smiles you've put on our faces. Check out his work on his webswite at www.zekemallory.com
While we're at it, we've just about met our goal by having a fully refrigerated truck fleet. This is to insure that your food is delivered to your dock at temperatures between 32 and 42 degrees. Frog Holler Produce Co. is in the process of obtaining its HAACP certification, a food safety acronym which stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. After 9/11 and its terrorist implications, and way too many incidences of Salmonella and other disease producing organisms over the past 5 years or so, governmental agencies are trying to combat this problem by instituting a range of policies to help assure food safety. Beginning at the farm would be a good place to start, but I won't get pulled into politics right now. So, we at Frog Holler Produce, are stepping up to the plate by instituting new policies which will increase our awareness of delivering food safely to you. This will eventually include traceability which will enable the food chain to trace a tainted product back to a particular farm. I thought my new Android could do this stuff. What are apps for anyway? This has become such a big deal, that many companies seem to place a higher value and price on their policies than on the quality and taste of the food itself. We appreciate and understand the role that food safety plays in the distribution process, but our reputation for quality and service will still be our calling card. We would love for you to come visit us in our new and improved facilities if you get the chance. Your support has enabled us to grow and assist us in servicing you better. It is a 2 way street!
Thanks once again,
Froggie Rick (as some called me back in the day)
Froggie Mama (she's the newest Frog in town)
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( 2.9 / 172 )The lettuce market hit $40. Are you kidding me! Yup, romaine lettuce, romaine hearts and red leaf lettuce are in the $40's. That's nothing to celebrate about! Iceberg lettuce, boston and green leaf are in the $30's. How about tomatoes you ask? They're squirrely,too. Gassed green Florida tomatoes are in the mid $30's, as are Mexican vine ripes and roma tomatoes. Is this a bad dream or what? Oh, did I mention that Hurricane Ida which rained on Guatemala, is affecting their produce exports?
Lettuce--continues to be in this funk due to California rain storms which occurred in mid October. All California leafy greens are affected such as spring mix and baby spinach. Product is tender and saturated with water. Patience will be needed to get through this.
Tomatoes --demand exceeds supplies leading to higher prices. Actually the quality of the early season Mexican tomatoes seems quite good, though supplies are very limited. Florida gassers are just getting going leading to higher prices. We're struggling to keep up with color, though we should be on top of that this weekend.
Broccoli and Cauliflower--prices seem to be receding here, especially for cauliflower. Hopefully this is a sign that the lettuce market will follow suit.
Asparagus--prices continue to rise fueled by rain from Hurricane Ida and other vegetables being higher. Why should asparagus be left behind?
Parsley--those big bunches from Texas are about to be shipped. They must have large handed farm workers in Texas that pack the herbs. Everything is bigger in Texas they tell me. Prices are higher. Pretty soon most greens will be coming from Texas. Look for knobby onions, chard, dandelion greens, cilantro, endive and escarole and kale.
Cucumbers--as Mexican supplies increase, prices drop a bit. Quality is excellent. Seedless cukes, on the other hand, are in short supply as Canada is about finished for the year and no one has taken her place.
Zucchini and Yellow Squash--prices are falling fast and both Mexico and Florida increase production. Hard shelled squash, on the other hand is finishing up locally and prices are rising.
Citrus--the season is here. Seedless Clementines from Spain and Satsumas from California have hit the market. We prefer the satsumas now as they seem to have more maturity, though next week could be a different story. Larger pickings of California navels are dragging the market down. Florida and Texas grapefruit are shipping larger loads each week, and prices are falling. We are beginning to squeeze grapefruit juice if you're interested.
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( 2.6 / 114 )Next
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