Lettuce--the lettuce market is straightening out after a brief uptick. All varieties are settling down, especially iceberg and romaine, and quality does not appear to have suffered much from the cold snap.
Limes--prices are falling as demand is off and supplies begin to escalate.
Cauliflower and Broccoli--product is beginning to size better, and prices are dropping for both popular vegetables. Do we know if Obama likes broccoli?
Honeydews--while the market is still quite strong, we've sourced a great substitute from Brazil. The golden honeydew has a bright yellow exterior with a green flesh. They are quite tasty!
Mangoes--Peru is the country of choice for mangoes right now, and they are shipping both the Kent and Haden variety. These mangoes have been the best ones we've had since the end of the Mexican season.
Green Onions--yup, Obama has lowered the prices here also.
Strawberries--a few close cold weather calls in Florida have slightly diminished supplies, but new crop California berries are beginning to compete. Prices could come crashing down.
Tomatoes--remain a big bargain for Mexican vine ripes and romas, as well as Florida grape tomatoes and 5x6 tomatoes. Quality is quite good for all of the above.
Zucchini--it took just a short meeting with the president of Mexico to resolve the high price of zucchini. Beginning next week, you will see a significant price break. NAFTA works both ways.
Asparagus--from Mexico will finally be available next week and I'm sure you'll notice the difference in quality. For me it's truly a sign that spring is getting close--sort of. I've always said the best thing about 0 degree weather is that when it gets to 30 or even 40 degrees, it feels oh, so good.
Cucumbers--the news here is not so pleasant. The market for some of the fanciest slicing cucumbers is in the mid $50 range. We've been able to stay well below that, but the market has been quite high.
A shift to seedless cukes is straining that market and prices are edging higher.
Hard shelled squash--like butternut and acorn squash is usually expensive at this time of the year. 2009 is no exception. Quality is just fair.
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( 2.8 / 88 )As an update to my last entry, the near freeze in the lettuce growing areas of California, is beginning to rear its ugly head. Quality issues are to be expected going forward, in the form of epidermal peel to the leaves. Think of epidermal peel as chapped lips for lettuce. Heads may be smaller and whiter than usual as a result of leaves being peeled back in the packing houses. Prices are on the rise for all lettuce varieties, especially for all romaine products.
Prices of broccoli and cauliflower are much higher, as is celery which should get some help once Florida supplies increase.
Here's a look at some other items:
Melons--supplies of honeydews and cantaloupes usually shift from Guatemala to Costa Rica in January. Unfortunately, the hurricanes in the fall dumped excessive rain during the planting season in Costa Rica, and the crop is short and late. Prices are higher for both melons especially for honeydews which are approaching $6 a melon. Of course, quality is only mediocre.
Pineapples--which are mostly grown in Costa Rica these days are in the same boat. Prices have been high for awhile now.
Peppers--prices are on the rise for green peppers, though colored peppers are quite reasonable. Hmm, that's odd.
Chile Stone Fruit--many varieties are currently available. Sweet cherries are on top of my list, and nectarines and peaches are out there also. Chile does an excellent job on plums, which usually get good in mid February or so.
Eggplant--there's actually excellent quality on various varieties of "specialty" eggplant. Varieties currently available have been Hindu or Indian, Chinese, Italian, and Japanese. Most of these come in 25-30 pound cases.
Brussels Sprouts--continue to be a tough buy. The sprouts have shown a bit of discoloration and sizes have been irregular.
Peeled Baby Carrots with Tops--good news here, as supplies are abundant and prices are lower.
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( 2.9 / 86 )Yup, we're not the only place with winter weather. The California and Arizona desert which produces the majority of commodities like lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and celery has experienced a cold snap since the new year. If you're a fragile leaf of lettuce, you're wishing you had a nice fleece jacket to protect you right now. Growth of these products has slowed down, lessening the available supplies. Here's a look.
Lettuce--all varieties of lettuce, including romaine hearts, and spring mix are feeling the effects of the cold weather. Lettuce can't be harvested if there is frost on the leaves, so it shortens the days harvest time which limits the harvest. We expect about a $5 increase on many lettuce varieties in the near term. Spring mix should go up just a notch. This hasn't approached an "Act of God" clause yet which could raise contracts for processed products.
Cauliflower and Broccoli--both vegetables have already seen a small increase for this weekend. Quality is still quite good, though prices especially for cauliflower are getting expensive.
Celery--is another vegetable affected by this weather front. Celery has been stable for awhile, though prices are already up about $5 per case.
Asparagus--prices are finally rising here also, though this is a different issue. I believe the South American deal is winding down, as we near the beginning of the Mexican crop. That will be a good thing, since quality has been very mediocre for asparagus as of late.
Blueberries--now for some good news. Blueberry prices hit rock bottom this weekend. I can't imagine they could get this cheap in the winter. Prices could be as low as $15 per case.
Tomatoes--Mexican tomatoes have kicked up the volume and shipments have picked up since the end of the holidays. Prices for vine ripe slicers and romas have dropped considerably, while grape tomatoes remain a great bargain. Hot house products such as tomatoes on the vine are the exception. Quality for Mexican product is up several notches.
Artichokes--are basically a spring first and fall second kind of vegetable. Supplies of winter "chokes" are dwindling rapidly. Prices are much higher, and quality is much lower.
Pea Pods and Sugar Snaps--more good news as prices are lower for both. The real deal is for pea pods, which remain under $2 per pound.
Green Peppers--even though both Florida and Mexico are producing, for some strange reason prices are on the rise for green peppers.
Green Beans--now here's another bargain. Florida hand picked beans are down about $10 from their holiday prices. Haricovert, or French green beans, quality is excellent also. They're a good veggie to promote while the California cold snap affects other veggies.
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( 2.7 / 78 )Happy New Year To All of You.
We'll start out the new year with some good news, at least in the produce industry. Many prices are falling, as supplies increase from Mexico and Florida. It will be nice to get back to a regular buying routine again next week as supplies are always a bit inconsistent over the holidays. Here's some product information on what we have to look forward to.
Berries--strawberries from Florida are hitting their stride and prices have fallen dramatically. A case of 8-1 lb units is heading to about $2.50 per container or less than $20 per case. Product is fresh and bright. Blueberries and blackberries remain inexpensive, a result of apparently major overproduction in South America. Prices are under $20 per case for both, though quality has been variable.
Raspberries were extremely scarce and pricey for the holidays, but relief appears to be on the horizon. Product should be available now and prices are much lower for mostly Mexican and Guatemalan berries.
Cucumbers--prices for slicing cukes have fallen, after a ride approaching $50 per case. Prices should be around $30 per case next week, for super selects (the top grade). Quality for seedless cukes seem to be a bit of a problem as product is not as green as we'd like to see. Pricing is not too bad.
Tomatoes--prices seem to be falling for large tomatoes, mostly due to increased supplies of Florida product. Unfortunately these are not the tomatoes that we made our New Years' Resolution about, unless it was to say we'll never eat them again. The more "delicate" or juicy Mexican tomatoes do not seem to quite ready yet. Maybe that will change next week as it is a new year.
Grapes--we are now exclusively carrying Chilean grapes both red and green. The red variety is now flame seedless which starts out with small, deep red berries. The green variety is predominantly Thompson seedless. Prices are high for both, but should lessen as the season progresses.
Honeybelle tangelos--these Florida tangelos are a special treat. A usually short season, these juicy seedless beauties are worth the wait. They are the same variety as California minneolas, but Florida does something very right here. They are currently touted as a specialty citrus, and demand big bucks by citrus gift packers in Florida. Try them, you'll like them. For a special treat try juicing them. YUM!!
Juice Oranges --all oranges for juicing are now coming from Florida. We are shifting from the first major variety, the hamlin orange, to the pineapple orange. Each successive variety usually leads to better juice, so hopefully the juice flavor should pick up a bit.
Pea Pods--prices are less than $20 for a 10 pound box of pea pods, which are now coming from Guatemala. Sugar snaps still remain much higher.
Green Beans--are showing signs of coming off their high priced holiday prices. Demand should weaken a bit and the market is dropping.
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( 2.8 / 57 )Christmas, and prices were rising, but that's nothing new and hardly surprising.
Celery and green beans, berries and limes, those prices are higher but the quality's still fine.
The weather is freezing and no one is shopping, we're all getting nervous as profits keep dropping.
We at Frog Holler keep trying our best, to service you better than all of the rest.
Go Birch, and go Andy, new Cyndi and Mike, with Matt at the helm this team is alright.
As the new year approaches quality should improve, especially for 'maters which should be hitting their groove.
So, I'm startin' to lose it so I'll talk to you soon, I'd better start shopping 'fore I get sent to the moon.
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