Fords Produce Company Inc Since 1946 | 1-800-821-FORD (3673)
Spotlight

February 16th, 2024 Produce Supply Update: California Weather – Multiple storms on the west coast have caused flooding and disruption in harvesting. We expect to see over the coming weeks delays and shortages in product availability Cabbage – Texas and Florida fields are starting to get some better volume right in time for St. Patrick’s Day pull. We expect pricing to stay pretty steady until after the holiday. Melons – Honeydew and cantaloupes are widely available at all ports. Most of the production is currently arriving from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Demand is sluggish and importers are looking to make deals. Quality and sugar have been good. Mixed Vegetables – Cold, wet weather in Florida and Mexico have shut down production on peppers, cucumbers, and squash. Supplies are extremely tight on many commodities right now and pricing is surging as buyers struggle to find product. Lettuce – With most product coming from Arizona currently, the heavy rains in California have not had a negative impact on Iceberg, Romaine, and Green Leaf. Supplies are good and quality has been very nice. Peppers – Pepper markets continue to be on fire! Florida is harvesting but yields have been a disappointment. We are seeing a high percentage of poor quality peppers being left in the fields. Mexico is bouncing back from last week’s shortage, but we are still in a deficit from previous years. Potatoes – There are still plenty of potatoes in storage as Idaho is still trying to move a bumper crop. There are plenty of good deals baking potatoes out of Idaho as well as reds and golds out of other areas. We are 2-3 weeks from Florida starting with fresh-crop reds and golds. Erratic weather (rain, sporadic cold) over the past couple of months has disrupted the planting schedule and will impact the crop. Strawberries – Light supplies due to limited harvesting caused by recent rain in Florida, California and Mexico. Product planned for the Valentine’s Day pull was impacted by the rains last week. There will be a slowing down of demand after the Valentine’s Day holiday. Tomatoes – Have been EXTREMELY limited for the past couple of weeks, but we’re seeing some softening of the market, especially on romas. Many will choose romas instead of round tomatoes if they can, so the round tomato market soon will follow the romas. A limbo competitor walked into a bar. He was disqualified.

Cabbages

California Weather – Multiple storms on the west coast have caused flooding and disruption in harvesting. We expect to see over the coming weeks delays and shortages in product availability.

Cabbage – Texas and Florida fields are starting to get some better volume right in time for St. Patrick’s Day pull. We expect pricing to stay pretty steady until after the holiday.

Melons – Honeydew and cantaloupes are widely available at all ports. Most of the production is currently arriving from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Demand is sluggish and importers are looking to make deals. Quality and sugar have been good.

Mixed Vegetables – Cold, wet weather in Florida and Mexico have shut down production on peppers, cucumbers, and squash. Supplies are extremely tight on many commodities right now and pricing is surging as buyers struggle to find product.

Lettuce – With most product coming from Arizona currently, the heavy rains in California have not had a negative impact on Iceberg, Romaine, and Green Leaf. Supplies are good and quality has been very nice.

Peppers – Pepper markets continue to be on fire! Florida is harvesting but yields have been a disappointment. We are seeing a high percentage of poor quality peppers being left in the fields. Mexico is bouncing back from last week’s shortage, but we are still in a deficit from previous years.

Potatoes – There are still plenty of potatoes in storage as Idaho is still trying to move a bumper crop. There are plenty of good deals baking potatoes out of Idaho as well as reds and golds out of other areas. We are 2-3 weeks from Florida starting with fresh-crop reds and golds. Erratic weather (rain, sporadic cold) over the past couple of months has disrupted the planting schedule and will impact the crop.

Strawberries – Light supplies due to limited harvesting caused by recent rain in Florida, California and Mexico. Product planned for the Valentine’s Day pull was impacted by the rains last week. There will be a slowing down of demand after the Valentine’s Day holiday.

Tomatoes – Have been EXTREMELY limited for the past couple of weeks, but we’re seeing some softening of the market, especially on romas. Many will choose romas instead of round tomatoes if they can, so the round tomato market soon will follow the romas.

A limbo competitor walked into a bar. He was disqualified.

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Weekly News Archive

Holiday Cornucopia

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year To You and Your Family! Thank You for Your Business, Have a Great Week!

Bell Peppers

Good Morning! Cabbage – is still going locally and quality and pricing has been really nice. Corn – Georgia is finishing for the season as Florida and Mexico start production. Volume will be light for the next couple of weeks and pricing is up. Cranberries – Are here! Get them for your holiday menus and dishes! Grapes – Are arriving at our ports from South America already, but California is still packing red seedless varieties. The overlap of growing areas should make the transition a smooth one this year. Greens – Collards, kale, turnip and mustard are all in their prime right now. They like the cooler weather and harvests are good locally. Lettuces- Iceberg lettuce, romaine, red and green leaf supplies are improving this week. Quality reports are much improved with the completion of the transition to new fields in Arizona. Pricing is much better this week. Tomatoes – We continue to see the reeling effects of Hurricane Helene and Milton. Supplies remain drastically short on all varieties and are at critical level currently. All eyes are on Mexico for them to begin their season and take the pressure off the Southeast. Peppers – Georgia’s season is officially done, as the freezing temperatures over the weekend put an end to it. Markets are still strong, as Florida is also experiencing some cooler weather, along with the lingering effects of the hurricanes this fall. We are still hopeful that Florida will be back to normal volume by the middle of the month. Colored pepper remains tight too, with farmers picking it green to reap the high prices. Potatoes – Especially sweet potatoes are a big part of menus for the holidays and fortunately there’s plenty of all varieties for your menus. Squash – Mexican fields are getting cranked up and quality and volumes are much improved. Florida farmers are getting started, but volumes are still light. I went to a pickle packing plant to see how they do it. It was jarring.

Cabbages

Good Morning! Broccoli and Cabbage – are still going locally and quality and pricing have been really nice. Celery – Rises every year in anticipation of the increased demand of the holidays. People who don’t buy celery any other time of the year have to have it for their Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes. So, just like clockwork it goes up in price every year in November and then falls off in January. Grapes – Are arriving at our ports from South America already, but California is still packing red seedless varieties. The overlap of growing areas should make the transition a smooth one this year and keep pricing very favorable. Greens – Collards, kale, turnip and mustard are all in their prime right now. They like the cooler weather and harvests are good locally. Lettuces- Of all varieties remain extremely tight as the first fields in the Yuma growing region have been slow to develop, impacted by hotter weather in the early growth stages. This transition between growing areas happens every year, but some are smoother than others. Melons – Mexican farmers are well into their season now and quality and volumes are very good. Pricing is down due to the lower freight costs on shorter delivery routes. They have plenty of cantaloupe, honeydews. Watermelons should be starting in Florida, but the hurricanes wiped out most of their crop and prices have soared on the limited supply. Tomatoes – We continue to see the reeling effects of Hurricane Helene and Milton. Supplies remain drastically short on all varieties and are reaching their most critical level currently. Peppers – Volume in Georgia continues to be down due to the hurricane damage, though Florida is trying to get harvests going. Mexico should be harvesting good volumes now but they’ve been plagued with disease and cool temperatures slowing their volume. Potatoes – Especially sweet potatoes are a big part of menus for the holidays and fortunately there’s plenty of all varieties for your menus. Squash – Especially hard squashes are popular this time of year and we have many varieties for you to choose from. I asked the bus driver “How long will the next bus be?” He said “Same length as this one.”

Celery Stalks and Cut Celery Sticks - Celery Was super-tight and spendy through the spring and early summer,

Happy Thanksgiving! Broccoli and Cabbage – Are still going locally and quality and pricing has been really nice. Celery – Rises every year in anticipation of the increased demand of the holidays. People who don’t buy celery any other time of the year have to have it for their Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes. So, just like clockwork it goes up in price every year in November and then falls off in January. Grapes – Are arriving at our ports from South America already, but California is still packing red seedless varieties. The overlap of growing areas should make the transition a smooth one this year and keep pricing very favorable. Lettuces- Of all varieties remain extremely tight as the first fields in the Yuma growing region have been slow to develop, impacted by hotter weather in the early growth stages. This transition between growing areas happens every year, but some are smoother than others. Melons – Mexican farmers are well into their season now and quality and volumes are very good. Pricing is down due to the lower freight costs on shorter delivery routes. They have plenty of cantaloupe, honeydews and watermelons, though the cooler months see a lot less demand than summertime. Tomatoes – We continue to see the reeling effects of Hurricane Helene and Milton. Supplies remain drastically short on all varieties and are reaching their most critical level currently. Peppers – Volume in Georgia continues to be down due to the hurricane damage, though Florida is trying to get harvests going. Mexico should be harvesting good volumes now but they’ve been plagued with disease and cool temperatures slowing their volume. Potatoes – Especially sweet potatoes are a big part of menus for the holidays and fortunately there’s plenty of all varieties for your menus. Q: Which side of a turkey has the most feathers? A: The outside.

Sweet Potatoes. Purple and orange

Good morning! Asparagus – Mexico continues to experience tight volumes, though production is gradually increasing as the weather cools down to temperatures more suitable for asparagus. We anticipate improvement around the last week of October, with peak production expected in November, just in time for the Thanksgiving pull. Peru is seeing strong production, and we don’t anticipate any issues in meeting demand as we prepare for the holidays. Broccoli and Cabbage – are beginning locally and will continue until frost. Lettuces- Of all varieties are higher this week. Iceberg lettuce, romaine, red and green leaf supplies are limited this week as supplies in the northern growing regions are finishing up. The southern growing region is expected to start over the next two weeks, but until then expect lettuces of all types as well as salad mixes to be higher than normal levels. Melons – Mexican farmers are well into their season now and quality and volumes are very good. Pricing is down due to the lower freight costs on shorter delivery routes. They have plenty of cantaloupe, honeydews and watermelons, though the cooler months see a lot less demand than summertime. Oranges – Quality has improved dramatically with the start of California’s Navel season. This fruit is one of the best on the market and we look forward to a great season. Tomatoes – Were drastically effected by Hurricane Helene and Milton. The path of both went right through the growing areas of Florida and Georgia and simply wiped out a large portion of the crop as well as future plantings. Also, Helene went through the Tennessee and NC mountains and wiped out their tomato crop. Prices continue to rise and we’re all waiting on Mexican farms to start harvesting to help ease the markets. Peppers – Volume in Georgia continues to be down. Yields are lower due to the bloom drop that they had during the storms. Farmers continue to harvest but please be aware that overall volume is lower. Markets are trending higher. Expect colored peppers to increase also, as the farmers will pick the peppers green to get the high prices, not letting the pepper ripen to red, yellow or orange. Potatoes – Especially sweet potatoes are a big part of menus for the holidays and fortunately there’s plenty of all varieties for your menus. Q: Where does a rainbow go when it breaks the law? A: Prism. It’s a light sentence but gives it time to reflect.

Green Peppers; with the higher pricing of green peppers, farmers will elect to pick them green rather than waiting for them to ripen to yellow or red

Good morning! Asparagus – Mexico continues to experience tight volumes, though production is gradually increasing as the weather cools down to temperatures more suitable for asparagus. We anticipate improvement around the last week of October, with peak production expected in November, just in time for the Thanksgiving pull. Peru is seeing strong production, and we don’t anticipate any issues in meeting demand as we prepare for the holidays. Blueberries – Have finally become widely available again as Argentine and Chilean fruit makes it to our shores. Prices are way down on beautiful berries. Broccoli and Cabbage – are beginning locally and will continue until frost. Corn – Georgia is just starting up but they’re finding a lot of stalks blown over from Hurricane Helene, fortunately Milton quickly skipped across Florida and didn’t affect Georgia. Product remains extremely limited, though they expected the crop to rebound in a couple of weeks. The cold weather this week has further slowed growth making corn even more tight right now. Melons – Mexican farmers are well into their season now and quality and volumes are very good. Pricing is down due to the lower freight costs on shorter delivery routes. They have plenty of cantaloupe, honeydews and watermelons, though the cooler months see a lot less demand than summertime. Oranges – Quality has improved dramatically with the start of California’s Navel season. This fruit is one of the best on the market and we look forward to a great season. Peppers – Volume in Georgia continues to be down. Yields are lower due to the bloom drop that they had during the storms. Farmers continue to harvest but please be aware that overall volume is lower. Markets are trending higher. Expect colored peppers to increase also, as the farmers will pick the peppers green to get the high prices, not letting the pepper ripen to red, yellow or orange. Potatoes – Harvest continues on russets with Idaho leading the way. Overall quality and sizing are good. Pricing is very good across the board and we believe it will stay that way until the Thanksgiving demand increases. They’re finally making a documentary about the most famous clocks. It’s about time.

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Fords Produce Company Inc Since 1946 | 1-800-821-FORD (3673)

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