Happy New Year! Apples – Though North Carolina’s crop was devastated by Hurricane Helene, Washington State has now completed their harvest. They had exceptionally good weather for most of the harvest and managed to avoid any significant damage to the crop. The new crop looks good with estimates of around 128 million cases this year. Although this is smaller than last year’s crop of approximately 136 million, it’s still shaping up to be a good season. Due to the good growing conditions this season, the report from the growers is that fruit quality will be very good again this year. 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. We’ll be making the move to South American grapes this week. Greens – Cabbage, Collards, Kale, Turnip and Mustard are all in their prime right now. They like the cooler weather and harvests are good locally. Southern holidays are not complete without greens on the table! 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 – Product continues to be in a demand that exceeds the supply situation, but it looks like Florida is slowly getting into the game. We are noticing a few more growers starting to harvest. Mexico is slowly getting more product, but limited labor due to the holidays is having an impact on harvesting. Pricing is easing downwards. Potatoes – Idaho has a great crop and the surge in demand for the holiday season has now passed. Pricing should settle in at very favorable levels for a while. Strawberries – California is past their peak season and struggling to fill orders. Quality is not as nice as we’d all like to see and supplies are short. Florida will begin their season in the next week or so, adding some volume to the market and bringing pricing down for everyone. I have the uncanny ability to predict what is in a wrapped present. It’s a gift.