Asparagus – Easter is always a big weekend for asparagus, and Mexican growers are finishing their harvests. Peru is getting started again so we should see less demand after the holiday and better supplies going forward.
Avocados – Pretty weather in the avocado groves has good harvests during the middle of the season. Markets are stable as we move into warmer months and higher demand.
California Products – The Salinas Valley has been experiencing major rain and flooding. The record rainfall has caused the Salinas River to breach its levee in several areas, jeopardizing crops that were planted with an original projected harvest date from mid-April to mid-May. This will lead to significant yield loss as well as postponing any planting dates that were supposed to take place this week and next. There is another 1-3in of rain expected today with more rain expected for the end of the week. Growers are also expecting quality issues from the Yuma Valley/Imperial Valley desert region, with temperatures expected to rise exponentially, which will cause quality issues on some Veg items. Long story short, prices are about go go out of sight on most California items, and will stay like that for a couple of months.
Eastern Vegetables – Solid, dependable weather in Florida has many items in strong production. Corn, cucumbers, zucchini, and beans are all widely available and pricing is improving as we see strong harvests and a solid supply. Yellow Squash continues to be a struggle as quality has suffered with the wind scarring many of the fruits.
Eggs – Easter always sees a huge increase in demand for eggs, with all of the breakfast menus and colored eggs putting pressure on the chickens. This year is no exception and pricing has climbed in anticipation of the high demand. Stick with the premium but better priced cage free eggs that we offer to save money.
Lettuce – Iceberg and leaf lettuce supplies are beginning to tighten up as we move towards the seasonal transition that happens every spring and fall. Prices are starting to rise as the future is very uncertain going into the flooded fields and we’re expecting a HUGE gap once farmers move to transition to those northern flooded fields begins next month.
Strawberries – We’ve started our local strawberry season. It’s a bit early this year because of the warm winter we’ve had. Quality is starting out gorgeous, but this weekend’s rains may be a speed bump that cause a short gap. After the farmers recover from the rains, we should have plenty as long as they last.
Q: What is big, green and fuzzy and would kill you if it fell out of a tree?
A: A pool table.
