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

April 26th, 2021 Supply Update: Berries – NC Strawberries were a couple of weeks behind schedule this year and were just getting going last week until the cold on Thursday and Friday shut them down.

Strawberries

Asparagus – Mexican growers are reaching the end of their season and California, NC and Washington are getting started harvesting. Peruvian growers are still packing plenty of product. Quality is great across the board and supplies are very strong, keeping prices favorable for all.

Berries – NC Strawberries were a couple of weeks behind schedule this year and were just getting going last week until the cold on Thursday and Friday shut them down. We should be back into them this week. Blueberries in Florida estimate a 40% crop loss from the bad weather they received a few weeks ago. Georgia is about 2-3 weeks from full production. We will see the trifecta of limited availability, high market pricing, and rain on quality. Blackberries will remain tight until Mexico is done and California starts in June-July. Raspberry volume will not peak until sometime in May when a new growing region starts. Demand will continue to exceed supply until then.

Broccoli – Florida is well into their season and Georgia has started their season and they’re putting a lot of pressure on California growers to drop their pricing. Quality is excellent in all growing areas.

Cucumbers – Remain extremely limited and prices are staying strong. Quality has been nice on the product coming out of Florida.

Corn – Harvests are coming in strong and supplies are very good. Prices have stayed low this week.

Limes – Remain extremely tight and prices are staying very high.

Onions – Vidalia onions have started! We’ll have our first shipment early this week and are looking forward to the mild, sweet flavor of these gorgeous onions. They’re expecting a great season. New crop onions from Mexico and Texas are plentiful and have been really pretty and priced low for early onions.

Peppers – After a couple of months of rock bottom prices, the green pepper market started showing some strength with short supplies driving prices up. Colored pepper has gone the other way and farmers have more than they can sell so the bargains are on red, yellow and orange right now.

Squash – Prices are reaching rock bottom levels. Be aware that depressed markets can lead to growers abandoning fields because of higher costs of picking and packing than they’ll bring at market. Florida is getting into the game with their spring crop as new fields are starting to produce. It looks like Georgia will get going in a small way by the end of the week. Expect more volume from Georgia by the end of the month. Our local NC growers will be right behind that.

Q: Why is Dark spelled with a “K” and not a “C”?
A: Because you can’t see in the dark.

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Weekly News Archive

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.

apples

Good Morning! Hurricane Milton – Caused a lot of damage across central Florida. We’ll see those lost crops cause issues around Christmas time when those fields should have been harvested. The main shipping areas are from NC to Georgia currently and they were spared from Milton’s wrath. Apples – Farmers are now harvesting many new varieties out of Washington, including Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious, as well as a few others. The new crop looks to be good with estimates of around 124 million cases this year. Although this is smaller than last year’s crop of around 136 million, it’s still shaping up to be a good crop! The quality of the new-crop fruit is reported to be very good, but the fruit size will run smaller than average this season which means less large apples. Asparagus – Mexico continues to face tight volumes, with production gradually increasing but still falling short of the high putting additional pressure on the Peruvian market, which is also experiencing low volumes due to field transitions. We anticipate an improvement starting in mid-October as new fields reach peak production. 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 effect Georgia. Product is limited, but they expect the crop to rebound in a couple of weeks. Oranges – Remain crazy tight, both domestically and imports. California’s season was a total mess with poor quality and very low volume creating tight markets and high pricing. They’re expecting the new crop of Navels to begin in late October and hopefully supplies will settle out then. Potatoes – Idaho potato growers are starting off on the right foot. Quality is excellent on the new crop spuds and pricing is very good. Once they get them all in the warehouses and see what the total yields are for the year, we’ll know what the rest of the season will look like. Squash – Let’s talk about winter squashes! We have acorn, butternut, spaghetti, hubbard, kabocha, delicata and pie pumpkins. Fall is here, embrace the pumpkin spice! Keep us in mind for your disposables and to-go needs! We carry a full line. Q: What do you call the soft tissue between a shark’s teeth? A: A slow swimmer.

Squashes

Good Morning! Local Produce – Most of the local products wrapped up due to the rains from Helene last week. We still have local vine ripe tomatoes, but their heirlooms are finished for the year. The forecasted chilly weather for this coming week will slow growth further. Apples – We are now harvesting many new varieties out of Washington, including Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious, as well as a few others. The new crop looks to be good with estimates of around 124 million cases this year. Although this is smaller than last year’s crop of around 136 million, it’s still shaping up to be a good crop! The quality of the new-crop fruit is reported to be very good, but the fruit size will run smaller than average this season which means less large apples. Asparagus-Mexico continues to face tight volumes; with production gradually increasing but still falling short of the high, putting additional pressure on the Peruvian market, which is also experiencing low volumes due to field transitions. We anticipate an improvement starting in mid-October as new fields reach peak production. Corn – Georgia is just starting up but they’re finding a lot of stalks blown over from the Hurricane winds. Product is limited, but they expect the crop to rebound in a couple of weeks. Oranges – Remain crazy tight, both domestically and imports. California’s season was a total mess with poor quality and very low volume creating tight markets and high pricing. They’re expecting the new crop of Navels to begin in late October and hopefully supplies will settle out then. Potatoes – Idaho potato growers are starting off on the right foot. Quality is excelletnt on the new crop spuds and pricing is very good. Once they get them all in the warehouses and see what the total yields are for the year, we’ll know what the rest of the season will look like. Squash – Let’s talk about winter squashes! We have acorn, butternut, spaghetti, hubbard, kabocha, delicata and pie pumpkins. Fall is here, embrace the pumpkin spice! We also have loads of decorative gourds, indian corn and other items for your fall décor. What is a word that has 4 letters but can be written with 3, and if you count, it actually has 2?

Limes available

Good Morning! Local Produce – Squash, Zucchini, Peppers and Cucumbers are available in good numbers. The cool nights are slowing production from the vines, but they’re going strong now. We’re also seeing some muscadine grapes coming to market. Apples – They are now harvesting new crop Gala apples and Honeycrisp apples out of Washington. The new crop looks to be another good one with estimates of around 125 million cases this year. Although this is smaller than last year’s crop of around 136 million, it’s still shaping up to be an excellent crop! Avocados- Supplies from Mexico have normalized again and pricing is much improved. Blueberries – Remain extremely tight and prices are through the roof. Domestically everyone is done, but South America (Peru and Argentina) is late getting started and cold, wet weather has slowed berry maturity even more. Of what little is coming to market, most is going to Europe and even Israel because of higher import prices in those countries are willing pay. We expect them to stay very high until supplies increase at the end of October. Its a great time to look at other berries in the meanwhile. Citrus – California citrus groves continue to struggle with lesser quality than we’d all like to see. We’ve moved to imported oranges to find nicer fruit until California’s season improves. Corn – Fresh sweet corn is winding down in the north and Georgia is getting cranked up. They’ll be the major source into fall. Dry Goods – Keep us in mind for your go trays, bags, disposable cups and utensils. We offer a wide range of your kitchen essentials. Eggs – Markets remain high with summer heat and Avian flu taking a toll. Our cage free eggs are at a locked price, thus we get a better egg for our customers at a lower price than typical white eggs. Limes – Mexican farmers are struggling to fill orders. Pricing is very high suddenly. This decrease in volume is expected to persist for a few weeks, but by the end of September, we hope to see improved yields and pricing. Light rains and temperatures have been a key factor in getting the fruit to arrive with good quality and consistency. Tomatoes – Local Tomatoes are still available, though the cooler weather has slowed their production down a bit. Local heirlooms are available again. Dogs can bark up to 500 times per day. But that’s a ruff estimate.

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

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