Fords Produce Company | Fresh Produce Distributor | Raleigh NC
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Produce Supply Update March 9th, 2026 Good Morning! Broccoli – Is settling back down after a couple of rough weeks. Supplies are still low, but demand fell off at the higher pricing and that drove markets down. Cabbage – Is in great supply from Florida fields. We’ll see increased demand going into St. Patrick’s Day which may cause pricing to ease upward. We have savoy cabbage on hand if you’d like to change things up a bit. Celery – I’ve never seen a market like this that stayed this high for this long. The farmers out west planted a lot less acreage, creating a shortage that has lasted since October. Prices are still strong and will remain that way until more fields are changed over to celery. Corn – Last week’s freezing temperatures in the Southeast really set back the crop. Supplies are very limited and pricing is VERY high. Lettuce – California pricing came way off this week as demand slowed at last week’s higher pricing levels. Onions – Mexico is trying to start their new crop. There are still plenty of storage onions on hand, so the transition should be a smooth one except for the actions of the cartels down there. Strawberries – Florida’s thermometer turned cold and the strawberry machines turned off. Fortunately, our local grower is pumping them out with the pretty days we’ve been having and he’s expecting a great season. Tomatoes – The nationwide cold that we had last week has changed the plentiful tomato market seemingly overnight. Prices are much higher with the shorter supplies. Roma tomatoes which primarily grow in Mexico are particularly tight. Florida / Mexican products: During our winter, we rely heavily on Mexican imports for a lot of vegetables. Their production usually offsets the shortages from Florida this time of year with cold weather limiting Florida’s harvests. The cold temps in Florida last week shut down their harvesting and threw a lot of demand on Mexican farmers all of the sudden. However, Mexico has had the cartel issues for the past couple of weeks, coupled with their own weather conditions and limited harvesting. As a result, most things that come from those areas are Extremely limited this week and it may be April before we see long term improvements. The most effected items are peppers, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. Bear with us for a little while and we should see some improvements as the weather continues to warm. I went to Starbucks and the barista was wearing a face mask. I asked “Why are you wearing a surgical mask?” She said “I’m not. It’s a coughy filter.”

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

Produce Supply Update

March 9th, 2026

Good Morning!

Broccoli – Is settling back down after a couple of rough weeks. Supplies are still low,  but demand fell off at the higher pricing and that drove markets down.

Cabbage – Is in great supply from Florida fields. We’ll see increased demand going into St. Patrick’s Day which may cause pricing to ease upward. We have savoy cabbage on hand if you’d like to change things up a bit.

Celery – I’ve never seen a market like this that stayed this high for this long. The farmers out west planted a lot less acreage, creating a shortage that has lasted since October. Prices are still strong and will remain that way until more fields are changed over to celery.

Corn – Last week’s freezing temperatures in the Southeast really set back the crop. Supplies are very limited and pricing is VERY high.

Lettuce – California pricing came way off this week as demand slowed at last week’s higher pricing levels.

Onions – Mexico is trying to start their new crop. There are still plenty of storage onions on hand, so the transition should be a smooth one except for the actions of the cartels down there.

Strawberries – Florida’s thermometer turned cold and the strawberry machines turned off. Fortunately, our local grower is pumping them out with the pretty days we’ve been having and he’s
expecting a great season.

Tomatoes – The nationwide cold that we had last week has changed the plentiful tomato market seemingly overnight. Prices are much higher with the shorter supplies. Roma tomatoes which primarily grow in Mexico are particularly tight.

Florida / Mexican products: During our winter, we rely heavily on Mexican imports for a lot of vegetables. Their production usually offsets the
shortages from Florida this time of year with cold weather limiting Florida’s harvests. The cold temps in Florida last week shut down their harvesting and threw a lot of demand on
Mexican farmers all of the sudden. However, Mexico has had the cartel issues for the past couple of weeks, coupled with their own weather conditions and limited harvesting. As a result, most
things that come from those areas are Extremely limited this week and it may be April before we see long term improvements. The most effected items are peppers, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. Bear with us for a little while and we should see some improvements as the weather continues to warm.

I went to Starbucks and the
barista was wearing a face mask.
I asked “Why are you wearing a
surgical mask?” She said “I’m
not. It’s a coughy filter.”

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