Here is a qucik overview of this coming week in the fruit and vegetable markets. You should expect:
Avocado: Mexico’s summer crop is small and limited. Mexican growers continue to hold field prices high as U.S. importers push to get a share of this limited amount of fruit.
Bell Peppers: Green Bell Pepper supply has improved peaking on large #1 followed by choice grade out of Fresno, California. We will see more availability as we move into the week. Red bell pepper is more available this week due to improved harvest in the central coast of California.
Blueberries: Supplies are limited and will continue to be light until the import season begins in 1 week.
Brussels Sprouts: The market remains historically high with limited supplies.
Carrots: In California growing area we are still seeing slowed size growth of the carrots. The heat has stunted the growth is the current growing area and very few jumbo size carrots are being produced.
Limes: Limes are still struggling. Tropical Storm Franklin caused a lot of damage to the lime supply. Previous rains and heavy winds caused days of zero harvest and on top of that quality will suffer for weeks due to stylar, skin breakdown and wind scarring. The situation will not improve much for the next few weeks due to an 80% chance of rain for the next 5 days.
Oranges (113/138): Demand for California Valencia oranges remains very strong and is getting stronger. School demand for the smaller sizes continues to build. School demand paired with the retail juice demand is now exceeding supplies for 88s/113s and 138s which will last through the Valencia season. Even with packers moderating their pack weekly to stretch the crop, some packers will be finished over the next 2 weeks and others expect to see their crop finish by the end of September.
Cucumbers: With cooler, cloudier weather production on cucumbers should tighten up over the next week.
Green Onions: We continue to see extreme heat in the growing regions of Mexico. Temperatures are ranging from 107 to 116 degrees. This has really hampered growth rates. We are seeing sizing in the small to medium size with jumbo sized green onion being nonexistent. The market remains much higher than normal levels. We will continue to see this trend for the next 3 to 4 weeks. Quality is fair at best with yellowing and browning of the tops.
Squash (Eastern): Squash supplies have been tight for the past two weeks due to various factor and now with a cold front moving across the eastern half of the country production has gone down even more.
Hopefully, this market information will help you to plan specials, promotions, and make menu adjustments in advance of the rapidly changing produce markets.
