Transition to local supply underway

And then comes June – the beginning of our conversion to local.  Every few days we replace a couple of California items with B.C., Washington and northern Oregon.

Here’s an update:  A reasonably mild spring has local groundcrops coming on when they should, and not 3 weeks late like the last two years.  The blueberry crop missed any spring frosts and is expected to produce a huge crop.  Although the apple crop in both B.C. and Washington is expected to be a record-breaker, the eastern market will pick up any slack because of huge frost related losses out there.  No one likes to predict cherry or stone fruit volumes this early as we enter ‘hail season’ – that 3 or 4 weeks in June that can see swaths of hail wipe out production in a matter of minutes. 

There are 4 categories we are seeing excellent volumes:  avocado, mango, stone fruit and grapes.  With apple supply tighter and more expensive than we’ve seen in years, people are going to start reaching for their other favourites. 

We have excellent supply of Fair Trade Peruvian avocados, and will have, right through until the beginning of the Mexican season later in the summer. 

Mangos – same story – great stock, great quality and we expect strong stock of Fair Trade fruit until the middle of July. 

California melons are on, a little more money, but Mexico volumes continue to drop. 

Navels are just about done – with a bumper crop this year; lots of fruit went into CA – mostly larger sizes.  We have one last shot of 48’s in this weekend, and that will be it! 

We continue to get enough local asparagus to fill the bill, a nice surprise! 

Broccoli will quit being cheap in a few days – keep that in mind for next week. 

California lettuce supply is dwindling as local supply comes on across the continent, so expect prices to climb quickly here as well.

Expect coloured peppers to be tight for a couple of weeks, with several Mexican producers wrapping up, and California 2 or 3 weeks away. 

Yes, we have lots and lots of Canadian potatoes – including many B.C. listings.