MARKET REPORT - AUG. 5TH 2016

Here is a quick rundown for youApples:  We were being warned of a potential early harvest of Gala for this weekend but the weather cooled off quite a bit over the last week, and there is cool rainy weather forecast for the Interior for the next 5 days.  Galas have to be picked several times and the first picks are fairly small, so we will presume there is no rush to get them off and all resources are closing off the peach harvests instead. Avocado:  With production ramping up quickly in Michoacan as we head into what could be a high volume year, prices have come off about 8% or so in the past 5 weeks, and we would expect to see a couple more bumps down over the next couple of months.  With substantially higher volumes coming on in neighbouring Jalisco, grown for the European market, there will also be less pressure on pricing.Blueberries:  With reasonable weather over the last week a couple of growers have been able to continue harvesting, especially if they have lots of late blooming varieties.  We expect this deal to wind down fairly quickly as volumes drop.Cherries:  We are winding down quickly with just one Creston grower now in the game and their last harvest is off the trees.  It was a great run this year for some growers and really crappy for others, the difference being who got rain and small hail from thunderstorms and who didn’t.Grapes:  With blues and cherries winding up, grape sales usually start to rebound.  California pricing is off again this week with so many varieties coming on at the same time.  The season will end early, but that’s several months away, but glut pricing will prevail for the next 10 days at least.Lemons: Brutal weather has damaged a substantial chunk of the current lemon harvest.  Growers are forced to grade most fruit out as choice for the next couple of weeks, and asking the moon for it.  We’re seeing most of our draw on choice at this time, although prices are still trending up.Limes:  Pricing is seasonably stable but can change at any moment as we enter 4 months of hurricane season on the East coast of Mexico.  A hurricane is moving north into waters off Veracruz and heavy rains are hampering harvest at this time, although we haven’t seen any nudge in pricing yet.Mango:  We’re seeing good quality fruit with all harvesting now in Sinaloa and Baja.  Prices are hitting good marks for strong sales.  We’re expecting good supply on mangos into mid-September as we transition into California before the supply line ends and we await the first Ecuador fruit in November.Melons:  Most desert shippers are now finished with plants burned out.  High production still coming from the northern districts in the Central Valley, with some growers farther north (Capay) not into their peak yet.  Expect solid supply for another few weeks, with prices only edging up on watermelon (mini and bins) with fewer growers in the mix going forward.Stonefruit:  Specifically nectarines and peaches – we’re 2/3 of the way through a stellar season with prices off.  Growers are being very proactive on pricing so there aren’t any back-ups.  It’s too bad our best BC peaches and nectarines, with the highest volumes come off at the same time as we are all into some of the quietest weeks of the year, but prices certainly help volumes.  Note that we are now listing a consumer box of Rebel peaches starting now – could be a winner – there’s unlimited volume available and the pricing is excellent.   We wish we could go even lower and help growers sell more ugly fruit but you get to the point, as you do on other low grade products, where the boxes and pallets are more expensive than the product.Oranges:  Rare to talk about this weak summer category.  Extra heat that affected lemons has also inspired the last of the Navel’s to orange-up, so despite the fact that there usually aren’t any Navels in August in the first place, prices are dropping with extra fruit in the market.Pears:  Hooray – the BC pear season has started with the first early picks of Clapperton and Flemish, and Bartlett close on the heels.Plums:  Choose from 7, count ‘em 7 varieties.  We are the peak of plum season – the weather is perfect and the fruit is sweet and juicy.   Consider clams if you want to have a mix up of varieties with line drive pricing on 3 different colours.Strawberries:  The last glut is certainly over with volumes lightening up very quickly.  Weather has now stabilized and we can expect stronger volumes later in the week.Beans:  Oh, it’s always a good day when all our bean listings are local!Greens:  Perfect growing weather and more and more growers in the mix can only mean one thing – too much chard / kale / lettuce and prices drop.  Expect very weak markets on a wide selection of BC greens with growers in the Fraser Valley and Okanagan vying for shelf space – and that will continue through the month unless there is a weather calamity.  You can tell how many desperate phone calls we’re getting by the length of our listings of BC greens on special.Potatoes:  We’re almost there with a full selection of BC spuds – just waiting for Bruce and Brenda and Brent and Shelly to start harvesting Russets and German Butter and all will be good.Squash:  A plethora of growers not able to turn off the zucchini tap continue to supply at awkwardly low pricing.  And hard squash, yes, the first BC varieties are coming off and hardening up.  Watch for a bigger selection over the next couple of weeks.