Posts Tagged “Coachella Valley vegetable shipments”
Excellent weather has led to a normal start for pepper loadings from the Coachella Valley, while an early season start for San Joaquin Valley grapes should lead to the season wrapping up in late November or early December, a few weeks earlier than normal.
Peter Rabbit Farms of Coachella, CA notes bell pepper harvesting started in late October and early November.
Production in Coachella production begins just as green bell pepper production in California’s San Joaquin Valley is winding down. Georgia is already shipping, although it has faced weather issues; particularly rain. Usually, California has a window between Georgia and Mexico production. About half of November’s U.S. pepper volume comes from Coachella. The desert green pepper harvest will likely extend into December, Peter Rabbit reports.
Red bell peppers started in early November and will continue until the end of the year, barring any major weather events such as a freeze.
Overall bell pepper volume is described as fairly average.
Peter Rabbit’s next commodity, leafy greens– which includes Romaine, green leaf, red leaf, iceberg and butter lettuce–which will start to be harvested at the beginning of November and run until April
Concerning California table grapes, heading into the final weeks of the season, green grape loadings are expected to last until about Thanksgiving (November 27), with red grapes available until early December, according to Bari Produce of Fresno, CA. Shipments are about 6 million pounds ahead of a year ago, when the season extended well into December.
As for varieties, on green grapes, the company is shipping Autumn King grapes while on reds, it’s finishing Scarletts and it is still packing some Jack’s Salute. The biggest block of red grapes that are yet to go however are seedless Allisons.
California’s table grape cold storage holdings totaled 14,790,674 packages as of October 15, 2026, compared with 11,986,852 packages on the same date in 2025, an increase of approximately 23.4 per cent. According to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Western Fruit Report, published on October 20, 2026, holdings declined from 15,002,198 packages recorded on September 30, 2026.
Prime Time International, a fresh produce produce grower and shipper based in Coachella, CA has found the times of COVID-19 change, not only with growing their crops, but when it comes to transportation.
The company cites the cost of truck rates as an example and wonders just how how rates will soar this summer. It was pointed out, for example in mid-April truck rates from Nogales to Boston hit $9,300, which translates into nearly $10,000 for loads coming out of California. The company cited one truck who they knew had 8 trucks parked due to a lack of drivers.
It was not the pool of long-haul truckers is being depleted by demand in the home delivery arena. Those same drivers can work close to home and go home every night. The company has discover other drivers who do not feel the risk of driving cross country is not worth it. Due the lack of equipment, truck rates have been much higher during much of the past year. It remains to be seen how high rates must rise to create more supply.
Aside from transportation concerns, Prime Time is trying to figure out how consumers will react to the pandemic, and what will the be trucking requirements for restaurants and other foodservice outlets. It’s much easier consider what the demand from retailers will be.
When the pandemic hit the company’s spring crops in Coachella Valley last year crops were already in the ground and there was no opportunity to alter the production schedule. However, they were able to cut back some on production for the summer, which was just going in the ground. It is a year later but how the consumer will react over the next few months is equally uncertain.
Prime Time does also of foodservice business with its primary crop, Bell peppers. Last year, that business was mostly loss, though retail sales took up the slack. Foodservice accounts are finally starting to come back.
There is still uncertainly for shipments to retailers. Prime Time did increase its summer production a little bit over last summer, but its Coachella Valley acreage has remained the same.
The company’s red peppers had been coming from in Baja California but have recently shifted to Coachella. Prime Time has eggplant, sweet corn and chili peppers just starting with watermelons slated to begin on May 10. Typically, the Coachella row crops start in April and lasts until around June 10, as long as the temperature doesn’t get too hot.
Prime Time then farms acreage in the San Joaquin Valley and Ventura County.
California desert shipments for fresh grapes and vegetables from the Coachella Valley are gearing up.
California’s Coachella Valley grape shipments should get underway in very light volume around May 10th, with loadings to be down only slightly from last season.
Table grapes are grown from 7,000-acres in the area located just east of Palm Springs. Volume should be about 4 to 4.5 million 18-pound cartons, down from about 4.8 million cartons a year ago. While some shipping operation finish earlier than others, some such as Richard Bagdasarian Inc. of Mecca, CA continue through the middle of July.
Early variety grapes in the Coachella Valley will have lighter volume due to inadequate chill hours. However, the midseason or later grapes in the Coachella Valley should have more normal volumes, which should start occurring by the end of May, just in time for shipments for Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28.
From Memorial Day into June Coachella grapes shipments should be at a peak. Coachella grape volume is miniscule compared to grape shipments from the San Joaquin Valley that will get underway by late June or early July as the Coachella season is winding down.
Vegetable Shipments
Coachella Valley vegetable shipments are expected to be average this season with items such as peppers, watermelons and sweet corn, with good volume during May and June.
Prime Time International, which is headquartered in Coachella, is expecting good shipments of colored red, yellow and orange peppers as well as watermelons and sweet corn during May and June. The Coachella Valley shipping season typically lasts about eight weeks and typically ends when the desert temperatures get too hot. Coachella watermelon shipments are expected to be heavier than normal this season..
Coachella Valley
The Coachella Valley is a desert valley in Southern California extending approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino MountainsS to the northern shore of the Salton Sea. It is approximately 15 miles wide along most of its length, bounded on the west by the San Jacinto Mountains and the Santa Rosa Mountains on the north and east by the Little San Bernardino Mountains. The San Andres Fault crosses the valley from the Chocolate Mountains in the southeast corner and along the centerline of the Little San Bernardinos. The fault is easily visible along its northern length as a strip of greenery against an otherwise bare mountain.