Posts Tagged “spring produce shipments”
Relief for spring produce loading opportunities is coming, but slowly, according to the website of Pro*Act of Monterey, CA.
Sonora is expected to start in late March with fewer acres planted, while the California desert may begin slightly earlier than normal due to warm weather.
Georgia remains several weeks out, expected in late May. Until
then, expect elevated pricing and continued tightness across the pepper category.
Tomatoes are following a similar pattern, with supply disruptions stacking
across regions.
Mexican production slowed following the mid-March national holiday and is now
further constrained by extreme heat in Sonora and Sinaloa. Harvest crews are
starting earlier in the day, but shortened picking windows are limiting overall output.
Quality remains mixed, with some growers pulling from older or previously
abandoned fields.
Florida continues to feel the impact of recent freezes, winds, and frost damage.
Volume is extremely limited across rounds, romas, and grape and cherry tomatoes,
and additional grading is required to meet specifications.
Rounds are seeing the most pressure on larger sizes, particularly 4×4 and 4×5. Romas
have slightly better availability on medium sizes but remain tight overall. Grape and
cherry tomatoes are also tightening as both domestic and Mexican supplies are
constrained at the same time.
Expect tomato markets to remain firm with upward pricing pressure and continued
volatility through mid- to late April, as new regions gradually come online.
Overall, the market is working through a difficult transition window. Florida is slow to
recover, Mexico is weather-constrained, and supply gaps are showing up across
multiple commodities. We’re expecting continued tight availability, elevated pricing,
and variability in quality and packouts.
Florida spring produce shipments overall have been pretty good. However, as we get closer to June volume typically declines on most items and just how long good loading opportunities continue depends in large part on when it becomes too hot for vegetables to grow.
In south Florida, watermelon shippers are finishing their season, which is overlapping the early- to mid-May start of central Florida watermelon shipments. Overall, Florida is shipping high volumes of watermelons and as we near the Memorial holiday weekend (May 23-25), approaching 1500 truck loads per week.
Central Florida should be loading large supplies through late May, while northern Florida shipments will soon start in light volume. North Florida typically overlaps Georgia’s typical early- to mid-June start with watermelons.
Georgia watermelon shipments should hit good volume around June 10-15, though southern Georgia regions near Adel, Ga., and Tifton, Ga., frequently start a week earlier.
Florida/Georgia Pepper Shipments
Florida pepper volume began improving in early May, while Georgia shippers were gearing up for a mid-May start.
South Florida peppers had some quality problems, primarily from colder weather, but those issues have mostly been resolved with the seasonal transfer of shipments originating out of Central Florida. Depending upon when summer heat starts taking its toll, Florida could be shipping peppers into mid June. Currently about 250 truck loads of peppers are being shipped out of Florida, which is relatively small compared to the 850 truck loads per week of sweet corn.
Meanwhile, Georgia pepper shipments should be hitting stride as we enter June.
Central Florida watermelons and vegetables – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.