lix We Solve Your Produce Needs. Volume 38, Week 21 Monday, May 25, 2020 FIELDS OF DREAMS What was once taken for granted has forever fundamentally changed. Eating out at a local restaurant or café has dearly been missed. Seeing our favorite wait staff and hearing about menu specials will be music to our collective ears. Going to the grocery store for weekly provisions used to be a chore at best. New restrictions, protocols and shortages compound the already stressful household duty. Normal routines are morphing in to exceptional experiences. Curb-side food hand offs and donning masks and gloves just to push a shopping cart may be part of the next level normal. The food supply chain in America has been extremely challenged. For those who can and will continue to afford fresh foods, it is a time for real gratitude check. Anyone with food insecurity certainly has had an entirely different vantage point. Whether recently unemployed or one of many who has had to worry about the next meal, these times highlight the gaps in between being well-fed or under nourished. Food box programs and food giveaways have had a place in communities for quite some time. Now more than ever, they can support the market production from growers, ranchers and processors who may need an outlet. Absent foodservice demand, and with the predictable slow food establishment re- openings, retail customers are left to fill the void. Essential services all along the supply side of the food equation have been amazing. Dedication and commitment during the weeks of Covid-19 are not lost on the general public. Those of us in industry truly appreciate the hard work (day-in and day-out) that goes in to getting food to consumers. “Farm to Fork” or “Field to Plate” are much more than marketing slogans. Farmers, ranchers and farmworkers understand the challenges of managing an adequate or abundant food supply. Workers at every level have made personal sacrifices in April and May to keep distribution flowing. Established safe work environments—in fields, warehouses and retail stores— has been critical to the mission. Order during uncertainty gives everyone a sense of calm. Adjustment and adaptation will likely linger. More efficiencies may rise from the taxing, daily decisions all businesses have had to make. Operational reviews could yield to better ways of putting food on the table. Or not. Supply chain woes, bottlenecks or disruptions don’t just disappear when the virus fades. Access to food is a human right. How we deliver that is an open and ongoing conversation. P.O. Box 308, Sacramento, CA 95812 • Phone 916.441.6431 • Fax 916.441.2483 • www.generalproduce.com
Transcript
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We Solve Your Produce Needs.
Volume 38, Week 21 Monday, May 25, 2020
FIELDS OF DREAMS What was once taken for granted has forever fundamentally changed.
Eating out at a local restaurant or café has dearly been missed. Seeing our favorite wait staff and hearing about menu specials will be music to our collective ears.
Going to the grocery store for weekly provisions used to be a chore at best. New restrictions, protocols and shortages compound the already stressful household duty.
Normal routines are morphing in to exceptional experiences. Curb-side food hand offs and donning masks and gloves just to push a shopping cart may be part of the next level normal.
The food supply chain in America has been extremely challenged. For those who can and will continue to afford fresh foods, it is a time for real gratitude check.
Anyone with food insecurity certainly has had an entirely different vantage point. Whether recently unemployed or one of many who has had to worry about the next meal, these times highlight the gaps in between being well-fed or under nourished.
Food box programs and food giveaways have had a place in communities for quite some time. Now more than ever, they can support the market production from growers, ranchers and processors who may need an outlet.
Absent foodservice demand, and with the predictable slow food establishment re-openings, retail customers are left to fill the void.
Essential services all along the supply side of the food equation have been amazing.
Dedication and commitment during the weeks of Covid-19 are not lost on the general public.
Those of us in industry truly appreciate the hard work (day-in and day-out) that goes in to getting food to consumers.
“Farm to Fork” or “Field to Plate” are much more than marketing slogans. Farmers, ranchers and farmworkers understand the challenges of managing an adequate or abundant food supply.
Workers at every level have made personal sacrifices in April and May to keep distribution flowing. Established safe work environments—in fields, warehouses and retail stores— has been critical to the mission.
Order during uncertainty gives everyone a sense of calm. Adjustment and adaptation will likely linger. More efficiencies may rise from the taxing, daily decisions all businesses have had to make.
Operational reviews could yield to better ways of putting food on the table. Or not. Supply chain woes, bottlenecks or disruptions don’t just disappear when the virus fades. Access to food is a human right.
How we deliver that is an open and ongoing conversation.
Apples & Pears: Markets are active due to consistent, retail demand and the injection of volume demand from the USDA Box Program. Looking for a good promotional item? Try Organic Crimson Delight apples (12 ct. / 2 lb.). It looks like a Gala apple with a
similar flavor profile. We’ve got ‘em.
Smaller, WA pear shippers are concluding their season. Larger shippers are feeling the demand brought on by the USDA Box Program.
Avocados: Markets remain steady with plenty of opportunities to promote on all sizes.
Berries: Salinas, Watsonville and Santa Maria experienced rain events this week. Rain totals are minimal at this point so unlikely to affect yields and quality. Markets are very firm with an upward swing supported by good retail demand. Overall, we expect to see tight markets.
Blueberry production in Mexico is on the decline causing pricing to firm up. The Central Valley is ramping up with good quality. Production is slightly behind scheduled projections.
Blackberries and raspberries are still fairly light. Raspberry production out of Mexico is declining rapidly. Expect to see this market to tighten up. Quality has been mostly good on both items.
Citrus: Navels are still selling at a tremendous pace. Retail, wholesale. along with government bid fulfillment and now a little more foodservice trade coming online is keeping the market active. Small fruit is still very short—113’s and 138’s. Fruit quality is still very good and we expect it to remain that way. Organic navels are on a final floor counts.
Valencia business is picking up with some customers switching over. Government bids, along with export business are the biggest users right now. Organic Valencias are being packed and selling in place of the navel organics.
Grapefruit is selling at an all-time high. Growers are moving almost double what they’ve scheduled per each week. We are well into the Star ruby season and will finish by July 1st. From there, we’ll move into Summer Marsh Ruby. Large sizes are getting very short with no real growth of fruit on trees as they get into second picks of the groves.
Lemon demand is heating up as warmer temps are setting in. The onset of more foodser-vice business is also a nice thing which will take more fruit out of the mix. Prices are rising
as we are starting to hit capacity of packing. Lime
supplies are steady with good quality.
Grapes: Red grape supplies will get a bit snug for the next two weeks as we transition into Mexican fruit. New crop Mexican green grapes are available. Much better quality.
Melons: Supplies are extremely limited and the industry remains in a demand exceeds supply situation. The offshore season has concluded. There have been setbacks on domestic crop
starts and Mexico is struggling to meet US demand. Market trend remains active with gradual increases going into the week.
Mexico has good availability this week on small sized fruit with plenty of opportunities to move volume. Large cantaloupes and honeydew melons remain limited. Mexican cantaloupes are typically available from May into July. Due to strong demand, growers will wrap up the season by the end of this month. Honeydew supplies out of Mexico will be available into July. Quality has been good overall.
Watermelon ads at retail have kept the market active this week. Specialty melons are hitting the market in a very light way. Early availability is on Galia, Hami, Canary and Santa Claus.
Seasonals: The California stone fruit supply situation is improving. Recent cold weather and light rain has further delayed the growth of big fruit. Yellow nectarines are simply not yielding the volumes expected. As a whole, there is better availability of yellow and white peaches.
Most tray packs are falling into the 50-60 count range with light production on the 40’s. On the volume filled, there are good supplies of sizes between 60-80 counts. With warmer weather and no rain on the horizon, we hope to have bigger fruit available by the end of the month. Market prices have dropped and aggressive opportunities are available.
CA cherry markets are higher due to demand; especially on 10 1/2 row or larger. California Rainier
cherries are available this week.
A very limited group of growers have started to pick very light vol-umes of red and black plums. Availability is extremely spotty and prices are very high. With warmer weather expected, we should be on
normal production volumes over the next two weeks.
Tomatoes: New production areas are increasing harvest and supplies are improving. Round tomato prices are coming down slowly. Romas, grape and cherry tomatoes are near seasonal norms. California will begin harvesting in June.
FRUITS
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Asparagus: The market is elevated. Limited production has begun in Central Mexico; expect volume to ramp up over the coming weeks.
Broccoli, Cauliflower & Celery: Broccoli markets are weak. California supplies are abundant. Quality is very good on broccoli crowns and bunches. The cauliflower market is weak; supplies are ample. Quality is very good; color is snowy white. Although celery supplies are adequate, demand is strong due to the Memorial Day holiday and foodservice businesses starting to re-open.
Lettuce: Leafy markets are up a bit. Demand is strong due to Memorial Day orders and new foodservice business. This includes romaine lettuce and hearts. The iceberg market is a bit higher than last week. Demand is strong due to Memorial Day orders and foodservice businesses coming in after COVID-19 shut-downs. Recent rain is further tightening all lettuce supplies.
Mixed Vegetables: Green bell pepper transition from Nogales to Coachella is presenting small gaps in volume pushing markets stronger. Colored bell prices are steady at high levels, but will start inching down as domestic supplies increase.
Brussels Sprouts continue with light supplies. Escalated pricing on all value added Brussels sprouts will continue. Cucumbers supplies are good with strong quality. Soft squash quality is decent but won’t have a long shelf life. Quality and condition will improve in newer fields. Eggplant has light volumes available and peaking smaller sizes. Coachella green beans are in moderate supply with mild demand.
Light artichoke supplies continue out of California. Most of the volume is on large sizes (12’ and 18’s). Quality is good. Expect steady, fair volume for the rest of May. Prices are higher. Corn production in Coachella and Imperial Valley continues to improve.
Garlic, including processed garlic products (chopped, whole peeled, etc.) remains very tight in supply. California garlic harvest will begin by mid-June, but COVID-19-related demand is expected to keep market conditions firm in
the weeks ahead.
Onions and potatoes: Onion markets are flat; supply continues to exceed demand. California will continue to ramp up with more volume in the coming weeks. This will help dwindling northwest supplies.
With renewed foodservice demand, we’ll see how depressed potato markets react in the next few weeks.
VEGETABLES
BIG GREEN SALAD
W/ MINT DILL VINEAIGRETTE
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups salad greens (arugula, kale, rapini, and/or spinach) 2 small green zebra heirloom tomatoes, quartered 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced 1 cup fresh peas, blanched 3 – 4 asparagus, thinly sliced
1 cup pea shoots
For the goat cheese: 4 oz. goat cheese 1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced mint
1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced dill
For the dressing: 1 shallot, roughly chopped 1 cup mint leaves 1/2 cup dill sprigs 1 clove garlic 1/2 cup Pompeian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 tablespoons Pompeian Organic Red Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
METHOD: In a blender combine vinaigrette ingredients
and blend for 3 minutes until completely smooth.
Combine goat cheese and herbs in a bowl and mix until well
combined. Place in the refrigerator.
Arrange salad greens on a large platter. Top with remaining salad vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crumble
herb goat cheese over salad.
Serve with mint dill vinaigrette
SERVES 6
Recipe courtesy Pompeian (The Olive Oil People)
Mushrooms – Every grower is in short supply due to very strong demand and production levels not able to meet orders.
This includes whites, browns, bulk and cello. Primary shorts have been on cello whites and bulk sliced. We will
continue to purchase from all available growers and prorate as needed. This will persist for the next several weeks as the
