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Market Alerts & Produce Updates

For the Week of March 27, 2023

The following updates and alerts were culled in collaboration with our growing family of brands. Scroll through both lists to help prepare for upcoming obstacles and opportunities.

Market Alerts

Grains
The soybean oil market has moved lower again now with less availability in stock, higher demand, and more pressure from several other commodities selling contracts due to the the SVB bank failure. Canola is lower because it competes with strong Canola yields in Europe and Australia. Palm followed the soybean oil trading which has moved that lower as well.
Dairy
The shell egg market continues to grow as Easter approaches. Block and barrel cheese markets are both up due to trading. Butter markets are rising, though they are expected to remain steady. Cream and culture prices are increasing due to non-market cost factors.
Beef
In the current environment, packers are under increased pressure to keep boxes in the marketplace. Ribs are steady, but the availability is sporadic. Tenderloins are steady but require seasonal support. There is a weakening in strip and shortloin prices, but price expectations between buyers and packers remain unclear. Chuck prices are soft, as supply is more in demand. Round prices remain steady.
Pork
The butt market is soft, but it should begin to show signs of life in the coming weeks. Ribs continue to climb upwards as there is anticipation of low availability on light ribs. B/I loins following suit with butts right now as demand has waned. Loins with no bones remain flat. Even with abundant cold storage, bellies are decreasing and are anticipated to fall more in the coming weeks.
Poultry
Dark meat is still going up. Jumbo breasts are still in high demand. Tenders are catching up to breast meat as the supply gets smaller. This week, demand for whole birds and cutups increased. Due to the fact that additional processor freezers are full, jumbo and medium wings have an excess supply. The supply of small wings is smaller than that of jumbo or medium wings.
Seafood
Many seafood types including Salmon, Tilapia, Pangasius, Pasteurized Crabmeat, Cod, Shrimp, Mahi, Tuna, Calamari, Warm Water Lobster Tails, and Pollock supplies are all finally stabilized compared to last year.

Produce Updates

Due to weather issues and growing region transitions, lower overall yields are expected over the coming weeks. Additionally, demand is expected to increase as we approach the holidays. The combination of the issues and increased demand will likely cause markets to climb over the next several weeks. Supplies from the desert growing region remain steady, and the overall quality is good. The warm temperatures have helped with product weights. Temperatures are expected to cool off, and no rain is expected. Markets are expected to increase as growers head into the transitions and the Easter holiday pulls.
Asparagus
Weather continues to improve in Caborca & San Luis, Mexico, and production remains excellent. Peru has slowed down with air shipments this week due to market conditions. We will see our first sea shipments next week. Markets are slow due to the increase in production from Mexico and Peruvian production.
Bananas
Volume remains lighter than normal this month mainly due to seasonal dips in yield combined with higher global demand. No quality issues, but we are seeing smaller fruit, discolor and very light inventory entering the ports. Make certain you are staying ahead of inventory during this next several weeks.
Beans, French
Excellent supply available loading in Florida and Nogales.
Blueberries
Central Mexico will continue with strong production as they are in peak season. Peru volumes will continue for another few weeks. Baja volumes will continue to increase as their season uptrends. Chile is finished for the season.
Broccoli
Quality is very good out of the desert growing regions. Although supplies continue to be lighter, market continues to be very active.
Cauliflower
Prices are still escalated, although market continues to adjust as supplies continue to improve.
Celery
Supplies are improving with good quality as market is adjusting downward. Oxnard growing region has been receiving rain this week making harvesting difficult.
Cilantro
Quality is very good; supplies remain light but look to be improving.
Herbs
Domestic herb supplies remain lower due to rainfall and cooler temperatures, especially chervil, thyme and tarragon. Additionally, winter storms have affected air freight. Weather continues to impact herbs from Colombia. Labor issues continue to improve in Mexico.
Lemons
Good supply and very good quality.
Lettuce, Spring Mix
Quality and supplies are very good.
Mushrooms
Quality is good despite supply being lighter than expected. We continue to see lack of labor, shortages in component of growing such as peat moss and other inflationary pressures. We expect to see this continue to be a challenge until some of the growing costs can get under control of this particularly labor intensive and cost sensitive item.
Onions, Green
With the warmer temperatures, we are seeing better supplies with very good quality.
Onions, Red/Yellow
Onion demand continues to remain flat. The market does not appear to be moving anywhere fast any time soon at the moment. Northwest supplies are beginning to dwindle in Idaho/Oregon. Washington will be able to ship longer than Idaho/ Oregon based on their remaining supply. We are beginning to see Colossal and Super Colossal onions get very tight.
Peppers, Green
Supply out of Florida remains tight this week with a lot of choice pepper available. Nogales and McAllen continue to have the stronghold on volume despite crossings being at all-time lows. Demand is good particularly from the east as Florida production dips.
Peppers, Red
Supply expected to slowly improve by the end of the month out of McAllen and Nogales and quality is good.
Potatoes, Russet
Potato demand on cartons has returned to normal levels during Q1. While we have not seen carton pricing take any sharp increase, we are seeing product significantly tighten up. We are beginning to approach the point where growers start to wind down on their Norkotah supplies. Once we get to the middle/end of April, we should see growers shipping Burbanks just about exclusively. Growers continue to receive record offers from processors (even higher than last season), and reports of further record breaking offers for the Spring continue to roll in. Because of this, the fresh market has a ‘safety net’ of where pricing will likely not fall beneath.
Raspberry
Mexico volumes will continue to increase steadily until early May. We should see larger increases in March. Overall fruit quality and size is very good. Mexico will continue to be the main supplier for the next few months.
Strawberries
California continues to receive significant amounts of rainfall, impacting quality, harvesting, and future crops. Supplies are expected to remain minimal over the next several weeks. Additionally, please keep in mind that on top of harvesting delays, there is also potential for transportation delays, as roads and highways are experiencing flooding as well. Growers will continue to assess the damage over the next 10-14 days.

California Weather Alert

December 13, 2022 – The West Coast and San Joaquin Valley of California, has been receiving rainfall over the last few days, impacting all growing areas including Salinas, Santa Maria, Oxnard, into southern California and the Central Valley.

As a result, this has caused delays as fields are too muddy to harvest. Unfortunately, there has not been enough rain to reverse the major drought conditions they continue to experiencing, but is enough to affect harvesting for a few days.

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Foodservice and Supply Chain News

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