DLJ Produce

Table Grapes

Red Seedless

This week will see a small gap in red seedless varieties. Fresno North will continue to harvest Flame seedless, but the southern part of the Valley is mostly done with harvest. Inventories remain, but the quality of weaker fruit is a concern. Krissy and Scarlet Royal are expected to start harvest in the south Valley by the end of the week. This will help firm the FOB market and availability slightly for the time being… but a wall of red seedless may arrive going into September. Heat damage and isolated rain storms may affect the total volume on the back end of the crop. Continue to promote, but expect FOBs to firm slightly as we move into proprietary new varieties.

Green Seedless

Time to promote green seedless. Ivory, Valley Pearly, and Sugraone will be the varieties driving the most volume. Timpson seedless will follow closely behind, meaning a good volume of green seedless will continue to build. Some heat damage is prevalent in all varieties and it is up to the field crews to pack solid fruit. The proprietary varieties will throw good volume, but mostly peaking on XL fruit with very little value-sized packings. Continue to push moving into September.

Black Seedless

Summer Royal will drive the harvest volume over the next few weeks, with a few proprietary varieties starting to harvest. The volume will be moderate this year, allowing a good mix all season. FOB pricing will be stable as harvest volume is not currently exceeding movement.

Red Globe

Red Globe started in Central CA last week, in light volume. Harvest will pick up, but overall crop volume this season will be considerably light due to heat damage. Crop volume will be off and that will drive demand and keep FOB pricing considerably higher then the seedless varieties. Ready to join the mix for the season.

Tree Fruit – Imports

Peach

Back stretch of the season yellow peach. Zee Lady and Kaweah will drive the volume currently. Demand remains strong, but local crops in the Western US from other growing regions may help take off a little pressure. Expect big sizes, as the volume will be very very limited. White peach hit a gap waiting for Snow King to begin, gapping the entire industry. FOB pricing remains extremely high and is affected by loss due to heat damage. White peaches will largely finish by the end of the month. Yellow peach will continue to push volume through September into October.

Nectarine

Brite varieties make up a majority of the late yellow nectarine crop and will continue for the next 10 – 14 days. The finish is close, with most growers finishing out their final nectarine picks in early September. Majestic Pearl will be one of the last white nectarines of the season before we reach Arctic Mist. Volume is generally light to moderate, but not overwhelming on inventory. Focus on pushing the next few weeks, then a quick finish in early September.

Plums / Pluots

Plum and pluot (plumcot) volume continues through peak varieties. Hiromi, Honey Punch, and Fortune will make up the red plum volume, while Owen T will dominate on the black. There are too many pluot varieties to count all mixes of colors, but Dapple Dandy will rule them all on volume. Continue to promote all plums and pluots as they look to continue with a strong crop set and be more promotable in volume then other tree fruit.

Import Citrus

Clems

Oranges

Time to promote. A good volume of navels has begun to arrive as we hit the peak harvest volume of the season. Washington navels will make up the volume, peaking on 48’s – 88’s, with a mix of size ranges. Quality has been strong and looks to remain that way. Now is the time to push on both bulk and bagging fruit, as the back end of the crop in October may come in lighter due to growing season weather conditions.

Lemons

Imported lemons remain very firm, with solid demand and a pretty open pipeline needing to be filled. With CA being a struggle due to quality, FOB pricing has remained much higher than previous seasons. Argentina will see the finish of their crop and the focus will move to Chile to carry the most volume for the next few months. Be wary of demand creating a tight market for the time being. 115’s and larger will be a tight item, as size is a struggle. More focus on smaller bagging sizes will be seen on upcoming arrivals.

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