DLJ Produce

Table Grapes

Red Seedless

Red seedless varieties will continue to chug along, as we pick up the volume once again after the Flames finish and harvest moves into Krissy, Scarlet Royal, and Jack Salute. Expect harvest and quality to remain consistent, but a heat wave in the Valley will put stress on harvest output on crews. Continue to promote for the next 3 months as quality will be strong and growers work hard to avoid any signs of heat damage in the field.

Green Seedless

The green seedless volume will continue, along with reds. Ivory and Valley Pearl have begun to fade into the distance, but Sweet Globe and a few other proprietary varieties will pick up the slack. Inventories remain on Ivory and Timpson to help bridge the gap before the start of the Autumn King crop in mid-September. Quality will remain strong, but again short harvest days due to high temps. Promote now, but expect the late season deal in mid-November to December possibly being short due to heat damage shortening the crop.

Black Seedless

Summer Royal and a few new varieties will stretch through the week, but begin to wind down. Growers are anticipating the start of Autumn Royal in the next 10 – 14 days to help alleviate some of the pressure on the black seedless crop. Volumes have been light lately, so Autumn Royal will come at a great time to bring supplies back into the system. Expect a late November wind down on black seedless.

Red Globe

Red Globes will continue to pick steadily here in Central CA. Volume is light due to producing acreage, keeping FOB’s higher then seedless varieties all season. But continue to mix in as good supplies will carry into December typically, even with the lighter crop volume.

Tree Fruit – Imports

Peaches

The yellow peach crop is on the back end of the crop as we transition to the Fall variety mix. The volume will start slowing down by mid-September as most growers finish and it moves into the hands of the late-season growers. Expect a late September / mid-October finish to the crop due to heat damage and some of the surprise rains. Continue to promote for the next 3 – 4 weeks, then expect a quick finish.

Nectarines

Last nectarine push of the season as we focus on the finish of August Fire. Only a few varieties remain that will help to stretch inventories into mid-September. But rain and heat have done their damage, so crop volume over the last few weeks will be lighter then usual. Expect a quick finish on both white and yellow nectarine by the middle of the month.

Plums / Pluots

The plum crop has moved into the tail end of the variety list, with Angelino black getting ready to start and Flavorfall red also on the horizon. Crop volume has been extremely light due to crop set and heat damage. This will remain the same as we move into the last varietal push of the season. Pluots and plums will stretch into October, but FOB’s will remain high and look for an early finish.

Import Citrus

Clementines

Clems remain snug, especially as weaker Peruvian and Uruguayan fruit has moved its way out of the supply chain. Inventories have begun to clean up as Murcott variety now becomes the focus. Chile is expected to remain roughly 36% off on export volume over the last few months, with Murcott trending down roughly 10%. This will put a lot strain on import volumes. Even though supplies are promotable now, expect the end of September to most of October being mostly demand exceeds on easy peelers as the supply chain cleans up inching towards the start of Central CA.

Oranges

The import navel orange crop remains light, as we hit peak volume of the season. So far, Chile continues to trend down 10% so far on harvest volume, putting a crimp on any type of true momentum or adjustment on FOB’s to become more promotable. Expect much of the same for most of the crop as pricing will remain firm and tighten up quickly in late September to early October. Demand will continue to keep inventories relatively clean as we move through the crop.

Lemons

Lemon volume from Chile remains elusive. Crop volume is still down significantly compared to 2021 and looks to remain that way. The West Coast will see a shortage of arrivals starting in the next 10 – 14 days and remain tight to the finish. Argentina is a welcome help to the East, as volume looks to tighten up. Avoid promotions in late September and expect FOB pricing to continue to firm over the next 3 – 4 weeks as supplies start to fall off, with some growers already finished harvesting the 2022 crop.

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