DLJ Produce

Table Grapes

Red Seedless

Rain losses continue to mount and red seedless were hit the hardest by far. Crop loss of 40 – 50% may not be inaccurate after the season is finished. Krissy and Jack Salute were a huge loss. Scarlet Royal and Sweet Celebration are being harvested currently, with a lot of field work required to keep pack outs clean. FOB prices are shooting through the roof and may not have a limit. Avoid promoting… it will be a struggle for the CA crop to stretch into late November and the emphasis will move into imported fruit as quickly as possible.

Green Seedless

Green will continue to show loss, with Great Green and Sweet Globe getting hit hardest. Some Luisco variety will harvest, but the stage is set for Autumn King, Pristine and Autumn Crisp to carry the harvest volume for the balance of the season. Growers will struggle to keep pack cleans as loss in prevalent. Autumn King will show a concern for mildew scarring becoming more prevalent. FOB pricing will continue to push upwards along with the reds and create a very strong market on the back end of the crop.

Black Seedless

Black seedless are in trouble. Summer Royal and early varieties are done. South Valley is struggling to start Autumn Royal, while it still depends on how that crop holds considering the rain. Nothing was covered and all exposed to heavy rain. Expect some light volume, but avoid ad promotions until total remaining crop volume can be assessed.

Red Globe

Throw in the towel. Crop was already short prior to the rain due to extensive heat damage. Now with the weather, the small amount of remaining fruit will demand a huge premium for export.

Tree Fruit – Imports

Peach

The last legs of the yellow peach crop are upon us. Another 10 – 14 days remain on the crop, with the late-season fruit wiped out by the rains. Quality and losses are a major issue. What a rocky finish to the 2023 season. Don’t expect much as the crop finishes with no fan fair.

Nectarine

Done for the season.

Plums / Pluots

Plum and remaining pluot varieties will fair best to rain, but still see some decreased pack outs due to splits and cracking. All growers were moving onto the last late season varieties like Flavor Fall and Black Kat that will hold up better to wet growing conditions. Expect plums to continue but FOB’s will jump up as growers assess total crop loss and how far it will continue. Pluots are on their tail end as we already passed the peak volume varieties in July.

Import Citrus

Clems

The clem market continues to firm quickly. Murcott and Tango have arrived from Chile, as other countries of origin are winding down. Chile will be the focus for the balance of the season, but recent weather events may limit some of the volume at the crop finish due to acreage being loss. FOB pricing will jump as importers look to hold as much fruit back as possible to stretch into October as CA is not expected to go until 2^nd week of November. Start to firm and avoid large promos in October due to concern of volume to sustain the industry.

Oranges

The tail of two sizes on navels. Smaller sizes like 64’s and smaller are seeing high demand and limited amounts of arrivals, especially due to fruit size. This will continue, with most arrivals peaking on 56’s and larger. With school in, this also puts extra strain on smaller navels. While 40/48’s is prevalent here on the West Coast allowing better promotional opportunities of big navels for a few weeks. The same rains will affect the navel crop, so expect good supplies of big fruit moving into early October, but then the market will firm quickly at the finish line in late October. Possibly a gap before CA starts, at least on smaller sizes.

Lemons

The lemon market is firming very quality as well, with high demand on all sizes but especially 115’s, 140’s and 165’s being the focus. Argentina is done, bringing arrival volume to both coasts are dropping. Chile will be the game for the next couple months and due to weather shortages, the total volume will drop even more. Expect to rapidly increasing market moving into October as supplies will need to extend as long as possible to the start of CA.

DLJ Produce is home to the finest and freshest produce nationwide. Our customers depend on our produce 365 days a year coast to coast. If you want to discuss fruits, vegetables, cold storage, organic produce, or simply want to chat, give us a call today.