Bondi Produce Market Report April 4th 2023

Every week, we give you information and updates on the supply, quality and distribution of key produce, within in Ontario, and beyond. Subscribe to our Market Report newsletter to get these updates and other market alerts in real time!

What you need to know this week:

Overview:

In South Florida and Mexico, we will see ample supply on slicer cucumbers, green squash, corn and tomatoes. At this time, volume continues to be low on peppers as both growing regions are down, and quality will be hit and miss. The hot pepper market is slowly improving with Serrano and Anaheim the highest priced and shortest available.

In the Salinas Valley, growers continue to work on drying out fields to determine the overall impact of the rain. The effects will be felt when we transition from the desert, back up to Salinas and Santa Maria, starting in April and extending into May and June.

Rainfall in Oxnard and Santa Maria, CA growing regions has halted harvests and cleanup Tuesday-Thursday and supplies remain very minimal out of these regions. Overall fruit is showing water damage, and growers are starting to see some mildew and botrytis (mold) due to the wet conditions. Supply over the next 2-3 weeks will remain very limited but is expected to increase mid to late April, as weather is expected to improve in these regions.

Additionally, the Watsonville/Salinas growing regions are still underwater due to the flooding and growers have not been able to get into the fields to assess the damage or losses. Production is set to begin in early May, but rain is still in the forecast for early April and could cause production to be pushed back even further.