Bondi Produce Market Report June 26th 2023

Overview:

Showers and severe weather in the southeast have harmed corps in South Georgia and we are seeing some shorts and pro-rates on a few categories due to delays with the most severe being corn. Markets will be unstable through the Canadian and American holidays (July 1st and 4th). In addition to corn this will also impact the green pepper market until local supplies ramp up.

Hot pepper market is active this week as Sinaloa wraps up and Baja is late and this is driving prices higher with strong demand on the Mexican national market keeping a majority of the Mexican crop in Mexico. Tomatoes in the east are short as Florida and South Carolina wrap up for the season and transition is underway to Tennessee and North Carolina. Melons have approx. 10 more days left in the desert then start to transition to the Central Valley of California; honeydew remain very snug.

Supply continues to improve in the Salinas Valley and markets continue to settle. We will still see some growers continue to have unstable supplies as navigate through June, but we are not anticipating and major shortages over the next few weeks. Celery supplies are slowly improving although market is still very active. Salinas will be starting in a light way with improved volume by the end of the month.

The next 2-3 weeks will be difficult as there are gaps in the supply chain, and once the Loca harvest begins, it will still take a few days to refill the pipeline. Stretching current inventories, being open to subbing sizes, and filling in with other COOs (Countries of Origin) are recommended for the short term. While this shortage is severe, it is expected to be short-lived.

There is a lot of optimism that the Loca crop will begin on Monday, 6/26, but how strong the first few days will be is unknown. This is earlier than was originally anticipated (the first or second week of July).