This week’s visit out to the local stores showed the effects of economic inflation and weather issues in crop growing areas in Mexico and California. The lack of supply is forcing some shippers to supplement their product by sourcing from other regions such as Spain or Israel. Overall, prices of fresh produce has increased 13.3%, and it is not expected to come down until local farmers can start to grow and harvest their crops, which will be in about 3 months’ time. As for trucks, they remain steady out of California, Arizona, and Washington, with diesel dropping again this week to an almost flat $2 per gallon. Here’s some highlights of the month in the produce department:

Avocados: there’s a big push ahead of Super Bowl 50 on Feb 7^th. It is projected that more than 139million lbs of avocadoes will be consumed during the event. Many retailers already had increased supplies available for consumers, with promotions favoring bagged avocadoes. All produce is currently coming from Mexico, and experts note that this is a supply/demand mismatch at the moment, with sizing is running heaving to the 32s/36s/40s; there is very limited availability of the smaller sizes.

Mangoes: all product is currently originating from either Peru or Australia and landing at the South Florida, Philadelphia, or Southern California ports of entry. This past season saw an early start to supplies from Peru with big volumes and great quality, and retailers are pushing the product in order to make way for Mexico’s supplies. Full truckloads of Mexican product are expected to arrive at the store level in March or early April.

Vine Tomatoes: supplies were low in many of the local stores, with some retailers even having no availability for vines. Experts note that the supplies out of Mexico are lighter, with production and yields continuing to struggle in all areas. Supplies out of Florida also remain tight due to the adverse weather conditions that hit the east in the past week. Demand remains strong, and quality is noted as fair.

So, that’s what we saw out at our local retail stores heading into February. Remember, you can always contact our sales team  to discuss any of these noted changes to buying patterns, expectations and demand for new crops. We can help you with your operations and shifts in truck capacity!