Market Update

Market Snapshot*

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was reporting the following prices on vegetables from Salinas, Calif.:

Broccoli: Bunched 14s, mostly $5.05-6.45; bunched 18s, $5.50-6.95; 20-pound cartons loose crowns, mostly $6-7.45.

Cauliflower: Cartons of film-wrapped size 9s, mostly $6-7.45; 12s mostly $7-9.45; 16s, mostly $6-7.45.

Iceberg lettuce: Cartons of size 24s, mostly $5.35-6.35; film-lined 24s, mostly $8-9.50; 24s film-wrapped, mostly $9-10.50; film-wrapped 30s, $6.25-7.25.

Romaine lettuce: Cartons of 24s, mostly $5-6.45.

* Prices from the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Market News May 14.

The Shipping Scene

Cool weather this spring seems to be giving way to higher temperatures, which will bode well for spring/summer vegetables out of Salinas, Calif., for Memorial Day, provided the weather doesn't get too hot, grower-shippers report.

"We've had colder-than-normal temperatures," said Linda Spry, sales broker at the Monterey, Calif., office of Cheshire, Conn.-based Coast to Coast Produce LLC.

But weather was starting to warm up, and she expected temperatures in the 70s through the weekend.

"That should help things come along," she said.

Coast to Coast started shipping leaf items, lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower on schedule around April 20, and supplies were normal for this time of year, she said, adding, "Quality has been good."

Lettuce supplies have been steady, despite the cool weather, she said, but broccoli and cauliflower have had their ups and downs.

"We've got plenty of broccoli now, but it was tight on the startup," she said.

Cauliflower also was tight at first, and prices have remained fairly strong, but Spry expected volume to edge upward this weekend.

In general, prices have been normal for this time of year, she said.

The company will ship out of the Salinas area until fall, when the lettuce deal will move to the central San Joaquin Valley; leaf items, broccoli and cauliflower will move to the desert; and celery will be sourced from Oxnard, she said.

Andy Pina, an owner of Produce Center Inc., a broker-distributor in Salinas, hopes that temperatures won't get high enough to damage vegetables this weekend, especially the young plants.

"We've got some very hot weather coming," he said, which might last through May 18.

Temperatures could hit the upper 90-degree range, which could dehydrate the plants, stunt their growth and shorten shelf life, he said. Any effects should be temporary, though, starting in about three weeks and lasting only a week to 10 days.

Iceberg lettuce, romaine, red leaf, green leaf, butter lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli are the main items Produce Center now is shipping.

The celery crop, currently having a rough time in Oxnard, should recover by the end of May, and picking should transition to Salinas in June, he said.

Pina expected generally good supplies of most Salinas vegetables through the summer.

Quality is good, he said, and prices were "not bad," though he said the industry has been affected by the economic downturn, as have most businesses.

Volume is picking up on core products like broccoli and cauliflower at Bengard Ranch Inc., Salinas, said Jesse Gomez, vice president of sales and marketing.

Lettuce, leaf and romaine programs remain steady, and mixed vegetables like cilantro, parsley and kale "are going full blast," he said.

"We're essentially going full bore on everything," Gomez said. "I've really been happy with weight and the general quality on everything."

Crops were held back two to three weeks because of cold weather, he said, "but it's all coming together now."

The company now is sourcing green onions from Mexico, but will start harvesting in Salinas in early June.

Salinas is approaching its spring peak, he said. Volume traditionally tapers offer in mid-summer, when the homegrown deals come on throughout the country, then picks up again in late August, he said.

Prices have been good, especially on broccoli and cauliflower, which were in the double digits, though they now are settling down to normal levels, he said.

The Bengard Ranch sales staff has encouraged its retail and foodservice customers to promote Salinas vegetables as much as possible during the next several weeks, he said, adding that excellent quality and volume should be available for Memorial Day.

(By Tom Burfield, Western correspondent for The Packer. The Packer and Red Book Credit Services are part of food360º, a division of Vance Publishing Corp., Lincolnshire, Ill.)

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