Market Update

Market Snapshot*

Yuma, Ariz., fall vegetables were not yet shipping this week, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the following prices on selected vegetables out of the Salinas-Watsonville, Calif., growing area:

Romaine, cartons of 24s, $7.35-10.50; iceberg, filmwrapped 24-count cartons, mostly $14.45 to 16.45; broccoli, 20-pound carton of loose product, $13.45-15.45; and cauliflower, cartons of size 12s, $10.50-12.50.

* Prices from the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Market News, Oct. 29.

The Shipping Scene

It's a little early to tell for sure what Yuma, Ariz., fall vegetables will look like this season, however, growers expect crops to be up to their usual high quality standards, and they expect yields to be down this season.

For Duda Farm Fresh Foods Inc., Salinas, Calif., there were no weather events that should affect the front end of the Yuma deal, said Rick Alcocer, senior vice president of fresh sales.

But he anticipated "substantial cutbacks" in some crops, especially iceberg lettuce.

Growers haven't made much money on iceberg in recent seasons, he said. Consumers have cut back on usage, but grower-shippers haven't cut back on volume. But that should change this year.

Green leaf and romaine also could undergo cutbacks as the result of the sagging economy.

Consumers may be stepping down a notch as money gets tighter and pick up a head of lettuce rather than a bagged salad, he said. "They'll be going for a similar product but in a less expensive form."

"I don't think there will be as much speculative growing in the southern deal," Alcocer said.

Duda will ship iceberg, romaine, green leaf and red leaf lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and celery out of Yuma.

So far, there have been "no type of notable weather patterns," he said, but he added that there's still plenty of time for hot or cold weather. In fact, some of the season's highest high temperatures and lowest low temperatures have occurred over the past couple of weeks.

Iceberg was expected to start Nov. 20, romaine, leaf lettuces and broccoli Nov. 24, cauliflower Nov. 17 and celery Jan. 10, all of which are typical start dates.

Alcocer expected good sizes and fairly good pricing through the end of the year.

Broccoli and cauliflower sales typically pick up during the winter because they are popular cooking vegetables, he said.

At Coastline, another Salinas-based grower-shipper, partner Phil Adrian said the company will start shipping lettuce the week of Nov. 17 and also will ship romaine, red leaf, green leaf and some bunching items out of Yuma and Brawley.

"We'll be operating out of both districts," he said.

An early rain and higher-than-usual temperatures are expected to cause some yield issues, he said, but sizing should not be affected.

Shipments will continue from the southern area until the end of March.

Adrian expected reduced availability at the beginning of the program, and said tight supplies could last through December.

Although he could not predict where prices might end up for this season's crop, acreage will be down, he said. "When that happens, it certainly can impact markets in an upward direction."

Growers have been losing money on their desert vegetable crop, he said, adding that, "It doesn't make any sense to grow it if you can't find homes for it at a reasonable price."

Bengard Ranch should start shipping lettuce out of Yuma Nov. 17, on schedule, said Jesse Gomez, vice president of sales and marketing.

Stands were good, he said this week, and no quality issues had been detected.

He expected to see romaine, green leaf and red leaf start shipping a week after the lettuce, and broccoli and cauliflower should be ready for harvest Dec. 1.

Once the area got past the 2 inches of rain that fell just when the vegetables were being planted, temperatures were fine and there were no further issues, he said.

Bengard Ranch was not hurt by the rain, but some growers were affected, he said.

The company will start to wind down in Yuma in March.

Gomez expected volume to be similar to last year for Bengard Ranch.

The company also sources some winter vegetables from Mexico and consolidates loads in Yuma, he said.

(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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