December 4, 2009

Sponsored by:

Alderman Farms Sales Corp.

Organic Produce

Market Snapshot*

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was reporting the following prices on selected organic items:

Washington apples, tray pack, galas, Extra Fancy, size 88s, $26; size 100s, $22-24.

Mexican avocados (through Texas), two-layer, hass, size 48s, mostly $27.25-30.25; 60s, mostly $26.25-28.25; 70s, $22.25-24.25.

California navel oranges, 7/10 bushel, shippers' first grade, size 48s and 56s, mostly $22.53-24.55; 72s and 88s, $22.53-24.55.

Mexican zucchini squash (through Arizona), 22-pound cartons, small, mostly $8.85-11.85; medium, $9.85-10.85.

* Prices from the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Market News, Dec. 2.

The Shipping Scene

Supplies of organic produce appear to be ample this fall, and quality is good, too.

Alderman Farms Sales Corp. in Boynton Beach, Fla., is selling green beans, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow straightneck squash, vine-ripe tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and, for the first time, organic roma tomatoes, said Tom Wilson, sales director.

"We have a pretty good crop going here," he said.

Picking started about two weeks later than usual in early November because of rainfall during the planting period. Conditions since that time have been good, however.

"We've had beautiful weather," Wilson said.

Business was very good for Thanksgiving, he said, and he was hopeful that it will continue strong through the holidays.

Prices also have been good to date, but with pressure from Mexican product, Alderman Farms is stressing that its product is grown in the U.S. In Florida, it is playing up the locally grown aspect, Wilson said.

The company will finish up most of its crops in late May, but eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers and green beans could continue through June.

Overall, the company's volume should be up slightly over last year.

Organic product from south of the border is looking good, too, said Ricardo Crisantes, general manager at Cris-P Produce Inc., Nogales, Ariz.

The company now is shipping tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplant from Mexico.

"The tomato market is still pretty decent," he said.

The market traditionally softens a bit right after Thanksgiving, but Cris-P still was selling 15-pound single-layer flats of tomatoes for $22 this week.

"It's been pretty healthy," Crisantes said.

But the cucumber market wasn't quite as strong.

"Cucumbers have been a tough go," he said, adding that the company has been "struggling to move them."

Twenty-five-pound cartons of super select were going for just $10.

Eggplant also was struggling, with 18- and 24-count bushel cartons going for just $11.

But Crisantes expected the market to pick up over the next couple of weeks.

"It will take a week to clean up after the Thanksgiving volume that came in," he said. "It's not moving as fast as we would like."

But Crisantes said he would like to have more of the high-quality tomatoes he's been receiving.

"It's been a hot (tomato) market, so we would like more volume," he said.

To some extent, the organic deal is feeling the effects of the recession, he said, but the category is not shrinking, it's just not growing as fast as it has been over the past few years.

San Francisco-based Pacific Organic Produce/Purity Organic has a wide selection of domestic and imported organic product, said John Stair, account manager.

The company has apples and pears from Washington; fingerling potatoes from Colorado; pomegranates, persimmons and several citrus varieties from California; cherries from Argentina and Chile; mangoes from Ecuador and Peru; juice oranges from Mexico; grapefruit from Texas and California; and avocados from Chile and Mexico.

"Everything is good," Stair said.

California navel supplies are tighter than last year, but fruit size is larger. Organic California clementines will see twice the crop as last year, he said, but Washington apple and pear crops will be slightly lower than initially estimated. Cherries from Chile and Argentina will be delayed a bit because of wet weather.

Stair did not expect any major price variations from last year.

Organic sales have been down slightly, he said, as some "fringe" organic buyers cut back, and more consumers who are committed to the category adjust their buying habits to pick up items that are on sale rather than buying their first choice.

(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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