January 30, 2012

Good news!

With the improved weather in Florida and Mexico, and Florida farms finally recovering from their New Year freeze, almost all vegetable markets are getting lower.

Asparagus pricing is way down this week now that supplies are increasing from Central American growers.  Mexican fields are also producing more volume, further weakening the market.  This is a welcome change after weeks of strong pricing, so it’s a great time to run it on special.  Quality has been very good to excellent on all sizes.

Tomatoes are really in a glut situation, with farmers calling daily trying to sell their oversupply.  Demand countrywide is only moderate, creating a very weak market for all of these tomatoes.  Both Mexican and Florida growers are harvesting tomatoes faster than they can sell them.  Quality is phenomenal on all varieties, but Mexican farmers get the nod right now for having the prettiest fruit, with Florida a very close second.

Squash and zucchini markets are on the slide, with newly harvested fields of squash becoming available every day.  Since squash is such a fast growing plant, the farmers replanted the day after the early January freeze, and they’re already bearing fruit.  Supplies are improving quickly, and with the sluggish demand due to the high pricing, this market has turned around.  Expect lower pricing over the coming week.

Florida and Mexican pepper growers are encountering much better volume in their fields, with most of them almost fully recovered from the early January freeze.  Supplies are much stronger, bringing this market back down to typical levels.  Cucumbers from Central American countries, including Honduras and Costa Rica have made their way to our shores, and filled in the seasonal gap from domestic growers.  Their quality has been the prettiest around in while, and their improved volume has caused prices to fall hard over the past week.

The small amount of honeydews and cantaloupe melons available right now are coming from Central American growers.  There are more sales for the fruit than fruit to fill the orders.  Prices are higher on very limited supplies.

A French guest staying in a hotel phoned room service for some pepper. "Black pepper, or white pepper?" asked the concierge.
"Toilette pepper!"