News and Stories

Rain in Florida and Mexico has tightened bell pepper, cucumber, and squash supplies; prices are rising on both coasts. Warmer weather in the Arizona desert growing region has pushed broccoli and cauliflower harvesting ahead of schedule; open-market cauliflower prices have reached contract first-tier trigger levels for Ready-Set-Serve (RSS) Cauliflower Florets. Iceberg harvesting has begun to wind down in the Arizona/California desert region; prices are rising.

Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, and Squash

• Recent rain in Florida and Mexico has decreased supplies
• Storms resulted in wet stems, bruising, decay, and scarring on green bell peppers; scarring is a problem in domestic squash supplies

Broccoli and Cauliflower

• Supplies are extremely limited; the harvesting gap between the desert region and the Salinas Valley is resulting in very tight supplies
• Hot weather pushed Arizona broccoli harvesting ahead of schedule, creating shortages; Salinas production has started, but is limited
• The broccoli and cauliflower markets continue to rise; RSS Cauliflower Florets reached first-tier trigger pricing on Wednesday, March 11
• Markon First Crop (MFC) Broccoli Crowns are sporadic; Markon Best Available (MBA) will be substituted as necessary
• Markon Essentials Cauliflower is sporadic; packer label will be substituted

Iceberg

• Iceberg harvesting has begun to wind down in the Arizona/California desert region; limited stocks are available out of Huron, California
• MFC Premium Iceberg is sporadic due to light weights; MBA will be substituted as needed
• More growers will transition from Yuma/Imperial Valley to Huron/Salinas over the next several weeks

Heat Spike

• Very warm temperatures are expected for the next 10 days in the Arizona/California growing region
• Temperatures are forecast to be as high as 80 to 90 degrees, potentially causing some quality issues
• Dehydration, increased insect pressure, heat stress on tender leaf items, higher respiration rates, shortened shelf-life, and sunburn are expected to impact supplies over the next two to three weeks
• Markon recommends ordering for quick turnaround to maintain the cold chain and maximize the shelf-life of commodity and value-added items

Melons

• Cantaloupe and honeydew supplies will be tight as offshore production transitions to new spring regions; offshore and Mexican watermelon harvesting remains at low levels
• Cantaloupe and honeydew quality is very good; watermelon quality is mixed, but offshore is superior

Onions

• Very limited quantities of sweet and conventional yellow onions from Mexico (into Texas) are available now; ample supplies are available out of Eastern Oregon, Idaho, and Washington
• MFC Onions are available in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington
• The Colorado season for red and yellow onions will end in two weeks; packer label Mexican onions (into South Texas) will be available in April

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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