News and Stories

Arizona/California desert lemons are on the market; new crop harvesting has begun in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Overall markets remain elevated and are not expected to ease until mid-November. Lime prices will rise over the next several weeks; tropical storm activity and light winter plantings will elevate markets for the winter months. Open-market cauliflower prices have fallen below first-tier trigger levels.

Grapes

• Markon First Crop (MFC) Lunch Bunch Grapes are available
• Quality is very good
• Prices are stable, but will increase incrementally through December
• The green seedless Autumn King season will end in two weeks; quality is good
• The market will increase as most green seedless supplies will be depleted by Thanksgiving
• A supply gap is expected between the California and Chilean seasons; Peruvian stocks will be substituted
• The red seedless Scarlet Royal season is winding down; supplies will be on the market for another 7 to 10 days
• Prices will continue to rise for the rest of the California season
• Crimson variety red seedless grapes will be the primary variety from November through December

Lemons

• Arizona/California desert lemons are on the market; supplies continue to increase weekly
• Markets remain elevated due to tight supplies of 165-count and smaller fruit
• MFC and Markon Essentials Lemons are sporadic; packer label domestic and Mexican lemons are being substituted
• Prices are expected to ease mid-November

Limes

• A tropical disturbance is forecast to bring heavy rainfall to the main growing region of Veracruz, Mexico over the next five days; harvesting will be disrupted to allow fruit to dry prior to being packed
• Quality will remain good, but yields will drop because growers will cull damaged fruit
• Lime prices will rise over the next several weeks

Melons

• Harvesting in California’s San Joaquin Valley will end this week; fall harvesting has started in the Arizona/California desert region
• Large-size melons will dominate fall crops; 9- and 12-count cantaloupes and 5- and 6-count honeydews will be most plentiful
• MFC Cantaloupe and Honeydew Melons will be packed through November
• Packer label stocks of Mexican honeydew have started to cross into Nogales, Arizona; cantaloupe will start arriving this week
• Offshore fruit from Guatemala will be available on the East Coast in mid-November and on the West Coast in early December

Quality in the Arizona/California Desert Region

• Quality challenges are expected in iceberg lettuce crops grown in the Arizona/California desert growing region
• Problems such as bottom rot, irregular head size, seeder, sunscald, and weak tip have been reported and will lower yields, limiting supplies
• Processor demand will be very strong; more raw product will be required to meet weight specifications

Ready-Set-Serve (RSS) Cauliflower Floret Trigger Levels

• More plentiful supplies in Salinas and Santa Maria have helped stabilize the market
• Effective Thursday, October 22, RSS Cauliflower Floret prices have fallen below first-tier contract trigger levels
• Markets could rebound within two weeks as holiday demand nears

Strawberries

• Prices continue to climb; demand exceeds supply
• MFC Strawberries are not available; Markon Best Available and packer label are being substituted
• Overall volume is down considerably as California’s summer crop is ending and the fall crop is slowly ramping up
• Persistent quality issues are shortening shelf-life; Markon recommends ordering for quick turns and maintaining the cold chain to maximize shelf-life

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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