News and Stories

Excessive heat in several California growing regions is expected to cause quality issues such as seeder/long core in lettuce crops, increased dehydration, and other heat-related issues. The Valencia orange season is winding down; strong demand and tight supplies of 113-count and smaller fruit continues to push prices upward. New crop Texas and Florida oranges and California Navels will become available in early October.

Blackberries and Raspberries

• Blackberry and raspberry supplies are limited due to recent high temperatures in the Salinas/Watsonville growing region; prices are elevated
• Bleeding, bruising, and soft texture are quality concerns
• Cooler weather is expected next week; availability should increase at that time
• Mexican raspberries are expected to start crossing into the U.S. in late September/early October

Excessive Heat in California Growing Regions

• The Salinas and Santa Maria growing regions are experiencing another wave of excessive heat in the 90s to low 100s
• Apart from prolonging the seeder/long core concerns in lettuce crops, dehydration and other heat-related issues are expected to arise
• Markon First Crop (MFC) lettuce items will be limited; Markon Best Available will be substituted as needed
• Prices are rising; expect heat-related issues for the next several weeks

Garlic

• Garlic will remain limited for the coming months, especially domestic shipments
• Yields are below normal in current fields, mainly due to water- and weather-related issues
• Ready-Set-Serve Peeled Garlic orders will be kept to average volumes
• Supply should meet regular demand, but growers have started to control inventories

Monsoon Storm in Yuma Valley

• A severe thunderstorm hit the Yuma, Arizona growing region early afternoon on Tuesday, September 8 that recorded as much as 5.83 inches of rain in some areas
• Yuma is the main winter growing region for broccoli, cauliflower, iceberg, leaf lettuces, and tender leaf items that will begin in November
• The planting process for early November harvests has already begun; heavy flooding and muddy field conditions will potentially disrupt early harvests
• The beginning of the Yuma season (November) is expected to be impacted by this weather event

Oranges

• Strong demand and tight supplies of 113-count and smaller fruit continue to push prices upward
• Quality is fair to good
• MFC and Markon Essentials Oranges are limited; packer label is being substituted as needed
• The Valencia season is winding down; fruit will be on the market through late September

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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