News and Stories

California’s garlic crop will experience a supply gap this spring due to reduced yields and increased foodservice demand over the past six weeks. Imported peeled garlic will be supplemented until the new crop California harvest begins in late June 2021. Ready-Set-Serve (RSS) Peeled Garlic from California will be extremely limited over the next 10 weeks; packer label peeled garlic from Argentina and Mexico will be substituted as needed.

• The main difference between each region is the flavor profile:
  • California-grown RSS Peeled Garlic tends to have pungent flavor with high oil content; this is due to land rotation (growers not planting on the same soil every year)
  • Growers in Argentina and Mexico rotate crops, but not as often; this weakens pungency and lowers oil content
  • Chinese farmers do not employ crop rotation; planting the same ground year after year causes the garlic to be the least pungent with the lowest oil content
• The current peeled domestic and Argentine garlic markets are elevated, and will continue rising in the weeks to come due to limited supply and increased food service demand
• Peeled Chinese garlic prices are lower; however, they will rise due to the overall elevated market
• Mexican garlic will enter the market in May when that season begins
• Expect elevated prices for the next three months until California new crop supplies become available in late June/early July

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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