ProduceIQ: Produce markets get more tricks than treats

Produce markets aren’t giving buyers much breathing room this week. California’s October heat is stressing West Coast vegetable crops already battling disease and insect pressure, reducing yields and compromising quality.

Over the weekend, Hurricane Trudy brought heavy rain to Mexico’s west-central coast, potentially disrupting supplies of commodities ranging from tomatoes to avocados and limes.

Transportation costs aren’t offering much relief, either, with freight rates running well above year-ago levels. Between extreme heat, tropical weather, and rising freight costs, buyers aren’t getting much of a break this fall.

ProduceIQ Index:  $1.33/pound, up +5 percent over prior week

Week #42, ending Oct 16^th  

Blue Book has teamed with ProduceIQ BB #:368175 to bring the ProduceIQ Index to its readers. The index provides a produce industry price benchmark using 40 top commodities to provide data for decision making.

You Say Tomato, We Say Expensive. Average round tomato prices are up +93 percent over the previous week, driven by a gnarly mix of weather challenges and seasonal transition. In the East, rain has slowed the transition to South Georgia, while wet weather in the West has similarly curtailed production. Prices are expected to remain elevated for at least the next three weeks.

Tomato Prices Are Getting Saucy

Romaine markets are shaping up to be a sequel to last year’s horror film. Average prices are up +66 percent over the previous week, with no signs of slowing down. Intense disease and insect pressure are significantly reducing yields and pushing prices to record highs. Unfortunately for buyers, tight supplies are expected to persist for the next two weeks.

Romaine Prices Deliver Another Horror Show

The sky isn’t all gray for buyers this week: asparagus prices are finally taking a breather. After weeks of record-breaking prices, asparagus markets are no longer at a ten-year high. Average prices are down -11 percent over the previous week and are likely to fall further as production in Mexico and Peru ramps up. Increasing volume should continue to ease prices through October.

Asparagus Prices Finally Take a Breather

Reported Week #42 bean volume is ludicrously low. Growers in Mexico and Georgia are struggling to ramp up production as rain and other weather challenges complicate the fall transition. Prices are expected to remain elevated for at least the next two weeks.

Green Bean Supplies Remain Ludicrously Low

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ProduceIQ Index

The ProduceIQ Index is the fresh produce industry’s only shipping point price index. It represents the industry-wide price per pound at the location of packing for domestic produce and at the port of U.S. entry for imported produce. 

ProduceIQ uses 40 top commodities to represent the industry. The Index weights each commodity dynamically, by season, as a function of the weekly 5-year rolling average Sales. Sales are calculated using USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data on movement and prices. The Index serves as a fair benchmark for industry price performance.