ProduceIQ: Tropical Storm Alvin soaks Mexican grapes

As we head into mid-June, the produce market is buzzing with seasonal transitions, weather-driven surprises, and promising forecasts.

From tropical storms shaking up grape supplies in Mexico to peach growers in the Southeast eyeing one of their best seasons in years, there’s no shortage of movement in the fresh fruit and vegetable landscape.

While some crops are feeling the heat—literally, others are hitting their stride just in time to meet strong summer demand. Here’s a look at what’s ripening, tightening, and trending in Week #23.

ProduceIQ Index:  $1.30/pound, -9.09 percent over prior week  

Week #23, ending Jun 7^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.

Two tropical storms are strengthening off Mexico’s Pacific coast, with Tropical Storm Barbara expected to become a hurricane later Monday. Barbara was about 185 miles southwest of Manzanillo early Monday, with winds of 70 mph, and is moving west-northwest at 12 mph. It’s forecast to weaken starting Tuesday. Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches may affect parts of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco, with a risk of localized flooding.

Tropical Storm Alvin brought heavy winds and rain to the Mexican table grape crop in Hermosillo and Caborca last week. The effects of inclement weather, combined with the end of Chile’s production season, may cause supply to tighten and prices to fluctuate significantly over the next two weeks. Average red and green prices are historically high for week #23, and hungry supply lines will likely benefit from increasing volume from growers in Mexico and California.

Table grape prices, white/green, are $33 and only outpaced by 2023

Cherry markets are poised for a massive decline as production shifts to growers in Washington State. It may take a couple of weeks for cherry buyers to see a noticeable drop in prices; however, rest assured, relief is imminent. Forecasts for this year’s Washington cherry season are optimistic, with growers anticipating ample volume and excellent quality due to this spring’s ideal growing conditions.

Cherry prices remain at record highs, though they continue to decline.

Growers in California’s Salinas Valley are reporting heat-related quality issues due to a recent heat wave. Average prices for romaine, iceberg, and spinach are relatively unaffected. Still, prices may increase over the next few weeks as growers continue to fight to protect their crops from what is forecasted to be a warmer-than-average summer. Heat often creates challenges for growers throughout the warmer summer months due to increased insect pressure and Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus.

The news on Romaine prices is that there is no news; prices remain reasonable all year.

A few weeks into the domestic season, the USDA is finally reporting peach and nectarine prices. Average week #23 prices for peaches and nectarines are on the higher end of the historical spectrum but aren’t in unprecedented territory. Growers in California predict an average season with sufficient volume and decent quality. Growers in South Carolina and Georgia are optimistic that ideal chill hours and a mild Spring are setting them up for one of the best crops they’ve had in years.

ProduceIQ is an online toolset designed to improve the produce trading process for buyers and suppliers. We save you time, expand your opportunities, and provide valuable information to increase your profits.

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 the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service for movement and price data. The Index serves as a fair benchmark for industry price performance.