The Red Bell market continues to be tight and is expected to remain that way for the coming week. Choice grade pricing is quite high while processing grade product is almost completely sold out due to low supply. Green Bells are in transition from Bakersfield, CA to the Central Valley, and growers are experiencing some early season issues resulting in low availability. The East Coast crop out of Georgia finished early due to high temperatures and humidity. This has resulted in Midwest buyers shifting their demand to the West Coast, tightening the market even further. See Marketplace for availability.
Growers are reporting strong demand and solid supply on both Conventional & Organic Valencias out of California. A majority of juice-grade supply is prebooked, resulting in little spot buy availability and forcing buyers to purchase choice or fancy grade at higher spot prices to meet their needs. The total CA Valencia crop this year is up over last year, but still only around 80% of what it was projected to be. Sizes are peaking on smaller fruit. Growers are expecting pricing to remain strong and/or increase through August. We recommend pre-booking as much of your demand as possible, as well as trying to take mixed sizes and additional citrus items as you are able. California Valencias will run through late September/early October, and Mexico will start-up in November. See Marketplace for availability.
Celery Markets are steady overall with solid demand and pricing. Some suppliers have been impacted by pith and seeder quality issues. Recent high temperatures have also affected the yield out of some fields, and could potentially result in less supply and higher prices. See Celery availability.