The biggest news in the industry this fall is the staggering price hike in vegetables that was recorded in November.
“The November advance in prices for final demand goods was led by a 38.1-percent jump in the index for fresh and dry vegetables,” reports the U.S. Labor Statistics. “The index for fresh vegetables (except potatoes) jumped 43.1 percent.”
The most visible crop to be affected is lettuce. The Salinas Valley has seen a severe drop in production as a result of a widespread infection by Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) and Pythium wilt.
Effects of the two pathogens resemble each other, so it is often hard to tell what caused the death of a specific lettuce plant. Furthermore, one may encourage the growth of the other. Viruses devastate Salinas Valley lettuce (farmprogress.com)
There is no known cure for these diseases, and sprays for thrips—their main vector—have limited success.
“It’s gotten worse every year, but this year has been particularly devastating,” says Kenneth Bower, director of produce merchandising at Baldor Specialty Foods. “The hot weather this summer in the area amplified the effects of the virus. Now every grower in the area is affected, and much of the crop is unharvestable.”
Winter lettuce production shifts south to the Yuma Valley on the border of California and Arizona, but this region faces a staggering cut in water supplies from the Colorado River, which have been reduced as a result of the drought plaguing the Southwest in recent years.
It is the worst drought the region has faced since AD 800—the time of Charlemagne.
Federal officials have ordered a cut in water delivery from between 2 and 4 million acre-feet next year.
Citrus production has also fallen as a result of Florida hurricanes. As of December 9, USDA forecasts 321,000 tons for 2023 for grapefruit, down from 2022’s 374,000 tons.
Lemon production: 966,000 tons for 2023, versus 1,034,000 tons for 2022.
Oranges: a startling 2,833,000 tons, startlingly lower than 2022’s 3,471,000 tons.
Tangerine and mandarin production are forecast to be higher in 2023: 829,000 tons as opposed to 732,000 tons.
Tangerine production is “down slightly from the previous forecast but up 13 percent from the last season’s final utilization. The Florida tangerine and mandarin forecast, at 600,000 boxes (29,000 tons), is down 14 percent from last forecast and down 20 percent from last year. The California tangerine and mandarin forecast was carried forward from the previous forecast,” reports USDA.
