After weeks of high winds and devastating wildfires, Southern California saw much-needed rain over the weekend. The rain provided relief and aided firefighting efforts in residential and agricultural areas but left Californians at risk for flooding and mudslides.
Growers in Oxnard, CA, suffered impacts from The Hughes Fire, mainly reduced harvesting and ash drop, but the rain and increased humidity over the weekend helped to suppress the blaze.
On the East Coast, growers shed their rarely donned winter coats after a week of frigid temperatures. As far South as Central Florida, temperatures dipped below freezing for a few hours.
Commodities such as strawberries, tomatoes, squash, beans, and cucumbers will see the most ill effects from the cold front, but no widespread losses have been reported yet. Growers in the Southernmost parts of the state saw wind chill temperatures in the upper 30s, but fortunately, the weather was not severe enough to do anything more than slow crop growth.
ProduceIQ Index: $1.31/pound, + up 4.0 percent over prior week
Week #4, ending January 24th
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.
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will face off at this year’s Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, LA. And while Bourbon Street may no longer be white with snow for the big game, Hass avocado suppliers will benefit from this year’s record-high prices.
Strong demand and low volume out of Mexico are helping Hass prices rebound. At $55, average prices are at a ten-year high by a jaw-dropping margin. Mexican supplies are limited but are forecasted to improve slightly over the next two weeks. Demand is strong and as a result, prices will likely remain elevated leading up to the Big Game.
Avocado, 48ct Hass through Texas, prices reach record highs $78.
Cantaloupe prices may be at record highs, but at least the USDA is reporting volume again. The effects from tropical storm Sara are slow to fade, but cantaloupe and honeydew supply is forecasted to gradually improve over the next four weeks. In the meantime, subbing for watermelon is an equally sweet option. Watermelon prices are low compared to the average for week #4.
Cantaloupe prices from Central America, imported to CA are at a new record high.
Raspberry prices move from well below average to the third highest for week #4 in the last ten years. Production in Central Mexico is down over the previous week but should stabilize through February.
Raspberry prices, $22, spike.
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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 the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service for movement and price data. The Index serves as a fair benchmark for industry price performance.
