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february highlights
• Valentine’s Day - February 14th
• Presidents Day - February 19th -
NEW!
• Mexican Blue Ginger
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promotable items
• Tango Mandarins
• California Green Kiwis VF
• Queen Victoria Mexican Asparagus
• Local Artichokes out of Salinas Valley
• Covilli Brussels Sprouts
• Covilli Mixed Heirloom Tomatoes
• Local Dwelley Honeynut Squash -
COMING SOON
• Peruvian Arils end of week
• California Avocados: Bacons, Fuertes and Zutano this week
• Ambrosio (Gilroy) Lacinato -
BACK IN STOCK
• Wild River Cello Murcotts
• Buck Mango Orange
• Nagami Kumquats
• Cal-O Red Radish
• Butternut Squash -
TIGHT INVENTORY
• Cara Cara Navels
• Red Butter
• Romaine Lettuce -
GAPPING
• Blueberry Pints
• Del Cabo Sun dried tomatoes
• New Mexico Dried Chilies
• Makrut Lime leaves
• Spring Onions
• White Onions
• Tutti Frutti English and Snap Peas -
WINDING DOWN
• Mt. Hood Biodynamic D’Anjou Pears
• Comice Pears
• Zespri Gold Kiwis -
finished
• Montecucco Purple Loose Turnips
• Peruvian Ginger - more under Vegucation
• Peri & Sons Red, Yellow and White Onions
BUYER’S NOTES
Updated February 11, 2024
MARKET update
Valentine’s Day is Wednesday! Berries continue to be tight from the cold and rain throughout California and Mexico. Blueberries 12/6oz are available in good volume. Ichiban Raspberries and Strawberries out of Mexico return Monday, just in time for Valentine’s Day. California AG Berries are hoop house grown with good quality and long legs. Volume is limited so order early. Pretty Blood Oranges from HGO make a beautiful juice or sliced in a winter Chioggia radicchio salad with a citrus dressing. Asparagus in excellent volume and prices have started to come down. Grill or roast for a Valentine’s celebration. Ask your Earl’s sales rep about promotional opportunities.
Rain and cold weather persist, and Wet Veg is less than perfect quality. Harvest crews are slowly getting back into muddy fields. Weather is slowing down production, tightening up volumes and prices are rising as supply decreases. This includes Berries, Citrus, Arugula, Broccoli, Leaf Lettuces, Green Onions, Radishes, Salad Greens and more. Expect prorates, gaps and quality issues due to the weather.
The San Diego Citrus growing regions continue to be hit with rainstorms. Crews won’t be able to get into the fields until the storms pass. Then they will need to wait another few days until the fruit dries out to pick because the flavor has been diluted and the moisture in the fruit can cause skin issues such as clear rot and breakdown that show up after harvest. We are seeing some quality issues on Navels and Cara Caras from the previous rainstorms. We are keeping an eye on quality; however buyers should be aware that they may find a piece or two with quality issues. Expect to see disruptions in citrus again this week.
RVO is back in the field harvesting tart and sweet Nagami Kumquats after the rain.
If you missed Earl’s previous weather-related blogs you can find them here: “Supply Gaps and Price Increases” and “Freezing Cold Weather Challenges.”
Mexican Blue Ginger
The Ginger market is currently facing challenges, primarily attributed to a significant decrease in production from Peru, a major player in the ginger industry. Traditionally, the Peruvian Ginger production gap occurs in late February or March, but this year, supply issues are emerging much earlier, even before January has ended. The onset of the rainy season in Peru is contributing to harvesting difficulties as well as the limited supply planted as noted earlier. “Due to these issues, ginger will continue to be tight, gapping entirely by the end of February,” Read the full story here. New Crop Peruvian Ginger will start up in June in a small way and then will be flying by July.
Until then we expect Mexico Blue Ginger to cover the gap until hopefully Mid-May. Blue Ginger is a unique variety known for its juiciness and spicy flavor. The light blueish grey ring is noticeable when you cut into the ginger and will fade to a creamy white color as you cut closer to the top of the ginger. Blue ginger juices a pretty pink color. Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to promote pink ginger juice. Celebrate the holiday with pink ginger shots!
Local Coastal View Produce Asparagus is starting by March 1st, weather dependent. Spring is just around the corner.
FRUIT
Apples
Don’t miss the Apple Value Picks on Fujis, Honeycrisp, Braeburns and SugarBees. You can find value picks on Earl’s email every Sunday morning.
Avocados
Equal Exchange limited on larger 48ct sizes. Avoterra will have some to cover the gap. Bacons, Fuertes and Zutanos may return this week.
Bananas
March is Equal Exchange Banana Month. Stay tuned for POS material to highlight your Fair Trade Banana display.
BERRIES
Blackberries & Raspberries: Baja producing a limited amount of Blackberries and Raspberries. We are keeping inventory tight as berries are exhibiting cold and moisture issues. Ichiban Raspberries return Monday in time for Valentine’s Day.
Blueberries: Storm pushed back production on Blueberries and fruit is not coloring up fast in the cold weather. As soon as the weather heats up, we will see pints from HGO and more volume from other growers. Forbidden 12/6oz are available for Valentine’s Day. Chilean fruit is a good value option until California warms up.
BERRIES, CONTINUED
Strawberries: AG Strawberries are grown under hoop houses. Solid looking fruit with good legs. Ichiban Strawberries out of Mexico return Monday, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Citrus
Cara Caras are limited due to the rain. We are still seeing clear rot on Cara Cara and Navel Oranges which shows up post-harvest. We are keeping inventory tight until quality improves.
Rainbow Valley Orchard is finally able to get back into the field and harvest Kumquats. Look for volume to pick up in the coming weeks.
Rainbow Valley Orchard Limes are available in a medium sized 25# case.
Coke Meyer Lemons are juicy with a beautiful deep color.
grapes
Anthony Green Sugarones are landing Tuesday. Red Grapes are gaping for now.
kiwi
Local California Kiwi prices are sharp! Winter is a great time to celebrate local fruit in good volume. Last of the Zespri Italian Gold Kiwis until New Zealand starts up in May.
melons
Mini Seedless Watermelons (Mexico) are steady.
pears
Sweet and juicy Golden Bosc, Red and Green D’Anjou offer a variety of colors and flavor. Comice Pears will disappear soon. Enjoy them before they are gone.
tropicals
Crespo Ataulfos are sweet, buttery and fiberless. Promotable opportunities on 18ct-22ct. Crespo Tommy Atkins arrive this week. The vote is in, Crespo Dried Mangos are SUPER delicious. Available in 20x5 and 6x4oz in Round and Ataulfo. Full year shelf life.
VEGETABLES
Asparagus
Mexican Asparagus market is coming down. Ask your Earl’s Sales Rep about promotional pricing. Local Coastal View Produce Asparagus is starting by March 1st, weather dependent.
Artichokes
Locally grown JAS has a good variety of Artichoke sizes, and we may see some Purple Artichokes. We are in the middle of winter with frost and lots of rain and may see some frost kissed artichokes. The frost causes the outer layer of the artichoke to turn brown, flake and peel when the temperature reaches below 32 degrees. Although the brownish color may not look pretty, frost kissed artichokes have a more intense nutty flavor. Once cooked, the brown disappears, leaving a delicious artichoke.
baby bok choy
Has tightened up from the rain and muddy field conditions.
varietal beans
Covilli 15# are limited. 25# cases are in good supply.
broccoli
Josie’s Broccoli has really good pricing.
SWEET BABY broccoli
Tomatero has a good amount and nice quality.
brOCCOLI CROWNS
Broccoli Crowns seeing some pin rot. Too wet or two dry the plants stress out and bunches spread out while growing, unlike a tight broccoli head when the conditions are perfect.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Tiny and sweet, Covilli Brussels Sprouts are abundantly available. Ask about promotional pricing opportunities.
ANNA’S ORGANICS UPDATE
Rain down in Chowchilla slowed down harvesting at Anna’s Organics last week. The good news is that Red Cabbage, Purple Turnips and Watermelon Radish are back! Baby Bok Choy is done until spring. Plenty of Green Cabbage.
CARROTS
Sunrise Nantes in good supply. Colored Carrots gapping until quality improves.
celery
24ct are limited and we will some relief as Tomatero comes on with 24ct/30ct sizing. Mexican Celery is a really good price with excellent quality.
CHICORIES
Are a struggle. Escarole is gapping and Frisee has tightened up, cold weather has slowed down the growth.
CAULIFLOWER
Tomatero coming into a beautiful flush of Local Cauliflower, with mostly 12ct.
CUCUMBERS
Euro Cucumbers pricing has jumped back up.
EGGPLANT
Eggplant higher pricing is here to stay for a while.
GARLIC
Christopher Ranch Garlic has bought Harris Ranch Garlic. White Colossal from Harris Ranch is finished.
GINGER
The Ginger market is currently facing challenges, primarily attributed to a significant decrease in production from Peru. New Crop Peruvian Ginger will start up in June in a small way and then will be flying by July. Until then we expect Mexico Blue Ginger to cover the gap until hopefully Mid-May. Blue Ginger is a unique variety known for its juiciness and spicy flavor. The light blueish grey ring is noticeable when you cut into the ginger and will fade to a creamy white color as you cut closer to the top of the ginger. Blue Ginger juices a pretty pink color.
TURMERIC
Fijian Turmeric price coming closer to Hawaiian Secret Beach.
greens
Sun Valley Greens are under hoop houses in a nice rhythm. Tomatero availability is sporadic. Ambrosio Lacinato (Gilroy) coming on soon and looking sharp.
herbs
Cool weather continues to slow down the growth of Chives, Dill, Tarragon, and Basil.
leafy greens
Arugula is very scarce and is susceptible to yellowing and mildew. As Arugula gaps Organicgirl will be subbing in Mizuna for a few weeks, a delicious mild peppery leafy green, slightly less spicy than arugula.
lettuce
Red Butter is very tight. Green and Red Leaf is much better volume. Lettuce out of the desert is having quality issues. Romaine Lettuce will have some epidermal peel. Leafy Greens can tolerate the frost up to a point or they can tolerate a few frosts but then damage shows up. Epidermal peel occurs when the outer layer of the leaf freezes, partially dies and then begins to peel. The leaf will have a translucent look. Read more about quality issues on lettuce due to the cold weather.
leeks
Ralph’s are in excellent supply with beautiful long white shanks. Perfect for making that winter stew or soup.
mushrooms
Wild Foraged Chanterelle season is coming to an end soon. Far West Fungi will have some from Southern California early this week. Let your Earl’s sales rep know early if you would like to pre-order before they are all gone.
onions & shallots
New crop will start up again in the Fall. Onions are tight and expensive. Peri & Sons is done on all colors and we have moved into Anderson Red and Yellow Onions. Whites are nonexistent until Mexico starts up. Peri & Sons Earth Bags are done until they start up out of Yerington, Nevada.
Peri & Sons are done on Shallots and we will have plenty of Anderson Shallots for the next 3-4 weeks.
Green Onion supply is looking up as workers are able to get back into the fields.
peas
A frost took out Tutti Frutti English and Snap Peas buds that were in bloom. We will see a gap for the next few weeks. Del Cabo Sugar Snap and Snow Peas have increased availability.
bell peppers
Choice Yellow Peppers are difficult to find. Other Colored Bells are looking good.
hot peppers
We have plenty! Jalapeños are in excellent supply. Cross merchandise with Covilli Heirloom Tomatoes.
potatoes
The early crop of Russets sized up mostly small. The next crop will be a larger sized variety.
radishes
Cal-O California Red Radishes are back.
roots
Burdock is tightening up. Get your orders in early.
summer squash
Zucchini went from tight to plentiful with prices dropping dramatically.
tomatoes
Covilli Heirloom Tomatoes are at full blast now and they are looking, cutting and eating spectacularly. Keep your eye open for new colors and trial varieties as Covilli is continually striving to expand on their unique heirloom experience.
Specialty Tomatoes from Wholesum are far and few between.
winter squash
California is wrapping up on Winter Squash. Acorn and Butternut will be on the smaller size as the season ends. Local Honeynut and Spaghetti available for a few more weeks.
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