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MAKES A WORLD OF
DIFFERENCE
THIS WEEKS
HIGHLIGHTS

DLJ PRODUCE
JANUARY 27TH
Import grape volume
-
FEBRUARY 8TH
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5
will remain tight,
especially on L and XL
fruit.

CA citrus prices have
Import Grape Season Expects Light Supplies In February
increased as growers
deal with decreased
volume and high juice
prices.

Chilean stone fruit will
remain in high demand due to limited
supplies of peach and
nectarine on both
coasts.

Cherry crop will wind
down leading into
February.
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Import Grapes
1
Citrus
1
Import Fruit
2
Stone Fruit
2
Happy Holidays!
2
The 2014 import grapes season
from Chile has started off slowly,
with decreased volume and both
coasts and light supplies of large
and extra large fruit. As we reach
February, volume is expected to
drop more due to a growing
region shift and the true effects
of their freeze taking its toll on
exported volume.
The red seedless market will
primarily consist of Flame seedless, with light supplies of the
large Ralli seedless also arriving.
Volume will remain consistent,
but lighter compared to previous
seasons. The West Coast will
continue to struggle due to a
limited vessel arrival schedule.
Both Coasts are expected to
peak on small and medium-large
fruit due to the size of the crop
and damage created by the
freeze. Extra large and large code
fruit will continue to demand a
premium, especially on boxes
where the quality is consistent.
Green seedless will consist mainly of Sugraone and increasing
supplies of Thompson seedless.
Market demand will continue to
exceed supply due to lighter
volume from Chile. Similar to the
red grape market, the biggest
strain will be on the large and
extra-large fruit with a demand
exceeds market being anticipated
for most of February. Expect
green grape supplies to drop
dramatically over the next few
weeks and supplies to be hard to
come by. FOB prices will remain
firm.
Black seedless grapes will remain
very light on volume as importers continue to see only minimal
supplies arriving on both coasts.
This will help to keep the market
stable and demand at a peak.
Volume will increase slightly as
more fields come into production.
Good supplies of Peruvian red
globe remain on both coasts,
with FOB prices at a promotable
level. Quality and size are terrific.
CA Citrus Market Firms Up Due To Freeze
The multiple nights of hard
freeze that Mother Nature
through the California citrus
growing regions during midDecember will start to take its
toll. FOB prices have skyrocketed as growers pro-rate and hold
back on movement due to crop
loss.
Navel orange growers all over
the Central Valley have begun to
increase their FOB prices by 30
to 40% as the decreased crop
volume has affected supplies.
Fruit will remain available, but
the shortage and hot market has
helped to give growers some
relief after the disastrous freeze.
Crop volume is expected to
finish off 20 to 30% on navel
oranges once the season is finished.
Mandarin / Clementines took the
biggest toll due to their thin skin
and lower sugar content. Most
growers saw significant loss and
this has pushed FOB prices up to
high levels. Consumer demand
for familiar labels will help stoke
the fire of a short crop. Avoid
any large promotions in late
March.
PAGE
2
Chilean Stone Fruit Demands Premium
As anticipated, early stone fruit
arrivals from Chile have been
down significantly due to the
crop loss caused by the freeze.
Both Coasts have felt the effects of a tight, demand exceeds market.
Yellow peach volume has remained very light, Limited supplies of Rich Lady have hit both
coasts, but not enough to even
touch industry demand for the
consumer favorite. Only light
volume of Elegant Lady, nor-
mally heavy volume from
Chile, are on the water. Crop
volume looks to be off 50%
compared to historical averages. Expect any available fruit to
demand a premium.
Yellow nectarine availability
will remain even tighter. Very
limited supplies through January has put a big crimp on
supplies and created a demand
greatly exceeds market. Supplies do not look to change
over the near future with lim-
ited supplies being picked in
Chile.
The plum crop has started for
the season, with growers picking less than average supplies
of Black Amber black plums
and Fortune red plums. Expect
FOB prices to stay relatively
firm since volume will be off
from last season. Plums typically are the most susceptible
to frost damage so some internal discoloration can be expected.
Import Cherries Wind Down For The Season
“ Why not go out on a
limb? That’s where the
fruit is.”
- Mark Twain
The last of the import cherries
will wind down this week as
importers clean up the last of
their inventories and repack
late arrivals with quality issues.
Expect supplies to finish by
February 3rd, with only minimal fruit available.
Currently, light supplies remain
on both coasts. Some growers
will have product that is repacked and cleaned up here in
DLJ
PRODUCE
the U.S., but overall the industry has already seen the last
major vessel arrival of the
season.
Quality will be hit or miss,
with some issues such as pitting and overripe that can be
expected with Chilean cherries
this time of the season. Repacked fruit will stand a better
chance of making usual chain
store quality specs as the issues have been sorted out of
the pack.
This will give retailers one
more week of product in the
store before the season comes
to an end. Overall, crop volume was not down significantly
from last season, a surprise to
most considering the amount
of devastation expected from
the freeze.
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