Lettuce supply and demand have seen a slight shift recently. “Going back to the week after Thanksgiving, that’s always a tough week because it’s slow,” says Mark McBride of Coastline Family Farms. “Up until this week we’ve also had a very mild, warm fall and it’s been very conducive to bringing additional product in.”
That’s meant ample supplies since then--to the point where it had depressed the market. “Supply exceeded demand and almost all growers had elected to leave some of their acreage unharvested rather than cut it all and further depress the market,” says McBride. “In the last couple of weeks, we haven’t been able to absorb and use all the lettuce available.”
However, that’s changed in the last week when more seasonable temperatures have come on. “There’ve been some frosty mornings which delayed harvest and the cooler temperatures have also slowed down that maturation process,” McBride says, noting that supply is coming out of California’s Imperial Valley and Yuma, Arizona right now. “We’ve had acres coming at us nonstop and that’s been moderated a little.”
Holiday supply
That means going into the holidays, while there will still be abundant supply, it won’t be quite what has been seen in the past month or so.
As for that holiday demand, it is normal though cooked vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, celery and more often get more attention at this time of year given they’re featured on holiday menus. “Our pricing has been a bit of a disappointment though it has perked up a little bit and movement has been better this week than previous weeks,” says McBride.
Looking ahead, demand is expected to strengthen as the new year comes on. “We always seem to feel a lift and it’s just a better overall marketing situation with the new year,” he says.
For more information:
Mark McBride
Coastline Family Farms
Tel: +1 (831) 755-1430
[email protected]
www.coastlinefamilyfarms.com