Potatoes
Potato movement should be brisk in the month leading up to Christmas, said Kevin Stanger, vice president of sales and marketing for Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Wada Farms Marketing Group.
“Volume’s not as heavy as Thanksgiving, but it’s a good month for potatoes,” he said. “It will be a good opportunity to promote.”
As for markets, which have been sluggish, Stanger is less optimistic.
“I wish I could say they’ll go up, but I think they’ll stay fairly steady,” he said. “Demand is good, but there’s not a lot of movement” on prices.
The USDA reported prices of $5.50-6 for 50-pound cartons of russets 40-70s from Idaho, down from $9.50-10 last year.
Pomegranates
Some years California pomegranate shippers have fruit for Christmas, some years they don’t, said Jeff Simonian, vice president of sales and marketing for Fowler, Calif.-based Simonian Fruit Co.
This year Simonian will definitely have pomegranates.
“We had a pretty good sized crop,” he said. “I think supplies will be plentiful through Christmas and into the new year.”
Prices should stay fairly steady in the run-up to Christmas, Simonian said.
Both interior and exterior quality were good in mid-November, he said.
The USDA reported a price of $22.25 for cartons of two-layer wonderfuls 20-24s from California, down from $26.10-28.10.
Comments (0) Leave a comment