Crops & Markets
Lettuce markets will likely strengthen as winter progresses, grower-shippers said in mid-January.
Good weather nationwide bodes well for shippers of iceberg, romaine and leaf lettuces from the Arizona and California desert, Steve Church, chief executive officer of Salinas, Calif.-based Church Bros. LLC, said Jan. 16.
“There haven’t been any blizzards, which really stops a market,” he said. “Something tells me market conditions will be better. Demand is good.”
Romaine markets will likely start to strengthen some in February, though it won’t likely be a dramatic change, said Michael Boggiatto, president and general manager of Salinas-based grower Boggiatto Produce.
“Prices have been poor to fair most of the season, they’re fair now, but I think they’ll get back to normal very soon,” he said Jan. 17.
Due to lingering freeze-related problems, Boggiatto Produce’s romaine volumes will likely drop off some for a period in early February, Boggiatto said.
Doug Classen, sales manager for Salinas-based The Nunes Co., also expects iceberg markets to strengthen soon.
“It’s been depressed for 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, but we’re getting into a period where supplies are moderating,” he said Jan. 16.
While iceberg and romaine supplies were abundant in mid-January, leaf supplies were as light as they had been in some time, Classen said.
Other than epidermal peel, a result of freezes earlier in the season, quality has been very good and shipments steady, with weekly volumes at normal to above-normal levels for Church Bros., Church said.
Epidermal peel doesn’t affect the eating quality of lettuce, but it is an appearance issue, Church said.
“As consumers, we buy a lot with our eyes,” he said.
Shippers thought that by the week of Jan. 9 freeze-related problems might be behind them, but then another freeze hit Jan. 13, Church said. After a freeze, it takes about 10 days for freeze-damaged lettuce to work its way through the system, he said.
Some desert-grown romaine had blistering problems, but overall, quality was very good in mid-January, with growers reporting good weights, Boggiatto said.
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