August 9, 2012

Apples Washington Reds are still heavy to the middle sizes and the extra-fancy grades but supplies disappearing fast. Golden delicious supplies are extremely limited and are higher on all sizes and grades. Many suppliers are finished with Gold delicious. New-crop Early-golds and Gingergolds will start in 2 to 3 weeks. Granny- Smiths are also heavy to extra-fancy grade 88/100s and are limited on the lower grades. Granny supplies are also extremely limited. California Galas are slightly cheaper than they were the demand has been very strong. Expect the California Galas to finish early this year due to the shortages in Washington. Washington Fuji is essentially finished for the season. California continues packing new-crop Bartletts, Bosc, and Stark-Crimson pears. The Bartletts are heavy to the middle sizes so youll see more deals on 100s and 110s than on the smaller sizes. Asparagus The market on Mexican grass continues to be active on all sizes. Supplies out of Mexico continue to be light at best. Peruvian product continues to be very light in supply. There continues to be no 28 pound cases being packed by any supplier, only eleven pounders. Jumbo grass continues to be the lightest size for availability. Avocado Mexican supplies down to almost nothing, and their Flor Loca crop will not start to show up until mid August. California volume is good, but is peaking on 48s and larger, with 60ct and 70ct very light in supplies. These sizes will remain very tight until we begin to get the Mexican Flor Loca crop crossing. Bell Peppers Western Eastern The western Green bell market is expected to trend up slightly to steady. Adequate supplies on all green bells. Colored Red bell are trending slightly up as some growers will come off slightly in production this coming week. Demand is steady. Gold bells are the same as Red bells. In the eastern bell market, With Michigan now working their own pepper and plenty of volume out of the Northeast and Carolinas, the market remains soft. With demand off, many shippers are dealing on pepper. Quality has been good.

Broccoli This market is steady. Pricing continues to be competitive in the industry as suppliers look to increase orders as much as possible. Santa Maria and Salinas continue to be the main growing regions for this commodity. There are no major issues to report in terms of quality. Deals can be made on volume type orders with some suppliers. Cauliflower This market is firm. The larger sizes overall are lighter in availability and commanding a higher price. Light brown spotting continues to be seen sporadically upon arrivals, so please be aware. Most shippers continue to deal with this issue. Supplies are expected to p/u by the end of the week Celery This market is steady. Large sizing continues to have the best availability, with small sizing still being on the light side. The option for Salinas and Santa Maria are the two regions to choose from when loading out of California. A few suppliers continue to listen to half load orders so please keep in mind. Citrus Lemons Oranges Ventura crop harvest is going at full production. Supplies are good, with good steady summer time demand. The Valencia orange harvest remains steady, with sizing peaking on larger sizes 72s/88s, with very little 138s or 113s. Good demand and very light supplies on small sizes is keeping market firm. Lettuce Leaf Iceberg The leaf market is active. Romaine has seen more active pricing amongst all the leaf items. Romaine hearts have had reports of fringe and tip burn. Carton romaine has had the same issues. Multiple shippers have reported this. Romaine is commanding a higher price than green and red leaf as well as butter. The lettuce market is steady, overall. Suppliers once again have created a market gap of a couple of dollars. There are a few shippers that do not have the high quantities of this commodity and this is making for some higher pricing. This commodity continues to have issues of lightweights, decay, pink ribbing and brown outer leaves. Santa Maria continues to have production.

Fresh Directions is produced by PERFORMANCE Foodservice. Information included can be found in further detail at www.proactusa.com.

Melons Cantaloupes Honeydew In the cantaloupe market, Westside product continues to go strong with excellent quality and all sizes available. Demand has been light so plenty of fruit available with excellent quality. The Westside honeydew market is going strong now with sizes peaking to 5s and 6s but all sizes available. The market is steady. Onions Yellow onions are steady on jumbos and smaller and slightly higher on colossal and Supers. California still has smaller yellows as does the new-crop in Washington & Colorado. New Mexico has better size but supplies are limited down there as the smaller shippers finish up. Reds are higher in California because most New Mexico shippers have finished their own and are buying Californias. Washington has started packing a few reds. California reds continue to peak on jumbos while producing very few mediums. Whites are steady in both areas with good supplies available. The quality has been good in California & New Mexico for all colors. Potatoes Idaho Burbanks are steady to higher but limited as most packers have finished for the season. The shippers that still have Burbanks are expecting to finish by the middle of next week and then transition into norkotahs. Storage quality issues were a major factor to the quick end of the Burbank season. Many suppliers have started packing new-crop norkotahs and they are peaking between 70s and 80s. The norkotah market is steady to slightly lower in Idaho. Washington norkotahs are heavier to smaller spuds and that market is steady to slightly lower as well. The Colorado/Nebraska market is steady to lower on both old and new crop. Texas norkotahs are steady on all sizes. The russet quality has been excellent in all areas with good maturity on the new crop product. Stockton, California is steady to lower on reds and steady on whites and golds. The reds are evenly spread across the size

spectrum while the whites and golds remain large. Virginia has finished for the season. Washington, Wisconsin, and Minnesota continue packing pack new-crop reds & golds. The Minnesota reds are heavier to A-size reds. The colored potato quality has been excellent in Minnesota. Tomatoes Eastern Western The western market, in form with the unpredictable yields in the San Joaquin Valley of California so far this season, yields are off this week compared with the previous two weeks. This is a good thing as from a distribution point we seem to have hit the dog days of August. This status could be short-lived, however, as the homegrown/backyard tomatoes from the Midwest to the Eastern Seaboard could finish up early. For the eastern market, Midwest & Eastern distributors have been waiting anxiously for the Benton Harbor, Michigan crop to commence heavy volume, but to date yields have been light and markets in that vicinity have remained on the high side. It is possible the intense heat of July could have taken some of the blossoms off the tomatoes, but time will tell in that regard. The Eastern Shore deal in Virginia/Maryland is still packing lightly, as is the Tennessee Mountain districts near Unicoi, with quality hitand-miss from the sporadic rains they have received.

Fresh Directions is produced by PERFORMANCE Foodservice. Information included can be found in further detail at www.proactusa.com.