ORGANIC MARKET NEWS OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 23, 2020 ORGANIC ROOT VEG SEASON With fall here, and winter around the corner, consumers are beginning to switch their cooking mindsets towards more roasting, soups, and Instant Pot/Crock Pot recipes. Good news - Organic Root crops are reaching their peak season from Vermont, Wisconsin and other regions! Deep Root Co-Op in VT is already in full swing with Organ- ic Bulk Vegetables! Currently available: Organic Celeriac /Celery Root (with & without tops), Parsnips, Rutabagas, Black Radishes, Daikon (Purple & White), Turnips (Purple & Scarlet), and Beets (Red, Gold & Chiogga). Harmony Valley out of WI will be starting these programs at the end of October: Organic Soup Mix, Burdock Root, Sunchokes, and Beauty Heart Radishes. As the seasons change, make sure you are adapting to your customers’ needs by expanding your Organic Root section to capitalize on extra sales from these hearty items! OG APPLES OG BERRIES OG FALL FRUIT Overall, Organic Apples are primed for promotion! Driscoll’s Organic Blueberries are back in 6oz Organic Hachiya and Fuyu Persimmons will hit and pints out of Mexico in limited supply and peak season by October 20! Let the Hachiya get New reports are suggesting that the overall Wash- higher prices. Other brands out of Peru and Chile soft and squishy before you eat it and enjoy the ington Organic Apple crop is down about 10% are also in limited volume. Expect great quality, Fuyu Persimmon right away while you wait for the compared to original estimates. That, combined and pricing will become more promotable by ear- Hachiya to be ready! with stronger demand due to COVID19 with peo- ly to mid-November. ple consuming more food at home, might lead to Organic Cranberries out of British Columbia slightly higher prices than last year. Driscoll’s Organic Blackberries out of California are in season and should be in excellent supplies and Mexico continue to be in firm supply with high through the holiday season. Available this week: prices. Other brands of Organic Blackberries are • OG Ambrosia • OG Jazz improving in supply weekly, and we should contin- Organic Pomegranates from California are • OG Autumn Glory • OG Jonagold ue to see prices come down. steady for mid-October. The Early Wonderful va- • OG Braeburn • OG Lady Alice riety is in full swing. Some harvests of the popular • OG Golden Delicious • OG Opal Organic Raspberry supplies are a little tighter Wonderful variety known for its deep red exter- • OG Envy • OG Red Delicious this week due to some unexpected heat damage nal color, are starting to pop up! • OG Fuji • OG Rosalynn in early October. • OG Gala • OG Smitten Organic Pomegranate Arils continue in season. • OG Granny Smith • OG SugarBee ALERT! Driscoll’s Organic Strawberry supplies We will feature the I Love Pomegranate label • OG Honeycrisp • OG SweeTango have been hit hard by all the weather, expect through the fall and winter this year. production to continue declining as prices rise and Heirloom Orchards available this week: sporadic short supplies becomes normal for a Organic Black Mission Figs will be available • OG Calville Blanc while. Expect so-so quality, shorter shelf-life, and in 12/8oz packs for late October. Since there is • OG Golden Russet fairly expensive price points. Other brands are very little price difference, we are discontinuing • OG Northern Spy back in limited sporadic supply. the conventional at this point in the season and just rolling with the organic offering. OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 23, 2020 | MARKET NEWS 42 20 | FOUR SEASONS PRODUCE OG GRAPES OG PEARS OG PEPPERS California Organic Black, Green, and Red Washington Organic Green and Red Anjou, Organic Green Peppers are currently being sup- Grapes continue in excellent supply with nice Golden Russet Bosc, and Starkrimson Red Pears plied from South Carolina, with Lady Moon Farms in Florida due to start harvesting in late October. quality. With some shippers finished for the sea- are available in good supply for peak season Look for great quality and steady availability son, expect prices increase over the next couple pear promoting! for the remainder of the month. of weeks as we have some of the best varieties Organic Red, Yellow, and Orange Peppers from of the season. Washington Organic Bartlett Pears, in bulk, 2lb, Holland and Canada are beginning to wind and 3lb packs, continue in steady availability, down their season before new growing regions California Organic Sweet Carnival Grapes con- though at higher pricing than last year. such as Mexico and Israel begin. Expect some inconsistent supplies during this transition time. tinue to be available for the end of October. These are very similar to the much sought after California Organic Asian Pears will transition to ALERT! Organic Mini Sweet Peppers remain cotton candy grapes. Washington here in mid-October, and Organic limited in availability while many shippers are completely out. Expect to see a gap in supply Concorde Pears come into season 10/21. on this product. OG LEEKS OG CABBAGE OG ASPARAGUS NOTE: Organic Leeks continue to remain very lim- Organic Cabbage is in steady supply coming from Organic Asparagus prices will remain steady this ited with many west coast shippers having inconsis- New York. Look for Lancaster County, PA Organic week from Argentina. Mexico is also harvesting tent supplies or gapping completely. Cabbage to start again in late October and con- but some unseasonably warm temps have slowed down crossings. tinue until late November or early December. With California product limited, we’ll supplement Supplies are expected to improve leading to more with local product from New York and Vermont. Organic Savoy and Napa Cabbage are currently promotable markets as long temperatures drop being sourced from VT, NY, and PA. back to normal. Quality out of both regions have been excellent. OG SQUASH OG CUCUMBERS OG LETTUCE Organic Zucchini and Yellow Squash are seeing Organic Cucumbers from Lady Moon Farms in Flori- Organic Leaf Lettuce from California continues to excellent availability. Organic Zucchini is being da continue to see steady supplies and pricing. Mex- remain tight and expensive. Look for product from sourced from Lady Moon Farms in Florida and ican product is available at a cheaper price-point. PA and Canada to supplement CA supply at a continues to see excellent quality and availability. more cost-efficient price. Organic Euro Cucumbers continue to see prices Organic Yellow Squash has been sourced from drop and become more promotable in mid-Octo- ALERT! Organic Romaine Hearts remain limited both South Carolina and Mexico. Look for im- ber. Organic Mini Cucumbers remain limited in and high priced as the CA market continues to rise. proved pricing and availability in late October as availability. Expect to see inconsistent availability Look for consistent supplies, but expensive pricing. supplies improve. and high pricing. OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 23, 2020 | MARKET NEWS 42 20 | FOUR SEASONS PRODUCE OG CELERY OG EGGPLANT OG MELONS Organic Celery from California continues to see Organic Eggplant is now being harvested in There are decent volumes of Organic Melons for steady supplies in October. Look for excellent avail- South Carolina and beginning to harvest at Lady mid-October. Organic Cantaloupe, Honeydew, ability and level pricing for the remainder of the month. November will see a rise in the market as we Moon Farms in Florida. Look for improved pricing and Galia Melons are in stock with large sizing. transition to new growing regions and the Thanks- and availability in late-October. Spot buys are available on smaller sizes of all 3 giving holiday approaches. Organic Celery Hearts continue to be promotable in mid to late October. melons by request. OG TOMATOES OG BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER OG TROPICALS Organic Cluster Tomatoes remain very promot- Organic Broccoli from California is returning to Organic Rambutan is in season from Guatemala in able out of Canada. Quality is excellent and better supplies in mid-October. Although we are 5lb packs through the end of October! there are good steady harvest numbers. headed to transition time between Salinas, CA and Yuma, AZ, supplies are expected to stay steady Organic Formosa Papayas are finally available. Organic Beefsteak Tomato prices are rising and pricing to level off for the next few weeks. They are sizing 14-16ct. Pricing will be higher to start. again as product remains fairly tight out of Mexi- co. Quality has been pretty nice. Canadian grown NOTE: Organic Purple Sweet Baby Broccoli will NOTE: Organic Pineapple supplies will be af- product from our Canadian partner, Savoura, will go into an extended gap. fected for the rest of October due to some unrest begin with very light volume the week of 10/19. and striking in Costa Rica. Expect pricing to go higher as a result. Organic Grape and Cherry Tomato prices remain Organic Cauliflower from California will be steady. Quality out South Carolina from Watsonia in tigher supply for the remainder of October. Organic Hass Avocado prices are promotable Farms has been outstanding. Lady Moon Farms is Expect quality to remain good, however pricing with plenty of fruit available. Be sure to check out expected to start their Florida grown production and availability may be inconsistent through ear- our beautiful Organic Fair-Trade Hass Avocados at the end of October. ly November. from Equal Exchange this month at a great price! Organic Roma Tomatoes will continue to be Local Organic Romanesco is available in limited Organic Green Skin Avocados are available available out of Mexico. Quality is very nice. Sup- supply from Pedersen Farms in NY. next week again from Florida and have been sell- plies will begin to tighten up as growing regions ing out weekly! begin to change down in Mexico.