Tomatoes
East
• Rounds- …and the beat goes on. Little change from the past several weeks. Demand remains
weak while supplies and quality remain very good. Mexico continues to dictate market prices
and those prices remain at Suspension Agreement Minimums. FOB prices remain steady to
lower on all sizes and we expect prices to remain anemic and trade in a rather narrow range
through February barring a weather event.
• Romas- FOB prices for romas are lower this week on all sizes and at these levels do not cover
the costs of growing and harvesting the product. Mexico is also dictating roma market prices.
We expect FOB prices to remain low and to trade within a narrow range into next month.
Quality continues to be very good.
• Grapes- FOB prices are lower again this week compared to the previous week. Quality is very
good.
• Cherries- Cherries are the one tomato commodity whose FOB prices are not at rock bottom.
Prices remain steady from last week. Mexico product has had quality issues which has caused
repackers to pull product from FL. Quality remains very good.
• Weather forecast- Immokalee, FL: Good growing weather. Mostly sunny skies with highs
near 80 through early next week. Lows at night will be in the mid-50s. Little chance of rain
through the period.
West/Mexico
Rounds- Good volume continues to cross at Nogales. Crossings also continue at McAllen. FOB
prices remain at Suspension Agreement minimums. The forecast calls for nearly perfect
growing weather for the next 10 days. Quality is good. Baring a weather event, we expect the
round tomato market to remain relatively stable for the next month or so.
• Romas- Nogales and McAllen crossings continue. Quality is good. FOB prices are generally at
Suspension Agreement minimums for all sizes.
• Grapes- Crossings primarily at Nogales. Quality is good. Prices generally at Suspension
Agreement minimums.
• Cherries- Quality is variable and generally only fair. Some repackers are going east to meet
their cherry demand due to quality concerns.
Green Bell Pepper
East- Product remains plentiful this week and FOB prices remain at extremely low levels. Quality is a little more variable due to the winds from last week’s storms but good quality is still available.
West- Supplies remain strong, demand is weak and FOB prices are steady to slightly lower this week. Quality is good.
Yellow Squash
East- Supplies remain tight but are more available this week. FOB prices are lower. We continue to see quality issues primarily due to scarring which was caused by the wind. The cool weather that Florida has experience this past weekend and into this week will cause a slowdown of supplies toward this weekend.
West- FOB prices are lower this week reacting to lower prices in the east and more supplies available in the west from new fields.
Green Squash
East- A similar situation for green squash. FOB prices are lower this week on both grades. Quality is variable due to the wind from last weekend.
West- FOB prices are lower this week as more supplies become available from new fields. Crossings primarily at Nogales.
Cucumbers
East- Off-shore volume continues. FOB prices are steady to slightly lower this week compared to last. Quality of the off-shore product remains variable.
West- Nogales crossing continue. FOB prices are lower on both supers and selects. Currently, the quality through Nogales remains good.
Eggplant
East- FOB prices for fancy are steady to a little lower this week and lower for choice. Quality is good.
West- FOB prices are lower again this week. Nogales crossings continue and quality is good.
Jalapenos
East- FOB prices are generally steady to lower this week. Quality is good.
West- FOB prices are generally steady to lower this week. Supplies remain good. Quality is good.
Beans
East- We are seeing some quality issues this week and FOB prices are higher.
West- Lighter plantings are producing fewer supplies which is causing FOB prices to be higher this week. We are seeing a wider than normal range in FOB prices due to variableness in quality with the better quality demanding the higher FOB prices.