REPORT FARMER S. market trends

Transcription

1 FARMER S REPORT market trends This notice is subject to change. Information printed is based on last received market data. Subject to change without notification.

2 BEEF Live cattle prices moved lower this week; however we will not see relief in the market due to lower slaughter levels. Production has been reduced 8% YOY and exports have increased 13% leaving a deficit in available product of 400 million pounds YOY. We should see relief in availability in late winter or early spring, depending on seasonal item demand. ribs RibEyes: We are now seeing the market increase. With the increase in live cattle cost and seasonal trends upward, expect higher demand and continued strength. Rounds Insides: The market is still higher mostly due to reduced slaughter levels and packer forward sold positions. Those orders are now being delivered and we are expecting relief on this item later in the month. Flats: Bottom round flats are moving lower. Lack of demand on the item is causing the market to decline and most likely will continue to do so going into spring. LOINS Strips: Strip loins are higher again and for the most, seen as a value compared to chucks and inside rounds. Pricing has been affected by lower slaughter number and higher cattle prices. If we see any break in this market, it will be in the next two or three weeks. Top Butts: This cut is a great value relative to ball tips, insides and chucks. Look for this cut to start a modest increase going into spring. Ball Tips: Following the thin meat complex, ball tips are relatively overvalued to top butts. Expect to see this item peaking and declines going into spring. However, there is still some possibility of resurgence in the market. CHUCKS Chuck Rolls: The market rebounded with the lower production and higher live prices. However, we are seeing some weakness in the market toward late winter. thin meats & grinds Flap Meat: The market has rebounded and seasonally should have little downside moving forward. The market is expected to stay strong going into midsummer. Briskets: The market saw a rebound as supplies tightened and will likely hold for a few weeks. Supplies should ease as large forward orders are fulfilled. Prices should stabilize in the next week or two. Grinds: Grinds are stabilizing, although there is solid demand in the market. Watch for prices to ease somewhat in the next couple of weeks before it takes an upward trend into spring. Skirt Meat: Outside skirts are stronger with overall strength for the long term as we go into the next few weeks. Tenderloins: All grades of tenderloins have seen an increase in the market mostly due to supply issues. Expect them to continue their onward trek into spring with minimal possibilities for decline. 2

3 pork Base hog prices continued their move up, reaching new record highs as animal availability over the upcoming weeks remains a concern. Packers are continuing to search for hogs and which is maintaining an atmosphere of uncertainty this week. Speculation on the severity of the PED virus, significant gains in lean hog futures contracts, and tight beef supplies are expected to support higher live hog prices for spring and summer. Hog weights are trending lower but remain about 5 lbs above year ago levels. Producers continue to hold hogs on feed longer as their supply pipeline may have been altered by the PED virus. We expect heavier hog weights through late spring. Overall pork prices moved higher with price support from all cuts (loins, ribs, butts, bellies and hams). Markets are expected to remain volatile as buyers continue to purchase all packers can produce. This is expected to continue through the late spring. Loins The markets for bone-in and boneless loins traded higher last week on limited supplies and increased retail demand. Bone-in loins and boneless loins continue to trend higher this week due to tight supplies. Bone-in loins are expected to trade higher through late March then hold steady through mid April. Similarly, boneless loins are expected to trade higher through March as buyers compensate for tighter beef supplies, then trade steady to higher through mid April. tenders Pork tenders traded higher on tight supplies and continued strong retail demand. Prices are expected to trade higher through late March/mid April. Butts Prices for bone-in and boneless pork butts moved higher on very tight supplies and strong retail and foodservice demand. Declining hog numbers, and low freezer stocks continue to support higher prices. Prices are expected to move higher through mid April. Look for higher prices during the summer months. Ribs Spare RibS: Spare rib prices traded slightly higher on tight supplies and strong demand. Prices are expected to continue gradually moving higher as buyers (both retail and foodservice) book their summer needs. Uncertainty with respect to product supplies continues to support higher prices and volatile markets. Back Ribs: Back ribs continued to trade higher on limited supplies and improved demand from foodservice. Prices are expected to continue trending higher through mid April. Prices could reach their seasonal peaks during the late spring timeframe. Bellies/Bacon Bacon/belly prices continued higher on tight supplies and strong seasonal demand. Belly prices are expected to continue moving higher through May and into early June. Hams Ham prices continued higher on strong seasonal demand and tight supplies. Prices are expected to trend higher through early April, then hold steady through most of April. As we transition into May, ham prices are expected to move much higher. Trim The following market dynamics will impact finished goods pricing during April. Pork trimmings continue trending higher on increased product demand from processors. Heavier hog weights will pressure fat trim markets while limited availability of sows will support higher prices for lean pork trim. Trimmings prices are expected to trend higher through Q2. Picnics Pork picnics continued their move higher last week on limited supplies and strong demand from sausage processors. Picnics are expected to trade higher through April. Demand for exports and unanticipated supply constraints could support higher prices. turkey Demand is outpacing supplies as the market is beginning to steadily move upward. Whole turkeys The market has begun to move upward, with both fresh Easter offerings and spot offering available at a premium. boneless raw turkey breasts The demand for all turkey raw materials is far exceeding the supply. The market is trending upward, most offerings show prices at a 52-week high. 3

4 poultry The entire poultry market is extremely firm, with demand out-pacing supply. Supplies have tightened and demand has increased from buyers that have moved away from the more expensive proteins. While egg placements are up, bird sizes and yields are still suffering from the February and early March winter freeze in the south. The cost and availability of butane to heat the poultry houses has compounded the problems of the poultry complex. All in all, the market continues to move at a full steady to firm pace for whole birds, WOGs, tenders and boneless breasts. Following the trend of the complex, sellers of wings are having no problems commanding full market value, or higher. Boneless Breast Meat The market has gone up dramatically this week. There is a strong push by retailers caused by the beef and pork market activities. The retail outlets have devoted more space to chicken. Additionally, to keep cost down, retailers are now bringing in jumbo sized birds in order to offer boneless skinless breast as an affordable option to the public. The boneless skinless breast market will continue to rise through the end of May. Chicken Tenderloins The tender market is following the exact same trend as the boneless breast market. We have seen the cost of tenders follow an upward trend through the market close. Both retail and food service demands are challenging the supply of tenders, allowing vendors to push the price higher. We anticipate the price to continue to rise through the end of May. Wings With the retailers pushing wings and March Madness approaching, the wing market is currently pushing higher this week and will continue until the basketball tournament concludes. The market should level off the first week in April with a possible downward slide in the middle of April, through May. Dark Meat Complex The market is firm as retail demand and export interest has strengthened. One could expect a slight increase in the market this week. However, with the growing supplies in cold storage and possible ramifications of political interaction in Russia and associated countries, we could see this complex slide in the coming months. dairy Butter Markets are rising again this week. Cream supplies are beginning to tighten as demand for cream-based products increases for the Easter holiday. Butter production numbers for January show production is lagging last year s levels while sales show double digit growth. Exports are 145% higher than last year. Cheese CME cheese prices continued even higher this week. International prices still remain above current prices, and export demand continues to keep the market supported. Week over week demand is still strong, especially in foods service. Markets are not expected to move much outside of the current range until international prices get back in line with their normal levels and demand starts to pull off. Prices are expected to remain at all time high levels through spring. Shell Eggs Markets have stabilized this week as supply and demand have balanced. With Easter being only 5 weeks away, we do expect a market uptick as demand increases. commodity grocery Oil Significant strength has continued in the soy oil markets. Last week we saw a 300pt move higher. Seasonally the oil price increases this time of year, however not necessarily as fast as what we ve seen. Since January 31st the market has rallied 800 points. Earlier this week the USDA released a neutral Supply/Demand report; this information slowed down the rally. We still expect the market to firm over the next few months. The progress and logistical issues in South American Harvest, plus the decisions China makes on importing will play a key factor in this volatile market. 4

5 seafood Shrimp, Domestic (WHItes and Browns) The Domestic brown shell on shrimp was mostly unchanged this week, while the Domestic shell on white market saw increases on the mid size ranges (31/35-41/50 ct). These upward adjustments are on the shortest supplied items. There is no difference in price between brown and white shrimp on the key sizes 21/25 & 26/30. The spread is minimal on other sizes, especially the sizes larger than 16/20 ct. The Domestic P&D market was unchanged this week. The Domestic PUD Market was quiet this week on most sizes. Shrimp, Imported (Black Tiger and WHItes) The Asian HLSO tiger was unchanged this week with a firm undertone to pricing with large sizes having a limited supply. The HLSO Asian White market saw more weakening as importers look to spur some purchasing with discounted pricing. The valued added Asian Tiger shrimp complex (cooked and P&D) saw the market full steady to firm, especially on higher counts. The Asia White P&D, Tail on, Tail off and Easy peel mid sizes (16/20 41/50) saw continued weakness this week. Most are blaming the weather across the country for the lack of business and importers looking to stir up some business. However, it also appears that there is some inconsistency in regards to replacement costs from overseas processors also seem to be trying to stir up some business from the importers. Shrimp, Latin Central AmerICa (WHItes) The Latin American headless shell-on white shrimp is moving to larger sizes in the production at the farms. The market was weak for a quiet demand on sizes 51/60-21/25 ct. The smaller sizes are full steady to firm. Shrimp, mexican (WHItes & Browns) Mexican WILD shrimp season has officially closed, causing sharp price hikes across the board on ALL sizes of brown and white shrimp. The U 15 is especially tight in supply. Scallops SEA: The Domestic Sea Scallop market was quiet, but the underlying tone to the market is full steady to firm. Based on announced quotas for 2014 and the areas that will be fished, the pricing on U-10 will not improve with the new season. In fact, it appears that there will be about 20% less U 10 available in 2014 versus 2103 which will drive pricing. BAY: The Chinese Bay scallop market was mostly quiet this week after taking price reductions over the last few weeks. HalIBut The 2014 Alaska commercial quota was cut approximately 32% from 2013 about 16 million pounds allowable catch. The season started 3 weeks earlier this year than last year (This year started 3/8 - last year 3/24). Using last year as a gage we should have the 16 million pounds caught by early August. There was a lot of product in the freezers that people have been using rather than purchase under the newer prices the lower quota has created. Most of that product has been used up and with less supply, rising prices will be the name of the game. The market has slowly climbed up since Dec we should see more gains now that the freezers are emptying. Tilapia Speculation as to what will happen in this market has the industry talking. The Chinese are back from their New Year Holiday and not a lot of fish are being harvested right now. The plants have to keep working, so the price for raw material is very high now, with predictions of no price relief until the 3rd quarter of 2014 if then. In addition, the dollar versus the yuan exchange rate is also adding to higher prices. The unknown question how much pent up demand is there in China for fresh product? Flounder Generally a price on small sizes of flounder/yellow fin sole, et al, is stable. But the natural breakdown of the fish that is being harvested is heavily skewed towards the small sizes. The pricing difference between the small- and large-sized flounder is simply a function of supply and demand. However, currently plants have to pay higher for all large-sized fish and there is a strong demand in China for these large sizes. This drive by the Chinese for the larger sized fish is pushing the price of al flounder up headed into the 2nd quarter. 5

6 seafood (Cont d) catfish, Domestic & Imported Domestic catfish was quiet this week after another price adjustment upward last week. Most domestic processors have limited inventory in their freezers headed into Lent lack of supply will continue to drive price. Imported catfish this market is starting to climb and looks like it will continue to climb through the 2nd quarter why? First, the Chinese are between harvests and what little is being harvested is commanding a premium price. Supply will stay limited through the 2nd quarter as farmers choose to plant different crops. They are afraid to invest in catfish based on the 2014 US Farm Bill and its rulings. Salmon CHIlean Farmed Salmon: Frozen salmon prices are firm. Frozen portions were steady this week but supplies remain light for a moderate demand. The fresh fillet Chilean market is stable based on an adequate to fully adequate supply for a moderate to fair demand. Whitefish Complex (Cod, Pollock, Haddock) Cod: The market for Frozen at Sea (FAS) Atlantic Cod from ICELAND ONLY saw a big increase this week. The reason behind this is that the Icelandic Frozen at Sea fleet is half the size it was a year ago and as a result there is less fish available. Why has the fleet shrunk so drastically? It is a matter of economics. Based on what it costs to run the ship, pay out to crew and government quotas, the return on investment for the captain is minimal. So the captains have re-rigged the ships for catching fresh cod which gives them a much better return when sold into the European market. Pollock: The market remains stable on both domestic and imported pollock fillets. Haddock: The market was steady this week after another upward adjustment last week. Factors contributing to the rising price are: US catch mismanaged by the fisheries dept, the catch in Canada going to the fresh market, and the 30% quota cut that went into effect for the North Atlantic last year still in place this year. There is no end in sight to lower pricing on haddock. Tuna, Yellowfin (CO treated) The frozen tuna market continues to be quiet this week, with the market remaining stable. The quiet undertone is attributed to the weather across the country, after Christmas bills and not a lot of buying. Snow Crab Canada & Alaska: The Canadian suppliers are still sitting on some 8 + crab and they are looking to move it off. This put some pressure on the Alaska market price for that size. Demand is quiet for this product right now. Alaska the market seems to have quieted down as most big buys have been made and the quota caught. Processors are working to get the product down to the US and out to their customers. 8+ supply seems to be adequate to fully adequate for a quiet demand leading to some price softening on this size. Mahi Mahi The market took another rise this week as sellers contend with a limited supply. The market has a strong to firm undertone as sellers get a handle on their inventories and spot trading has started. Remember the reasons behind the tight supply are: Late start to the season, low catches when season did start and February landings were very low to the point that Peru re-geared their boats for other species. King Crab The market for red king crab saw major adjustments downward on 20/24 and 20+ sizes due to quiet demand and good inventories. The Golden market was mostly quiet with a fair to active demand on a adequate inventory. Dungeness Crab The market for Dungeness crab is very firm on both clusters and whole cooked. Supplies are very light. Many suppliers have taken it off the list of items they carry as everything they have is committed. The shortage of Dungeness is putting additional pressure on Alaskan snow crab as the areas that traditionally use Dungeness look for a replacement item. LOBster TAIls Warm & Cold water: The market is stable this week with few changes. AmerICan Tails: The market continues very firm with a tight supply situation. 6

7 produce vegetables CABBage Cabbage market is steady with products coming out of Florida. Red cabbage has better than normal supplies. Green cabbage supplies are good and demand is high. Quality is good on both varieties. leaf lettuce Supplies on Romaine lettuce are lower this week, and like Iceberg lettuce, there is mildew in the fields. Shippers are trying to stay on top of this issue. In addition, warm weather forecasted for this week in Yuma could bring on additional quality issues. Romaine cartons are weighing lbs. Green leaf is showing good supplies, with Red leaf and Boston lettuce with budget supplies. Overall quality is good with Green and Red leaf weighing lbs. Boston lettuce is very large with each case weighing lbs. Most shippers will have split production, loading half in Yuma and half in Huron until mid to end of March. Iceberg Lettuce The iceberg market continues to be steady. The weights are in the low to mid 40lbs. Yuma is continuing to see some mildew in the fields, but overall the quality is good on Cross Valley Farms label. Prices should be steady to higher. Huron production will start on March 17th and the market and quality could shift as we move into the new growing region. CaulIFlower The cauliflower market is stronger again this week with small variance in pricing amongst the different shippers. Yuma supplies are finishing up and most suppliers have started back in Salinas. Quality is good in Yuma, while supplies from Salinas are creamier in color. 7 Onions The onion market continues its increase every week, with another significant jump this week. Onion supplies in the Pacific Northwest are being depleted much faster than normal as there is virtually no movement out of Mexico. Some of the bigger shippers are finishing their seasons more than a month earlier than usual in the Pacific Northwest. At this time, it doesn t appear that we ll see significant shipments of onions coming out of Texas until they begin their shipping season in the next three weeks. Regardless, onion supplies will remain very tight for all varieties and the already high prices will continue to climb into mid-april. ChilE Peppers Chile market is active and prices are steady this week. Production is very low due to the cold weather so supplies are limited. Chile, Pasilla, Jalapeño, and Anaheim are the most active items in the market but quality is poor on all varieties. Eggplant Eggplant market continues to be steady. Mexico and Florida has moderate to good supplies with improving quality. Look for this market to be stronger now that Lent has begun. Squash Green squash supplies continue to be tight this week especially on the larger size. Not enough supply of the large product to meet demand. This is due to previous pollination issues. Quality varies between growers. Look for this market to remain strong in the upcoming weeks. Yellow squash supplies are even tighter than in past weeks which put more upward pressure on FOB pricing. Quality and shelf-life is suspect due to winter winds and rains.

8 produce potatoes Russets: Demand for cartons of Idaho russet potatoes continues to be strong, with some higher prices. Good demand for mid-size cartons has kept those sizes at a premium price. Trucks in Idaho are plentiful for all areas with average rates. Railcar movement has continued to be slow over the past month with weather-related issues. The nationwide russet potato market has remained steady, both in movement and pricing. Every major shipping area seems to be looking for more business. Reds: The red potato market has not seen many changes in the last week. Growers in Wash., Colo., Idaho and Canada all continue to ship red potatoes, while growers in Wis. are no longer shipping any No. 1 supplies. Shippers in south Fla. are in full gear with their new crop red potatoes, which have a large size profile. New crop B-size and C-size red potatoes remain tight, but have excellent quality. Packaging facilities in the Red River Valley in N.D. have varying degrees of business for red potatoes, as the quality varies from shipper to shipper. Although many shippers plan to have sold their red potatoes by April 1, there will still be N.D. shippers with supplies through May. White, Yellow and Fingerling: Storage crop yellow potatoes are almost completely sold in N.D., Colo., Idaho and Wash. New crop yellow potatoes are available out of Fla. at a considerably high price than the storage crop, but great quality comes with that new crop. New crop white potatoes are available from Fla. and Calif., but storage crop may still be available out of the Northeast with limited quantity. As storage crop fingerling potatoes wind down, new crop fingerling potatoes are available out of Fla. and Calif. The pricing on storage crop fingerling potatoes remains lower than the new crop prices, which are slightly elevated. Tomatoes Rounds: Florida tomato market remains relatively strong on all sizes. With many shippers reporting light volume and harvests this week due to lower yields, the quality out of Florida has proven to be quite strong and durable. Though weather conditions have been just short of flawless in the Sunshine state, problematic weather from six weeks ago continues to plague the yields of many shippers, especially on smaller sizes. With Mexico unable to produce smaller fruit, Florida is the main player in this market, providing it with the ability to raise pricing on both large and medium varieties. The Mexican round tomato market finds more strength in this second full week of March. Though some growers are reporting a gap in production from last week, lower yields are the real cause for higher pricing. Grapes and Cherries: Florida grape tomato markets took a significant increase this week, as tired plants are producing limited volume. At the same time, demand for these items has increased over the past ten days, causing shippers to realize more monetary value for these items, which had been depressed for almost a month. Next week could bring another bump up in pricing, as there is no predictable change in either supply or demand. Production of cherry and grape tomatoes in Mexico has been noticeably lower recently, causing both commodities to find the same market as Florida in price. Demand is still good on these items, but exhausted plants are simply limiting the amount of harvestable fruit worth picking. Hothouse: Hothouse and on-the-vine tomatoes in Mexico continue to be stagnant this week in both price and volume. As round tomatoes in general are finding better footing in Mexico, one could expect these two items to follow suit and increase by a dollar or two for the start of business next week. Guatemalan fruit is available and though quality is said to be better than it has been for the past month, many buyers are still hesitant of this product. 8

9 produce Romas: Roma tomato market in Florida continues its lethargic path of mediocrity. With such limited production and demand on all sizes of this item, market pricing is virtually unaffected. The most prevalent of sizes continues to be the bigger fruit (extra large and jumbo), but ample supplies of large and medium exist as well. Pricing will continue to be steady out of this region for next week as well. The Mexico roma market is steady, even after a comparatively lighter week last week, many shippers are reporting higher crossings and yields for the past five days, causing no change in the market pricing for any size. Carrots Carrots market is starting to show some strength and prices are firming up. Quality is good with supplies beginning to get lighter. Georgia Cello carrots are still available with moderate supply and good quality. Celery Florida markets remain steady with good supply and quality. Oxnard continues to be the main Celery production area, with Yuma finishing this week. Quality is good and the market is steady with no change expected until demand improves. Celery will continue to be available in Oxnard through the end of June. Green Onions This market is steady with good supplies. Expect productions to continue to be steady throughout the week. GarlIC Garlic is still coming from California and China. Demand and supplies are stable. Quality is reported to be good. Broccoli Supplies from Yuma are down again this week causing markets to increase. This will continue throughout the month of March. Most shippers will finish in Yuma by mid month. Shippers are transitioning to Salinas with light supplies and more shippers will transition to Salinas by mid month. Quality is still good and the market is slightly stronger due to different supply situations from each grower/shipper. Cucumbers The cucumber market is lower this week. With off-shore Honduran crop winding down, quality is fair to poor. Harvesting of the late winter Florida crop has begun and as production continues to increase we will see much better quality and supplies than we have seen from off-shore. Western cucumber markets are tight but steady. Quality varies from grower to grower with pricing reflecting the quality. Bell Peppers Peppers supplies are steady however; the sizing is peaking on large with limited volume of XL and jumbo available. The market continues to be high on larger sizes. Quality is inconsistent from both Mexico and Florida. Asparagus Mexico asparagus continues to have steady availability. Markets are steady but production has peaked so we should see a stronger market in the next few weeks. Quality continues to be nice with two-tiered pricing; standard size being steady and some deals are available on small and large sizes. Green Beans The green beans market is steady with light demand this week. Supplies are picking up and quality is good. 9

10 produce tropical Pineapples The pineapple industry is showing stronger numbers than last week, but there are reports of higher than normal quantities of poor quality pines in the marketplace. Expect stable production moving forward. The pineapple markets are flat. Bananas Banana pricing is very firm and there are no reported issues concerning quality. The banana markets are even. Avocados Avocado demand is strong and supplies are stable. Mexico remains the largest supplier at this time, and the domestic harvest season is not expected to commence for some weeks. This season s Californian crop is expected to fall short of the volume outputs a year ago and avocado pricing is anticipated to rise in the coming weeks. For the time being the avocado markets are steady. Berries Blackberries The imported Mexican blackberry deal continues to change rapidly as a result of recent rains and weather. Many growers have pruned back to improve on available quality. The demand for blackberries is stronger than anticipated so look for this market to be active for the next couple of weeks. Quality is only fair. The blackberry markets are flat. Strawberries The strawberry industry is showing some strong production out of multiple growing regions across the county. The markets look to be setting up nicely for better quality berries than this time last year. The strawberry markets are level. Raspberries The raspberry industry is showing some better production recently and pricing has started to relax to more appropriate levels. Quality is being reported as good with a few fair lots showing up. The raspberry markets are flat. 10 Blueberries Imported Chilean blueberries are almost done for the season and small production has started out of Florida and California. Quality is reported rougher this year due to the recent USDA fumigation regulations. The blueberry markets are flat. Grapes The grape market is strengthening as harvest finishes up on flames and transitions into crimsons. Greens are starting to come in and are expected to be of much higher quality. Production out of California and Mexico is expected before the start of May which is roughly two weeks ahead of normal. The grape markets are flat. Melons Cantaloupes The cantaloupe industry is fairly steady with good demand and stable supplies. Larger melons are showing tighter volumes than smaller ones, and overall cantaloupe quality is excellent with good internal and external colors and good sugars. Expect better supplies in a few weeks which may help ease the market a bit. Domestic harvesting is projected for May, and the cantaloupe markets are lower. HONEYDEWS The honeydew industry is showing decent volumes out Mexico and South America. Overall quality is very good with excellent coloring and good sugars. Supplies are expected to remain steady for the near term, but may strengthen before the domestic harvest gets underway come May. The honeydew markets are down. Watermelon The watermelon industry continues to settle down and better supplies are expected out of Mexico in the coming weeks. Melon quality has improved, but remains short of ideal desirability. The watermelon markets are flat.

11 produce HANGIng FRUIT Apples Apple volume was down for the first week in March by over 100 loads. Red Delicious and Honeycrisp shipments were up, while the rest were either even or down. The market is generally stable across the board on other all varieties and the apple markets are flat. Pears There are still green Bartlett pears available, but demand is higher for Anjou ones. The first Argentine Bartlett vessel arrived last week and several importers are reporting shortages due to brisk sales. The next vessel is scheduled to arrive shortly and the pear markets are flat. Stone Fruit The Californian stone fruit season is projected to start a little earlier this year with volumes expected before the start of June. Currently there are some Chilean peaches available in Los Angeles, and the stone fruit markets remain flat. citrus Lemons The lemon market is stable and strengthening as volumes out of both Districts One and Two are steady with excellent demand. Overall quality is good with nice coloring, good strength, and excellent juice content. Expect good supplies moving forward and expect the market to continue strengthening as volumes out of District One begin to dwindle. The lemon markets are flat. Grapefruit Supply continues to exceed demand on grapefruit this week. There remains a heavy emphasis on exports, and pricing is still low. Expect pricing to remain shallow for the next couple weeks before the end of the month when volumes will be reduced. The grapefruit markets are flat. Oranges The orange market is steady but strong as smaller fruit is starting to strengthen up. Expect to see this trend continue as the later varieties arrive in the coming months. The overall quality of oranges is very good with great color, great strength, and excellent eating quality. Valencia s are expected to start their harvest before May, and the orange markets are flat. Limes The lime markets are up again this week. The effects of last year s hurricane season are still being felt and there remains an extreme shortage of fruit. What is available is of poor quality. Supplies are very limited and demand greatly exceeds available quantity. This shortage is expected to continue for the next few weeks and many lots are showing weather related issues (i.e. bad stylar, brown spots, and light coloring). 11