Good Grief!

The Market Report is a weekly column written by Ken Klein of Klein’s Supermarket in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood.  He writes the column for the Art Museum Area News and kindly allows me to post it here. 

The report is a fascinating look at the forces that drive the quality and price of our food; if you haven’t read it before, check it out!

Executive summary:

• Tomato problems continue—still a few weeks until Mexico volume arrives.
• Rising prices on grapes, peppers, and broccoli.
• Not enough strawberries to go around.

Read on for the entire report.

The Market Report, by Ken Klein
Klein’s Supermarket, 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, Philadelphia
Our Hours: M-F 8 AM to 8 PM; Sat. 8 AM to 8 PM; Sunday 9 AM to 1 PM

Greetings food lovers!

• The tomato market continues to be extremely tight, and prices continue to go higher and higher. Some shippers will start picking in Florida this week, but the volume will still be very light.  At the end of last week, available tomatoes were small, greenish, and way too expensive.  The tomato volume from Mexico is still 3 weeks away. Even when these shipments begin, volume will be tight, but there will be some relief to the high prices.
• Grapes, both red and white, continued their march upward in price as good white grapes are limited and are in the hands of only a few shippers. Imported grapes are showing up at the piers and are demanding an eight to ten dollar premium in price. This will be the case until Chile gets into full swing towards the end of December.
• Bananas, the fruit most people forget about during the summer, have increased in demand recently. This is the normal routine after the summer fruit disappears. Recent flooding in Costa Rica has left uncertainty in some growing areas. We might see the effect in pricing during the weeks to come.
• The green pepper market continues to be in the clouds this week. Florida is about two weeks away from any volume, and California product is winding down. These two forces are escalating the prices!
• The red pepper supply is even tighter than green peppers this week. California is finishing up, and the Arizona crop is not ready to pick. The market for both green and red peppers is hot, and the prices reflect it.
• Broccoli is now from California only. This summer we have had some fantastic product arriving from Maine. With that now over, California is the game in town.  Prices up!
• Caution on all lettuce products!   This is the transition period from California to Arizona. Quality on product is fair at best—expect to find "fringe burn,"  blistering, and light weights for the next several weeks.
• Strawberries from California will continue to be in tight supply through Thanksgiving. The quality is good, but with the strong demand there is just not enough to go around.
• Cantaloupes will soon arrive from Central America.  In the mean time, what we will have is expensive fruit with dubious quality.

So, eat, be happy, and have a fruitful week!