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.

Executive summary:

• Rain has damaged cherries, peaches, nectarines, and strawberries.
• Raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries are doing well.
• Tomato prices should be back to normal sometime next month.

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!

California rain

A storm on April 28th dropped an inch of rain in California’s tree fruit production area, and last week another storm dumped another two inches, along with some hail. This weather has had a devastating effect on the cherry crop, and if the next front drops more rain, it could all be over. Growers have already sustained a fifty to seventy-five percent loss of their crop, and what is being packed will show an array of quality defects. So in all, it looks like light supplies, higher prices, and fruit that will have quality issues for the remainder of the season.

The good news is Washington State is only a few weeks away from the start of their season, which is shaping up nicely. Because of poor pollination, this year’s crop will be smaller than last year’s, but quality is predicted to be excellent, and with less fruit on the tress you can expect the fruit to peak on the larger sizes.

Produce Talk

• Apricots that were ready for harvest when the California rains began were lost. Though there will be apricots in good volume, expect to pay high prices than anticipated.
• Peaches and nectarines sustained some damage too, though not as much. You will feel the effect of the rains on these two items because there will be production gaps as growers move from one variety to the next.
• Strawberries from California continue to be in limited supply this week. Unusual amounts of rain have damaged all growing areas of California. Expect fruit to be lighter in color, to have more bruising than usual, and to be less firm upon arrival. Quality should improve by the end of next week, unless there is more rain.
• Cantaloupe prices are all over the board, and so is quality. There are great deals on good fruit, as shippers of imported fruit are dealing to keep movement from shifting out West or to the binned Athena melons shipping out of Florida. The market will settle down next week, and you will see the overall prices go down.
• Honeydew is far more stable than cantaloupe, with fruit shipping from Mexico, Texas, and Southern California. When the volume picks up in a week or so, expect prices to come down.
• Raspberries from Driscoll continue to be in ample supply with outstanding quality. Blackberries are also high quality and in good supply. Blueberries from Florida continue to arrive in first class quality, and the market has come off slightly this week. Georgia blueberries begin next, and June 2nd is the scheduled first arrival of pints from North Carolina.
• The grape market will drop quickly, since Mexico and California are now producing.
• Florida sweet corn will continue to be in good supply this week. Ears are nice, full, and matured. Overall quality is outstanding.
• Green and yellow squash quality is good. Squash should be in abundant supply at this time of the year; however, wind, rain, and cooler temperatures in Florida and Georgia have slowed harvesting, causing the extremely strong market.
• Red peppers from Nogales are finished for the season. California has begun in limited production, with supply smaller than anticipated. Yellow peppers from California are very limited in supply this week.
• Tomato volume from Florida is increasing. We should see prices return to normal levels in June.

Have a fruitful week!