The delay in California was, in part, due to the rains the state has been seeing. “With the rains in January and the first two weeks of February, a lot of growers missed their planting dates so things are a bit jumbled,” says Adlesh. “That’s why the markets were so high in late March and almost all of April. That was for California—mostly the leafy greens, the romaines, they all got into the $40 range. Iceberg did, too.”
Canada might be late
While Adlesh predicts that the next few weeks should be steady for leafy green supply, he believes some of the Canadian regions might be late. “I think the local deal in Canada will be late because the weather is so cold and wet,” he says. “Ranches in Quebec and in Ontario, which are primary growing areas for Canadian summer vegetables, they say they’re at least 10 days late and maybe even later than that. It’s just been wet.”
Meanwhile, when price allows, demand has remained constant for leafy greens. “Usually the supply dictates the price and demand is relatively constant if you look at it across the board,” says Adlesh. “Romaine was $2.99 a head last week so they didn’t buy it. Demand is basically a function of price. If it’s too high, they don’t buy it. Yet, demand for foodservice stays really constant.”
For more information:
Steve Adlesh
Beachside Produce LLC
Tel: +1-805-249-5525
sadlesh@beachsideproduce.com
www.beachsideproduce.com