There are just a few more weeks of production left in California's Central Coast lettuce deal, and growers have been enjoying steady supplies. Favorable weather through most of the summer provided a good backdrop for a second half of the season that saw a moderate market.
“We had a few mini heat spikes, but other than that, it's been a very mild summer,” said Mark McBride with Coastline Family Farms. “There are several weeks to go in the Salinas deal, though we are coming to the latter stages of it.” He added that their lettuce production will transition into Huron, in the state's Central Valley, around the third week in October.
The market for iceberg and leaf lettuce varieties have been steady. On September 27, prices for a carton of green leaf 24s from Oxnard were between $7.75 and $9.95, and prices for a carton of Romaine 24s were between $6.75 and $6.95. Prices for a carton of iceberg lettuce from Salinas were between $6.50 and $9.45. McBride thinks prices could improve as competition from out-of-state production dies down in the fall.
“We're going into a better period because the homegrown deals are coming to the end of their season,” he explained. “If anything, those deals are getting bigger, and we feel the effects from that.”
For more information:
Mark McBride
Coastline Family Farms
+1 831 755 1430