Some vegetable markets are in transition at the moment. "The corn market is snug right now. There were some pretty good aggressive promotions in the West, and they're getting ready to transition to regions such as Yakima, WA, etc.," says Daren Van Dyke of Five Crowns.
© Five Crowns Marketing
As he notes, growers and shippers generally don't prefer to start production in a new district after the 4th of July, given the heavy ad activity leading into the holiday and then the general softer demand seen post-holiday.
While corn harvesting has started slowly in Washington, regions such as Colorado are late getting started, and Oregon hasn't begun yet. Meanwhile, the California deal continues factoring in the start of the local deals.
Demand vs. corn supply
Following that heavy promotional activity, stronger demand is outpacing supply with markets in the $22-$23 range for corn. "Looking ahead on corn, more regions will get going and the supply should increase once those local deals happen," says Van Dyke. "The spot market is fairly hot, but my guess is in 10 days to two weeks it will correct itself and get back to normal."
© Five Crowns Marketing
Meanwhile, asparagus markets are strengthening as well, with regions such as Michigan and Canada winding down their supply. "Then there's Peru, Central Mexico, and Baja. Central Mexico has some issues from the storms that came through, which cut the volume and hit the quality a bit," says Van Dyke.
That means as supply gets more consolidated, the market on asparagus will continue to pick up. "Looking ahead, though, on asparagus, a lot of it depends on the quality out of central Mexico. If they get hot and wet, that affects them," he says, adding that Five Crowns is in a good position with supply, given it has new acreage this year coming on. "So our supplies are actually increasing, but overall, the market will move up."
For more information:
Daren Van Dyke
Five Crowns
Tel: +1 (760) 344-1933
[email protected]
www.FiveCrowns.com
