Organic Cauliflower and Broccoli Get Weather-Related Boost

Gaps in production caused by rain 10-12 weeks ago, as well as seasonal reductions in supply, have boosted the f.o.b. price on many organic vegetables with volatility expected through much of June. Cauliflower, broccoli, and a few other items are feeling the effects, with rising f.o.b. prices this first week of June.

“Organic cauliflower and broccoli are tight this week and iceberg lettuce is snug, as well,” Doug Classen, vice president of sales for The Nunes Company, Inc., Salinas, CA, told OPN on June 2nd.

While those supply-reducing factors listed above are important elements and could very well result in a strong June market for many organic vegetables, Classen said it is very difficult to forecast the demand side of the equation because there are so many variables including the COVID-19 situation. Industry-wide, there has been an uptick in retail demand, but the decline in orders from foodservice is impactful. Throw in the protests across the country this week, which have interrupted supply chains in many of the larger cities, and uncertainty is the buzz word of the week.

Classen said buyers should expect volatility in both the organic and conventional vegetable markets over the next couple of weeks, largely because of Salinas Valley rains in late March/early April that altered planting schedules. In addition, the mid-to-late March period was when shelter-in-place orders were enacted in California, again causing some disruptions. Warm spring weather reduced the growing time for some fields planted a bit earlier and the results have been some gaps in supply.

In the June 1st U.S. Market News Report for organic crops, broccoli was reported in the $30-$35 range for crowns, while cauliflower was in the high $20s and celery was returning $32-$36 per carton. Iceberg lettuce was in the $14-$16 range while romaine hearts were returning $20-$25. Iceberg lettuce was expected to rise, as the harvested crop during the second week of June is expected to be light.

Many other vegetable items were not in short supply, but they were holding steady with spinach and the leafy greens exhibiting a stable supply-demand situation. 

“Steady as she goes,” is how Gib Papazian of Lucky Strike Brokerage Co., Burlingame, CA, described the current organic vegetable market. “This time of the year, you are going to have gaps in supply, but demand (for organics) has been steady.”

He did note that the civil unrest around the country has impacted sales.

Darrel Beyer, who handles organic sales for Boskovich Farms Inc., Oxnard, CA, is hopeful that June gives him one more month of good organic markets for western crops. “Usually everything falls off the cliff in July,” he quipped, speaking of the impact that the small regional deals around the country have on commercial organic production from California.

He said that “small two-acre organic growers” all over the country tend to disrupt the market especially on the easier to grow items such as organic chards and kales. Celery, he said, is a bit trickier for those short-season locations because it needs a longer season from planting to harvest. He is anticipating that the current market will hold during the Oxnard celery season, which is currently at its peak. 

During the first week of June, he noted that both celery and spinach were doing well. Beyer said that Boskovich has a very strong organic program in the fall and spring but the firm cuts back significantly in the summer precisely because of the local deals, which get good play by their local retailers.  “Call me back in October when I’m selling again,” he joked.