Organic Market Update #238

Week 40, 2021

Apples

October and November are shaping up to be a fantastic peak season for promoting fresh crop 2021 Organic Apples from Washington, with Organic Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and SweeTango Apples at their peak flavor and production. Organic Gold Delicious Apples will come into season next week. Organic Rave Apples are done for the season. Organic Pink Lady/Cripps Pink Apples will finish up for the import season this week and will gap for a few weeks until the new crop out of Washington begins sometime in late October or early November. Import Organic Braeburn Apples are expected to sell out during the first week of October and the new crop Organic Lady Alice Apples are set to arrive this week. The Organic Heirloom Apple season is in full swing out of Oregon with some of the nicest quality fruit in years. Currently available are Organic Cortland and Cox Pippin Apples. Expect Organic King David, Ashmead’s Kernel, and Orleans Reinette in the coming weeks.

Tomatoes

Organic Campari Tomatoes are in season from Mexico, quality has been excellent, on steady supplies of this high-flavor variety. Organic Beefsteak Tomatoes are available out of Quebec, including the popular 12/1lb packages, as fall harvests have begun and quality will be excellent. Organic Cluster Tomatoes will be available from Canada and Mexico, on somewhat limited supplies. Also available are 1lb UPC packaged Organic Cluster Tomatoes. Organic Cherry Tomatoes will be available from South Carolina.  Organic Grape Tomatoes will be available from South Carolina, Mexico, and Canadian hothouses, with Florida production beginning in early November.

Citrus

The first week of October should provide greater Organic Lemon supplies out of both California and Mexico, with excellent quality and declining prices. There is a gap on Organic Oranges through late October until the first arrival of Mexican Organic Valencia Oranges, followed by California Organic Navel Oranges in November.

Brussels

Organic Brussels Sprouts from Mexico and New York continue to see steady supplies for early October. Quality remains strong, but pricing will be slightly elevated from September. Organic Packaged Brussels Sprouts are expected to return in late October.

Avocadoes

Organic Hass Avocado supplies are working back to normal volumes for this time of year, with pricing starting to ease off from the high premiums they were commanding a few weeks ago. The supply curve is heavy toward 60sz fruit, with many 48sz starting to come on. Organic Hass Avocados will be in good supplies next week from OKE Equal Exchange, with a small drop in price expected each week through October.

Mushrooms

Mushroom growers are faced with significant labor challenges, as they are experiencing high demand from consumers. Growers are struggling to keep up with Organic Baby Bella/Crimini Mushrooms, in addition to the lack of supply of logs to grow Organic Shiitake Mushrooms.

Fall Fruit

The first Organic Cranberries will arrive this week from Quebec, with good steady supplies expected through the winter holidays. Organic Pomegranates from California will be promotable for early October, with Organic Pomegranate Arils available starting this week. Organic Kiwi Berries from Oregon will also be promotable to start the month.

Peppers

Organic Mini Sweet Pepper bags will continue to have availability in early October. Supplies from Ohio are expected to be steady in the early part of the month on excellent quality. Organic Red, Orange, and Yellow Bell Peppers from Canada continue to see strong supplies in early October, but supplies will begin to dwindle during the transition to Mexican product.