The Packer reports that supplies of Easter staples could be more scarce than usual this year.
STRAWBERRIES - Strawberry volumes and quality could hinge on what Mother Nature has in store for the weeks leading up to Easter, which falls on April 4 this year. Due to the El Nino pattern, the forecast in California for March calls for above normal precipitation throughout the state. In the next few weeks, production, quality and pricing will be a function of rainfall totals.
ASPARAGUS - the market should be strong, Mexican production is not where it was expected to be in this timeframe, and California volumes are down from last year.
SWEET POTATOES - Sweet Potato consumption has continued to increase and despite a 6.5% boost in US. production, inventories are lower in the first months of 2010 than they were in 2009. Look for a strong market.
ONIONS - Watch the onion market carefully, it is definitely a bull market, and is quickly approaching a demand exceeds supply situation. All indications suggest that prices will zoom substantially higher and that buyers will face a significant challenge through March and well into April.
CHILE UPDATE - U.S. ports should receive normal shipments of Chilean fruit until the second week of March, but after that, the effects the earthquake could severely cut access to the off-season fruit. The Chilean fresh fruit industry is beginning to measure the losses from the massive earthquake that hit the central and southern regions of the country’s fruit belt. Table grapes, apples, pears and blueberries were the produce commodities most affected, according to the report. Current updates can be read at www.chileanfreshfruit.com