Retail lettuce and tomato prices - then and now

From the Dec. 18 Vegetable and Melon Outlook:


This winter (largely January-March), fresh-market vegetable and melon area for harvest is expected to remain at or just above that of a year earlier (winter acreage estimates will be released on January 8). Barring an early winter freeze in Florida,Mexico, or California, supplies should be improved over a year earlier. This should be especially true for storage onions and the cool season crops produced in western states (such as lettuce, broccoli, celery, and carrots), which suffered yield reductions a year ago from an unusually severe January freeze. Import volume of warm season crops is expected to range from average to above average this winter due largely to favorable weather and improved yields in West Mexico. Mexico, like Florida, largely ships warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and squash during the winter months. With supplies expected to be improved from the freezeaffected levels of a year ago and no major changes in employment and demand in prospect, grower prices for commercial fresh-market vegetables over the winter quarter should average below those of a year earlier. Thus, the outlook for the winter season is largely dependant on the weather in southern Florida, various areas in Mexico (particularly Sinaloa), and the desert growing regions of California and Arizona.