Organic Market Update #347

Week 47, 2023

Citrus

Organic Citrus is back with greater availability in more varieties. The new crop Organic Navel Oranges are in season with the early “Fukumoto” variety outside of California. Organic Mandarins are coming back in season with steady supplies on the easy-to-peel Satsuma variety. Organic Clementine Mandarins will begin to arrive late November -early December. Organic Lemons from California are showing excellent quality, but the market is tight with pricing extremely elevated. Large fruit is scarce. Organic Grapefruit is in better supply with Mexico ramping up. SPECIALTY CITRUS: Organic Satsuma Mandarins, Limequats, and Buddha Hands will be available after Thanksgiving.

Fall Fruit

Organic Pomegranates and Pomegranate Arils from California are available heading into December. Organic Fuyu and Hachiya Persimmons continue in season from California. Organic Black Mission Figs are done for the season, with a limited amount of Organic Brown Turkey Figs available. Organic Kiwifruit from California are in good supply, but pricing is higher. Volume-filled Organic Gold Kiwifruit from California is also readily available. Pricing should come off just a bit when fruit from Italy begins in December. Jumbo Organic Green Kiwifruit in clamshells will gap due to a packaging hiccup, then return after Thanksgiving.

Lettuces

Organic Leaf and Romaine Lettuces are widely available, as quality from California and New Jersey has been exceptional. Punta Gorda, Florida will be increasing their output heading into December with excellent quality and supplies.

Celery

As December begins, supplies of Organic Celery are expected to tighten during growing region transition.

Grapes

California Organic Seedless Grapes are winding down for the season, with Organic Green Grapes finished for the season, and transitioning to imports during December.

Beans

Organic Green Beans have had some major changes, as Florida has had quality challenges, and Mexican growers are seeing much lower yields than expected. Product will be very tight for Thanksgiving and slowly recover out of Mexico heading into December. Rain has seemed to wipe out all the acreage that was planted, and no improvement is expected until after Thanksgiving.