By some accounts, the 2023 holiday season was a challenging time for organic produce sales. Whether it was the economy, poor weather in the East, or too much volume from the production areas, the organic vegetable market was sluggish toward the end of the year.

“It was pretty slow until today,” said Darrell Beyer of Bluebird Mountain Organics in Reno, Nevada, on Tuesday, January 2.

Darrell Beyer, Founding Partner, Bluebird Mountain Organics

Beyer said the first day after the holiday break resulted in some rising markets and renewed optimism moving forward. “It’s been unusually slow for the last several months,” he said, noting that he talked to some of his retail customers who reported that fresh produce sales were down through the holidays. “I don’t know what it was, but overall it picked up today.”

He said many commodities were showing signs of a solid rebound including organic leeks, celery, and cilantro. “Green onions are trickling back up and broccoli and spinach are also showing good signs of life,” he said.

Beyer said organic broccoli and spinach jumped up to about $20 per carton on Tuesday, and leeks and cilantro were also in the low $20s. “Celery is very high, but I’ve seen quotes all over the place from $20 to $40, depending on quality.”

He said growing conditions have been pretty good in northern Mexico where he is currently sourcing the majority of his organic produce.

Rob Gurney, sales manager for JBJ Distributing in Fullerton, California, agreed that some organic veg items are heading toward very strong markets. On the top of his list were the squashes, both zucchini and yellow squash. On January 3, he told OPN Connect that both colder weather in Mexico and some disease issues were impacting squash supplies. “We are going to see very light numbers for the next four weeks,” he said, noting that the FOB price for organic zucchini should be in the $30 range very quickly. “It’s been in the high teens, but we are going to see it in the mid-$30s soon—maybe as soon as tomorrow [January 4].”

Rob Gurney, Sales Manager, JBJ Distributing

Gurney said other veg crops could also experience some good markets with tight supplies, including green bell peppers. He said mini-sweet peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers are currently experiencing steady supplies and solid markets, but cukes could see a dip in supplies within two weeks. 

Gabe Romero of The Nunes Company, Salinas, California, predicted in his last market update of 2023 that a lack of volume could result in better markets moving forward. “Yuma and Northern Mexico have experienced a mild fall and start to winter, resulting in most [organic] crops tracking 1–3 weeks ahead of schedule. We anticipate availability across most items to be lighter than scheduled volumes as the crop starts to work its way back on schedule the next 2–4 weeks,” he wrote right before the new year.

Gabe Romero, The Nunes Company

Surveying his individual crop updates, Romero predicted short supplies of organic broccoli through the first half of January. He said Nunes had solid supplies of celery but noted that demand was greater than volume. He forecast moderate supplies of iceberg lettuce, romaine/romaine hearts, leafy greens, and cauliflower through mid-January.