market report we 27th/2/12

Market Report for week com Mon 27th Feb. 2012
Dear All
It's been an interesting week and many thanks to all of you who supported National Chip Week. Sales of Uncle David's maris piper hit an all time record and the fry colour currently is just perfect.
Anyway back to business - the week has been dominated by supply issues largely caused by the cold conditions of late but let's have a look in detail :-
Vegetables
It's been a very difficult week for spinach with several days where the product either arrived late or didn't arrive at all. We had to beg steal and borrow to find product but our grower is starting to return to normal and we expect good quality from Spain all next week. Apologies if you were affected this week.
As mentioned before Uncle David's maris piper were the best sellers on the potato front this week but there was no shortage of alternatives for you too from Scotch wilja and Lincolnshire king edwards through to imported Cyprus spring crop spunta and Egyptian new potatoes. This is a very difficult time of year for all potato growers as they now have to make the decision whether to plant again for the September harvest or whether to switch to crops like cereals. Most of the larger growing areas in the UK are currently experiencing drought conditions and predictions are that many growers with switch to the cereals crops as they require less water. There has been talk of the price of chipping potatoes hitting an all time high later in the year and the cost of a bag of chips breaking the £2 mark. - watch this space.
We could be in for an early finish for the English red onion crop. Up to now the quality of our boxed onions has been exceptional and everyone receiving them has been impressed. Normally the English product lasts up until April but potential quality problems may drive us to imported product long before this date. The problem comes from last April when it was extremely dry and then when the rains did come in July/August they turned out to be deluges. The extreme drought and then excessive water put considerable stress on the bulb and this is now starting to cause problems with shelf life. We will continue to monitor this situation on your behalf.
There's no problem with the main crop brown skin onions and the Improver brand looks as good as I've ever seen them. Prices are on the floor too , almost half what they were last year. We have some really nice English onions too with superb skin quality.
Strong demand for horseradish root this week with sales at an all time record - the size of the roots has also increased substantially too.
The change in the weather both here and abroad has eased some of the pressure on the cauliflower situation. There is a little Cornish now coming on the scene and more about from Spain and France. The result will be an easing of the price next week..... we think !
Lots of problems with all salad items out of Spain but one product with some good news to report is broccoli - quality is superb from the Lorca and Murcia region and we think there may well be an easing of the price next week in line with cauliflowers.
Now right in the middle of the Mexican asparagus season so quality is fabulous and the prices are very cheap - this will make a fabulous side veg. Only about 2 weeks to go before we see the first tunnel grown English product from the Wye valley ..where did that 12 months go?.
Local sprouts now finished but don't despair as there is plenty of Scotch.
Our Tony has asked me to mention that the Kenyan fine bean situation is still very tight i.e more demand than supply - the root cause is still the bad weather in December during planting.
Our Derek has found a small parcel of Egyptian pod peas and broad beans and they are due in sunny Preston this weekend - The usual "better" product from Spain will be about 2 weeks away.
Artichokes - we are stocking both Globe and Jerusalem from France - now I know there is some English Jerusalem about but we've seen both and we think the French is far superior ( lovely red colour tinge ) - sorry but we have to follow the best product.
Fruit
The banana situation continues to cause concern. Supply throughout Europe is still very tight and most importers are being rationed. We expect more price increases to follow. Whilst this situation continues you will have to make some allowances for colour and skin marking. Beggars and choosers !
The Tarocco oranges finally made it all the way from the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily and OMG they eat divine. I've just peeled one now and they absolutely melt in your mouth and seedless too. They have a nice blush too so you you get all those added health benefits of the anthocyanins too. They vary a little in size so they are not fixed counts per box but they are packed in 15kg. They are only about for a few weeks so please try these a least once in your life ! you'll be converted ..I was.
you just HAVE to eat one of these in your life !
The Amalfi lemons arrived too and you can just smell the Italian sunshine on them - the leaves are bright and fresh and the lemons are as nice as as ever seen them. This is a truly artisan product and will only be around for a few weeks. Miss these and you miss a treat.
a few days ago these were hanging off trees in Amalfi Italy
Juicing oranges have changed this week from the Baladi variety to Valencia lates. These are tested extensively for taste and yield of juice and I've just tasted the juice myself and it's lovely.
We've managed to find a small quantity of Ugli fruit that should be with us towards the end of next week - this strange fruit is the love-child of a ménage-a trios between a Seville orange and tangerine and a grapefruit. Grown exclusively in Jamaica it can be peeled and eaten like a tangerine or halved and eaten like a grapefruit. It's a nice tangy flavour but would probably be more suited to adult taste buds tbh. We have only a very small amount due so get your orders in ASAP.
Some really nice fruit from South Africa - the grapes are lovely , flame seedless for the red and seedless sugarone for the green. There's some super yellow plums (sunkiss) and the world renowned - Flavour King variety of red plum has literally just arrived today.
Belgium conference pears continue to dominate the pear market - the large comice have sold well but are slowly coming to an end . William pears have started to sell well as the first South African arrived this week.
Nadorcots ( Clementines ) have changed from Spanish to Moroccan this week - I've just tasted one and even though they don't quite have the skin appearance of the Spanish they taste 10 times better - they are sweeter and the membranes are a lot thinner and I didn't find one pip ! .
Not many people know that we stock a super English apple called the Jazz - This was originally bred in New Zealand and is a cross between Royal Gala and Braeburn and it's defiantly inherited the best from both parents. Only another month or so to go before they finish so get your orders in soon.
Salads
Iceberg lettuce have gone very expensive and this situation shows no sign of easing for at least another week, and just to add insult to injury expect to see some lightweight product too. It's always the case that product is most expensive when it's at it's poorest - supply and demand I'm afraid.
French salads have been extremely hard work over the last few weeks and some of the outer leaves have been affected by the cold snap. This week we have received the first direct deliveries from Mr. Blasco who is widely acknowledged as the best grower of fancy lettuce in the south of France. Even though it's difficult times for the product the quality was fantastic and one buyer thought they looked like plastic they were so bright and shiny. It's a copper or two dearer than run of the mill product but we think it's worth the extra.
Little gem still difficult to manage , we are having to swap between Local and Spanish but we will switch over to local only in the next few weeks. Romaine (cos) lettuce very expensive this week and will continue to be so for another few weeks. The problem being it's just not growing in Spain - currently the crop is about the same size as little gem so we are going to have to endure the current shortage for a least another month.
Bulb fennel is both plentiful and cheap - when I was in France recently I noticed that this product is used raw quite extensively in salads. Thinly sliced and dressed with a lovely dressing this can really lift an otherwise boring salad.
Please don't mention tarragon - still as scarce as hens teeth. Going to be shortages this weekend again I'm afraid and maybe some days next week. Our Andrew is on the case.
While we are on the subject of "don't mentions" - Watercress !! We've had no stock all week and we think this situation will continue until the end of next week at the very least. The cold snap destroyed all the crops throughout Europe and no-one , literally no-one has any. I was in Ireland this week with some lads who supply the major multiples and they were in the same situation. If it's on your menus you need to substitute ASAP.
Peppers still coming through on the large size but supply is not overly plentiful and we are having to supplement with Israeli product.
Cucumbers continue to make big money and as the Spanish season comes to a close we will switch over to Dutch product and then English.
Phew ! I hope I haven't left anything out ..
Take care and see you all in 2 weeks time
andy.

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