Freshspective

Cantaloupe quality remains excellent out of the Central Valley. The region will continue to harvest into mid to late October. As the days get shorter with cooler temperatures, the yield per acre will start to slowly decline. Peak volume for the region has passed but there is still good availability. The next region that will begin to harvest is Yuma, Arizona, in early October so there will be overlap between the two regions. 

Oranges

• California Valencias: Demand remains strong, particularly on smaller fruit (88/113/138 counts), with availability tightening further. Larger sizes (56s/72 counts) are slightly more available but remain limited overall. Re-greening continues to be present due to high temperatures but does not impact eating quality.
• Import Navels: Supplies from Chile, South Africa, and Uruguay are available, with overall more large fruit (40/48/56 counts) in the market. Small fruit (105/113/138 counts) remains limited due to increasing market demand. Sugar content remains consistent at 11–13 brix. 
• Import Caras: Volume remains available from Chile and South Africa, with Chilean fruit favoring larger sizing and strong internal quality. Chilean supplies are expected to remain steady through September and into October.

Lemons

• California: District 2 continues to harvest, but supplies remain tight. Fancy grade and larger sizes (95s and larger) are especially short in supply. Choice and smaller fruit (140 count and smaller) are more available but are experiencing active demand. District 3 started harvesting in a small way, but overall limited availability and strong demand are keeping markets elevated. Availability should improve in October when District 1 harvesting begins.
• Offshore Imports: Argentina has finished leaving only very limited Chilean product. Markets are active with strong demand and limited availability. Expect offshore imports to be done by early October.
• Mexico: The crop is producing primarily choice-grade fruit, with lighter volume on fancy-grade fruit. Sizing 75–165 counts are more limited but expected to improve as recent rains in the growing regions have allowed fruit to size up.
• Florida: Lemons out of Florida are reported to have strong quality this year with bright yellow color and good internal condition, peaking on sizing on 140/165 counts. As this is a short season, available supplies are expected to be limited as the overall lemon market remains tight. Season should run through mid-November, pending demand movement.

Grapefruit

• California: Marsh Ruby grapefruit is now the primary varietal available out of California with lighter volume and less vibrant internal color. Markets are expected to remain snug.
• Imports: Grapefruit from South Africa and Peru are available with moderate volume. Larger sizes (32–40 counts) are more prevalent, with limited availability on smaller fruit (45–55 counts). Fruit is reported to have solid internal quality. Steady imports are expected through early October.
  
   

Mandarins

• Imports: Strong import volume continues from Peru, Chile, South Africa, and Uruguay, with good availability across multiple varieties focused on Tangos, and Murcotts. Quality is excellent, with good sugar and vibrant appearance. Expect continued strong supply into October, though some slight tapering may occur as Peru winds down.
  
  
  

With rain in the forecast this week, many growers are stopping harvest in order to cover their remaining crop before the storms.  Year-over-year movement is still trailing behind 2024, so inventories continue to build.  With current movement being about 3.7 million cases behind last year, we saw the biggest shipping week of the year as a category out of California at 4.387 million cases last week.  Unfortunately, it was behind the same week last year by over 350k cases, which was the highest shipping week in 2024 out of California at 4.753 million.  We continue to see aggressive price points on fruit that has been harvested; however, we are seeing a rebound in pricing on later more-premium varieties which is allowing for sales at multiple price points.   

Honeydew quality remains strong out of the Central Valley with an even size distribution. The region will continue harvest into mid-October. Yuma honeydew production usually begins a week or two later than the cantaloupes and will start roughly the second to third week of October. 

Region: Veracruz, Mexico

Weather Update:

The upcoming week’s weather suggests days of light rain. Anticipate high humidity, with temperatures fluctuating between 72°F and 93°F.

Market Intel:

The demand for limes has been steady.

Sizing Profile:

Peak sizes 200/175/230. Size distribution: 110-4%, 150-16%, 175-25%, 200-27%, 230-18%, and 250-10%.

Quality:  

We will begin September with fruit with excellent quality and a good volume of sizes 230/200/175s. The fruit feels well-hydrated and with very good consistency, which leads us to forecast a strong harvest for this week and the following weeks of September, with no supply issues expected.

Looking Ahead:

An increase in volume is forecast for mid-September, and the outlook is for a good harvest, which we continue to expect will be greater than that obtained in August. Light and constant rains will definitely work in our favor, allowing us to harvest fruit with good color, high quality, and strong vibrancy.
 
For October, fruit with good development in both quality and size can already be observed. A harvest similar to that expected in September is forecast, both in volume and quality, and we will continue to monitor its development over the coming weeks.

SUPPLY JUST MEETING DEMAND FOR PAPAYA IN THE U.S.A. MARKET.
Supply conditions are stable with enough supply to service demand. Stable supply is expected to remain for at least the next two weeks for papaya production. Contracts are being serviced with very little extra fruit available to offer. Prices are lower in the U.S. market and should increase as we go through September. Inventories showing LITTLE availability to offer. Majority of sizes are between 6s–12s with LESS surplus fruit. Quality is reported as good with some shorter shell life and some stem issues due to extra humidity at the fields. Crop outlook has conditions as good supply for the next two weeks. Market Intel: There is enough supply to service demand.

We are currently shipping new crop California Bartletts out of the Lodi region. The California crop is an above-average crop this year, so we will have lots of fruit to sell. The crop has a good mix of all sizes but appears to be peaking at 100-count size fruit. California is also shipping new-crop red pears as well as light volumes of Bosc pears.  New-crop Washington Bartletts look to be a very big crop this year. Plan for Bartlett pears to be in good supply and very promotable for the next several months. New-crop Anjou should be ready to ship in light volumes around September 21st. Overall, we are looking at a large crop of high-quality pears this season!!

Santa Maria is starting their fall crop season and should have good volume later in the month, dependent on weather.  The Salinas/Watsonville growing areas will continue to be harvested, but the fruit is past its peak production period.  The Oxnard growing area is also starting their harvest with limited numbers.  Warm, humid days and nights and showers predicted for the next week will cause the fruit to have smaller sizing, occasional bruising, and tend to be overripe, and soft.

Weather Outlook

• Santa Maria, California - The week of 9/15 is forecast on Thursday to be partly sunny, Friday mostly sunny with afternoon thunderstorms in spots, and then partly cloudy for the weekend.  Highs in the 70s and lows in the high 50s to low 60s.  The week of 9/22 is forecast on Monday for morning showers and the partly sunny, Tuesday morning showers and thunderstorms and then partly sunny, Wednesday and Thursday mostly sunny, and then sunny for the balance of the week. Highs in the 70s, and lows in the 50s.  
• Salinas/Watsonville, California - The week of 9/16 is forecast on Thursday to be cloudy and cooler, and then partly cloudy with some sun for the balance of the week. Highs on Thursday in the 60s, increasing to the 70s for the balance of the week, and lows in the 50s.   The week of 9/22 is forecast on Monday to be mostly cloudy, Tuesday morning showers becoming partly cloudy, and then partly cloudy becoming partly sunny for the balance of the week. Highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

Supplies and demand are starting to wind down on watermelons.  We are shipping Out East out of Delaware and Indiana.  Out West, we are shipping out of Stockton and Wapato, Washington.  We also have some supplies in Texas.  We will start Mexican melons in October.