Lemon supplies in California are currently coming from the Central Valley as well as desert growing-regions in District 3, and production is expected to wrap up early for both of those areas. Demand for smaller sizes has been good, though an uptick in demand for larger sizes is expected going into the holidays.“District 3 normally runs through February, but there's talk of it finishing up in January,” said Tom Salisbury with The Chuck Olsen Company. “That could be five or six weeks early. We also started sooner than usual in District 1, so we'll probably finish early, too.” Weather conducive to an early start brought fruit on early and shifted the season up in the calendar year. Prices will likely go up when supplies become tight, but it won't be until February, when storage supplies go down, that prices will go up significantly.
“Demand has been so-so for the last couple of weeks, and demand has been better on the smaller sizes,” said Salisbury. Lagging demand from retail, which prefers bigger fruit, might be a reason why smaller sizes, which typically go to food service, are faring better right now. But that could change later this month.
“Now, bigger sizes are moving,” noted Salisbury. “The market for bigger stuff picked up, maybe because of the holidays, but hopefully it keeps up.”
For more information:
Tom Salisbury
The Chuck Olsen Company
+1 559 651 5900