“Supply of English cucumbers has been fairly steady,” says Karen Thomson of Thomson Fresh LLC in Los Angeles, Ca. “Everything's coming out of Mexico right now and it’s been pretty consistent. Prices haven’t gone up or down too much because supplies have been fairly consistent.” This is similar to last year’s cucumber volume, adds Thomson.
Mexico’s season will likely run until May and that’s when Thomson switches over to California for cucumber supplies.
Different Persian picture
At the same time, one of the three varieties—Persian cucumbers, have been in short supply. “They’re really short right now and I’m not sure why,” says Thomson. “It may be weather conditions and they’re between plantings—but the supply is so short that the market is in the $20-$30 range. It’s really hard to find any right now.” That shortage has been going on for three weeks and doesn’t seem to affect the other two varieties of cucumbers, English and American.
At the same time, demand for cucumbers has been a bit light. “There are plenty coming in right now so prices aren’t really high and they’re fairly consistent. It’s been like this since mid-December,” she says. “Prices then were even weaker so it’s firmed up since then and been steady for the last 4-5 weeks.”
Waiting for change
Looking ahead, while she anticipates steady movement for English cucumbers, she hopes for a change in Persian supply. “Hopefully the production will come up for the Persian cucumbers so that price will go down,” says Thomson.
For more information:
Karen Thomson
Thomson Fresh LLC
Tel: +1-310-372-0177
karenmthomson@hotmail.com
www.thomsonfresh.com