Some in the Texas produce industry are breathing a sigh of relief following chilly temperatures over the weekend. "The weather situation in South Texas is fortunately not as critical as it could have been," says Steven Leal with S&J Distributing. "The freezing points are getting down to 29 degrees, but it looks like it's only lasting four to six hours."
© Primo Trading
A look at a south Texas cabbage field over the weekend.
Primo Trading's Tony Martinez agrees that while South Texas has been dealing with periods of below freezing temperatures, two consecutive nights is a point of concern. "It's nothing extreme but there's enough variability to keep growers awake at night and closely monitor fields," he says. "The weather has completely changed the current plan for our farm crews. Currently they are focused on farm care–mostly heavy irrigation prior to temperatures reaching freezing–and less focus on actual harvest."
Like other parts of the country, one area that's closely on watch is logistics which have been impacted significantly. "Freight rates are up, trucks have been stalled, deliveries have been delayed and certain trucks have had their fuel lines gel up causing a total breakdown of the truck and thus damaging cargo," says Leal.
State of demand
At the same time, generally demand for produce overall right now is very low, though that's not just in Texas. "With half of the country under a freeze, many people are not going out to markets and people in our industry who supply these markets are delayed in getting back to work," says Leal. "They are also delaying purchasing due to the higher costs and current delays in transportation."
Martinez says that while demand still remains steady, the company is communicating with customers/buyers to make them aware of the situation and plan accordingly. "In some categories, demand is slightly stronger as customers look to take preventative measures in securing supplies," he says.
© Primo Trading Cloudy skies over an onion field.
In markets, Leal notes that in limes, which he brings in from Mexico, he sees the market staying somewhat steady with a slight potential to drop slowly. "Now that the major freeze has mostly passed over we should see a slight uptick in demand, but not necessarily higher price points. Just slightly better movement overall," he says.
"We don't expect any crazy volatility but some markets may tighten up more than others which could firm up pricing," adds Martinez. "Much will depend on how soon weather will turn for the better and how fast harvest crews will be available to work."
For more information:
Steven Leal
S&J Distributing
https://www.snjdistributing.com/
Tony Martinez
Primo Trading Services LLC
https://www.primotradingservices.com/
