The California Napa cabbage season is about to conclude for the year as production heads southwards for the winter. The Salinas growing region, which is still in supply, produced a good quality crop this year and yields were also healthy.
"The Napa cabbage season follows a circle, depending on the season," said Glen Yi, of M.G. Produce in California. "It is mainly based in Salinas and the Central Valley region in California, but there is also Napa grown around Seattle. In the northern winter, production moves south into Mexico before moving back north in the Spring. We will very shortly be moving to the Mexico growing season. The Salinas season has been really good. The weather was mostly favorable here, as well as in the Central Valley in recent months, and we've seen steady supply. Our quality checks have resulted in a favorable outcome, with a decent percentage of the crop being nice and yellow inside, which indicates a high quality."
Demand steady, particularly in Oriental market
Napa cabbage is widely used in the United States for the production of the Korean staple Kimchi. It is estimated that Korean-Americans on the west coast alone consume over 15,000 tons of Napa cabbage per year. As a result, demand continues to be firm and producers are enjoying steady pricing.
"We primarily cater to the Kimchi market which has continued to be strong in California," continued Yi. "We are seeing a transition to a more controlled market with distributors, where retail customers don't need to deal with freight and issues with damage. As well as this, increasingly larger companies are producing Kimchi in warehouses. So, where people used to make it at home, now more people are buying it at their local retail store, or in larger chains like Trader Joe's. Overall, the Napa cabbage demand is steady and currently the market price for a 50lb box is under $20. Traditionally, winter sees an increase in demand, but once supplies start coming out of Mexico, that price should drop to about $15 or $16."
For more information:
Glen Yi
M.G. Produce
Tel: 323-432-5300