Tomatoes

East

· Rounds- Supplies in the east continue to be light and fragmented. Demand is good. The hot and rainy weather has caused volume and quality to remain spotty. Growers have begun harvesting their fall crop on the Eastern Shore. The weather during the growing season has been less than ideal and the result is a crop that is below average in volume and quality. FOB price on 6x7s are steady this week while the price of 6x6 and 5x6 sizes are up slightly. Excepting a storm, we see nothing that will cause the market to move very much up or down for the next several weeks.

· Romas- There is a wide range in FOB prices which correspond to the quality of the fruit. FOB prices are down for all sizes compared to last week with the medium size continuing to be a couple of dollars down from the larger sizes.

· Grapes- FOB prices are steady this week for quality fruit and quality continues to be variable.

· Cherries- Supplies are stronger compared to demand this week and FOB prices have fallen. Quality and shelf-life continue to be variable.

· Weather forecasts- NC/TN Mountains: Temperatures will get cooler as we head toward the weekend with highs on Friday and Saturday reaching only the mid-70s and lows by Sunday reaching the low 60s. A good chance of storms over the weekend. Western SC: Cooler with highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid-60s. A good chance of storms over the weekend. Eastern Shore: Much cooler with highs in the upper-70s to low-80s into next week. Lows will be in the 60s. Little chance of rain until early next week.

West/Mexico

· Rounds- Vine-ripes continue to cross primarily at Baja. Supplies of the larger sizes are good with the smaller sizes getting a little tighter. Supplies should continue to cross until mid-November. Few are currently crossing at McAllen. CA mature-green growers continue to harvest. Supplies are light with a wide range in quality. FOB prices are generally steady on the larger fruit and down slightly on the small. CA mature green growers should continue to harvest for another 3 or so weeks.

· Romas- Supplies continue to come out of Baja and CA with a wide range in FOB prices which correspond to the quality of the fruit. Few to none are currently crossing at McAllen. Regardless of quality, FOB prices are down sharply on all sizes.

· Grapes- Product continues to cross mainly out of Baja. FOB prices have settled down from last week and prices are lower.

· Cherries- Supplies continue to be light and prices are generally steady from last week. Quality is fair to good.

Green Bell Pepper

East- FOB prices are higher this week for all sizes and grades. The southern GA crop should start-up around the 25th of this month. We will keep an eye out to see if the rains from the tropical storm that passed through last week causes bacterial pressure on this crop.

West- Stronger demand is causing FOB prices to be up on all sizes and grades this week. Quality remains good.

Yellow Squash

East- The West is continuing to determine market FOB prices this week for most dry veg commodities. FOB prices for yellow squash are down this week as the growing regions remain fragmented. Quality has improved and is good.

West- FOB prices are lower from last week. We expect supplies to continue to improve as new fields begin to produce.

Green Squash

East- Like the yellow squash FOB prices are lower this week on both grades. Quality has improved.

West- FOB prices are down this week. Nogales has started-up in a light way. Quality is good.

Green Beans

East - Light supplies. Will remain light until FL starts up.

West- Light supplies until desert production starts up in October

Cucumbers

East- Harvesting has started-up in a light way out of the south GA fields. FOB prices are down on all grades. White flies have been reported on preliminary reports out of these fields. Our eastern NC fall crop continues.

West- Supplies are still tight. Nonetheless, FOB prices are generally lower this week. More supplies should come on-line toward the end of the month.

Eggplant

East- FOB prices are lower on all sizes and grades. Quality is good.

West- FOB prices are lower this week. Quality is good.

Jalapenos

East- FOB prices are steady with upward pressure this week.

West- FOB price are generally lower this week