October 2022 Market Report

The nights closing in, signals that we are currently transitioning between growing seasons. We start to move away from British crops for soft fruits and salad lines and start to introduce our Spanish and southern European growers. On the flip side, the good news is that this time year is when we introduce British growers for majority of root crops and some apple varieties. Below i will aim to guide you through the best the month has to offer, whilst trying to make you aware of any products that are a cause for concern.

SALAD

• We will be switching onto Spanish crop on all Tomato lines. Currently supply is good and quality is looking fine. We will be monitoring closely as we approach the winter months.
• At the moment we are still working the Isle of Wight mix coloured cherry tom. These have been fantastic all season and certainly one not to miss if you haven’t already had any.
• We will be continuing with UK cos, little gem, oakleaf and lollo varieties until the end of the month. At that point we will be switching over to Spanish for the majority of lettuce lines.
• Currently we are still on with English celery and Radish, we aim to continue with tis for as long as possible.
• Overall salads are doing ok at the moment. Our concern is when we approach the winter months and the effects of higher energy prices have on crops, but we will keep you update with exactly what is happening throughout each month.

VEG

• We have now switched over to Poskitts farm in Pontefract for all carrot and parsnips. Class 2 for both are available, please speak to the sales office or your account manager for prices and more details.
• There are problems heading our way in the form of potato sizing. The extreme heat and lack of rain that we experienced at the start of the summer has dramatically affected the growth of the majority of potato crops. This has resulted in a lower yield crop which will start the have an impact on prices coming through.
• The hot weather has also had an effect on planting for products such as cauliflower and broccoli. We will be switching over to Spanish broccoli shortly, currently finding cauliflower in decent size is a challenge so we may have to switch to French sooner than expected.
• Certain cabbage varieties are holding up better in both price and quality. We have some great cavalo nero available for the rest of the month. The extreme heat during the summer has affected the growth mainly of white and red varieties, you may notice that both are smaller in size this next season.
• We currently have some brilliant curly kale at competitive prices, contact the sales office for more info.
• Better news is that we are now bang in the middle of the UK pumpkin and squash season, mixed squashes, local varieties of pumpkins and baby pumpkins are readily available at great prices. For more details contact the sales office or your account manager for more details.
• Fine bean, mange tout and sugar snap are all doing ok for this time of year. Mange tout and sugar snaps are higher in price but are available. The one to use is fine bean, reasonable price and it has been consistently good quality. Supplies will change as we head towards the back end of November so we will keep you updated with developments.
• Tenderstem broccoli has been high in price this year mainly down to the weather conditions, however we are starting to see it fall back. The quality is still great so defiantly one to maybe consider using again.
• This time of year we get some fantastic mushrooms through our door. On stock currently we have trompette, girolle, chanterelle and cepe. Fresh black truffles are also available. For prices and more info please contact your account manager.

FRUIT

• Big changes are currently happening in the world of soft fruits. All UK berries have now come to a finish apart from the fabulous strawberries from Annabels. That said we are in the last week or so of production then that will be it unfortunately until next year. Most berry supplies will now switch over to Spanish, which will impact the price. Fruit so far has been good quality and we will be monitoring daily to maintain the quality through the winter.
• Better news is that we have now entered the Uk growing season for several apple varieties such as bramley and cox.
• At the end of October we will be switching onto our season crop of lemon and limes. Throughout the winter until March we will be working a 60 count lime and 120 count lemon.
• One product to be using at the moment are figs. Fabulous quality and very good price to match, contact your account manager for more details.