CALIFORNIA - The cauliflower market is living up to its reputation as being a highly-fluctuating category this week, with very high supplies leading to a dip in pricing and a possible supply gap on the way.
“Last week, the market leveled off, then took a pretty quick turn in the downward direction for pricing,” Tami Gutierrez, Vice President of Sales and Cauliflower Commodity Manager for Ippolito International, tells me when I check in with her about the market. “The market is heavy with supply because most of us are bunched up in our fields after all of the warm temps and steady rains over the last month.”
Tami tells me the end result will likely be an upcoming supply gap due to the region cutting all of its product ahead of schedule. While it's too early to tell precisely how long the gap will last, Tami says 10-14 days may be a solid prediction.
Jason Lathos, Commodity Manager for Church Brothers, echoed Tami’s sentiments, explaining, “Cauliflower supplies for the past six months have been a roller coaster. Because cauliflower supplies are driven mostly by weather conditions, they are always hard to forecast.”
We can expect a strong demand upcoming, however, he adds. “Demand overall has been good for the last six months, and there always seems to be a rise in demand when you have holidays. For Easter, the market was very good and we now have Mother’s Day coming in the next few weeks.”
Jason’s prediction is that the market is going to bounce back almost as fast as it went down the last week. “The market may not go back to the $20 range, but my guess is it will be in between today’s market and last Wednesdays—$15.00. It depends on weather and the holiday demand.”
“Our supplies are pretty high on flower right now due to the warmer temperatures we've had that have brought on quite a bit of product, which is pulling volume in from next week and the following week,” says Janelle Seebeck, Commodity Manager for Tanimura & Antle, adding that she expects volumes to fall off quite a bit after next week when I ask her if she sees a gap in the category's future.
Keep watching AndNowUKnow as we follow the hot cauliflower market in May, and all the other moving categories as we head towards summer.
