Inflation-Driven Challenges, Predictions and Strategies
Driven by still-escalating costs of raw materials, transportation and labor, 86% of manufactures, most of whom have already increased prices at least once during COVID, plan to bump list prices this year. More than one in 10 will take their fourth — or more — prices increase since March 2020.
For more than half of manufacturers, the average incremental increase is expected to be 6% to 10%. A full one-fourth will take incremental increases of more than 10%
These hikes are planned even as six in 10 manufactures say they’ve experienced some negative impact after increasing prices, including perceived negative relationships (40%), increased fees in other areas (40%) and a reduction in distribution points (30%).
Potato Market Update
Not much is happening in the russet potato market. Movement and pricing remain steady in all shipping areas. However, the restriction on imported potatoes from PEI has changed. The restriction has been lifted, so we will begin to see these potatoes in the Northeast.
Growers in Florida have been experiencing a lot of rain in the last couple of days. With lack of supplies from North Dakota and rain affecting the market in Florida, the red potato market is expecting lower yields this year.
Supplies of yellow potatoes continue to shrink in all storage crop shipping areas; a new crop is available from growers in Florida. We are forecasting that both old and new will be very limited in late May and the entire month of June. With pricing expected to reach some extremely high numbers
Storage crop white potatoes remain in the Northeast; these supplies stay very local, servicing the Northeast. Florida has begun shipping a new crop of white potatoes, with most of that crop servicing the Southeast.
Supplies of storage crop fingerling potatoes are winding down in all shipping areas; pricing remains high. New crop is slow to enter the market in both Florida and California. New crop pricing remains very high.
Onion Market Update
Growers in the Columbia Basin and Idaho are wrapping up their storage crop season. Planting has already started, and growers are experiencing good weather to kick off the new season. Market pricing has softened due to new crops in Mexico and Texas coming online; however, pricing is still reasonable and quality is holding.
The new crop in California will start up in a couple of weeks and ramp up next month. Due to the heat last month, it’s too early to know if the heat will impact yields.
Growing with renewable electricity
In the world of fresh produce, the packinghouse is quality control central. Before potatoes and onions get loaded into a truck bound for a grocery store, they bump and roll through a maze of conveyors and specialty machinery to be rinsed, sorted, quality-checked, and bagged or boxed for delivery.
The activity of the packinghouse is powered by electricity. Because sustainability is a priority for our farmers, we’ve taken the unprecedented step of investing in 100% renewable electricity.
To do this, we partnered with Green-e, a third-party organization that verifies and certifies that companies are doing what they say they’re doing when it comes to sustainability.
So what do we mean when we say we’re “investing in” 100% renewable electricity? Why wouldn’t we just say we’re “using” 100% renewable electricity?
If we could buy only renewable electricity from the utility company, that would be great – we’d do it in a heartbeat! But that’s not how the power grid works. You don’t choose the source of your electricity.
However, Green-e runs a program that lets you pay for your power as if you did get to choose. That money helps fund the development of more sustainable electricity sources, like solar plants. So by purchasing RECs, we help increase the amount of renewable electricity going into the grid.
And by talking about our investment in 100% renewable electricity, we help create more widespread demand for it. That’s why you see the Green-e logo on our packaging and on our displays in stores.
We’re proud to be the first fresh produce company certified by Green-e for this designation. If you’re as jazzed up as we are about contributing to a more sustainable future, here’s where you can find us!
