Time to Buy

The produce department is in the summer doldrums right now, and that means there are great buys on many fruits and vegetables.

There are many causes for this seasonal lowering of prices. First, of course, is that most fields are in peak production. This is when farmers begin to collect the payoff on all that summer heat. On top of this, when it’s hot, people eat less.

There’s more competition in the grocery stores than at any other time of year. If peppers are too high, which they seem to be, there are always tomatoes, zucchini and corn at great prices.

This is happening not just in California, but all over the country. And that means that there is less demand on the state’s produce as grocers across the country begin looking to local farmers for fruits and vegetables.

There are other, less obvious, reasons for price drops. For example, at this time of year the cost of freight is very high because of the increased competition for trucks--again because of all of the produce available at the same time.

The bottom line is that produce prices are seriously depressed. Lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, green onions, strawberries, tomatoes, grapes, zucchini, melons . . . all are at or near the lowest prices of the year.

This is particularly true for melons. A two-week stretch of hot weather in the San Joaquin Valley has ripened several plantings at the same time. Normally, these plantings are staggered so they will ripen at different times, spreading out the crop.

In effect, there are several weeks’ worth of cantaloupes coming to market at the same time. That’s a disaster for farmers, who are having to sell fruit at about 10 cents a pound wholesale--less than what it costs them to grow and pack it. It could be even more good news for shoppers, though, if grocery stores pass along the savings.