IN FRUIT
The cold snap in Victoria plus increased demand for Easter is making things very tough for our buying team. Mangoes have finally come to an end and the heavy rains after the cyclone in Queensland have hit the lemon crop up there very hard at a time demand is very high for Easter with seafood. There are lots of bananas in the market this week so prices are down. Australian kiwifruit has started and new season pink lady apples and mandarins are also underway. Chestnuts are well supplied and my pick of the plums this week are both the same Angelinos we enjoyed last week plus the September Suns that have started this week. All apples and pears are in full swing, (try a Corella for something special and a little different) as are all our grapes. It’s time to think about changing from whites to either Black Americas or Crimson Seedless this week, both are being picked fresh whilst most of the whites are now coming out of storage.
IN VEGETABLE
Probably the hardest week we have had for sourcing vegetables in the last six months. The aftermath of the heavy rains and a sharp sudden cold snap both in the Sydney basin, but more importantly in Victoria as well have really slowed supply. A return to warmer conditions that has already happened down south will increase supply next week. Very little in the way of bargains, good old potatoes, especially our 2 kg bags of Kestrel potatoes and brown onions are the pick of a very limited choice.
