In Fruit:
At last, we are seeing reasonable quantities of Queensland strawberries in the markets this week. They usually are our most significant line for July and August; however, thus far this year, the constant rain has stopped that. I expect they will be cheaper by next week as the days up north start to warm up. We also have excellent, well-priced blood oranges in our stores this week. It's a short season for this beautiful fruit; enjoy them while you can. There is a seasonal flush of passionfruit in our stores this week, and it won't last, so buy them while you can. Even if they go a bit wrinkly, the fruit inside is still excellent — no problem to keep them for a fortnight in your fridge. A couple of other citrus lines that are very good this week are ruby grapefruit and Murcott mandarins. Apples, pears and avocados all remain well supplied, so it's a good fruit offer this week.
In Veg:
At last, we see significant falls in most vegetable prices. If the price has not yet fallen, at least most of our veggie lines are readily available. The quality is excellent, and this will be the new normal unless we get more heavy rain. Some vegetables that have been entirely out of stock, such as most of the herb lines, are now readily available. Cauliflowers, loose beetroot and leeks are all half the price they were a fortnight ago. Zucchini, and especially imperfect zucchini, have fallen in price. We are seeing broccoli and lettuce following this trend also. So it's either back to normal or very near to it for most vegetables at HFM this week.
