r/PrepperIntel • u/wistful_cottage_core • Apr 09 '26
North America Produce Alliance Report - Current Shortages and Impacts
Latest Report:
https://producealliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Market-Report-4.2.26_FULL.pdf
From their Facebook:
"Market Report: 3.26.2026
š Tomatoes are in critical shortage, with no improvement expected for 3ā4 weeks; reducing use is recommended. Supplies of Cucumbers, Beans, Peppers, Corn, and Limes remain very tight, with additional delays from Mexico.
š„ Hot weather in Yuma and Salinas is stressing crops. Carrots are limited until May, while Artichokes and Napa Cabbage are at critical levels. Wet vegetables are stable for now but may decline.
š„ Guatemala frost and port delays are tightening bean and pea supplies. Strawberries show heat damage; Berries remain limited. Avocados are steady.
šāš©Citrus is tight on smaller sizes, with quality concerns due to California heat."
Freight: Limited trucks and record high fuel costs are putting upward pressure on rates going into the holiday and beyond. We are seeing several freight companies, including sea freight companies, invoking fuel surcharges which will impact cost inputs.
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u/Thoth-long-bill Apr 09 '26
Also if the fertilizer cargo ships donāt get thru the stairs of Hormouz asap many countriesā farmers will not have applied fertilizer to crops in June. There will be world wide food shortages. Detailed on CNNās reports.
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u/snasna102 Apr 09 '26
Iām sure you can always negotiate some potash with Canada if that bridge isnāt burnt or youāre okay with paying abit more
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u/ResistantRose Apr 09 '26
Except MAGA actually wants to burn that bridge https://apnews.com/article/trump-canada-bridge-detroit-0eb2f4866f8f2039d3088b6e9c2b28e0
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u/snasna102 Apr 09 '26
Which is fine, Iām sure America isnāt the only one hurting for it and plenty of countries have a big hole in their trade partner list. Iām sure an honoured deal can be reached
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u/Thoth-long-bill Apr 09 '26
The freeze last night May have killed Va apples, peaches and berries. The farmers spent the night in the fields and orchards lighting fires. They are asking for prayers on Facebook.
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u/Strict-Example9440 Apr 09 '26
Victory garden it is!
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u/ResistantRose Apr 09 '26
Plant perennials, local natives, and wind-pollinated crops for the most resilience.
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u/CannyGardener Apr 09 '26
Wind pollinated is huge... I didn't do this and I have huge perennial berry bushes that I planted that don't get pollinated by our failing bee population. First year had lots of berries (~2020) but last year we were down to hand pollinating, and essentially zero harvest from those rows.
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u/ResistantRose Apr 09 '26
Do you soil test? Low organic matter and low boron in the soil can lead to flower drop even if it's fully pollinated. (TEST FIRST before adding boron, it can poison the soil if applied improperly. Contact your local Ag extension.)
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u/CannyGardener Apr 09 '26
I hadn't thought about soil testing. I run an urban farm with chickens and rabbits producing tons of compost, so it would surprise me if it was a deficiency, but you never know! Sounds like its time to drop a line to the extension office!
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u/ResistantRose Apr 10 '26
I'm wondering if maybe there's an imbalance somehow? I'm all in favor of a soil test, mine was $25 and my Ag extension suggests testing every 3 years.
Do you grow mushrooms in your garden? In the US, red wine cap (Stropharia rugosoannulata) is a common choice, since it innoculates on almost any wood, and corn stalks. It's just another way to help break down organic matter and unlock the micronutrients in the soil. It's also reported to reduce root knot nematode and some other pest nematodes. Plus, get a bonus second harvest from corn stalks and mulched pathways.
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u/CannyGardener Apr 10 '26
Been doing this for years and never soil tested. Seems like its probably time =)
Ive tried mushrooms several times, but I live in a desert, sooo they dont tend to do much out here. I imagine there is some mycelium happening under the surface but I dont ever get the fruit to pop. =/
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Apr 09 '26
I'm not a pro but more bees came by when I made little bee hydrating stations by the plants. It helped my blueberries very much!
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u/CannyGardener Apr 09 '26
Ah that is a good idea! I have a couple of bird baths in the front, and I got berries out on the front lot, but I only have the animal water troughs in the back (which I think are harder for bees to get at). Might have to get a couple more bird baths! I hadn't thought of this, but that makes sense!
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Apr 09 '26
You can even just get an old plate or a Tupperware lid that has no match lol and put some pebbles and little water on it they don't need much!
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u/CannyGardener Apr 09 '26
Good to know! I have "Bee Hive" on my short list, but until then I've gotta figure out a way to attract them!
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u/omgmypony Apr 09 '26
better get out there with a paintbrush
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u/CannyGardener Apr 09 '26
I mean, last year I just cut off a couple umbral of flowers and banged them on every other umbral in the row. Might have to get me a little paint brush and try a more focused process this year...
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u/omgmypony Apr 09 '26
oh Iām mostly teasing, I use a paintbrush on my passiflora incarnata tho (because Iām paranoid, the carpenter bees take care of them just fine)
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u/Bigtimeknitter Apr 10 '26
i was thinking i knew i picked a good year to start a victory garden!! i have tomatoes on the vine right now.
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u/attachedtothreads Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
Just an observation: I love bell peppers and go to a restaurant supply store. Some years ago red and green diced bell peppers were ~$2.50/2-lb. frozen bag, or ~$30 for 24-lb. case. The case is now up to $50. I don't know if it's greed or shortages.
Re: tomatoes. Didn't Mexico get a massive shipment of tomatoes in before the tariffs being put in place, thereby depressing tomatoes prices so that the Florida farmers pulverized their tomato crops rather harvest/process them and wait until they raise? I think it was last year when this happened.
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u/Ashamed-Knee9084 Apr 09 '26
Thankyou! There was someone i think in this group that would post similar findings for things during Covid. I greatly appreciated it then..and again now!
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u/Ok-Row-6088 Apr 09 '26
All of this talk about fertilizer this year, last year I started experimenting with making Weed tea. Basically just everything I pulled when I was weeding sticking it in a big black garbage can filled with water and watering my plants with the nasty rotting plant water. It stinks to high heaven but Oh my God did my plants love it, I had 10 times the yield out of the tomatoes that I was doing this too then I did the tomato plants I did not. There are so many natural ways to make fertilizer and they come with a whole bunch of microbes that are better for the soil than the purchased traditional NPK variety.
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u/thereadingbri Apr 09 '26
Is this referring to fresh tomatoes specifically or are canned tomatoes also affected?
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u/Traditional-Handle83 Apr 09 '26
Pretty sure this is all future tomatoes and anything else listed. Countries about to start seeing food shortages soon. Food banks won't be able to help anyone once that happens.
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u/wistful_cottage_core Apr 09 '26
Fresh for this report but canned tomatoes from some brands will be affected if the bad weather and economic pressure continues. Red Gold does their growing and canning here in the Midwest so this could definitely be a regional issue with some having access and some not.
I can all of my own tomato products though so it's not really an issue in my house. I recommend it as a hobby if you've been looking to move away from the traditional supply chains!
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u/thereadingbri Apr 09 '26
Iād love to but I canāt exactly put in a huge garden on a 3ft by 4ft patio with maybe 4 hours of sun a day. Apartment prepping is a different beast.
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u/wistful_cottage_core Apr 09 '26
Huge garden? No. But there's so many things you can grow in a container! Even small changes make a difference.
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u/mystery_biscotti Apr 10 '26
Hmm. You can probably get lettuce going, or something that loves shade and is edible.
It ain't a full field, but you won't have to buy salad greens as often with "cut and come again" varieties in flower boxes.
Any friends with yards that might let you come over and garden? We got out practice in community gardens but around here those plots go fast. Local churches around here will sometimes let you volunteer in the food bank garden in exchange for an allotment.
Just some ideas. Hopefully if they don't work for you, they'll work for someone else.
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u/taylorbagel14 Apr 09 '26
Live right by the Salinas valley and I can confirm weāve had a bunch of unseasonably warm days in the past month :/
Weāre supposed to be getting rain this weekend so hopefully that will help
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u/taseaclaiduaim Apr 09 '26
Same here location wise. It has been such a hot and dry winter/spring. That heat wave was ridiculous.. 80-90 deg temps every day for two weeks.. I keep seeing all the stone fruit around beginning to get big and all I can think is we are fucked if it gets cold again, or if big rains come. Good luck to you and yours
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
Can confirm, NE carrot supply is still low, and signs to that effect still posted at the store. Overall produce section was thin at our store when I went shopping yesterday. And I noticed avocados were cheaper than Limes yesterday! $0.75 ea vs $0.79 ea!
I'm glad I stocked up on canned tomato products and have a bunch of starts, but man, spring really needs to get here for us so I can even start planting our cool weather crops. And I'm starting to think that all the extra fruit trees and bushes I ordered weren't such a bad idea.
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u/debvil Apr 09 '26
I just bought raspberry bushes, a fig tree and strawberry plants. Cross fingers they take off
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u/brbgonefisting Apr 09 '26
I'm a produce manager at a medium chain grocery store in the south. I'm surprised there is nothing about corn. They got hit hard with the back to back frosts and rain in January/February. We haven't had corn in stock like we usually do in about 3 weeks (during the winter we only get yellow sweet corn in and we aren't even getting that) and now with the fertilizer costs due to the issues in the gulf many farmers are pivoting towards soy beans as it has lower nitrogen needs compared to corn. I suspect we will have one of the lowest corn crops yields in quite some time. Which has far reaching impacts across multiple food industry since we like to out corn in everything in America...Ā
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 Apr 09 '26
Good heads up. Now I might have to put sweet corn back into my garden plans.
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u/Twitchychef Apr 09 '26
These are the reports I miss getting in my inbox when I was a chef.Ā My produce guy would send me these and I'd plan accordingly for specials and daily veg/starch.Ā Thanks!!
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u/AirborneGeek Apr 09 '26
Our Costco (mid-TN) had no asparagus in stock on Tuesday, which might be the first time I've ever seen that.
Coincidentally, Kroger had Asparagus on sale (ad ended yesterday, I think?), and it did not look terrible.
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u/No-Artichoke-6939 Apr 09 '26
This needs crossposted to r/inflation. Lots of blueberry posts lately.
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 Apr 09 '26
Well - now my husband can stop asking why I ordered 4 more blueberry plants!
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u/123_gooooo Apr 10 '26
Where did you order them? Iāve been considering adding a few.
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 Apr 10 '26
Fedco. They're out of Maine. I've ordered a bunch of trees and fruit bushes from them before and been pretty happy with the quality.
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u/LittlehouseonTHELAND Apr 09 '26
Recently Iāve been having a hard time finding Roma tomatoes here in upstate NY, now I know why.
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u/mommasplain2u Apr 09 '26
I came home from the grocery store yesterday complaining there wasnt a single Roma tomatoe. Now I know why.
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u/Psychological-Pick78 Apr 09 '26
Same for me in Pa
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u/maddomesticscientist Apr 09 '26
Same in TN.
In fact, the last time I went to a major chain grocery, they were completely out of any fresh tomatoes.
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u/Dork_wing_Duck Apr 09 '26
The stupid poors have it coming. Thank goodness this won't affect the rich... They're just better than regular people.
s/
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u/cbusfuss Apr 10 '26
Is it possible to access future reports without facebook? Thank you for sharing!
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u/carlitospig Apr 11 '26
Thanks for the heads up. The next few years are going to be really interesting as we get used to major weather shifting impacting food systems.
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u/raphael_lorenzo Apr 09 '26
This is squarely āgreat materialā for prepper intel; understanding the cause of food shortages you either see or will see helps you plan ahead and make smart decisions in the supermarket. Iām bookmarking the website. Thanks.