Mission Produce and Westfalia Fruit have both declared force majeure as the Mexican avocado shortage escalates beyond what either company can manage through normal sourcing channels. Alternative fruit from Peru, California, and Colombia is trickling in to cover orders, but volumes are nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by Mexico.

This is a significant escalation from the supply tightness reported in recent weeks. Force majeure declarations signal that contractual obligations can't be met — meaning buyers and retailers holding supply agreements should expect disruptions, substitutions, or outright shortfalls. Mexico is the dominant source of avocados for North America, and no other origin can realistically bridge the gap at this scale or price point.

Watch for pricing to push well past the $43/carton levels already reported. If you're a buyer with summer promotions locked in, now is the time to have a serious conversation with your supplier about contingency plans.

University of Arizona researchers are warning that an unusually warm winter in the Desert Southwest is contributing to an earlier-than-normal virus outbreak in melon fields in the Yuma region. Mild winter conditions allowed insect vectors to survive and reproduce, driving up pest pressure heading into the growing season.

Yuma is a critical melon-producing region supplying much of the U.S. market in spring and early summer. Virus pressure can significantly reduce yields and affect fruit quality, and an early outbreak means growers are managing the problem during a key production window rather than before it starts.

Buyers should monitor supply and pricing on cantaloupes and other melons out of Arizona closely over the next several weeks. If this pressure spreads or intensifies, it could tighten summer melon availability at a time when consumers are already dealing with elevated produce prices.

The California strawberry market is running extremely tight right now, with volume described as extremely low. Forecasted rain is expected to tighten supplies even further in the near term, pushing prices higher across the board.

California is the dominant domestic source for strawberries heading into summer, so disruptions here hit the whole country. This comes on top of already elevated strawberry markets nationally, and with South Carolina growers dealing with a Fusarium wilt outbreak this season, there's no easy backup volume to lean on.

Buyers should expect this tightness to persist through any rain events and reassess promotional plans accordingly. If you're holding ad commitments, check in with your supply chain now.

New data from FMI shows that mass retailers like Walmart and Target have drawn level with traditional supermarkets as the primary grocery destination for American shoppers. Consumers are now just as likely to name a mass retailer when asked where they spend most of their food budget — a major structural shift in how Americans shop for groceries.

For the produce industry, this is a big deal. Mass retailers operate with different promotional cadences, supply chain requirements, and category management priorities than traditional supermarkets. As Walmart and Target continue to invest aggressively in grocery — Walmart cutting prices on thousands of SKUs, Target adding 3,000 food and beverage items — produce suppliers need to be thinking about how their go-to-market strategy fits the mass retail playbook.

The battleground for produce volume and visibility is increasingly being fought at Bentonville and Minneapolis, not just at traditional grocery buyers. If you're not already building those relationships, this data suggests you should be.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has formally requested a Secretarial Disaster Designation from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins following devastating freeze damage across multiple Maryland counties in April. Disaster assessment data from the Maryland Farm Bureau indicates crop losses as high as 99% in some areas.

This adds Maryland to a growing list of Eastern and Midwestern states — including New Jersey, Utah, and Wisconsin — that have been hammered by spring freeze events this year. The disaster designation request, if approved, would unlock federal aid for affected growers, but the growing season damage is already done.

For buyers, this is another reminder that domestic supply across multiple fruit and vegetable categories is running thinner than normal this summer. The cumulative effect of freeze losses across multiple states is something to watch as the season progresses.