A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, with the epicenter in Chocó. The quake was strongly felt in Pereira, Manizales, Cali, and Medellín — all near or within key Hass avocado producing zones. Avocado trade associations are on the ground assessing damage to orchards and infrastructure.

Colombia has become an increasingly important Hass avocado supplier to the U.S. market, and this quake hit at a complicated time — the country's off-season harvest was already running below average due to weather, and the main harvest was expected to bring recovery volumes later this year. Damage to roads, packing infrastructure, or orchards in the affected departments could further delay or reduce that anticipated rebound.

Full damage assessments are still pending. Buyers sourcing Colombian Hass should be in direct contact with their suppliers to understand what, if anything, has been disrupted. Combined with ongoing Michoacán volatility, any Colombian supply setback narrows avocado availability options meaningfully.

Taylor Fresh Foods has issued a recall of finished products containing jalapeños after being notified that supplier Coast Citrus Distributors is voluntarily recalling fresh jalapeños due to potential Salmonella contamination. The recall covers products made with the implicated jalapeños out of its Salinas, California facility. Salmonella can cause serious or fatal illness, particularly in children, elderly people, and immunocompromised individuals.

This recall adds another layer to the already-active Salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeños from Sinaloa, Mexico. Taylor Fresh Foods is one of the country's largest fresh-cut produce processors, meaning affected products likely reached a wide distribution footprint across retail and foodservice accounts.

Retailers and buyers with Taylor Fresh Foods in their supply chain should confirm which SKUs are affected and verify that impacted product has been pulled. The Coast Citrus Distributors upstream recall is the trigger point — any other processors using that supply should be checking their own exposure.

Contract rates for reefer truckload freight posted their largest June-to-July increase on record, according to DAT Freight & Analytics. Dry van contract rates also hit a record for the same period. The data signals a tightening freight market heading into the second half of the year.

For the produce industry, reefer rate spikes translate directly into higher landed costs at a time when many commodity prices are already soft. Shippers who locked in contract rates earlier in the year may be insulated for now, but spot-market buyers are feeling the full effect. The record-breaking nature of the move suggests this isn't a seasonal blip — something structural may be shifting in freight capacity.

Distributors, importers, and large retail buyers moving volume on reefer trucks should watch whether these gains hold through August and September, which are typically high-volume shipping months for fall stone fruit, apples, and transitioning summer crops.

Sysco's CEO told Reuters the company is working to diversify iceberg lettuce procurement toward U.S. growers as a direct response to the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak. The move signals that one of the country's largest food distributors is making structural sourcing changes, not just temporary holds.

This is a significant market shift. Sysco's scale means its sourcing decisions ripple across the entire supply chain — U.S. growers who can supply iceberg at volume stand to benefit, while Mexican operations face sustained pressure beyond the immediate outbreak fallout. The article notes the announcement came before the outbreak claimed two lives, meaning the decision predates the worst of the crisis.

Watch for other major distributors and retailers to follow Sysco's lead on sourcing diversification. U.S. Salinas and Yuma growers with iceberg capacity worth monitoring closely — this could accelerate longer-term shifts in where domestic buyers source leafy greens.

Peruvian exporter Agrocitrus is warning that El Niño conditions forecast for late 2026 and early 2027 could reduce Tahiti lime production by as much as 40 percent. The company says high temperatures and projected rainfall will impact flowering, productivity, and logistics across the sector.

Peru is a meaningful supplier of Tahiti limes to international markets, and a 40% production cut would be a significant supply shock. Limes are already a volatile commodity in North America given dependence on Mexican supply, and any Peruvian reduction tightens the overall global supply picture heading into a period when foodservice demand for limes tends to be strong.

Buyers sourcing limes from South America should watch how El Niño conditions develop over the next several months. If the forecasts hold, program pricing and availability could shift meaningfully by Q1 2027.

New SNAP eligibility requirements have resulted in more than 5.3 million consumers being removed from the program, and the grocery industry is beginning to register the impact on sales. The loss of that purchasing power is showing up in foot traffic and basket sizes at stores with high SNAP participation rates.

This is a demand-side shock with direct implications for produce departments, where SNAP dollars have historically driven significant volume in categories like bananas, apples, and bagged salads. Discount and value-oriented grocers, which tend to serve higher proportions of SNAP households, are likely to feel the most acute pressure.

For produce buyers and category managers, this is a pricing and promotional strategy moment. Value messaging, smaller package sizes, and price-point items may become more important as a meaningful slice of the consumer base loses purchasing power at the grocery store.

CMI Orchards has begun harvesting early pear varieties in the Pacific Northwest, marking the official start of the 2026 pear season. Overall production is expected to return to typical levels after last year's exceptionally large crop, with the company describing supply as abundant and quality as high.

Last year's oversized pear crop created pricing pressure and logistical challenges throughout the supply chain. A return to normal volumes is generally a healthier market signal for both growers and buyers — it reduces the risk of oversupply-driven price collapses while still offering solid retail availability heading into fall.

For category managers, now is the time to firm up pear programming for the September-through-November window. With supply normalizing and quality strong at the start of harvest, early-season promotional opportunities look favorable.