Monthly Grocery Market Update April 2024

APRIL MARKET UPDATE

TUNA LUIS BRITO

Catching this week has begun to normalize with an approximate ratio of 20 metric tons per vessel per day. Skipjack BKK price is at $1300/mt. The supplier indicated delays in Thailand ports due to vessel unloading traffic. Because of this delay, there will be fewer vessels out catching in the ocean now, so pricing will need to be monitored closely.

For yellowfin, market price remains at $2300 - $2400/mt while the demand is slow. Albacore is at $2,525 as FCF announced and there are very few transactions in the market.

Regarding Ecuador’s fishing, EPCO skipjack level is $1,450/mt which its gap is back to normal compared to BKK.

ARTICHOKES BRENT DANIELSON

Peru : In the southern region of Arequipa, artichoke production has faced a one-month delay due to adverse weather conditions (lasting 30-35 days). However, in the northern part of Peru, the outlook is more promising, with a favorable start expected in August as the new season begins. The goal is to recover from losses incurred last year and anticipate a more typical crop year. Despite these challenges, artichoke prices have remained stable. Meanwhile, Spain, still in recovery mode, anticipates a significantly reduced artichoke crop due to drought conditions, resulting in higher prices. As for asparagus, Peru expects a 20-25% loss this year due to last year’s poor season, but conditions are projected to improve by 2025.

Egypt : The artichoke crop season in Egypt has concluded, and pricing remained stable. Egypt is actively working to enhance the quality of its artichokes to compete with Peru. The next artichoke season is scheduled from January 2025 through April 2025.

PO U CHED MUSHROOMS YANNICK MEIJER

The pouch mushrooms are in, and one of our largest national accounts has been slowly moving all their products from cans to pouches which should be fully finalized by June.

We are seeing more success with our street business customers and regional chain businesses adding this item to their portfolio. Customers are picking up the item because of the savings in both price and waste reduction.

Additionally, with Camerican and Atalanta merging we have an option in pouch that competes against fresh (Eco pouch) and a pouch that competes against cans (Atalanta pouch).

Please find below a breakdown and how much an end user would save per lbs. after cooking fresh product versus eco pouch versus Atalanta pouch.

Pouch Sliced

PEPPERS BRENT DANIELSON

Peppers in Peru are being planted a month later (in June). The demand for peppers remains strong, leading to price increases. The crop is on track for harvesting in July and August, driven by the need to recover from a challenging year in Peru.

PINEAPPLE JOHNS THAMPAN

Supply is at a low level, with the average tonnage of less than 3,000 tons per day.

This has driven the price to reach a new high of 13.20 baht/kg with an increasing trend.

Summer crop will be less than other years with no peak.

We expect that there will be average of 70,000 tons per month only during April to June, while normal period is around 100,000-120,000 tons per month.

Off season is expected to be around July to September.

Below chart is total tonnage history for whole Thailand which you can see that the supply cycle has been shrink down

SAFFRON SARAH MYLOD

Due to extreme heat and drought conditions, Saffron yield was approximately down by 40 %.

Pricing impact estimated around 20 %. Atalanta’s strong historical relationships with packers has provided us with a good inventory position secured.

BLACK OLIVES JEANINE COSTA

Argentina’s crop output last year was 90,000 tons (a very good crop) and this year’s crop expectation is only about 30,000 tons. The crop was affected due to weather conditions that caused poor flowering on the trees. Additionally, some lots of olives will not be harvested as they are so small that it is not worth picking them up. The cost of harvesting is much higher than the actual value they have due to its size. Prices have increased more than 30%, not only due to a short crop, but also high demand in the market.

In Spain the lack of rain last year, not only during the tree flowering period (in May) but also during August/ September, accompanied by heat waves with temperatures higher than 40 Celsius Degrees (104+ Fahrenheit) during the same period, terribly affected the olive crop and many other crops in Spain (and Europe in general). The olive raw material output this year for olive oil and table olives has been reduced significantly compared to the average output during the past 4 years, especially affecting the Hojiblanca variety, which is used for black olive production. The Hojiblanca variety is a very common raw material for olive oil production, so farmers always have the chance to decide whether to sell it to the table olive market or to olive oil millers. Due to current historically high prices in the olive oil industry, most farmers prefer

to sell their olives to olive oil producers because they pay much higher prices for raw material. This has caused the raw material for table olives to become even shorter and prices have increased by more than 40% compared with the previous year. Demand is very high, and supply is not enough this year, so prices are up significantly, not only for the black olives, but also for green olives in general. Global supply is not enough this year. Other countries have also been affected by bad weather conditions last year, and therefore the table olive industry as a whole is affected this year.

In Portugal Same as in Spain, there is very low output of raw material and very high prices this year due to high demand (more than 25% price increase).

This is a catastrophic year in Greece for table olives production. It has marked a record shortage for the Halkidiki olives (main green olive variety in Greece) and other olive varieties like Kalamata due to bad weather conditions in 2023. Most Halkidiki olives are destined to Queen olives production. It is recommended to secure all your customer needs as soon as possible. Prices have increased by more than 20% on this variety and quantities will run out.

JUNE 2023 The Kalamata olive crop is not only short, but quality is also an issue. Raw material is coming out with a lot of “Dakos” (black defective spots on the olives), so packers must segregate their raw material even further before packing to remove the defective olives, thus reducing quantities even further. Mainly larger caliber olives are available this year. This is a very short crop for baby Kalamatas (bullet size). The price of Kalamata olives is about 25% higher than last year.

Morroco is the same as in Spain, there is a very high demand of raw material from the olive oil industry, which has shortened available quantities for table olives. Prices on canned ripe olives (main olive product exported out of Morocco) are up by more 40%.

The olive crop in Egypt is also shorter this year, however not as short as in Spain, Portugal, and Greece, so there is a high demand of raw material from this origin by packers from other countries. Also, due to the current Suez Canal bottle neck caused by the war in the Gaza Strip, current shipments from Egypt are slightly delayed and ocean freight costs has increased significantly out of this region.

OLIVE OIL

YANNICK MEIJER

In recent market updates, it has been consistently highlighted that the olive oil industry has faced challenges over the past two years due to two consecutive poor crops. Spain, the leading producer contributing to over 60% of global production, has experienced a significant decline of nearly 40%. With minimal carryover from the previous year, the current season will be challenging with record-high prices.

Notably, in recent weeks, there has been a surge in the price of pomace oil, driven by consumer demand for more cost-effective alternatives to Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). At this moment prices will stay high and continue to go up for the next couple of months.

To mitigate the impact of these market dynamics, Atalanta has proactively secured commitments at elevated price points to fulfill existing customer obligations. However, acquiring olive oil to accommodate new clients necessitates careful consideration due to supply constraints.

Given the growing demand for olive oil alternatives, Atalanta is strategically positioned to offer competitive pricing on blended oils, specifically the 75/25 and 80/20 canola and EVOO blends. This strategic advantage has enabled us to successfully secure new business with several clients in recent weeks, with additional opportunities currently under consideration.

ANCHOVIES BRENT DANIELSON

The anchovy market is starting to see some stability in its harvesting, as fisheries are actively fishing and plan to continue for the coming months. However, fish size is still on the smaller end with no imminent hope of a return to normal. Prices remain comparable to what they have been in recent months. Hopefully with the increase in harvesting the market will stabilize and we can have a more consistent stream of supply

BDM/BDC CONTACT INFORMATION

Johns Thampan

jthampan@atalanta1.com

908-372-6063

Sarah Mylod smylod@atalanta1.com

908-372-6058

Brent Danielson bdanielson@atalanta1.com

678-595-7368

Luis Brito

lbrito@atalanta1.com

908-372-6052

Yannick Meijer

ymeijer@atalanta1.com

908-372-1788

Jeanine Costa

jcosta@atalanta1.com

908-372-1768

Nancy Chen

tchen@camerican.com

201-291-3538

Bob Shanahan bshanahan@camerican.com

201-982-6712

Rick Fox

rfox@camerican.com

201-291-3534