My local grocery store chain has been out of pineapple for 2 weeks. I asked and they said that the warehouse has been out.
Do you have fresh pineapple in your area?
Anyone know if there is a systematic issue?
Would the writer's strike or Actor's strike have an impact? Do actors or writers pick pineapple in their 'other job' and would that be covered by their strike?
Have interest rates (that damn Fed!) changed the relative value of pineapple shipping?
Did the weather (record heat/storms/drought/earthquakes) disrupt picking/growing?
What is up? ('conspiracy theories' are welcome)
Weather and other stuff has diminished the crop in Costa Rica, a main supplier to the US. But it's a worldwide phenomenon, due to weather, noticeable since December.
However, I get very suspicious if something is not on the shelves. If the store raised price enough, it could pay the producers more to get some product, and one would see the product on the shelves. Therefore, there must be a barrier to raising prices sufficiently. It's probably fear, justified fear, of getting nailed by an anti-gouging law. These vary by state, and the feds have threatened to invoke anti-trust policy against price gougers.
Of course, it could be that the grocery doesn't think a sufficient number can be sold.
Thus, we can pay a lot to get a commodity or pay less to not get it. :-)
My Safeway's in Northern Virginia has pineapples at $2.49 each. I do not know whether that's a lot or a little.
If a fresh fruit I liked were not available, I'd use the canned variety, if it exists and is still available, for the canned variety would be subject to the same constraints as the fresh variety with a lag.
Had some of the best fresh pineapple I've ever had at an Asian buffet place just the other day when I was out of town. They seemed able to lay it on as always.
Volume out of Costa Rica and Ecuador pretty steady (https://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/fv-report-top-filters?startIndex=1&dr=1&rowDisplayMax=25&portal=fv&navClass=FRUITS&commAbr=PINE&locAbr=&locName=&varName=®ion=&commName=PINEAPPLES&navClassFRUITS&navType=byComm&volume=&type=movement&repType=movementDaily). Retail prices slighly lower over the last six weeks. Boats arriving at most ports of entry consistently.
I went to Walmart today in search for pineapples.
None there either! I asked and they said that they had not had them in over a week. They mentioned that another searching customer mentioned that the primary local grocery chain was also out!
So SOMETHING is conspiring to take pineapple from my table!
(And I have been using it to help me lose weight. Better to eat pineapple at night than be tempted by candy, cake or ice cream! ... Anything to help reduce my Bulk Tonnage!)
QuoteMy Safeway's in Northern Virginia has pineapples at $2.49 each. I do not know whether that's a lot or a little.
That's very inexpensive!
Quote from: lightning on July 20, 2023, 10:09:34 PMQuoteMy Safeway's in Northern Virginia has pineapples at $2.49 each. I do not know whether that's a lot or a little.
That's very inexpensive!
Maybe they've all somehow been routed to Northern Virginia?
I think dismalist is buying huge amounts to attempt to corner the market.
Quote from: jimbogumbo on July 21, 2023, 11:34:02 AMI think dismalist is buying huge amounts to attempt to corner the market.
If I were certain that the price controls were binding, I could try to buy canned pineapple, and hoard it until the control regime were abolished. Then I could indeed sell at a high price. :-)
But those who tell me above that local pineapple prices confronting me are low does suggest that product is being shipped to where people are willing to pay and buy. Here in Northern Virginia we have a multitude of filthy rich lobbyists who are sustaining the pineapple market, and many other markets as well. If true, lack of pineapples is a poverty pocket problem, a food desert problem.
They can be bought on-line, though, I have learned.
I now check the local Safeway's website almost every day for pineapple prices. It's like checking the stock ticker! :-)
Most important, here is Lotte Lenya singing the pineapple song from Cabaret
Pineapple Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BADNKFFEXwo)
I have nothing to add about the supply or demand of pineapples.
But this is a fun thread, so thanks!
Quote from: dismalist on July 21, 2023, 11:58:13 AMQuote from: jimbogumbo on July 21, 2023, 11:34:02 AMI think dismalist is buying huge amounts to attempt to corner the market.
If I were certain that the price controls were binding, I could try to buy canned pineapple, and hoard it until the control regime were abolished. Then I could indeed sell at a high price. :-)
Exactly what a possible market cornerer would say.
Everybody is getting pineapples but me (my area of the state anyway)!
They even sing about it!!
Did the pineapples sell out for International Pineapple Day (https://www.chfusa.com/blog/this-summers-hottest-tips-for-marketing-pineapples/) on June 27, and then disappear from Clean's shelves after that?
Quote from: Hibush on July 21, 2023, 04:12:49 PMDid the pineapples sell out for International Pineapple Day (https://www.chfusa.com/blog/this-summers-hottest-tips-for-marketing-pineapples/) on June 27, and then disappear from Clean's shelves after that?
Oh my god, we've got to seasonally adjust everything!
I just saw cut pineapple cubes mixed in with other fruit for sale at my local store. I did not see any whole ones but I did not really look for them.
Quote from: clean on July 21, 2023, 03:41:23 PMEverybody is getting pineapples but me (my area of the state anyway)!
They even sing about it!!
And meanwhile all you can sing is: "Yes! We have no pineapples! We have no pineapples today!"
I was at Costco last week and they had crates of them. BUT they were all so dark green that it was clear they would not be any good.
Now, the East coast search this year for peaches is whole other thing. I know the Georgia crop got wiped out by a warm winter, but I know they grow them in other Southern states and I can't find those either. The peach colored rocks from California are not worth even trying.
Quote from: mythbuster on July 22, 2023, 11:39:45 AMI was at Costco last week and they had crates of them. BUT they were all so dark green that it was clear they would not be any good.
Now, the East coast search this year for peaches is whole other thing. I know the Georgia crop got wiped out by a warm winter, but I know they grow them in other Southern states and I can't find those either. The peach colored rocks from California are not worth even trying.
I've got a lot of peaches, sourced from Georgia (supposedly from GA--who knows where these Saturday morning farmers' market vendors actually get them).
Transfers easily to an East German joke from before 1989. East German prices were fixed and too low.
Consumer is shopping.
Asks store attendant: Do you have pineapples?
Answer is: No, we don't have peaches. They have no pineapples at the store next door.
I just got back from the same store. They are now stocked with big plastic containers with pre-cut pineapples. The shortage is now officially over.
Quote from: Anselm on July 22, 2023, 05:32:23 PMI just got back from the same store. They are now stocked with big plastic containers with pre-cut pineapples. The shortage is now officially over.
Over for you maybe! Still nothing in my area!!
We have peaches, but they are either rock hard or very small (or both small and rock hard).
the fresh peaches here are in small plastic bags and sold by the pound. I took one bag, took out the hard ones (splitting them among other bags, and filled the bag back with peaches that had at least some degree of softness).
some are ok, others are not really juicy and flavorful, but at least can be eaten.
("The food on the buffet was terrible, but there was a lot of it"... good news/bad news sort of thing)
I saw pineapples at Costco yesterday. Few takers though.
First they came for the pineapples. And I said nothing . . .
Went to the store yesterday. No pineapple still!
There is cut pineapple, but it is like $9 a pound! and there isnt a lot of it out!
The website today stated that "Fresh Pineapple may have limited availability at this time"
Please remember to look for pineapple in the store, when you next go!
Since I last posted I have been to the grocery store. No fresh pineapple.
I checked the online shopping link just now. Fresh Pineapple, not available!
Did the Yellow Truck Bankruptcy prevent pineapple transport to my area?
I mean it's not Florida where truckers are boycotting the state (at least I think that they are, but not sure it makes a difference).
Are you still sufficiently supplied? My area is an ab oration or the 'canary in the coal mine'?
I drink pineapple juice for breakfast, but never have occasion to buy it fresh. So I don't know about our local stores. And anyway it's been cherry season, and that has been my fresh fruit of choice lately. I know that after seeing this thread I'll better appreciate its availability next time I go to a buffet place that offers it.
Fresh pineapples from Costa Rica in the local market here in New York area. Del Monte brand I think.
8/3
My Bride was at the grocery story yesterday and still no fresh pineapple.
IF you want some, and your local grocery has it, better stock up! You wont miss it til it's gone!!
Finished the last of my pineapple juice for breakfast this morning. It'll be a few weeks before I feel like getting some more, since I drink citrus for breakfast most of the time. Hope it'll still be available then!
I'm driving through Flyover Land, right now. The only pineapple I found at Big-Box Superstore were pre-cut chunks mixed with other pre-cut fruit.
Heaps here.
My Bride was at the grocery store yesterday. None there.
I had to venture to WalMart today and found some small Costa Rica pineapple. I got one. I am looking forward to trying it after missing for so long!
Still, it isnt the size Im used to.
Ok, now I'm intrigued. I plan to look for pineapple today.
Quote from: evil_physics_witchcraft on August 06, 2023, 08:47:51 AMOk, now I'm intrigued. I plan to look for pineapple today.
We have some at our Whole Foods and I meant to look to see where it was from for an update to this thread... but as happens at Whole Foods I got distracted.
I stopped by the store today and found whole pineapple for $2.79 each.
Since I started this thread, I was once able to get a pineapple (a smaller one) from Walmart. My local grocery has not had them. Today was no exception!!
If you have the opportunity to enjoy a fresh pineapple, dont let it slip through your fingers!! Enjoy it while you can!!
Saw them yesterday at my grocery store for $2.69 a piece in the Land of Lincoln...
Better, but not resolved...
Last week, My Bride found no pineapple at the grocery store. The workers suggested we come early in the day, or call early so that IF they have any, they can set one asside.
At wallmart last week, (after leaving the grocery store), she scored a pineapple!!! She said that they had 3 to choose from. The worker there indicated that earlier in the day someone bought 50!! Why would anyone need 50? (Perhaps pinapple Hoarding is in full swing!!)
Today I got another pineapple from Walmart, to full up my container! There seemed to be 20 or so to pick from. Still, though the grocery store seems to still be lacking!
So be Warned!! Pineapple Hoarding May now be a THING!! Dont find yourself without a pineapple! (It may not be as critical as the TP issues when COVID struck!)
An absolute wall of them in my local grocery store yesterday. I hadn't seen this thread first, so didn't know to inspect for quality, but I'd estimate 200+. Sorry, clean.
AR.
Clean's locale has insufficient offers of pineapples. AvidReader's locale clearly has sufficient offers of pineapples. They need to get together, so one can ship to the other. They just gotta haggle over price! :-)
Haven't been looking for pineapples lately, but had great luck finding fresh cherries. Locally we usually have them on a blink-and-you-miss-it basis, but they've been available for much of the summer this year. The nation's cherry growers must have had a banner year. We should take advantage of their availability this year, since anymore there's no guarantee that next year most of the nation's cherry orchards might not be lost to droughts or wildfires or something.
Quote from: dismalist on September 04, 2023, 02:31:42 PMClean's locale has insufficient offers of pineapples. AvidReader's locale clearly has sufficient offers of pineapples. They need to get together, so one can ship to the other. They just gotta haggle over price! :-)
I used to live, I think, in the state adjacent to clean's. Clearly I made the right choice when I left! (That said, clean, if you decided to give your address to me, a random stranger on the internet, I would absolutely mail you a pineapple).
AR.
Saw pineapples in my little urban corner grocery store. Sign said they were from Costa Rica.
Quote from: dismalist on September 04, 2023, 02:31:42 PMClean's locale has insufficient offers of pineapples. AvidReader's locale clearly has sufficient offers of pineapples. They need to get together, so one can ship to the other. They just gotta haggle over price! :-)
Hmm. I wonder if I could grow pineapples here in metro StL and make a killing in the pineapple market. . . . free pineapples to Clean, of course! :-)
Quote from: dismalist on September 04, 2023, 02:31:42 PMClean's locale has insufficient offers of pineapples. AvidReader's locale clearly has sufficient offers of pineapples. They need to get together, so one can ship to the other. They just gotta haggle over price! :-)
One inefficiency of the market is that individuals can't ship produce (or many other goods) cheaply enough. It would cost at least ten bucks to get a $3 pineapple to another state in decent shape. Dole and Del Monte can do the job for a lot less. How they pissed off Clean's produce manager is the question to pursue.
HOOORRRRAYYYYY
I am pleased to report that fresh pineapples have returned to the grocery store! They are not cheap (almost $4 for the "premium" pineapple that is available), compared to the price for the 'regular' ones that should be about 1/2 that price.
Glad to hear that the pineapples are back in clean-land. Sad to say that we no longer have fresh cherries at our local store. They were good while they lasted.