Peter Condakes Co. is a longstanding presence at the New England Produce Center, providing a full range of fresh fruits and vegetables to major supermarket chains, regional wholesalers, foodservice operators and neighborhood independent stores. The company has built its reputation on consistency, service and deep industry expertise developed over generations in the Boston market.

As the Boston marketplace continues to evolve, Peter John Condakes, president of the company, noted 2025 has been one of the more difficult years in recent memory, shaped by oversupply, shifting demand patterns and affordability concerns among consumers.

“It’s been a year where production has outstripped demand in a lot of cases,” he said. “While pockets of certain markets experienced occasional volatility, strong and steady growing conditions across many regions produced abundant volume without the weather events that often stabilize pricing.”

With good growing weather in most areas, most of the time, he noted it left the industry with more product than the market could absorb.

“The effects were noticeable throughout the winter and into the current season,” Condakes said. “New England experienced three straight months of below-normal temperatures last winter — December, January and February — which he was the first time that had happened since 2012. That downturn was reflected in slower movement and softer demand.”

Coupled with concerns over potential government shutdown and broader economic instability, buyers and consumers became more cautious.

“I think the lower end of the population is hurting,” Condakes said, adding that overall demand felt lighter than usual. He described the environment as a perfect storm that made movement more difficult even when product quality was high.

The company’s customer base spans large supermarket chains to neighborhood independent stores, including ethnic markets serving Hispanic and Asian communities. While smaller stores may carry a narrower assortment, Condakes said sourcing is not fundamentally different across formats. 

“Specialty needs vary, but the fundamentals of fresh supply remain consistent,” he said. “Even there, they used to all be here swarming to pick out their best stuff. And now that’s really not the case as much.”

The keys to strong relationships in this business, he shared, are honesty and consistency and doing what’s needed to help the customer.  

“Customers appreciate straightforward assessments of quality and the willingness to acknowledge mistakes,” Condakes said. “If something will not meet expectations, I would rather say so than risk disappointing a buyer. Reliability is especially valuable when markets tighten and buyers require assurance that product will be available.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Condakes hopes for a more balanced marketplace with supply more closely aligned to demand, and with pricing that allows consumers to continue purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. 

After recently doing grocery shopping himself, he said he was struck by how expensive food has become.

“My fear is that half the population can’t buy what we’re offering,” he said.

He remains hopeful that the coming year will bring more stability and relief for both sellers and shoppers. 

“A little bit better markets, not quite so oversupplied relative to demand,” he said. “That would be helpful.”