During the last week of December, six nights of cold weather swept through the San Joaquin Valley, but temperatures did not fall low enough to produce any significant damage to the California citrus crop.

However, that same cold front did pass through the desert vegetable production regions, delaying harvest each morning and limiting supplies as a result.

Citrus prices have remained stable but the f.o.b. price on many vegetable items is climbing because of decreased supplies. The supply situation could remain unstable for most of January.

For example, in early January, in its regular supply letter called “Straight Talk,” Tanimura & Antle discussed the issue as it relates to  Iceberg lettuce

“We have experienced noon starts in Yuma and Imperial Valley the last five days and expect continued freezing nights through the weekend,” the missive stated. “The crop is not growing. We will have 75 percent of our normal volume for the next three to four weeks. Expect higher prices and discoloration associated with epidermal peeling.”

It had similar reports about Romaine, Romaine hearts and mixed leaf items. Broccoli production was cut in half by the cold weather and T&A said it would only have about 50 percent of its average production, though it did say that quality was good for the product being sold.

Some of the less-sensitive items, such as celery, appear to be in better shape, according to T&A.

“Despite the cold weather, quality in both areas (Oxnard and Yuma) is excellent. We are harvesting our normal numbers,” according to  the report.

Brussels sprouts seemed to be hit hard as Market News Service reported that prices were in the mid-$20s in early January for a 25-pound carton. Most other vegetable items were trading in the $14 to $17 range, above normal, but not to stratospheric levels.

Of course, one thing limiting demand were very cold temperatures on the East Coast, where winter snow was no doubt playing havoc with normal grocery shopping experiences.

With regard to citrus, California Citrus Mutual revealed Jan. 5 that moderate temperatures were expected that night and the six previous nights of critically cold weather did not do much damage, as growers used wind machines and other costly measures to warm their groves.

CCM said there is no indication of significant damage to either the Navel crop or the Mandarin crop. The crop estimate for the 2014-15 Navel orange season was 78 million cartons in the San Joaquin Valley and another 5 million cartons in Southern California. Approximately 25 percent of the orange crop has been harvested.

Mandarin tonnage was estimated to be 50 million five-pound cartons this year and approximately 70 percent of the crop remains on the tree.

Harvesting and shipping were returning to normal levels during the first full week of January.