From Florida in the East to California in West, to Canada in the North, here’s a look at opportunities for loadings in three different time zones.
Florida Avocado Shipments
South Florida avocado shipments will get underway nearly a month later than normal, beginning with light volumes in late May. Shipments will be light in June before heaviest loadings arrive in early to mid-July. Shipments should hit about 1 million-1.1 million-bushel this season with south Florida green-skinned varieties.
June is expected to bring considerably smaller volume than usual, but shipments are expected to catch up with bigger volume later in the season.
Southern and Central Florida watermelons, vegetables and tomatoes – grossing about $3300 to New York City.
Ontario Asparagus Shipments
Just North of the U.S. border, asparagus loadings are underway from Southern Ontario. An estimated 85 Canadian farmers in the province grow about 3,400 acres of asparagus. Norfolk and Elgin County have the bulk of Ontario’s asparagus farms, but there are others located in Chatham-Kent, Waterloo and in Essex County. The weather has been a little cool, but as soon as it warms up, asparagus grows really fast and volume will take off.
California Apricot Shipments
Last year California apricot loadings hit a record low. Only 35,000 tons were shipped. In a normal year like 2014, shipments totaled 55,500 tons.
Grown mostly in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties, California apricots account for about 98 percent of all apricots produced in the United States. This year’s apricot shipments should top 50,000-tons.
California Fig Shipments
California fig loadings have been underway in light volume from the Coachella Valley. However, with the close of May primary volume will have shifted to the Southern San Joaquin Valley, although it will be mid June before shipments hit stride. Two primary fig shippers are Western Fresh Marketing and Stellar Distributing, both based in Madera, CA, the heart of fig country. About 35 percent of the fig volume goes to the fresh market, with the remainder being dried.
California fig growers produce 100 percent of the dried figs and 98 percent of the fresh figs grown in the United States.