he New Mexico onion season was off to a strong start in early July, shippers and USDA numbers report.
The USDA indicated that New Mexico onion shipments for the week of June 23-29 totaled 912 (40,000-pound) truckloads or about 48% of the total domestic truck shipments of onions that week.
Season-to-date shipments of New Mexico onions through June 29 were 4,298 truckloads, up 19% compared with the same time a year ago.
Brandon Barker, vice president of Barker Produce, Las Cruces, N.M., said on July 2 that the state’s onion harvest was close to halfway finished. Yields have been good this year, and supply of the state’s onion is projected through the end of August, he said.
Demand, retail programs and price contracts have been strong, Barker said, with the yellow onion market a little more sluggish than the red and white onion markets.
“It’s been a good year for us,” he said.
Chris Franzoy, president of Legacy Fresh LLC, Deming, N.M., said he was happy with the quality of New Mexico’s onions. The company is packing red, yellow and white onions.
“We service basically every market from retail to food service, as well as processors,” he said.
Franzoy said Legacy Fresh was finishing up the intermediate transplants and moving into its direct-seeded spring-planted onions.
“They’ve got nice healthy tops, and we expect to have good quality all the way through,” he said.
Overall domestic supply of onions could drop later in July, which may result in higher shipping point prices, he said.
Franzoy, a fourth-generation farmer whose family operates Billy the Kid Produce, along with his wife, Tammy, launched Legacy Fresh to serve as the marketing arm of Billy the Kid.
The company’s growing operation spans about 3,000 acres, and its packing facility can pack up to 30 full truckloads on a daily basis, Franzoy said.
Prosper Africa, a presidential initiative to strengthen strategic and economic partnerships between the United States and Africa, announced the U.S.-Africa Trade Desk’s (USATD) first trade agreement, valued at $56 million for 700 containers of South African table grapes.
The USATD, a joint venture between Prosper Africa and Afritex Ventures, aims to bridge the gap between African agricultural suppliers and U.S. buyers.
This transaction is expected to help U.S. retailers keep produce prices stable for consumers during the off-season, when commodity prices typically rise by 35%.
Financed with a trade facility structured by EAS Advisors and Scipion Capital, the deal increases value for African producers by providing firm purchase prices and reducing market volatility.
Shipments will begin the first week of November 2024 and continue through April 2025, filling gaps in the U.S. season.
USATD will facilitate the entire transaction, providing an end-to-end solution bridging the gap between retailers’ U.S. and African production needs.
“I am excited not only to celebrate the first USATD agreement but also that South African grape growers will have the ability to export directly to U.S. retailers on a large scale,” said Prosper Africa coordinator, British A. Robinson.
“Prosper Africa is proud to work with African companies to help them take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and facilitate their partnerships with U.S. buyers who want to diversify their suppliers and find high-quality products for their consumers.”
Through the first six months of 2024 Mexico is the only origin currently exporting mangos to the U.S., with a total of 55,404,132 boxes for the season.
Volumes for the Mexican season, which started in January and is expected to last until October, are expected to be about 1% lower year-on-year, according to the National Mango Board report.
The total mango volume shipped on the week ending 06/29/2024 was approximately 4,221,703 boxes.
Projections for the season are at approximately 94.8 million boxes, with the main varieties being: Tommy Atkins (34%), Ataulfo/Honey (27%), Kent (25%), Keitt (11%), and others (3%).
There are currently three main mango varieties shipped to the U.S. market: Kent (52%), Tommy Atkins (29%), and Ataulfo/Honey (16%).
Additionally, Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, South Sinaloa, and North Sinaloa are the regions currently harvesting and/or packing.
Over the last two decades, blueberries have experience amazing growth, but “blues” were still identified in a poll of industry professionals as the berry with the biggest potential to grow consumption in the next five years.
The 268 voting in a poll in the LinkedIn Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group were asked, “What berry category has the most room to grow in the next five years?”
The results of the poll were:
Blueberries — 41%.
Blackberries — 27%.
Strawberries — 16%.
Raspberries — 15%.
USDA per capita retail numbers shows strong gains for each fresh berry category.
The USDA does not report blackberry per capita consumption.
Raspberry retail per capita consumption in 2021 totaled 0.8 pounds, up 166% from 0.3 pounds in 2011 and up 700% from 0.1 pounds in 2001.
Strawberry retail per capita consumption in 2021 totaled 6.7 pounds, up 45% from 4.6 pounds in 2011 and up 131% from 2.9 pounds in 2001.
Blueberry retail per capita consumption was 2.3 pounds in 2021, up 92% from 1.2 pounds in 2011 and up 667% from 0.3 pounds in 2011.
Trade numbers show explosive growth of all berries.
U.S. import value of all berries excluding strawberries totaled $4.3 billion in 2023, up 339% from 2013 and up 1,940% from 2003.
Calavo Growers of Santa Paula, CA started importing Peruvian fruit each week in June, and shipments are anticipated to continue into early September.
Calavo Fresh Sales reports inital arrivals are ripening well and have excellent quality. Peruvian supplies look good coming out of Peru, although crop volume is down from previous years and sizing is trending from large to small sizes.
Calavo’s shipments from Peru are received in the port of Philadelphia and transferred the short distance to its Swedesboro, N.J., warehouse for ripening and shipping.
The majority of Calavo’s Peruvian fruit is sold loose in standard 2-layer tray-packed cartons.
North American Blueberry Council. of Folsom, CA reports U.S. blueberry production is expected to reach 700 million pounds this year, up from 637.2 million pounds in 2023.
An exceptional summer blueberry shipping season would follow Georgia’s record volume last year with an even bigger crop — 115 million pounds — in 2024.
North Carolina’s volume is down slightly from last season, but quality is great. Likewise, New Jersey and Michigan are set for a strong season with excellent pollination and fruit set. Additionally, growers in the Pacific Northwest anticipate a larger crop than last year.
Fresh volume out of California could be off because of lan anticipated heat waves materialize during the second half of the Golden State’s blueberry season.
Overall, quality of U.S. blueberries is expected to be good this summer.
Naturipe Farms of Salina, CA will have blueberries from New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon and Washington. The company reports exceptional quality and flavor.
Naturipe also sources blackberries from Georgia, North Carolina and California and sources raspberries from central Mexico and the country’s Baja California region.
Consalo Family Farms of Vinenland, NJ recently expanded a packinghouse at its Egg Harbor City, N.J., blueberry farm. The company offers New Jersey blueberries starting in early June but offer berries year-round.
Gem-Pack Berries of Irivine, CA sources raspberries out of Baja California, California’s Watsonville/Salinas growing region and Oxnard, CA.
The grower/shipper reports the quality and flavor of Watsonville raspberries have been awesome.
Naturipe notes it will have significant volume of new acres of its new proprietary blueberries in all of its blueberry-growing regions, resulting in higher volume this year.
Utolithin A, a gut compound that’s produced by ingesting pomegranates, berries, and nuts, can have an impact on aging and diseases like alzheimer’s.
The compound has been proved to improve muscle function in young animals and the prevention of age-related muscle decline in old-mice.
Urolithin A removes weak mitochondria from the brain and is as effective as Nicotinamide riboside supplement (NAD supplement), plays a key role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as it actively helps remove damaged mitochondria from the brain.
Researchers don’t know the exact amount of urolithin A that’s needed to improve alzheimer’s symptoms, but the substance is available in pill form as well.
The study is published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
According to the study, alzheimer’s disease is estimated to triple worldwide by 2050. The disease, which affects your memory and bodily functions, is difficult to treat.
Vilhelm Bohr, the Affiliate Professor at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Copenhagen and was previously Department Chair at the US National Institute on Aging, said that “Even though the study was conducted on mouse models, the prospects are positive. So far, research has shown promising results for the substance in the muscles, and clinical trials on humans are being planned.”
California pear growers began harvest in the River growing district this week with bartlett and red bartlett being the first varieties to be picked this year.
Harvest in the River District will be followed in early August with Mendocino district starting harvest on Aug. 5 and Lake County district starting on Aug. 12.
In comparison to last year’s crop, bartletts are expected to see an 18% decrease in production, while other pear varieties are projected to be down by 16%, Zanobini said.
“The total anticipated production for all varieties is estimated at 2,004,350 boxes,” said Chris Zanobini, executive director of the California Pear Advisory Board in a press release. “This volume includes organic bartlett pears and red pear varieties that are growing in popularity, as well as over 510,000 boxes of golden russet bosc pears.
The River growing district, which produces 66% of California’s pears, represents the largest volume of California grown pears, according to the release. The Lake County region is the second largest at 22%, followed by the Mendocino growing region which produced 12% of California’s 2023 pear crop.
During the past four years inflation has battered consumers, and a Rabobank analysis says U.S. consumers have finally hit the wall.
In a report on the cost of a Fourth of July barbecue, Rabobank analysts said consumers are trading down and eating out less often in response to long-running inflation.
“The consumer is waving the white flag on food inflation,” Tom Bailey, senior consumer foods analyst at Rabobank, said in a news release. “With an added 2% in price hikes in 2024 coupled with the cost disparity between dining out and cooking at home at its widest margin in history, we’re seeing heightened fatigue and frugality.”
The 2024 Rabobank BBQ Index, which measures the cost of staple ingredients for a 10-person barbecue, shows that it will cost $99 to host a cookout on the Fourth of July this year, up from $97 last year and $73 in 2018. Cookout ingredients are 32% higher food costs in 2024 compared with 2019, according to Rabobank.
The index showed that the average U.S. consumer has to work an hour to earn enough money for a six-pack of beer and a burger in 2024, up from 51 minutes in 2019, and they’ll have to work nine hours to pay for a barbecue this year, up 32% since 2019.
Produce prices for the BBQ Index are mostly tame compared with a year ago, Rabobank economists said. California’s drought in 2023 sent lettuce prices to more than $100 a carton, well above the average range of $15 to $20 per carton. Rabobank analysts said lettuce prices have come down significantly in 2024.
“We expect leafy greens to have steady supplies, good quality and decent prices,” Rabobank economists said in the release.
Potatoes, also hit hard by drought last year, have rebounded with greater supply based on expanded acreage harvested in the fall of 2023. Potato prices are about half of year-ago levels, the index showed.
On the other side of the ledger, Rabobank analysts said tomato prices have moved higher in 2024 as dry weather in Mexico has curtailed production and overall availability.
Rabobank analysts said a reported 68% of people polled by Vericast say they are switching from restaurants — where the tab is up 4.4% annually — to grocery stores, which have seen only a 1.1% price.
Consumers are pulling back all purchases because of tight budgets, Rabobank officials said. Retail sales were weaker than expected in May as higher borrowing rates and inflation discouraged purchase decisions, Rabobank economists said.
“Retail sales will likely remain soft throughout 2024,” Bailey said.
Wages have not kept up with inflation. Credit card debt, on average, sits at $10,479 per household in the U.S., up from $8,763 in 2021. Forty-one percent of Americans polled by WalletHub say they have more credit card debt now than they did 12 months ago, the release said.
Government aid, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency payments, the child tax credit, increased unemployment benefits and a suspension of student loan payments have ended, the release said. People under the age of 35 have been hit the hardest; credit card delinquencies in this demographic are at their highest level since 2011, according to the Federal Reserve.
“Fiscal fitness is now more of a focus,” Bailey said. “Saddled with mounting credit card debt, waning savings, and lower real income, consumers are spending less.”
The vast majority of individuals, both here in the U.S. and worldwide, have come to expect the seemingly guaranteed step-by-step updates that large distributors provide with each and every order submitted. So much so that it often feels like the end of the world when we don’t have that fresh “out for delivery” update on the day of projected receipt. In a world where everyone prefers to be as up-to-date as possible, it makes perfect sense that logistics and trucking companies would be required to provide tracking, right?
One of the biggest hot button topics in freight today is the exponential growth of thefts and scams. Given the integration and volume of texting and email into all walks of life, the evolution of 3PL carrier relationships is in a natural progression. While a general understanding of so-called “instant” communication would lead one to believe this makes the jobs of 3PL employees easier, the reality is that we are often faced with the scary question of “Where is my truck, and who is actually operating it?”
These days, tracking is no longer the eye-catching benefit it once was. Instead, it is now the standard, a bare minimum expectation when it comes to the growth of a 3PL customer relationship. The ability to go above and beyond tracking mandates is just as important as competitive rates or long-standing relationships. Prior to the last two to three years, carriers viewed tracking as bothersome, a form of micromanagement that signaled distrust. In just a short time, carriers are now not only familiar with tracking, but expect it. In a field full of uncertainties, what was once a selling point has rapidly developed into a pillar of the industry.
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Jake Diana graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Social Sciences. He joined the ALC San Francisco office in August 2022 as a broker’s assistant before being promoted to carrier sales representative and, most recently, carrier sales manager. Jake is a high-energy individual with a passion for competition, teamwork, and tech.
