Posts Tagged “citrus shipments”
California Citrus Shipments
California shipping estimates will undoubtedly plunge as more information is becoming available on that December 4-10 freeze in the San Joaquin Valley.
The USDA January estimate lists numbers three to five percent lower than December estimates for oranges and tangerines. But it is worse. The heaviest damage is in Kern County, while other citrus areas in the valley saw only minor effects. The reason – Kern County doesn’t have wind machines to fight the freezing temperatures.
Preliminary damage estimates for the Kern County’s citrus crop may exceed $100 million following the harrowing freeze in the area this last December. Official loss estimates won’t be available until April.
Kern County growers of lemons, tangerines, and mandarins have lost as much as half their crop to freeze damage. One estimate has losses of 15 percent of Kern County’s Valencia orange crop and 35 percent of other large orange varieties being damaged. Lemons took the largest hit, with an estimated 50 percent of the total not meeting fresh market standards. Tangerine and mandarin losses are estimated between 40 and 50 percent.
The cold weather has also changed the timeline for shipments. Normally the valley has navels into June and occasionally into July, but loadings this year will probably end in May, or at the latest by early June.
Southern California citrus and berries – grossing about $6400 to New York City.
Freezing temperatures are slated to hit California’s Central Valley tonight (December 4) and stick around through Saturday. Whether this is a serious threat is too early to tell, and even if it is we’re looking at next week for any initial damage assessments.
The fruit needs a cold snap to finish ripening, but that typically comes during Christmas week. Growers will be watering the fields and getting the ground moisture up as a precaution.
Desert Vegetable Shipments
Good supplies of desert vegetables were available on basically all vegetables for the Thanksgiving and the same is expected through December, assuming the weather cooperates.
Produce truckers and growers are hoping warm weather continues and keeps the crops and shipments on schedule and produce good volume moving into the Christmas pull in mid-December.
Favorable weather actually has the crops are running a little bit ahead of schedule, but if it turns cold, things could change quickly.
We’ll keep an eye on the cold weather in the San Joaquin Valley and see if it not affects citrus shipments there, but grapes, as well as strawberries and other items in Southern California, plus the vegetables coming out of the California and Arizona deserts.
Record cranberry shipments could occur for the second year in a row, plus here is a review of recently completed seasonal shipments for potatoes and citrus.
There were record shipments of cranberries last year and a similar amount of the fruit is expected to be coming out of Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Washington state bogs this season. Only about 10 percent of the crop is shipped as fresh, while the remainder mostly is processed for juices and sauce.
One estimate has the cranberry crop at around 11.1 and 11.5 million barrels, similar to the 2012 production of 11.2 million barrels. That 2012 crop was a record. Most shipments occur mid-September through mid-November.
Historically, about 80 percent of a season’s crop is consumed in North America, and about 20 percent of the crop is consumed during Thanksgiving week.
Potato Shipments
USA potato shipments increased eight percent in 2012, but citrus production was down 4 percent.
About 463 million cwt. of potatoes was shipped in the U.S. in 2012, according to a USDA report released September 19.
Citrus Shipments
Citrus shipments dropped four percent last season, and totaled 11.2 million tons during 2012-13.
Florida accounted for 63 percent, and California 34 percent of all citrus shipped in the USA. Texas and Arizona made up the balance.
Florida’s orange shipments, at 134 million boxes, fell nine percent from the previous season. Bearing citrus acreage in Florida, at 489,600 acres, was 5,500 acres below the 2011-2012 season.