Posts Tagged “feature”
California’s available Valencia orange supply continues to diminish. California’s Navel season has begun in a limited manner; supplies will increase week over week as harvesting ramps up, according to Markon Cooperative of Salinas, CA in a press release.
California
- Valencias are finished for the season with Navel varieties available
- Quality is good; some scarring has been reported
- California Navel shipments are in full swing
Mexico
- Mexican imports (crossing in Nogales, Arizona) are expected in mid-November
- Great quality is forecast; sugar levels will range from 12-13 Brix
- Prices will be comparable to those in Florida and Texas
Texas
- Early variety seeded oranges will ship through February before the start of the Valencia season
- Quality is good; sugar levels range from 11-12 Brix
- Florida
- The new crop Hamlin season has begun
- Supplies are dominated by 138-count and smaller sizes
- Quality is fair; sugar levels range from 10-11 Brix
- Most of the fruit will be choice and standard grades
- Import
- Fruit is being imported to the East Coast
- South African seeded Midnight-variety oranges are shipping
- Quality is good; sugar levels range from 12-13 Brix
- The season will end in late November
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The first Chilean cherry imports of the 2025-26 season arrived by air last month and weekly arrivals have been occurring since.
Chilean distributor Forever Fresh reports the first shipment consisted of eight pallets from Garcés Fruit, harvested in Chile’s central zone.
The shipment was made by air to New York City and included varieties such as Royal Down, Glenn Red, Brooks, and Coral. The second shipment to arrived on, Saturday October 25.
Forever Fresh plans to maintain a flow of shipments every two days, with fruit coming from both Garcés Fruit and Verfrut.
The company noted the first cherries arrived in excellent condition, with outstanding freshness and appearance, being crunchy, with good color and high sugar levels.
In this first stage, Forever Fresh will distribute the product to retailers and wholesalers to meet the initial demand for the season’s early lots.
Chile is riding the coattails of an excellent season by Washington state.
Chile apparently learned a lesson last season that it is not wise to put all of your eggs, or in this case, cherries in one basket.
Chile views the US as an excellent market and opportunity for Chilean cherries. Today, 90 percent of the Andean country’s crop is destined for China, making local producers extremely dependent on the Asian giant. Last year’s oversupply drove prices down dramatically, prompting the question: Should Chile look beyond the East?
Cultivating the US market with counter-seasonal cherries is a great alternative. Thus, market diversification has become a long term goal for Chileans.
There is clear potential in the United States, but Forever Fresh realizes building the market takes time. The company has been investing together with its producers—Garcés, Verfrut, Probex, and Unifrutti—to develop demand and reaccustom consumers to seeing high-quality Chilean fruit during the winter.
The United States imported about 4 million boxes of Chilean cherries last year. Forever Fresh accounted for 25 percent of the market share.
The company projects growth of between 20 percent and 25 percent, with the most important thing being consistency in quality and supply.
It will be of utmost importance to provide that quality and supply for key periods such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Valentine’s Day. Just as it happens in China, where cherries are offered as a gift for the Lunar New Year, Chilean cherries are looking to position themselves as a high-value product and premium gift.
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Rain is forecast for the California growing regions of Santa Maria and Oxnard Thursday night, November 13, then November 16, through Friday, November 17; harvesting cancellations are expected, according to a press release from Markon Cooperative of Salinas, CA.
Limited yields from the South Texas growing region will help offset California’s reduced volume. Expect an extreme demand-exceeds-supply market over the next two weeks.
Santa Maria/Oxnard
- Upcoming rain will present quality issues, as well as harvesting delays
- Expect an extreme demand-exceeds-supply market for the next two weeks
- Quality ranges from fair to fairly good; light decay, soft skin, and bruising are issues
- Size ranges from small-medium to medium
- Maintaining the cold chain will be vital for shelf-life; Markon recommends ordering for quick turns
- Expect tight supplies and elevated prices
Mexico/South Texas
- Current yields will not meet demand
- Supplies are limited, due to quality problems including white shoulders, skin bruising, and green tips
- Maintaining the cold chain will be vital for shelf-life; Markon recommends ordering for quick turns
- Supplies will increase in late November
- Expect low volume and high markets
The Port of Savannah handled 486,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units in September, an increase of 35,280 TEUs or eight percent compared to the same month last year. For the period from July 1 to September 30, Savannah’s container trade is up 4.7 percent, or 66,845 TEUs.
“We’re focused on berth, rail, truck gate, and container yard operations to offer the best service in these competitive times for our customers,” said Georgia Ports President and CEO Griff Lynch.
The executive said the point of entry is consistently delivering operational metrics, such as 50-minute trucker turn times for dual moves at port gates and an average rail dwell of 22 hours.
It was GPA’s busiest September for total rail lifts, at 51,235 containers, up 21 percent or nearly 9,000 lifts compared to September 2024.
For the fiscal year to date, GPA achieved total rail lifts of nearly 150,000, an increase of 4.7 percent. The Appalachian Regional Port set a record of 4,453 container lifts last month, an increase of 48 percent or 1,450 lifts. Since July, the ARP has handled 11,465 containers, up 1,340 or 13 percent.
The Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal also posted strong performance, moving 46,782 containers, up 19 percent, or 7,530 lifts, in September. Mason Mega Rail has moved more than 138,400 containers through September of this fiscal year, an increase of 5,380 lifts, or 4 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier.
The Port of Savannah completed 316,889 truck gate transactions in September, counting both import and export container moves. Turn times for dropping off or picking up a single container averaged 32 minutes in September.
Dual export-import moves averaged 50 minutes. Dual moves, in which a driver drops off an export and picks up an import container, account for approximately 80 percent of truck transactions at the Port of Savannah, reducing trips and emissions. Truck drivers serving the Port of Savannah complete an average of six to eight turns per day, representing the industry’s best supply chain speed through a container port.
Expansion outlook for Georgia
Construction of Berth 4 is ongoing with an expected completion in 2027.
“Market cycles are a normal part of business and are reflected in supply chain flow. We’re focused on adding new berth capabilities to help our RoRo customers compete strongly in the future,” Lynch added.
A diverse crop of fall vegetables are now being shipped from Florida, although volume doesn’t match that of the state’s busiest period, springtime.
Items coming out of an area ranging from Homestead to Belle Glade range from sweet corn to green beans, Bell peppers, tomatoes and leafy greens. Favorable growing conditions have growers and shippers optimistic for good, quality crops.
The long, diverse list of Florida’s fall produce shipments include fruits and vegetables such as sweet corn, Bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, avocados, carrots, radishes, squash and green beans. Fall also is the start of the state’s citrus shipments, with early varieties of oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit. It also includes leafy greens such as romaine, as well as the beginning of Florida strawberries from the Plant City area.
Florida ranks among the nation’s top producers of several key specialty crops, leading the U.S. in the production of oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and Bell peppers during the fall and winter months.
Southern Specialties of Pompano Beach, FL imports product from Central and South America as well as shipping Florida produce. The company relies heavily on the ports at Miami and the Everglades for its imported items.
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Philadelphia, PA — PhilaPort recently announced that it has acquired the Mustin Yard Property from Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Located adjacent to PhilaPort’s SouthPort Marine Terminal, the 152-acre Mustin Yard represents the last available land at the nexus of deep water, rail, and highway access.
Originally part of the former Philadelphia Navy Yard, the site has long been viewed as a critical asset for the Port’s future growth.
This acquisition marks a major milestone in PhilaPort’s long-term development strategy and aligns with the recently released PhilaPort Strategic Plan: Destination 2040.
The acquisition of Mustin Yard will allow PhilaPort to significantly expand its cargo handling capacity, attract new business, and create family-sustaining jobs across the region. After setting records in both container volumes and new automobile imports in 2024, PhilaPort is poised for its next phase of growth.
The site includes a fully developed intermodal transfer facility, which Norfolk Southern and PhilaPort are committed to activating with operational capabilities. This will enhance logistics reach for port users and local shippers, further integrating maritime and rail freight systems to support regional and national supply chains.
PhilaPort and Norfolk Southern finalized the transaction on September 30th.
About PhilaPort: The Port of Philadelphia (PhilaPort), is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing, and promotion of port facilities along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district. PhilaPort works with its terminal operators to improve its facilities and to market those facilities to prospective port users around the world. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.
The California Prune Board (CPB) reports data provided by handlers in September, show an estimated 65,000 short tons of prunes available for the 2025 crop. This compares with 76,413 short tons last year.
This is down about 15 percent from last years volume, which was a little above average.
California prunes have a large brand in Sunsweet of Yuba City, CA, and there are a couple of larger handlers such as Mariani.
The industry’s planting area remains around 36,000 to 38,000 acres, with ongoing replanting focused on replacing older trees with highly productive ones.
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With the Salinas Valley quality ridden lettuce season mercifully ending and Huron approaching its brief fall shipping season, lettuce loadings get underway next week from the desert regions of Arizona and California. Volume is expected to be light through November.
Meanwhile, lettuce shipments from Huron in the San Joaquin Valley continue with good quality product. This area will pretty much be finished by the end of the month.
The Salinas Valley is still shipping limited amounts of lettuce, but beware of widespread quality problems due to disease and mildew and untimely rains.
Oxnard also is loading lettuce in limited volume. Quality is reported good.
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An MDPI study found that American 100 percent juice drinkers have a higher Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2020 score, consume less added sugar, and more total fruit, potassium, calcium and vitamin C.
The research examined the dietary benefits of 100 percent fruit juice and diluted 100 percent juice across diverse socio-demographic data, and found that 100 percent fruit juice consumption is an indicator of healthier diets.
Researchers used two recent cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which contained more than 10,000 adult dietary patterns, and the data of 4,086 children ages 5–19.
Results showed that 100 percent fruit juice drinkers scored 53 on the HEI, based on the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, versus non-drinkers who scored 48. Consumers also had significantly higher HEI 2020 subscores for selected categories, notably total fruit, whole fruit, and whole grains.
However, despite its benefits, only 24 percent of those surveyed consumed any 100 percent juice over the two days of NHANES dietary recalls, and up to 75 percent of people ages 14 to 70 consumed no 100 percent juice at all.
The DGA’s 1-cup limit (8 ounces) was met by the overwhelming majority (94.8 percent) of the population. The half-cup limit (4 ounces) was met by 88% of the population. And 77 percent of young children consumed less than a half cup of 100 percent juice per day.
Practically all older children (94 percent) consumed less than 1 cup of 100% juice per day.
The fruit dietary recommendation is that at least 50 percent of total fruit intake come from whole fruit rather than 100 percent juice. However, the research says there is evidence that 100 percent juice is not displacing whole fruit.
Children ages 13 and younger, and adults over 70, drank more juice than other age groups. Non-Hispanic White groups were less likely to consume 100 percent juice than Black and Hispanic people. Orange juice and apple juice are the two principal 100 percent fruit juices in the U.S. consumer diet.
After three consecutive banner years, Wisconsin cranberry growers are projecting lower volumes for the 2025 season, according to the Wisconsin State Cranberry Association.
Last year alone, the state’s growers harvested a total of 6.01 million barrels of cranberries, one of the highest on record. And since cranberries are perennial plants, growers expected the fruit to produce less, which it did.
According to the USDA, overall US cranberry production is projected to be lower this season, and Wisconsin’s expected output is projected to total 5.3 million barrels, a decrease of around 11 percent from last year.
Wisconsin cranberries are grown by fourth- and fifth generation families.
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