Posts Tagged “Santa Maria vegetable shipments”
California produce shippers are looking to a spring and summer of good produce shipments, while mostly avoiding talk of bumper crops.
It should be a decent year for produce haulers looking to transport items ranging from stone fruit, to table grapes, cherries, melons, apples, citrus or berries. While El Nino didn’t happen, at least to the extent many thought it would, there has been average rains in much of the state that have helped to fight, but not eliminate the California drought. Adequate labor also continues to be a concern.
Here’s a look at California produce shipments in the coming months.
Apple Shipments
California apple shipment should get underway the week of July 20th with galas and continue through September. Fujis loadings should be available from mid-August through October. Granny Smith apple movement should be from late August through December; Pink Lady apple loadings will occur from mid-October through December.
About 1.8 million boxes of apples will be shipped, with around two-thirds of the volume marketed by Primavera Marketing of Linden, CA.
Berry Shipments
Strawberry shippers from Ventura County are in a seasonal decline. However, good volume is predicted for Watsonville starting in May and will continue into August. Strawberries out of Santa Maria have started and will continue through July. Raspberries have a similar season, although there is much less volume with shipping gaps. California will ship blueberries through May, before loadings shift to the Pacific Northwest.
Melon Shipments
California cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon shipments should be in good supply this summer. Prior to California, there will be cantaloupe loadings starting out of Yuma, AZ. This is followed by the melon harvest shifting to Huron, CA around June 20th.
Stone Fruit Shipments
Loadings for stone fruit shippers from the Southern San Joaquin Valley are just starting and will continue for the next four months. Leading items are peaches, plums and nectarines.
Citrus Shipments
Late-season navel oranges and mandarins continue to be shipped for a few more weeks. Valencias get underway in July. Lemon loadings are virtually over in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Loadings are now shifting to production areas on the coast.
Orange and mandarin shipments – grossing about $5000 to Atlanta.
Grape Shipments
Coachella Valley grape shippers should start the first week of May and continue through most of June. Shipments will then shift to the Arvin district (Bakersfield) around July 1.
Vegetable Shipments
There is light but increasing volume with vegetable shipments from both Santa Maria and Salinas. Items range from head lettuce, to leaf lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, romaine, celery, kale, parsley and cilantro, among others. There should be good volume by early May.
Santa Maria vegetable shipments – grossing about $6500 to New York City.
From Santa Mara, CA vegetables, to Mexican imports and a USDA update on melon availablity, here are some shipping opportunities for produce haulers.
Vegetable shippers in California’s Santa Maria district see stable shipments this spring, even though the region didn’t get as thorough a winter soaking from El Niño as forecasts suggested. The California drought persists. Santa Maria started loading mixed leaf lettuce in early March, nearly two weeks earlier than usual. Salinas started at the end of the month.
Broccoli and cauliflower shipments are underway in Santa Maria, while celery has in light volume, but should be increasing this week. Santa Maria produce shipments also now include strawberries, celery, romaine, romaine hearts, Tuscan kale, red kale, green kale, cilantro and parsley.
Santa Maria vegetable shipments – grossing about $6500 to New York City.
Mexican Produce Imports
At Nogales, border crossing include Mexican vine-ripes, romas, grapes and cherries, which continue through April. With the finish of tomatoes, the new Mexican table grape season launches with crossings at Nogales and McAllen, Tx. Vine ripe tomato shipments from Baja California also begin crossing near San Diego.
Carrot shipments from the Bakersfield, CA area have shifted to the Imperial Valley.
Mexican vegetable shipments through Nogales – grossing about $2000 to Dallas.
Melon Shipments
The USDA’ Market News Service reported as of April 5th the “difference in pounds from average” as follows: Mexico/5.3 million pounds, up 11 percent; Honduras/1.8 million pounds, up 105 percent; Costa Rica/780,000 pounds, up 166 percent; Nicaragua/-468,000 pounds, down 100 percent; Florida/-680,000 pounds, down 100 percent; and Guatemala/-1.25 million pounds, down 21 percent.
Florida watermelon shipments are increasing, along with numerous vegetables.
South Florida watermelon shipments, vegetables – grossing about $1000 to Atlanta.
Here’s a round up California produce loadings as Salinas Valley vegetable shipments are increasing.
Items such a broccoli, head lettuce and other lettuces are among many vegetables increasing in volume from the Salinas Valley as they head towards full stride in the next couple of weeks or so. Lettuce from the Huron district in the San Joaquin Valley is on the decline as volume is being replaced by product from Salinas. Overall Salinas shipments are only moderate at this time, although these shipments still exceed those from the Santa Maria district to the south.
Light to moderate spring shipments of broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables are off to an early start from California’s Santa Maria district. Items ranging from anise, to cauliflower and broccoli are shipped year-round from Santa Maria. Mixed leaf kicked off in early March, iceberg started in late March, cilantro and spinach should start harvesting anytime and celery in May.
There also is a wide range of Santa Maria vegetable shipments, including mixed leaf, red, green, and romaine lettuce, romaine hearts, and celery, as well as mixed baby carrots, mixed beets and mixed radishes.
Concerning Ventura County produce shipments, there are loadings of strawberries, raspberries, celery, romaine and leaf lettuce, as well as cabbage.
Ventura County produce – grossing about $6800 to New York City.
Santa Maria vegetable shipments – grossing about $4400 to Chicago.