An usually warm, mild Florida winter has shipments of most produce items ahead of schedule. If the trend continues this will lead right into spring shipments of many items, particularly vegetables.
For example, swee corn shipments have been good this winter, with plantings for spring loadings starting in light volume by early to mid-March. Corn movement is currently orignating out of the Homestead area, as a primer for strong shipments with higher volume arrives at the end of March fromBelle Glade, at least a week earlier than normal. Belle Glade sweet corn loading should continue through most of May.
Strawberries from the Plant City area continue in strong volume.
Florida Ports
The most volume with fruits arriving at South Florida ports, are easily with Chilean table grapes, followed by apples and berries. Still, over all fruit arrivals at Florida prots are lower due in part to a freeze earlier in the season in Chile.
There also are other times from hauling from Florida ports ranging from citrus products, to avocados, cherries, stone fruits, pomegranates and kiwifruit. Additionally, there are arrivals of blueberries from Chile, pineapples from Costa Rico, melons — cantaloupes and honeydews — from Honduras and Guatemala, tomatoes from Guatemala, cucumbers from Honduras and asparagus and mangos from Peru.
South Florida produce – grossing about $2000 to Baltimore.