While Florida leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to produce trucking in the fall, there are citrus loadings and limited amounts of vegetables.
Navel and fallglo tangerine harvets started the third week of September, with decent loading opportunties coming on in late September. This week, the harvest of navels are underway.
This season, the industry should pack about 12 million cartons of red and white grapefruit, down from the 13 million it produced last season.
Citrus shipments Wrap Up
U.S. citrus shipments fell four percent in 2014-15 season.
About 9.02 million tons of citrus were produced this season. The 2014-15 total is also 49 percent lower than the record 17.8 million tons produced in 1997-98.
Florida accounted for 56 percent of all 2014-15 loadings, California 41 percent, while Texas and Arizona amounted to three percent combined.
With about 97 million boxes, Florida’s orange shipments are eight percent lower than in 2013-14. Florida grapefruit shipments amounted to 13 million boxes, down 18percent.
California’s orange volume fell one percent to 49 million boxes. Grapefruit shipments in the state also fell one percent, but lemon loadings rose nine percent, while tangerine and mandarin volume rose nine percent.
Florida Fall Vegetable Shipments
Light Fall Florida Veggie Shipments will be staring in a few weeks, despite rains occurring nearly on a daily basis. Squash and cucumbers get underway from the Immokalee area the second week of November with bell peppers and eggplants starting only a few days later. One major shipper is Oakes Farms Inc.
Eggplant and other veggies get started in late October from the Loxahatchee area. A primary shipper this is J&J Family of Farms Inc.
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