The past few weeks have seen California strawberry shipments ramping up for Mother’s Day and good volume will continue beyond…Meanwhile the first shipment of South African citrus will be arriving in the U.S. within a couple of weeks.
For example, California Giant Berry Farms and Well-Pict Inc., both based in Watsonville, have seen volume recently doubling on a weekly basis.
While most of the California strawberry shipment for Mother’s Day is coming out of the Santa Maria district, Salinas volume also is building.
The California Strawberry Commission reports the Salinas/Watsonville district has 13,233 acres of strawberries this season, which will account for 39 percent of the state’s strawberry acreage.
Last year, the district had 13,570 acres and accounted for 37 percent of the state’s strawberry acreage. The area shipped more than 102 million trays of strawberries in 2017, up from 100,820,365 trays in 2016.
Most shippers are expecting volume in 2018 to be similar to last year’s.
Rain in mid-March really had an adverse affect on strawberry shipments for Easter this year. In addition to Santa Maria, Salinas and Watsonville, strawberry shipments also have been coming out of Ventura County.
| Summer Citrus From South Africa’s Planning Session Leads To Positive 2018 Season
by Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA) CITRUSDAL, South Africa – Easy Peelers, followed by Navels and Star Rubies from South Africa, will start to arrive in containers in the United States towards the end of May, with the first conventional vessel arriving the third week of June at the port of Philadelphia. To support a successful 2018 season, members from across the U.S. and Western & Northern Cape came together in March for the Annual Planning Meeting, hosted by SCSA, to review sales and marketing plans, production volumes, shipping schedules, and category trends. It is expected be a good season despite the challenges associated with the droughts occurring in the Western Cape. With international best practices, innovation and the latest technology, growers are able to maximize their resources in these difficult times to produce an increased volume of good looking crop. |
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