Rabobank has issued a new RaboResearch report which points out despite water availability challenges in some producing countries, avocado production and trade will continue to grow.
The report relates Latin America is the top exporter, while the U.S. continues to be the primary importer.
Competition and margin pressures, especially in South America, are likely to move the market toward consolidation, the report said.
Global avocado exports are expected to surpass 3 million metric tons by 2025, the report said, with Latin America at the forefront.
Mexico, Peru and Colombia will be the largest avocado exporters, according to Rabobank projections, while Brazil, Ecuador and other countries are emerging as global suppliers.
Demand growth in the European avocado market has spurred increased production in the European Union, mainly in Spain, the report said. However, water availability will limit large-scale expansion of avocado production, and further area expansion is not expected for European production, according to the report.
Africa is witnessing steady growth, notably in Kenya and Morocco.
U.S. demand for avocados continues to climb, with 2023 imports at a record 1.26 million metric tons, up 11% from 2022.
Mexico commands a 90% share of U.S. avocado imports.
Europe’s demand for avocados is predicted to grow, though its reliance on imports will expand in the years ahead, the report said. Demand also is rising in other regions.
“Opportunities abound in Asia and Latin America, with untapped markets poised for growth. South American countries, in particular, are ripe for increased consumption, pending promotional and marketing initiatives,” David Magaña, senior Rabobank analyst for fresh produce, said in the report.
Asia’s imports have surged by 29% in 2023, led by China.
While the hass variety now dominates global trade, Magaña said other avocado varieties will likely grow.
“While hass avocados will continue to dominate, hass-like varieties will gradually gain ground, particularly those with higher yield potential,” Magaña said in the report. “The industry faces price pressures as global production volumes rise, with quality and size being pivotal in the American and European markets.”
Well, it’s alright, we’re going to the end of the line. As The Travelling Wilburys appreciate, trains are an important and instrumental part of our nation’s history. America’s first intercity railroad, the 13-mile Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was completed in early 1830. Canada’s first railway line opened in 1836 with the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, which connected two sides of the river outside Montreal. Nearly 200 years later, there are seven major railroads operating in the United States and two in Canada. These networks join North America with unlimited access to every major port, city, state, and province. And while the end of the lines exists within this network, there is no end in sight for the utilization of this mode in logistics. Intermodal shipping continues to be a popular choice for many shippers to move their goods to market across North America.
There are many features and benefits of intermodal (rail plus truck) shipping that make it an attractive option for logistics:
Nationwide rail infrastructure— Shippers can speed their goods to market with door-to-door service, which includes impressive weekly rail schedules to multiple destinations.
Non-stop rail service— Public rail stops multiple times to add or remove containers, which often subjects fragile and perishable items to prolonged weather extremes, shifting, and damage. For the rail portion of dedicated commercial intermodal, the networks operate non-stop, coast to coast, which means more product moving and fewer delays.
Increase overall capacity— Intermodal allows for additional capacity compared to truckload shipping. It provides access to a large pool of refrigerated and dry van containers with different specifications available (53′, 48′, 40′ containers, high cubes). In addition, intermodal also has a large network of drayage options from all major terminals in Canada and the U.S.
Product protection— 24/7 monitoring via GPS, remote temperature adjustments, and standardized container sealing for unparalleled security, a top concern for many stakeholders facing increased theft, fraud, and scam incidents in the trucking market.
Cost savings— Intermodal is more cost-effective than over-the-road trucking and allows for savings on freight costs compared to using trucks alone. By providing competitive and consistent pricing, budget fluctuations can be minimized.
Time savings— One point of contact door-to-door; using a broker who manages intermodal and will handle all customs clearance, rail billing, and third-party communications on behalf of the shipper.
Environmental, social, and governance focus—Intermodal shipping has less impact on the environment than over-the-road trucking. Its carbon footprint is a fraction of that of long-haul trucks, and it has a different set of regulatory mandates than trucks. Stringent and regulated security measures safeguard goods throughout the supply chain.
Looking down the line to Q4, most reports predict intermodal volume to grow into Q4. Key indicators to watch are domestic container volume, which is largely influenced by shippers’ inventories, consumer spending, and retail sales. Retail sales are growing, albeit slowly. This, coupled with lower retail inventories, bodes well for volume growth in intermodal. In addition, many experts are looking at the truck market’s indication of a freight rate increase. Trucking freight indexes fell 1.8% month-over-month mid-year, looking like rates have hit the bottom. As rates move up, rail will become a more favorable option for the end of 2024. So, All Aboard, it looks like it will be an exciting end to 2024!
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Kat Ball is the general manager of the ALC Vancouver, BC office. She received her undergraduate degree in English from Simon Fraser University, followed by a post-graduate diploma in Marketing and Sales Management from the University of British Columbia. Kat began working for ALC Vancouver, BC (formerly United World Transportation) in 2006, gaining experience in various roles. In April 2023, the Allen Lund Company acquired United World Transportation and Kat aided in the transition as assistant general manager. The following April, she was promoted to general manager.
kat.ball@allenlund.com
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Jim Brister is the business development manager of the ALC Vancouver, BC office. As a Commerce Business graduate out of the University of British Columbia, he has worked across the building materials and construction industries living in both Canada and the U.S. before starting United World Transportation in 2003. Now as part of the Allen Lund Company Jim continues to enjoy the challenges and pace of the transportation world.
Delano, CA — Premium table grape grower and marketer, Four Star Fruit looks forward to another strong Holiday grape season.
Recognized for its exceptional sweetness and distinctive late-season profile, the Holiday variety is a highly sought-after seedless variety, easily identified by consumers nationwide. The summer heat wave will create challenges for some varieties, but Holiday is in the early stages of maturity, and the company is not seeing any roadblocks.
“We are looking forward to another great Holiday season with strong promotable volumes,” said Jack Campbell, President of Four Star Fruit. “Our team is fully equipped and ready to collaborate with retail partners to deliver an exceptional eating experience, driving robust consumer demand this fall.”
Holiday clamshells and bags are available upon request; please get in touch with your Four Star Fruit sales representative for more information.
About Four Star Fruit, Inc. Four Star Fruit has been in table grape production as a grower-shipper since 1987. The company is family-owned and operated for three generations by the Campbell family. Four Star produces remarkable premium conventional and organic grapes, including the trademarked Pristine® variety. Their fields are located throughout the San Joaquin and Coachella Valleys and internationally in Peru, Chile, and Mexico. Their top-of-the-line facility allows for innovation and flexibility in packaging. Four Star farms thousands of acres of grapes annually while carefully ensuring each bunch’s quality from planting to harvest, packing to shipping.
U. S. berry shipments from one coast to the other in the first half of the summer’ were good and strong volume is expected for the last half of the season as well.
California strawberries loadings are strong in California, and blueberries now are now being shipped from California, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington. Blackberries and raspberries are available from the East Coast, California, Washington and Oregon.
Bobalu Berries based in Oxnard, CA reports strawberry movement remains strong in the late summer for the company which ships product the year around.
The firm has been shipping its spring crop from Santa Maria, CA., and its late-summer volume was expected to kick in during August when the fall strawberry crop begins.
Oxnard will follow with a fall strawberry crop extending into 2025.
California Giant Berry Farms headquartered in Watsonville notes great quality and flavor for its strawberries from the Watsonville/Salinas area.
The company’s has just completed its strawberry season in Santa Maria.
As of the week ending July 6, California growers had shipped 131,827,552 trays of strawberries. That’s up from 109,085,918 trays at the same time a year ago and up from about 128 million trays in 2022, according to the California Strawberry Commission, based in Watsonville.
Gem-Pack Berries of Irvine, CA sources summer strawberries from the Watsonville/Salinas and Santa Maria regions; raspberries from Watsonville and the Mexican state of Baja California; blackberries from Oxnard, CA., Watsonville and Tennessee; and some blueberries from the Pacific Northwest.
Gem-Pack will have organic strawberries from Watsonville as late as October and sources organic and conventional raspberries from Baja California nearly year-round.
Berry shipments should remain steady into August, when volume will start to decrease.
Concerning blueberries, Consalo Family Farms of Vineland, N.J., is transitioning from New Jersey to grower partners in Michigan.
Consalo Family Farms also has a growing organic blueberry program and continues to expand blueberry varietals.
Cal Giant reports blueberry quality out of the Pacific Northwest is “good” on conventional and organic product. Blueberry quality out of Mexico also is good, although there is some scarring and shriveling fruit due to hot weather.
Watsonville raspberry shipments are reported steady with good quality, according to Cal Giant. Good quality is reported from Mexico.
Blackberry quality is good from Watsonville is with steady volumes, which are now increasing.
he New Mexico onion season was off to a strong start in early July, shippers and USDA numbers report.
The USDA indicated that New Mexico onion shipments for the week of June 23-29 totaled 912 (40,000-pound) truckloads or about 48% of the total domestic truck shipments of onions that week.
Season-to-date shipments of New Mexico onions through June 29 were 4,298 truckloads, up 19% compared with the same time a year ago.
Brandon Barker, vice president of Barker Produce, Las Cruces, N.M., said on July 2 that the state’s onion harvest was close to halfway finished. Yields have been good this year, and supply of the state’s onion is projected through the end of August, he said.
Demand, retail programs and price contracts have been strong, Barker said, with the yellow onion market a little more sluggish than the red and white onion markets.
“It’s been a good year for us,” he said.
Chris Franzoy, president of Legacy Fresh LLC, Deming, N.M., said he was happy with the quality of New Mexico’s onions. The company is packing red, yellow and white onions.
“We service basically every market from retail to food service, as well as processors,” he said.
Franzoy said Legacy Fresh was finishing up the intermediate transplants and moving into its direct-seeded spring-planted onions.
“They’ve got nice healthy tops, and we expect to have good quality all the way through,” he said.
Overall domestic supply of onions could drop later in July, which may result in higher shipping point prices, he said.
Franzoy, a fourth-generation farmer whose family operates Billy the Kid Produce, along with his wife, Tammy, launched Legacy Fresh to serve as the marketing arm of Billy the Kid.
The company’s growing operation spans about 3,000 acres, and its packing facility can pack up to 30 full truckloads on a daily basis, Franzoy said.
Prosper Africa, a presidential initiative to strengthen strategic and economic partnerships between the United States and Africa, announced the U.S.-Africa Trade Desk’s (USATD) first trade agreement, valued at $56 million for 700 containers of South African table grapes.
The USATD, a joint venture between Prosper Africa and Afritex Ventures, aims to bridge the gap between African agricultural suppliers and U.S. buyers.
This transaction is expected to help U.S. retailers keep produce prices stable for consumers during the off-season, when commodity prices typically rise by 35%.
Financed with a trade facility structured by EAS Advisors and Scipion Capital, the deal increases value for African producers by providing firm purchase prices and reducing market volatility.
Shipments will begin the first week of November 2024 and continue through April 2025, filling gaps in the U.S. season.
USATD will facilitate the entire transaction, providing an end-to-end solution bridging the gap between retailers’ U.S. and African production needs.
“I am excited not only to celebrate the first USATD agreement but also that South African grape growers will have the ability to export directly to U.S. retailers on a large scale,” said Prosper Africa coordinator, British A. Robinson.
“Prosper Africa is proud to work with African companies to help them take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and facilitate their partnerships with U.S. buyers who want to diversify their suppliers and find high-quality products for their consumers.”
Through the first six months of 2024 Mexico is the only origin currently exporting mangos to the U.S., with a total of 55,404,132 boxes for the season.
Volumes for the Mexican season, which started in January and is expected to last until October, are expected to be about 1% lower year-on-year, according to the National Mango Board report.
The total mango volume shipped on the week ending 06/29/2024 was approximately 4,221,703 boxes.
Projections for the season are at approximately 94.8 million boxes, with the main varieties being: Tommy Atkins (34%), Ataulfo/Honey (27%), Kent (25%), Keitt (11%), and others (3%).
There are currently three main mango varieties shipped to the U.S. market: Kent (52%), Tommy Atkins (29%), and Ataulfo/Honey (16%).
Additionally, Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, South Sinaloa, and North Sinaloa are the regions currently harvesting and/or packing.
Over the last two decades, blueberries have experience amazing growth, but “blues” were still identified in a poll of industry professionals as the berry with the biggest potential to grow consumption in the next five years.
The 268 voting in a poll in the LinkedIn Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group were asked, “What berry category has the most room to grow in the next five years?”
The results of the poll were:
Blueberries — 41%.
Blackberries — 27%.
Strawberries — 16%.
Raspberries — 15%.
USDA per capita retail numbers shows strong gains for each fresh berry category.
The USDA does not report blackberry per capita consumption.
Raspberry retail per capita consumption in 2021 totaled 0.8 pounds, up 166% from 0.3 pounds in 2011 and up 700% from 0.1 pounds in 2001.
Strawberry retail per capita consumption in 2021 totaled 6.7 pounds, up 45% from 4.6 pounds in 2011 and up 131% from 2.9 pounds in 2001.
Blueberry retail per capita consumption was 2.3 pounds in 2021, up 92% from 1.2 pounds in 2011 and up 667% from 0.3 pounds in 2011.
Trade numbers show explosive growth of all berries.
U.S. import value of all berries excluding strawberries totaled $4.3 billion in 2023, up 339% from 2013 and up 1,940% from 2003.
Calavo Growers of Santa Paula, CA started importing Peruvian fruit each week in June, and shipments are anticipated to continue into early September.
Calavo Fresh Sales reports inital arrivals are ripening well and have excellent quality. Peruvian supplies look good coming out of Peru, although crop volume is down from previous years and sizing is trending from large to small sizes.
Calavo’s shipments from Peru are received in the port of Philadelphia and transferred the short distance to its Swedesboro, N.J., warehouse for ripening and shipping.
The majority of Calavo’s Peruvian fruit is sold loose in standard 2-layer tray-packed cartons.
North American Blueberry Council. of Folsom, CA reports U.S. blueberry production is expected to reach 700 million pounds this year, up from 637.2 million pounds in 2023.
An exceptional summer blueberry shipping season would follow Georgia’s record volume last year with an even bigger crop — 115 million pounds — in 2024.
North Carolina’s volume is down slightly from last season, but quality is great. Likewise, New Jersey and Michigan are set for a strong season with excellent pollination and fruit set. Additionally, growers in the Pacific Northwest anticipate a larger crop than last year.
Fresh volume out of California could be off because of lan anticipated heat waves materialize during the second half of the Golden State’s blueberry season.
Overall, quality of U.S. blueberries is expected to be good this summer.
Naturipe Farms of Salina, CA will have blueberries from New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon and Washington. The company reports exceptional quality and flavor.
Naturipe also sources blackberries from Georgia, North Carolina and California and sources raspberries from central Mexico and the country’s Baja California region.
Consalo Family Farms of Vinenland, NJ recently expanded a packinghouse at its Egg Harbor City, N.J., blueberry farm. The company offers New Jersey blueberries starting in early June but offer berries year-round.
Gem-Pack Berries of Irivine, CA sources raspberries out of Baja California, California’s Watsonville/Salinas growing region and Oxnard, CA.
The grower/shipper reports the quality and flavor of Watsonville raspberries have been awesome.
Naturipe notes it will have significant volume of new acres of its new proprietary blueberries in all of its blueberry-growing regions, resulting in higher volume this year.
