Maitland, FL: Florida’s November tomato crop will be smaller than normal due to the impact of Hurricane Ian, but Florida will remain a significant supplier from now through December. The weather since the hurricane has been ideal, allowing growers to quickly recuperate fields. This means that even those farms that sustained damage will be able to harvest a portion of their crop, according to the Florida Tomato Committee.
The storm had no impact on tomato production in North Florida, which will have steady volume from now through mid-November. As the harvest moves south to Central Florida, supplies will be lighter than normal due to the impact of the storm around the Palmetto and Ruskin growing areas. November volume will be down, but there will still be tomatoes available. Central Florida production is expected to ramp up through December. The storm’s impact was less severe in the Southwest Florida growing regions around Naples and Immokalee, which will help offset reduced volume in Central Florida. Production in Southwest Florida will steadily increase starting in December.
Plantings for South Florida’s winter tomato crop have continued as normal with no impact from the hurricane.
Florida’s citrus, vegetable and melon production suffered the greatest financial losses in Hurricane Ian, according to Christa Court, director of the program and assistant professor in the UF/IFAS food and resource economics department. IFAS is the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida.
University of Florida economists predict the combination of seasonal crops, livestock, nursery and aquaculture products potentially lost as a result of category 4 Hurricane Ian will likely be valued between $787 million and $1.56 billion.
Preliminary IFAS estimates are that losses to Florida citrus due to Ian will be in the range of $147- to $304 million. The variance depends on the level of fruit drop, damage to branches, and impacts due to heavy precipitation and flooding.
Vegetable and melon losses are estimated to sustain significant production total between $208- and $394 million. Vegetable and melon impacts are heavily dependent on the ability (or inability) to replant damaged or destroyed crops.
Horticultural crop losses may fall in the range of $154- to $297 million. Field and row crops face as much as $160 million in losses and animals and animal products losses could be as high as $222 million. The estimated top level of cumulative losses for these categories is $1.56 billion.
“Even though the coast – an area with comparatively less agricultural production than inland areas – bore some of the worst impacts of the storm, the strong winds and heavy rains battered a wide swath of the peninsula that includes over five million acres of agricultural land,” IFAS’ Court indicates. “This estimate only accounts for production losses, or changes in expected revenues for the current calendar or market year; citrus, for example, had not yet begun harvesting, and some fall vegetables, like tomatoes and peppers, were already planted.”
Some commodities were already looking at lower expected production due to a hard freeze event in January that affected much of the same acreage, she added.
“Southwest counties that got hit the hardest by Hurricane Ian have remained in rescue and recovery mode; we anticipate our assessments will not be complete for several weeks,” Court indicates in IFAS’ release. “Our preliminary estimate is a range, a wide range, to account for many of these unknowns. What isn’t destroyed might have diminished yield or quality, which will not be apparent for weeks or months, and then even more effects can appear in the long-term.”
Court said the survey will remain open for an undefined amount of time. The program will release a full report once analyses are completed.
Peru is predicted to export 71.5 million boxes of table grapes this season, an 11 percent growth compared to last season, according to Agraria, based on figures from the Association of Producers of Table Grapes of Peru (Provid).
Peru is now the second largest exporter of the fruit globally.
“This shows that the Peruvian industry has been able to respond to the demand of the more than 50 international markets it reached with a diversified and quality offering, which makes us recognized as highly reliable suppliers,” said Provid.
The association noted that some of the factors supporting this growth are the extended production window, which begins with Red Globe in June and ends in March, followed by seedless grapes in September until March in Inca and April in Piura.
Shipments of California Navel oranges for the 2022-2023 season is forecast at 1.52 million tons (38.0 million boxes), up 19 percent from last season.
The initial forecast is based on an objective measurement survey conducted in California’s Central Valley from mid-June to the beginning of September. The objective measurement survey indicated fruit set was up 47 percent from last year but the average fruit size was down 2 percent from last year.
Imported mangos arriving in the U.S. from Brazil launched the South American season mango season in mid to late September. This was followed by mangos from Ecuador in late September and early October. Mangos from Peru started arrivin and Peruvian mangos will start arriving in November.
The National Mango Board report mostly 9’s, 10’s and 12’s, with varieties including Tommy Atkins, Kent, Keitt, Palmer, and Ataulfo.
Panorama Produce Sales of Mommaroneck, NY, which has 20 years of experience importing mangos from South and Central America, agreed the quality of mangos coming out of South America this season looks promising
The volume of South American mangos appears normal.
Continental Fresh of Miami, FL, which specializes in tropical imports from Latin America, notes that there could be a perfect window for Brazilian mangos.
In response to an announcement of a merger between national grocery chains, Kroger and Albertsons, the National Grocers Association (NGA) of Washington, D.C. has released the following statement:
“A merger of the nation’s top two grocery chains should raise serious questions about a single supermarket giant gaining unprecedented dominance over the nation’s food supply chain,” said Greg Ferrara, NGA president and CEO.
“A merger would not only put smaller competitors at an unfair disadvantage, but also increase anticompetitive buyer power over grocery suppliers, which ultimately would harm consumers. It is our expectation that this deal will receive rigorous scrutiny from federal antitrust enforcers.”
NGA filed comments in April of this year to the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s January 18, 2022 Request for Information on Merger Enforcement. NGA issued a White Paper in March of 2021 about the anticompetitive impacts of buyer power on the grocery supply chain.
About NGA
NGA is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale community grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. The independent grocery sector is accountable for about 1.2 percent of the nation’s overall economy and is responsible for generating more than $250 billion in sales, 1.1 million jobs, $39 billion in wages and $36 billion in taxes. NGA members include retail and wholesale grocers located in every congressional district across the country, as well as state grocers’ associations, manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about NGA, visit www.nationalgrocers.org.
It is difficult to beat the nutrition that fresh fruits and vegetables deliver in each bite, according to a recent analysis by market research company Numerator, which confirms a growing number of consumers, especially younger shoppers, agree.
This report forecasts in the next five years, U.S. shoppers will prioritize unprocessed, fresh produce consumption to support wellness goals. This back-to-basics health focus would mean increased demand for fresh produce, exceeding fresh fruit and vegetable category growth of the past five years.
Increasingly, shopper habits will reflect a focus on healthy eating choices grounded in food-as-medicine over vitamins and supplements. With millennials raising families, immigration bolstering U.S. population growth and Gen Z consumers gaining purchasing power, health trends focused on nutritious diet choices will accelerate in the next five years, according to Numerator.
In its “Population Preview: The Next Trends by the People Who Drive Them” report, Numerator delivers purchasing analysis and insights, predicting U.S. consumer behavior for the next five years, sourced from first-party, consumer behavior information and U.S. Census data.
“Although consumers find vitamins and supplements important, younger households have become more focused on what they consume [versus] how they supplement,” said the report. “As millennials age, we could see health be defined as fresh produce and alternative meats, and a rise in products meant to offset fatigue and deliver convenience.”
Additionally, Gen Z and Millennials spend a larger share of their grocery dollars (+8%) on produce than older generations and 69% of Gen Z shoppers claim they monitor food and beverage choices, said the report.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population grew by only 0.1% in 2021. Declining birth rates, coupled with an uptick in deaths, have resulted in the slowest population growth rate since the founding of the nation. As the U.S. population shifts older, U.S. Census modeling predicts foreign-born households are likely to drive population growth in the next five years.
According to Numerator’s analysis, these first-generation immigrant households will prioritize scratch cooking and source a diverse range of flavors, revealing yet another opportunity to market fresh fruits and vegetables to an evolving U.S. demographic.
This may be the best onion crop from Peru in a decade, at least according to G&R Farms of Glennville, GA.
The company’s first Peruvian imports arrived in August and will continue into April when the Vidalia onion crop gets underway.
Bland Farms LLC of Glennville, GA also expects a good crop from Peru due to good growing conditions. A consistent crop, very comparable to past years past, with a nice, even size profile is seen. Volume from Bland Farms should be similar to last year, The company started started in September and will go through the spring.
Shuman Farms of Reidsville, GA emphasizes the importance Peruvian onions in it program. Shuman imports sweet onions through the Port of Savannah allowing the operation to maintain a full-time local workforce 12-months of the year.
Peru accounts for about 23% of imported onions, second only to Mexico, according to the USDA. In 2021, the U.S. imported nearly 357 million pounds of Peruvian onions, up from about 315 million pounds in 2020.
G&R notes Peru is a perfect climate and ecology to produce a great onion crop that mirrors the consistent quality and flavor you would find from Vidalia sweet onions. The Peruvian sweet onion crop provides a year-round option for fresh, sweet onions when the U.S. sweet onion industry is out of production.
Duane Hansen set a new world record to commemorate his 60th trip around the sun.
The Syracuse, Neb. resident grew a pumpkin that clocked in at 846 lb. (and appropriately named it Berta). He hollowed it out to create a makeshift boat.
Hansen jumped in his pumpkin and launched from the Missouri River boat ramp in Bellevue, Neb. at 7:30 a.m. on August 27. Eleven hours and 38 miles later, he docked in Nebraska City, Neb. Hansen’s 38 miles afloat in his orange vessel eclipses the previous record of 25.5 miles, which was set in 2018 by a man who paddled from North Dakota to Minnesota, according to Guinness World Record.
Hansen say he ad been dreaming of this feat and worked for five-years to grow a pumpkin that was large enough.
Youngstown Grape Distributors Inc. of Reedley, CA may ship fewer pomegranates this season due to a late bloom resulting in variable yields in California’s central valley.
Youngstown is a fifth-generation, vertically integrated pomegranate farming, packing, fresh-cut and high-pressure processing juice company.
The company notes the early varieties are lighter than the wonderfuls because the bloom was very late this year, and some blocks did not set normally with the late bloom. The result in inconsistency from block to block.
The company grows foothill, early wonderful and wonderful varieties.
The harvest looks fairly normal, beginning for Youngstown in early September and finishing in late November. Availability of fresh pomegranates is anticipated through the end of the year.
In general, the back end of the season may see fewer shipments because of reduced yields.
Youngstown has been packing and selling arils since 2008, and offers both organic and conventionally grown product.
