The Boston Market Terminal’s docks, platforms, bays and aisles are now hollowed out after more than half a century filled with fresh fruit and vegetables.
Yellow construction trucks, rather than white reefer trucks, are tearing up gravel outside.
Changes are coming.
The Davis Cos., a national real estate developer, bought the place, 90% of which was owned by the Piazza family, Condakes family and DiMare family, and 10% by minority stockholders.
Produce wholesaler Community-Suffolk Inc. was the last to uproot from their 30,000 square feet of operating space at the Everett, MA complex in early 2021.
Their fourth-generation family company was also one of the first to plant themselves at the 110,000-square-foot rail and truck terminal on almost 18 acres of land abutting the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, both just outside Boston.
Since the developer’s $28.5 million purchase, announced December 2019, the terminal’s six wholesalers and other businesses and organizations have closed for good or scattered to other facilities nearby.
The property may be redeveloped into an Amazon distribution center.
For now, the warehouses are devoid of the hum of daily wholesale produce business.
American Fruit Distributors went out of business.
Community-Suffolk’s citrus operations are at the New England Produce Center and its vegetable operations are at 95 Market St., Chelsea, which is only 500 feet from the front gate of the market terminal.
New England Banana Co. merged its ripening and wholesale operations in an offsite warehouse it already owned.
James Praski, Massachusetts officer-in-charge for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crops Market News, said terminal business was fading over the past several years as retail chains built their own warehouses and hired their own buyers to deal directly with distributors, growers and shippers. In reaction, terminal markets such as the Boston market shifted toward more foodservice business.
January 2021 data for global air cargo markets shows demand returned to pre-Covid or January 2019 levels for the first time since the beginning of the crisis, according to The International Air Transport Association.
January demand also revealed strong month-to-month growth over December 2020 levels.
All comparisons made in this news release are between January 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern, and 2021 due to distorted monthly results throughout 2020.
To start, global demand, measured in cargo ton-kilometers (CTK), was up 1.1 percent compared to January 2019 and increased 3 percent in comparison to December 2020.
All regions saw month-to-month improvement in air cargo demand, and North America with 27.4 percent of world share and Africa with 2.1 percent were the strongest performers at an 11.7 percent increase and 21.2 percent, respectively.
Due to new capacity cuts on the passenger side, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), the recovery in global capacity shrank 19.5 percent and fell 5 percent compared to December 2020, the first monthly decline since April 2020.
North America saw a decrease of 6.8 percent, Europe a 19.9 percent drop and Latin America a 30.7 percent drop in ACTK.
Conditions in the manufacturing sector remain robust despite new Covid-19 outbreaks that dragged down passenger demand.
The global manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was at 53.5 in January, indicating growth from the prior month.
The new export orders component of the manufacturing PMI continued to point to further CTK improvement, though the performance of the metric was less robust compared with fourth-quarter 2020 as Covid-19 cases rose.
“Air cargo traffic is back to pre-crisis levels and that is some much-needed good news for the global economy. But while there is a strong demand to ship goods, our ability is capped by the shortage of belly capacity normally provided by passenger aircraft,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO said.
“That should be a sign to governments that they need to share their plans for a restart so that the industry has clarity in terms of how soon more capacity can be brought online. In normal times, a third of world trade by value moves by air.”
“This high-value commerce is vital to helping restore COVID damaged economies—not to mention the critical role air cargo is playing in distributing lifesaving vaccines that must continue for the foreseeable future,” de Juniac said.
January Regional Performance
North American, Middle Eastern and African carriers posted increases in international cargo demand in January compared to the same month in 2019 with 8.5 percent, 6.0 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively.
Asia-Pacific, European and Latin American carriers reported declines of 3.2 percent, 0.6 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively.
International capacity decreased throughout all six regions compared to numbers from January 2019.
2021 is shaping up to be a big for California strawberries, with total strawberry acreage for pegged at 36,487 acres.
The California Strawberry Commission’s acreage survey, released in December, shows acreage planted in the fall, which produces fruit during the traditional winter, spring and summer seasons, reported at 28,407 acres, up 5.7% compared to a year ago.
The Salinas-Watsonville district accounts for 43% of the state’s winter/spring/summer acreage, compared with 36% for Santa Maria, 20% for Oxnard and just 1% for Orange County/San Diego/Coachella.
California strawberry shipments are expected to peak in early May, with the state’s shippers projected to ship 10 million or more trays in a week.
While 10 million trays per week are seen for early May, the commission expects 9 to 10 million trays weekly for several weeks.
About 15% of California’s strawberry output is exported.
Total California organic strawberry acreage reported for 2021 is 4,684 acres, which is about 12.8% of total state acreage. Organic output reached a record in 2020, and acreage for 2021 is about the same as a year ago.
California strawberry acreage planted in the summer of 2021, which will produce during the fall season, is projected at 8,080 acres, according to the report. All of the summer planted acreage is in Oxnard and Santa Maria.
High prices for ginger in the domestic market is a key factor in The United States being the world’s largest importer of product, as well as due to the beneficial properties against COVID-19.
About 89 percent of ginger imports by the U.S. are conventional, while showing a steady growth at an average annual rate of 8.3 percent. In 2019 Agraria reported there was 78,505 tons of ginger imported.
From January to August 2020, the U.S. imported 63,392 tons of ginger, reflecting a 17 percent increase when compared to the same time period in 2019 (54,100 tons).
China is the leading supplier of ginger to the U.S. with an average share of 77 percent of all imports. However, their share has been declining from 83 percent in 2013 to 76 percent in 2019 (59,555 tons) and 69 percent between January-August 2020 (43,729 tons).
Brazil has taken over this share, with their exports to the U.S. growing at a 19 percent annual average rate. It doubled its supply to the United States in 2018, over 2017, from 3,158 tons to 6,488 tons.
In 2019, it increased its volume by 23 percent, exporting 7,957 tons, surpassing ginger suppliers such as Peru and Costa Rica, while at the same time increasing their share to 10 percent of the total imported. It increased 12 percent from January-August 2020.
Peru is the third-largest supplier of ginger to the U.S., with an average annual growth rate of 15.1 percent. Its peak was achieved in 2017 with 5,414 tons.
Since then, its exports declined the next two years, reaching the lowest level in 2019 with 2,831 tons. From January-August 2020 it surpassed 3,880 tons, exporting more to the U.S. than all of 2019, reflecting a 37 percent growth.
Organic ginger The U.S. has begun to import organic ginger in low volumes, for now, due to its limited supply. These imports account for 11 percent of ginger imports.
From January-August that share increased to 12 percent, accounting for 8,404 tons, which is 85 percent more than the 4,500 tons imported during the same period in 2019.
While the previous main supplier of organic ginger to the U.S. was China, accounting for more than 80 percent of all imports in the previous years, from January-August 2020 their share fell to only 4.7 percent.
Peru was then the main supplier, accounting for an 86.5 percent from January-August 2020 with 7,267 tons, while in 2019 they exported 5,682 tons.
A majority watermelons being shipped to U.S. markets are coming from northern Mexico, with additional imports coming primarily from Honduras and Guatemala.
The first domestic shipments of the year got underway in recent days from the Immokalee area of southern Florida with light, but increasing volume.
As the season progresses production will move northward. Central Florida should start around the last half of late April. West Florida may get underway by the middle of May, with Georgia following in June.
Texas had some cold weather several weeks ago and shipments may start a little later than usual, with loadings beginning around May 10.
In California, the early production areas in the Coachella and Imperial valleys should also start about May 10.
Although most states produce watermelons commercially, Florida, Georgia, Texas and California account for nearly 80 percent of domestic production according to the USDA Economic Research Service.
Domestic production has remained fairly steady, and imports have increased in recent years as watermelon consumption continues to rise. Mexico accounts for about 80 percent of imports, with Honduras and Guatemala making up most of the balance.
A 6 percent increase in the volume of Chilean citrus exports for the 2021 season is expected by the Asoex Committee. The estimated total shipping volume is 387,000 metric tons (MT).
The greatest increase will be for mandarins with an increase of 11 percent over last year, followed by clementines with 7 percent growth. Lemons are expected to see a 3 percent increase, while oranges will remain unchanged.
The growth in citrus exports is due to the increase in plantations during the last decade, according to the press release.
“In total there are 22,230 hectares planted, of which 8,427 correspond to mandarin plantations, 7,376 hectares of lemons, 6,260 of oranges and 167 of grapefruit,” Juan Enrique Ortúzar President of Asoex said.
The export volume of clementines is expected at 55,000MT, while mandarins are predicted to be 145,000MT.
Regarding lemons, 98,000MT is expected for this year, and oranges will maintain export numbers from last season, with shipments of 89,000MT
Ortúzar said that the favorable predictions are due to more rains in the central zone of Chile last year and the water reservoirs in Norte Chico.
U.S. is MainMarket
The U.S. is the primary destination for Chilean citrus, receiving about 85 percent of total shipments. It is followed by the Far East and Europe, which account for about 9 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
After these markets, Canada, Latin America and the Middle East follow.
As for China, the market opened the doors to citrus last year with total shipments reaching 1,031MT of mandarins, 404MT of oranges, 46MT of clementines and 5,650MT of lemons.
Despite decades of industry and public health efforts, America’s fruit and vegetable consumption continues to decline, according to newly released State of the Plate: America’s Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Trends research from the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH).
The research shows people are eating fruits and vegetables less frequently, down nearly 10% since 2004, when the PBH State of the Plate reporting began. The most significant contributors to this decline have been a 16% decrease in vegetable consumption frequency, followed by a 15% reduction in juice intake. In the past five years alone, overall consumption has declined by 3%, indicating the trend is worsening every year.
Every five years, PBH conducts an in-depth analysis of fruit and vegetable consumption patterns in partnership with The NPD Group, which tracks how, when and where we eat fruits and vegetables. PBH’s research report provides valuable insights to better understand Americans’ eating behaviors and, ultimately, identifies opportunities to effectively help people enjoy more fruits and vegetables in all forms (i.e., fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice), more often.
“It is no exaggeration that we are in the midst of a fruit and vegetable consumption crisis in our country. Further, this underconsumption is not only pervasive among all age groups but it is also persistent,” said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, president and CEO of PBH. “The PBH State of the Plate research report shows most Americans currently eat fruits and vegetables on just one occasion or less each day. A decline in fruit and vegetable eating occasions does not bode well for the future of fruit and vegetable intake and, most importantly, Americans’ health and happiness.”
“We were already long falling behind in our consumption goals, but much of this new data is especially striking considering we are also in the midst of a worsening obesity epidemic as well as a global pandemic in which consuming foods that support our immune system like fruits and vegetables is even more critical,” Reinhardt Kapsak added. “Research continues to show that eating more fruits and vegetables is the single most important action people can take for better health and happiness. Yet, we’re clearly failing Americans in making this action easy and enjoyable, given the continued decline in consumption. The time is NOW to rethink and reimagine how we improve fruit and vegetable consumption in America.”
The Sonora Grape Growers Association (AALPUM) projects 21.5 million 18 lb. (8.2 kg) cartons to be packed and shipped between early May and mid-July, 2021.
AALPUM association president Marcos Camou, AALPUM general manager Juan Laborin and Fresh Produce Association of the Americas grape division chairman John Pandol recently presented the crop estimate via Zoom. This estimate is 2% less than the 2020 harvest and 11% less than the 2019 crop.
The largest volume is white seedless varieties at 44%, followed by red seedless varieties at 43%, then black seedless varieties at 7% and then ‘other’ 6%, which includes Red Globes and specialty varieties like Cotton Candy. Sonora is the only growing area supplying North America that produces a majority of green seedless. Between 3 and 5% of the grape crop is certified organic.
The harvest season is subdivided into four section
Preseason 10% everything prior to May 15 including other early areas.
Early Season 16% May 16-30 .
Peak Season 53% May 31 – June 20
Late Season 21% post June 21 into July
Shipping will continue from Nogales and other forward distribution points will continue until mid-July.
The estimate had a new look that reflects changes in the industry. Not long ago 80% of the volume was three varieties. Today 40% is over a two dozen newer proprietary varieties. “To give a rundown of individual varieties, each with beginning and end of harvest date for each growing area is no longer a useful description of the crop” , said FPAA grape division chairman John Pandol. “The purpose of giving an estimate is so our supply chain partners; operational service providers, government agencies and commercial partners can prepare”
It is safe to say that the first quarter of 2020 was nothing that anyone in society had experienced in the past.
On January 9th, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a mysterious Coronavirus-related pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Most of the rest of the world didn’t pay much attention and we were all going about with our lives totally unaware of the drastic changes to come. By January 20th, the CDC reported that three U.S. airports would begin screening for Coronavirus, JFK International, San Francisco International and Los Angeles International.
Then on January 21st, a Washington state resident became the first confirmed case of Coronavirus after returning from Wuhan, China. On January 23rd, Wuhan, China went under quarantine as well as nearby Huanggang, putting 18 million residents under strict quarantine. As we all know, things rapidly progressed from there. On January 31st, the WHO issued a global health emergency for only the sixth time in history.
February 2nd saw global air travel restricted from certain countries and required testing or quarantine before passengers could leave for their destinations. February 3rd the U.S. declared a public health emergency. Cases continued to rise around the globe and fear began permeating society. On March 11th, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, stating the alarming level of spread and severity as well as the alarming levels of inaction to prevent the spread.
On March 13th, President Trump declared it a national emergency allowing billions of dollars of federal funding to be allocated to fight the spread. On the same day he issued a travel ban on non-U.S. citizens traveling to the U.S. from several European countries.
On March 19th, California became the first state to issue a statewide stay-at-home order mandating all residents to stay home except to go to an essential job or shop for essential needs. This led to many sectors of the economy coming to a grinding halt and consumers mass buying essential (or not so essential, toilet paper?) items, stripping shelves and throwing the retail supply chain into chaos. This trend followed across the nation as state after state began issuing the same stay-at-home mandates.
My home state of Arizona followed on March 20th, thus all non-essential business halted and the state was on a semi-lockdown. Lines at grocery stores, home improvement supply stores, pharmacies and Costco in particular were insane and shelves were quickly bare. Providing food and essential items suddenly became vital to keeping society fed and supplied with the items necessary to adequately prevent spread of the virus and care for those that were unfortunately afflicted with COVID-19.
There was a tremendous decline in the need for transportation in the non-essential sector of the economy and a large increase in those essential businesses. However, struggles emerged throughout the supply chain to maintain the extreme level of production that demand was driving.
Entire production facilities were shut down due to cases and exposures, normal production schedules and timing was pushed out farther and farther and there became an excess in carrier capacity due to these circumstances as we moved into April. Average freight rates across the country took a nose dive and hit lows that we hadn’t seen in years.
Carriers began to run out of operating funds and a vast number of carriers ended up out of business over the second quarter of 2020.
So where are we today, a little more than a year after the first stay-at-home mandates were issued? Most states have re-opened fully or are close to resuming life as close to “normal” as possible.
In relation to the freight market, increased manufacturing and demand for all types of products has increased steadily as states reopen. The recent severe weather has also drastically affected freight demand and rates in most of the U.S. Spot rates for vans are currently up 34% over 2020 through February and reefer spot rates are up 28.5% in the same period nationwide.
Last March there was still a higher level of demand as restocking was driving the market with much more volume. April saw a tremendous decline in demand and saw rates drop to levels seen during the manufacturing recession of 2016.
Our comparable data for rates April 2020 versus this year will likely be even more dramatic than our current numbers, likely up 40% year over year. In the majority of the domestic fresh produce industry, we are approaching our peak seasons from several regions, including California and Arizona.
Rates will continue to be firm and demand for capacity from these regions will spike as we move through the second quarter. Shippers can help assure capacity by having flexible schedules, increased lead times on tenders and most importantly, understanding of the current market conditions when working with their carrier and broker partners. No one could have predicted the last year in perishable transportation, but we’ve all learned how to adapt and excel in this “new normal”.
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Matt Minthorn is the manager of the Phoenix office. He was previously the assistant manager, refrigerated department Boston office, and has been with the Allen Lund Company for 19 years. Minthorn is a graduate of the University of Vermont with a degree in business administration and has 20 years experience in produce sales and transportation.
Berry importer/shipper/marketer Sun Belle Inc. has launched its 2021 Pomegranate Arils program with Green Belle organic and Sun Belle conventional 4.4 ounce cups packed by Agricola Los Medanos S.A. in Ica, Peru. The arils are extracted from just-ripe pomegranates in Los Medanos’ ultra-clean facility using state of the art technology, including UV sanitation, immediately packed in retail cups with peel and resealable lids with a tamper proof outer ring seal, and air shipped to North America.
The arils are ruby sweet flavor pops which enliven meals and celebrations throughout the day – from the breakfast bowl to desserts, salads, savory dishes, and snacks to delicious beverages.
Janice Honigberg, president of Sun Belle Inc. kicked off this year’s program saying: “Pomegranates are among the world’s most ancient fruits, always sought after for their taste and beauty. The tiny red jewels are rich in vitamin C, K, B-6 and potassium. High in anti-oxidants and fiber but with a low-calorie count, pomegranate arils are a delicious ready-to-eat snack for health-conscious consumers. Sun Belle is pleased to offer such superb quality products through the spring and summer months.”
Sun Belle, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2021, was founded by Honigberg in Washington, DC and is the exclusive marketer of the Sun Belle and Green Belle brands. In addition to arils, introduced in 2018, Sun Belle markets and distributes conventional and organic blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries; certified biodynamic organic cranberries and blueberries; golden berries, Black Mission figs and red currants; and green house and specialty produce. Sun Belle operates distribution and sales centers in Jessup, Maryland; Miami, Florida; Schiller Park, Illinois; Oxnard, California; and Laredo, Texas.
