ISSAQUAH, WA – The total production of New Zealand apples and pears this season is estimated to be approximately 21- 22 million cartons. The exportable crop is expected to be 19.5 million cartons.
There were 3 significant factors that led to the estimated volumes of New Zealand apples and pears this season:
Despite favorable weather in most New Zealand growing regions, hailstorms wreaked havoc on the South Island this season. Some growers located in the South Island’s Nelson area lost 70-90% of their fruit from hail damage. The hail damage was very specific to the Nelson area. In other growing regions of New Zealand, the good weather supported positive growing conditions for the fruit and brought beautiful color.
Vanguard is monitoring how the labor challenges will impact the ongoing harvest and overall volumes, and volumes specific to every variety.
Vessel availability is also adding to the challenges. Shipping lines are informing New Zealand packers that they are suspending service to specific destinations given the complexities of making even close to timely ETA’s. An example would be that OOCL has informed the New Zealand industry this week that they will not take anymore bookings for Europe, and NYK has cancelled bookings and all routes to Asia and Russia.
Growers continue to harvest and pack early varieties in New Zealand, mainly Gala and in smaller numbers Early Fuji and Beauty. Complexities related to weather, labor, and shipping will be key variables to stay alert to throughout the season.
Since gaining market access to the U.S. in August 2017, Colombian Hass avocado exports have increased significantly and industry stakeholders are optimistic about a bright future.
CorpoHass is a national industry organization which represents two of the worlds largest avocado companies, Westfalia and Mission Produce. These pair of companies have extensive operations and growth plans in Columbia.
CorpoHass reports exports have grown much faster rate than was expected.
While Colombia shipped only 29 metric tons (MT) of Hass avocados to the U.S. market in 2017, that number rose to 346MT in 2018, followed by 1404MT the following year.
In 2020 through November, 2943MT were exported.
These numbers pale in comparison to the supplies Mexico and Peru ship to the U.S. – as well as volumes shipped by Colombia to the EU, its leading market. However, they indicate a strong upward trend is set to continue well into the future and eventually position Colombia as a reliable alternative avocado supplier to the U.S.
CorpoHass is predicting an annual growth of at least 50 percent.
The company notes exports to new markets like the U.S. depend on compliance with the operational work plan. This includes the control and monitoring of quarantine pests both on the property and in the buffer zone for a determined minimum period.
In the middle of 2019, the phytosanitary protocol was relaxed. This has allowed exports not only to be greater in volume but also more frequent, especially during the slower part of the harvest.
As of December 23, 2020, the last update date, there were 94 licensed farms in six departments and 15 packing plants in five departments. This number is constantly increasing.
Vidalia onion shipments will start the third week of April from Southeastern Georgia.
For the 2021 season, approximately 10,000 acres of Vidalia onions were planted, Vidalia Onion Chairman Aries Haygood said. “We are anticipating a good harvest, and consumers across the country should have ample supply throughout the season.
The date growers can start packing under the Vidalia onion name is April 19. The date is determined each year by an advisory panel comprised of Vidalia industry members, state agriculture scientists and the Department of Agriculture, according to a press release.
Soil and weather conditions in south Georgia are taken into consideration to select the date, to help ensure only the highest-quality onions end up on consumers’ plates.
“It is a special moment every year when we announce the Vidalia onions pack date, but this year we will mark the passage of the 1986 Vidalia Onion Act by our state legislature that played a defining role in making our state’s official vegetable an iconic brand recognized around the world,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said in the release.
First discovered in the 1930s, Vidalia onions quickly grew in popularity over the next few decades. The Vidalia Onion Act established that only sweet onions grown in 20 South Georgia counties from a distinctive Granex seed and packed and sold on or after the official pack date each year could be called Vidalia onions.
Known for its sweet, mild flavor and treasured by cooks nationwide, the vegetable is hand-cultivated by 60 registered growers. They represent about 40 percent of the sweet onion market and are sold in every state.
Total potato sales at retail hit five-year record highs for both dollar and volume sales in 2020, according to Potatoes USA.
Potatoes were consistently one of the highest performing produce items in terms of year-on-year growth, as consumers looked to purchase longer-lasting fruit and vegetables during the lockdowns.
Dollar sales increased by 16% compared to 2019 and all categories, except deli-prepared sides, grew by double-digit dollar sales.
Dehydrated recorded the highest sales increases in dollars by 30% and volume sales by 25%. Canned and bottled saw the second-largest dollar increase at 29%, and frozen had the second-largest volume increase at 23%.
The largest growth in dollar and volume sales for potatoes occurred from April through June – the onset of the pandemic – although all months grew by over 9% for both metrics.
Fresh sales increased by almost 21% in dollars and 15% in volume. All types increased in dollar and volume sales by at least 6%.
Within the fresh category, medley potatoes had the highest dollar and volume sales increase with dollar sales by 34% and volume sales by 38%.
While all package sizes saw double-digit growth in dollar sales, one-pound through four-pound bags saw the largest increase, growing by 24% in dollars and 19% in volume.
Five-pound bags make up 47% of all package sizes bought at retail, and grew in dollars and volume sales by double-digits compared to 2019.
Shipments of lettuce and other leafy greens are shifting from the California and Arizona deserts to the short Huron, CA, season, with the Salinas Valley season just getting underway this week. Some caution is urged in loading head lettuce, which has quality problems.
Markon Cooperative notes in its weekly Fresh Crop Report, lettuce prices are steady and supplies are strong as consumer demand is rising with more restaurants opening.
USDA reports both romaine and iceberg lettuce prices have nearly doubled in the last month.
Romaine, green leaf and spring mix supplies are very good quality, Markon reports, while iceberg lettuce has some issues with frost, mildew and wind-damaged outer leaves. It is recommended your receiver be alerted while still at shipping point the condition of the lettuce.
The transition from the desert areas to northern California growing areas occurs every spring.
California/Arizona desert lettuce and other vegetables – grossing about $6100 to Chicago.
Florida is the first state in the U.S. to ship peaches each year, which typically occurs near the end of March and is available into May. It may not be a long season, but it’s the first domestic stone fruit crop of 2021.
Florida’s Institute for Food and Agriculture Sciences is expecting the best crop in 5 years.
Florida Classic Growers of Dundee, FL should begin loading its peaches by the end of March, with volume peaking the first two weeks of April,
The season appears it will be a little more condensed than in previous years as volume is expected to dwindle after the first week of May. Volume will probably be off slightly, although an excellent season is expected.
Since 2004, Florida commercial peach acreage has hovered in the 2,000 range. Described as stable, the reason is due to climate, not economics.
By Iyer Amruthur, Business Development Specialist, ALC San Antonio
Guanajuato, Michoacán, Puebla, Jalisco, and Sonora. What do these names all have in common, despite possibly being unknown to you as an average consumer?
It is also the main export of Guanajuato. So, why does this matter? Just like you, I buy my broccoli from HEB here in Texas (although you may have a Kroger, Publix, or even Walmart in your areas). It’s one of the many year-round vegetables my family enjoys. And recently if you’ve caught the news, the weather has been pretty awful for us in Texas.
Inevitably, especially with border shipments, we see adverse weather throw hurdles into the logistics game. At times the border even shuts down, to the dismay of both the U.S. and Mexico. Some 16,000 trucks pass through the border town of Laredo, TX every day, and this accounts for 37% of all our trade between the U.S. and Mexico.
As you can guess, when those 16,000 trucks can’t move, it’s going to create some big delays! How does this affect you? Many people end up confused as to why weather in Texas causes some stores to run out of broccoli, hike prices, or have older product in places like Chicago.
While we have many sources of produce, our nation’s grocery stores aim to hit between the best price and the best quality which sometimes means an import! As you must have heard, not just Laredo, but most of Texas shut down its highways and freight came to a standstill. Even at my local HEB, you can see a reduced selection of fruits and vegetables at higher prices.
Grocery chains work hard to do whatever it takes to make sure you have what you need when you enter the store, and nothing exceeds the urgency of perishable goods. Here at ALC we work with our grocery customers to smooth things out. There are things we can do as a team, that are difficult to do from a company’s in-house logistics.
We can navigate the massive amounts of information, rescheduling, constantly shifting prices/supply of trucks, arrange transportation from other sources around the country and put it together in a fashion that provides an immediate solution. During poor weather conditions, 3PLS are some of the last doors that close, and with our expertise and resources, we can even provide solutions remotely.
Weather is Mother Nature’s way of throwing us curveballs and we strive to be able to react to our customers’ needs. Our goal is to ensure the consumer can count on fresh quality products available in their local stores no matter the weather in Texas or Chicago.
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Iyer Amruthur is a business development specialist in the ALC San Antonio office and has two years of logistics experience. Iyer attended The University of Georgia where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, with a minor in Communications.
A further table grape cut is predicted by Chile’s fruit export association Asoex,, following heavy and unseasonal rains earlier this year.
Asoex President Ronald Bown Fernández, in a third estimate for the 2020-21 season, points out the forecast is now for 64.6 million boxes (8.2 kilo-equivalent).
The figure would mark a 12 percent decline from last, off from the 10 percent decline announced in late February – and a 22 percent drop from the season’s original January estimate of 82 million boxes.
He added that this third forecast of table grape exports for this season “is the best estimate that can be made to date. We hope that, as time goes by, this projection will not decrease”.
Bown also noted that this third estimate corresponds to information provided by 38 companies, which together represent 59% of the volume exported last season (2019-2020).
He said that the main decreases in Chile are being seen in white varieties. It is expected that 14.2 million boxes of green grapes will be exported, 5.7 million boxes of black grapes, 28.8 million boxes of red grapes, and 16.2 million boxes of Red Globes.
A seven percent increase in container volumes in 2020 at the Port of Philadelphia (PhilaPort) has resulted in making it the fastest-growing container port on the U.S. East Coast.
These cargo levels follow a decade-long trend for the port which has seen 10 percent compound annual growth.
Despite the shipping challenges due to COVID-19, PhilaPort has apparently done well. While the pandemic has created difficulties for global supply chains, some sectors such as perishables, have risen due to a demand for fresh, non-processed foods.
PhilaPort expressed particular pride in its cold supply chain expertise for all types of perishable cargo products including grapes, bananas, pineapples, mangos, plantains, blueberries, and asparagus, among others.
For breakbulk alone, PhilaPort terminals handled 928,000 tons. Containerized forest products were estimated to be 20,000 units.
April is typically the biggest month of the year for Florida vegetable shipments. We’re on the down side of March and volumes are building toward peak loadings. Here’s a glance at what’s happening in the Sunshine State, keeping in mind most hauls involve multiple pickups and drops.
In St. Johns County, just south of Jacksonville cabbage loadings are in full swing. The University of Florida Institute for Food and Agriculture reports some cabbage growers are doing better than others, but overall it is good.
Barnes Farms of Hastings, FL is one of the largest cabbage growers along the Eastern Seaboard, and works with several growers producing cabbage, including green, red, bok choy and Napa. Asian types of cabbage have really expanded in St. Johns County, with about 5,000 acres of Asian vegetable varieties such as bitter melon and luffa, also called Chinese okra.
Northeastern Florida potato growers started planting in January but have struggled, with a few severe thunderstorms delaying the season. About 35% of the potatoes go to the fresh market, and the rest is for chips,
Hollar and Greene Produce Co. of Boone, NC has expanded its cabbage operation this year from 1,000 acres to 1,419 at its farm just south of Hastings, in Bunnell, FL, which is still considered northeast Florida.
Cabbage is typically available in Florida from December to May,
In Central Florida closer to the west coast, early March was peak season for the 1,700 acres of strawberries at Astin Farms and the Astin Strawberry Exchange in Plant City and Wimauma, FL. Strawberry shipments normally get underway aroundcrop the end of November, lasting through early April. Overall volume may be a bit lower this year due to the slightly slower start of the season.
Astin Farms is gearing up for blueberry season, which it will begin shipping in the coming weeks.
Alderman Farms of Boynton Beach, FL is based near the east coast with other locations throughout south and central Florida. The company grows tomatoes, kale, collards, chard, sweet corn, bell peppers, eggplant, yellow straight neck squash, zucchini and cucumbers.
Alderman ships to a lot to the Northeast, Chicago and with fewer loads headed to other parts of the Midwest. Customers include major retailers such as Publix.
Tomatoes — round slicers, grape and roma — are the biggest crop for Alderman Farms. Tomato shipments started in mid-October and should continue into May. The greens follow a similar timeline.
Alderman lost three or four plantings of sweet corn in Belle Glade in Palm Beach County because of a freeze in February. The operation experience a lot of damage to vegetables, but has since returned heavy volume.
Southwest Florida’s university extension service for Hendry, Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties, reports the region’s tomato growers should continue shipping through April or early May. Many of the growers also have additional farms in Central Florida to continue harvesting after that.
Southwest Florida snap beans loading start at the end of October and last until the beginning of May. The major counties for snap, or green beans are Hendry, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.
The USDA reports of the state’s 27,823 acres of snap beans harvested in 2017, over 23% came from Collier and Hendry counties and 51% came from Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Immokalee’s earliest shipments will begin in mid- to late March for the spring crop, and it lasts about a month or so. There’ also is a fall crop.
Watermelon shipments also begin in March from that region.
Central and Southern Florida veggies – grossing about $3700 to New York City.
