The Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association (PAIA) reports a 3% increase in volume year-over-year for 2020 imports. According to the USDA’s Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service statistics, Peruvian asparagus imports have grown to over 206 million pounds in 2020. Peru is ranked as one of the top 5 countries that make up the majority contribution of fresh asparagus consumption in the United States for 2020.
Fresh Asparagus 2020 Import Landscape (Top 5)
Country
Quantity (lbs)
YOY Variance
Mexico
375,302,609
3%
Peru
206,479,443
3%
Canada
2,840,876
-38%
Ecuador
1,126,121
125%
China
143,520
—
Import Total
586,020,439
2%
As a primary supplier to the United States, fresh asparagus is supplied to U.S. markets on a year-round basis.
Alpine Fresh, Doral, FL reports Peruvian late spring and into summer supplies look to be exceptional there should be steady supplies of fresh asparagus throughout 2021.
USDA, Foreign Agriculture Service also reports import totals for fresh asparagus have increased by 2% in 2020. USDA statistics report a consistent incline since 2017:
USDA / Foreign Agricultural Service / Quantity
Pounds
2017
2018
2019
2020
Import Totals
502,407,040
567,969,057
572,026,817
586,020,439
Peru
173,961,914
199,766,146
201,208,851
206,479,443
According to USDA Foreign Agriculture Service, values also have a reported increase for Peruvian imports.
USDA / Foreign Agricultural Service / Value
In Thousands $
2018
2019
2020
Peru
$239,105
$252,573
$261,395
Crystal Valley Valley Foods of Miami, FL reports Peruvian asparagus represents more than 40% of all asparagus import values by the U.S. Peru has had a 30 year trade partnership with the United States, with both countries benefiting from exports and imports. Peru continues to expand its agricultural product offerings.
All offerings arriving from either New Zealand, Chile or Argentina, favorites like Royal Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Ambrosia, Smitten™ and Pink Lady® along with club varieties like Envy™, JAZZ™ and Pacific Rose™ round out Oppy’s apple basket. Its familiar pear assortment of Bosc, Bartlett, D’Anjou and Abate Fetel varieties also includes a strong organic program specifically from Argentina and Chile. Seeing increased demand for bagged pears, Oppy imports in bulk and bags at the source.
Envy™ and JAZZ™ apples hold top-10 category with volume.
And, with the heightened demand for organic apples evident in their double-digit year-on-year growth to a 16% share of total category sales and 12% share of pounds, organic Envy™ and JAZZ™ volume is set to increase in the years ahead.
Packaged apple sales also skyrocketed in 2020, now representing 45% of category pounds.
HOLLISTER, CA — Blueberry demand remains strong with American consumers, and Berry People, a year-round, full-line shipper of branded organic and conventional strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, has promotable volumes of high-quality fruit available.
“South American supply delays caused by weather, port clearance and unloading delays caused by COVID-19 are behind us, and we now have steady volumes of great quality conventional and organic blueberries from our Mexican growers,” said Jerald Downs, President of Berry People. “Our growers in California report a fruit set that looks promising for harvest towards the end of April; we anticipate a steady transition from Mexican to Californian production over the next 60 days.”
Berry People’s unique approach to grower relationships has helped fuel their triple-digit growth over the past three years. “We bring a long-term perspective and a commitment to delicate bonds of trust to our grower relationships, and we strive to be true partners, with a holistic approach towards improving grower and Berry People operations from top to bottom,” Downs continued. “As a result, our business has grown organically through existing growers’ increasing referrals to their families, neighbors and friends. We are thankful for this organic, yet substantial, year-over-year growth, which has risen in tandem with our retailer and consumer demands.”
Berry People anticipates a robust spring and summer blueberry season in 2021, with a broader and more diversified base of growers and acreage from California and the Pacific Northwest, allowing us to handle the June through September transition with continuity, quality, and volume.
About Berry People: Berry People is a year-round, full-line shipper of branded organic and conventional strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and owner of the Berry People brand. Headquartered in Hollister, California, the company’s ownership and key alliance partners hold important production assets in California, Mexico, Chile and Peru.
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.”
