British Columbia blueberry shipments are taking a hit this summer due to weather factors adversely affecting quality, as well as a labor shortage.
Caution is urged when loading the fruit due to possible rain related quality issues. Shipments normally last through September.
Westberry Farms of Abbotsford, B.C. reports blueberry growers in Canada’s British Columbia are facing serious challenges as poor weather and labor shortages have created difficult conditions for harvesting.
The harvest started in mid-July and producers have struggled to salvage their fruit and maintain normal production levels. B.C. blueberry shipments are forecast down significantly from 200 million pounds in 2019. While it may be hard to predict how low volumes may end up, weather-related issues from cool and wet weather along with serious flooding in some fields along the Fraser River have made it difficult for picking machines to get out and harvest.
Fraser Berry Farms has expressed concerns about the quality of fruit from excessive rainfall.
British Columbia’s blueberry industry has more than 25,000 acres in production and demands large amounts of labor. The Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Grower’s organization, has made labor availability few and far between. A dip in the workforce of more than 50 percent – especially for handpicking – has created real problems.
While total avocado volume is small compared to Mexico, California avocado shipments for 2020 is expected to reach nearly 400 million pounds — nearly an 85 percent increase over last year.
Loadings are expected to continue into September with limited volume extending into October.
This year’s crop has benefited both from naturally being a larger crop in the alternate-bearing cycle and excellent growing conditions.
This year’s crop has benefited both from naturally being a larger crop in the alternate-bearing cycle and excellent growing conditions.
Henry Avocado Corp. of Escondido, CA has finished its avocado program in the southern part of California, but will continue to ship from the north, in August through October.
Shipments will take place in Ventura County, transition to the Santa Barbara/Goleta area and then move northeast into the Santa Maria area and as far as Morro Bay and the San Luis Obispo.
The company points out it takes longer to grow in the northern area, so they have fruit available later in the summer and into the early fall, depending on the size of the crop.
Eco Farms of Temecula, CA, report loadings to retail supermarkets made up for the company’s drop in foodservice business that resulted from restaurant closures prompted by the corona virus pandemic.
California’s avocado season actually peaks in May and June, before the official start of summer. Peak weeks for California this year were the last week of April and the first week of May. May was the biggest month for California avocado shipments.
The market needed avocados at that time because Peruvian imports were late arriving in the U.S.
Del Rey Avocado Co. Inc. of Fallbrook, CA expects Del Rey to finish its California shipments in mid-October, about a month later than most other shippers.
U.S. imports of Peruvian asparagus arrive year-round, but peak supplies are expected beginning in September and continuing through the end of the year.
Importers say volume will be flat to slightly lower, in part because of COVID-19 stresses on labor and transportation.
Crystal Valley Foods of Miami, FL imports Peruvian asparagus from Peru year-round, although it typically peaks in the fall from September/October through December.
The USDA reports the four-year volume compound annual growth for Peruvian asparagus from September through January is relatively flat at 1.6 percent.
Southern Specialties of Pompano Beach, FL is receiving lower volumes from Peru compared to the same period last year, with blame pointed at the COVID-19 virus. However, the company has seen volume pick up in August.
Through mid-July, U.S. imports of Peruvian asparagus were 28.5 million pounds, down 40 percent from 48.4 million pounds.
Alter Produce of Calexico says the actions of the Peru government related to COVID-19 could affect the flow of product the balance of the year, because there is no real clear answer. The import outlook is really up in the air depending on how the Peruvian government decides to deal with the pandemic.
But the bottom line is Peruvian growers will be forced to harvest their fields, otherwise they will miss the window before Mexico comes in with big volume in early 2021.
Fresh Del Monte Produce, Coral Gables, Fla, has added six energy-efficient reefer container ships to its fleet.
The Del Monte Gold is the first in service, traveling from Hong Kong on its way to the Panama Canal, according to a news release. It and the other ships has a capacity of 1,276 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) with 634 electrical plugs for 40-foot high cube reefer containers, which can maintain temperatures down to 13 degrees Fahrenheit.
Helmuth Lutty, senior vice president of shipping operations, said Fresh Del Monte has been working on this goal since 2017.
“As one of the world’s leading producer, marketer and distributer of fresh fruits and vegetables, we have set a very high bar for all the reefer containers and ships in our fleet,” Lutty said in the release. “These six new vessels set the bar even higher, and allow us to deliver the high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables we are known for while meeting our sustainability goals.”
“We have been working towards this goal since 2017 and could not be more excited to see it come to fruition,” said Helmuth Lutty, Senior Vice President of Shipping Operations for Fresh Del Monte Produce. “As one of the world’s leading producer, marketer and distributer of fresh fruits and vegetables, we have set a very high bar for all the reefer containers and ships in our fleet. These six new vessels set the bar even higher, and allow us to deliver the high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables we are known for while meeting our sustainability goals.”
Each Del Monte vessel includes:
Hull and bow designs for fuel efficiency;
Hybrid scrubber systems to reduce emissions;
Shore power connections; and
Preventive Maintenance System technology for efficient combustion on main and auxiliary engines.
Globally, shipping fruits and vegetables accounts for Fresh Del Monte’s largest energy use, according to Hans Sauter, chief sustainability manager.
“In 2018 we committed to lead by example and reduce our vessel emission by 10%,” he said in the release. “With the addition of these six new container vessels we are well on our way, estimating a savings of nearly 19 thousand metric tons of fuel each year.”
The names of the other new ships are Del Monte Rose, Del Monte Harvester, Del Monte Spirit, Del Monte Valiant and Del Monte Pride.
It was just February 28, 2020, right before the shutdowns began in America for the coronavirus, that Joe Coulombe, the founder of Trader Joe’s, passed away. He was 89 years old.
We’ve been visiting Trader Joe’s since before it was purchased by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht, of Aldi fame, in 1979. We confess that we never once considered it to be racist or in any other way objectionable. We would have said the store was kind of light-hearted in its promotion, with staff running around in Hawaiian shirts, nautical décor, etc.
Coulombe grew up on an avocado farm in Del Mar, CA. He did a stint in the Air Force and then earned a Bachelor’s degree with a major in economics. He continued at Stanford to get an MBA.
The genesis of Trader Joe’s was competition. Coulombe worked for Owl-Rexall, the drugstore chain, and he had been asked to develop Pronto Markets, a convenience store concept. Eventually, Rexall was going to close the division, and Coulombe bought the company—having to sell his house, borrow from Bank of America and get his employees to buy stock. He ran it for several years as a convenience chain and then heard that 7-Eleven was coming into the Pasadena market. He felt he would lose out in a competitive battle. He explained his thoughts in a 2006 article in Stanford Business, which is published by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business:
“The guy with the most money wins. He gets the best locations. It’s very simple,” Coulombe says now, but he knew it then.
His best hope for survival was to come up with a new idea so the stores didn’t compete head on with 7-Eleven. He had to appeal to a particular demographic group that would seek out his stores, even if he couldn’t put them in the best locations.
It took more than a year for the idea to crystallize. Part of his inspiration came from an article in Scientific American detailing a new generation of college-educated adults. Up to 60% of young people would be going to college, the article told him, up from just 2% in the early 30s, when he was born. Clearly, college was a factor that would transform society.
Second, he read about the coming of the Boeing 747, a larger plane that would greatly reduce the cost of foreign travel. Coulombe began to see the demographic slice he wanted to attract: the growing group of people who were well educated and looking for something different—perhaps a bit exotic—but with a keen eye for a bargain.
As he tells it today, he saw his customers as teachers, musicians, journalists—the overeducated and underpaid.
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place on a Caribbean vacation. Lounging on the beach, he saw what Trader Joe’s would look like: a South Seas trading post with fishing nets and oars adorning the walls.
Trader Joe’s became a leader selling premium items, such as specialty cheese. For a while, it was the number one seller of Brie in America.
After he retired, Coulombe served on many boards, including those of Denny’s and Bristol Farms. He was always focused on the idea retailers needed to be uniquely aligned with their clientele. For him, that was often the idea of a new generation of Americans who were far better educated than in the past but not necessarily highly paid. Coulombe used to joke that Trader Joe’s would get great press because journalists fell in that well educated but not necessarily well paid bracket.
May Joe rest in peace.
Now, all of the sudden, a high-school senior claimed that Trader Joe’s was an exemplar of cultural exploitation because it markets many ethnic products under trade names such as Trader José for Mexican foods or Trader Ming’s for Chinese food.
By mock way of explanation of its theme, the Trader Joe’s website says the Trader Joe’s name came from Joe having “been to the Disneyland Jungle Trip ride.” The Wall Street Journal suggested that the inspiration behind Trader Joe’s name may have been the Trader Vic’s restaurant chain, which claims to be the home of the original Mai Tai.
The culture being what it is today, The Wall Street Journal explains that Trader Joe’s surrendered instantly. Trader Joe’s claims it had already decided to phase out the “offensive” names:
“While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect—one that is contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day,” said Kenya Friend-Daniel, the company’s director of public relations.
When the current period of ultra-cultural sensitivity is past, perhaps it will be realized that these “concerns” help no one at all. Nobody gets better educated. Nobody makes more money. Nobody is happier.
Indeed, as The Wall Street Journal pointed out, the high school student who did this will now get into an Ivy League school. Aside from that, we can say the world will be a little less fun and the real problems of the world today will be neglected a little longer.
Wisconsin potato shipments remain light as the harvest has recently started. Good, steady volume is expected in September.
Farmers Potato Exchange of Antigo, WI started digging chip potatoes in late July and tablestock potatoes about two weeks ago.
Alsum Farms & Produce of Friesland, WI believes this may one of the best crops in years with 90 percent of the fields being average or above average for reds, gold and russets.
The company started with red and gold potatoes the last week of July and russets August 12th.
Okray Family Farms of Plover, WI reports Wisconsin’s potato production is located in the state’s 1.75 million-acre Central Sands region, which rests on deposits of sand and gravel.
Grower-shipper RPE Inc. of Bancroft, WI. expects a good potato crop, which has started on time.
Gumz Muck Farms LLC of Endeavor, WI notes potato quality is above average with good size and started harvest over a week ago.
Retail potatoes sales in the U.S. have skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing 31 percent in dollars and 32 percent in volume in the three months from mid-March. Consumers are believed to be cooking more at home over recent months and favoring produce items with long shelf life. All potato categories across the retail store, except deli-prepared sides, increased in dollar and volume sales.
Most potato categories saw double-digit growth in both measures as dehydrated potatoes experienced the largest increase in dollar and volume sales. Dollar sales increased by 59 percent, and volume sales increased by 49 percent.
Deli-prepared sides decreased by 23 percent in dollars and 51 percent in volume. Over the 13 weeks, total potato sales saw dollar sale increases of 13 percent or more. Fresh potato sales increased by 46 percent, and volume increased by 35 percent.
Every fresh potato type except for fingerlings showed double-digit dollar sales growth. Fingerling potatoes were the only category that decreased in volume sales, down by 7 percent. Yellow potatoes showed the largest increase in both dollar and volume sales. Dollar sales increased by 54 percent, and volume sales increased by 42 percent.
California table grapes are in full swing for 2020 with fruit shipping a little faster than previous seasons and following slightly lower volumes in the Coachella Valley.
Grape shippers are looking at what it considers a new normal volume for 2020. The two major grape-producing regions of the state, the Coachella and San Joaquin Valleys ship 99 percent of the nation’s commercially grown table grapes.
The transition between the Coachella and San Joaquin Valleys was smooth with the demand likely a reflection of shorter volumes from the Coachella Valley and Mexico and excellent San Joaquin Valley fruit quality.
The California Table Grape Commission estimates 104.9 million 19-pound boxes will be shipped this year. This means the 2020 estimate is the same volume as was harvested in 2019.
This season there will be a few new table grape varieties, even if their availability doesn’t impact volume all that much over all. The top 15 varieties harvested in 2019 represented 75 percent of the shipments.
Grapes and stone fruit – grossing about $5400 to Chicago.
Mexican berry exports will be down from originally forecast to its leading market this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is still expecting an increase over 2019.
National Association of Exporters of Berries (Aneberries), reports the country had expected a double digit rise in exports to North America. But in light of the pandemic, it now expects Mexico to see a 5 percent increase over last season in berry exports.
The industry currently has more than 116,000 acres of crops in 22 states and it exports over 400,000 metric tons (MT) each year, a figure that represents $2.5 billion to Mexico. However, 97.5 percent of exports are concentrated in the United States and Canada, so Mexico is looking to diversify into other markets, mainly in Asia and the Middle East.
The primary challenges to gain a foothold of these markets are logistics and commercial relationships. Berry exports must be shipped by air, especially raspberries and blackberries. However, the pandemic has interrupted intercontinental flights.
Aldi will open another 70 stores by the end of the year and currently has 2,000 stores.
The company’s continuing expansion will also include entering the greater Phoenix market and, in 2021, building a new distribution center in Loxley, Ala., to support more expansion on the Gulf Coast, according to a news release. Aldi has invested more than $5 billion in recent years to remodel existing stores and add hundreds of new ones.
“Each new store is an opportunity to serve another community, which is an honor and responsibility we do not take lightly,” Jason Hart, ALDI U.S. CEO, said. “As we continue to expand, we promise to do everything in our power to offer the lowest prices, every day, without exception. In fact, as food costs are rising across the country, we’re lowering prices on hundreds of items to meet our customers’ increased need for savings.”
Along with its aggressive growth in recent years, Aldi has increased its fresh food selection by 40 percent. It has also expanded its e-commerce presence, with delivery available through third-party services for more than 10,000 zip codes and curbside pickup an option at nearly 600 stores.
Aldi’s entry into the greater Phoenix market later this year will include four new stores. Arizona is the 37th state for Aldi.
The company’s new distribution center in Alabama will serve new stores in southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana, which will be the 38th state for Aldi. The retailer already has 180 stores in Alabama and Florida, plus four regional headquarters and distribution centers in the area.
