Grower-shippers in California’s Kern County say they started on-time start with this season’s vegetable shipments, in spite of heavy rainfall.
Danny Andrews Farms of Bakersfield, CA reports minor delays due to rain on the start of lettuce and cabbage, but harvest of those items began April 13.
Andrews started vegetable shipments with iceberg lettuce, green and red cabbage. The company will have carrots in June and melons in July.
It remains to be seen whether the rains will adverse affect quality and yields of melons.
Johnston Farms of Edison, CA wrapped up citrus shipments in mid-April and started its potato season nearly a week ago, with peppers expected by June 1.
Kirschenman Enterprises Inc. of Edison, CA started its potato season with shipments from the Coachella Valley, and now is focusing on its Bakersfield crop which includes white, red and yellow spuds.
The company expects to launch its table grape season in Kern County at the end of June. Kirshenman reports the grape industry expects to have 10 percent less volume this year, not because of COVID-19, but due to overproduction, declining markets, and some grape varieties being pulled in favor of new varieties.
TD Produce Sales of Bakersfield started shipping white potatoes in late April and red and yellow potatoes in early May.
Teen age boys who are at higher risk for heart disease than their peers may benefit from eating a lot of strawberries, according to a recent small study.
“The literature to date strongly supports the concept that the regular consumption of strawberries can be associated with improvements in cardiovascular health,” according to a University of California-Davis news release.
The study by UC-Davis researcherss Roberta Holt, Carl Keen and others, “Effects of short-term consumption of strawberry powder on select parameters of vascular health in adolescent males,” was published in the Food & Function journal. The study is the result of the 2019 Berry Health Benefits Symposium.
The goal of the study is to better inform dietary recommendations about the amount and frequency of strawberry intake to support cardiovascular health at each life stage.
The research team prioritized teenagers for their study because heart disease risk can begin in childhood.
The study used only 25 teens, recording results an hour after consumption and again a week later. More studies, especially longer-term studies, are needed in a variety of populations because many factors influence how polyphenols in strawberries affect the heart, according to the release.
Freight volumes and rates took a hit in April thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic., according to transportation analysis firm DAT.
Transportation analysis company DAT of Portland, OR reports in a news release its DAT Truckload Volume Index, a measure of dry van, refrigerated (reefer) and flatbed loads moved by truckload carriers, fell 19 percent from March and 8 percent from April 2019.
“With so many businesses closed or operating at low capacity, truckload shipments have plunged, which put spot rates in dangerously low territory for owner-operators and small carriers,” Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT, said in a news release. “Some carriers parked their trucks to wait for better business conditions, but there’s still lots of available capacity as a result of the low volumes, which has kept rates down.”
The April load-to-truck ratio for vans was 1.0 nationally, which DAT said was the lowest level since February 2016. In fact, for three weeks in April, the ratio was less than 1.0, meaning there were more trucks than freight posted on the DAT network, according to the release.
For the week of April 7, the USDA reported that fruit and vegetable truckload volumes were 110,327 (10,000-pound) units, down from about 147,016 units for the week of April 2 a year ago.
Spot reefer volumes were weak but ended April on an upward trend as fruit and vegetable harvests started to get underway. DAT said the reefer load-to-truck ratio was 1.7 in April compared to 5.6 loads per truck in March, matching at all-time low in April 2017.
The national average reefer spot rate was $1.92 per mile, down 25 cents compared to March and 23 cents lower year over year. according to DAT.
U.S. average diesel costs were much lower, at $2.39 per gallon in early May compared with $3.17 per gallon a year ago.
Truck Demand Should Improve
With the market bottoming out in April, the outlook should improve for truck demand.
Ratecast and Market Conditions Index—predictive metrics from DAT anticipate higher prices and volumes as states relax their stay-at-home orders, produce season begins and port markets like Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah, Ga. and Elizabeth, N.J., see more traffic.
“Carriers will not be able to sustain operations very long at current levels,” Adamo said in the release. “Spring produce shipping should offer some relief and put some needed upward pressure on prices in May.”
(PEACH COUNTY, GEORGIA) – Georgia Peach growers are anxiously awaiting first harvest of what is shaping up to be the best crop in years. Harvest is expected to begin around the 15th of May and continue through the 15th of August.
Genuine Georgia expects to pack nearly 3 million boxes of Georgia Peaches during the summer months. Offering convenient Grab-and-Go 2-pound bags as well as fresh peaches sold loose by the pound or the each.
With the current situation surrounding COVID-19, many retailers are expecting a huge lift in southern peach sales this summer.
“Many are touting fresh peaches as the feel-good fruit of the summer. With these uncertain times, we’re glad to be able to support our peach partners throughout the summer season. Everyone needs a taste of familiar comfort these days and we’re ready to bring back some normalcy to consumers nationwide with the juicy, healthy and unmatched flavor of a Georgia peach,” says Will McGehee, partner with Genuine Georgia.
“Retailers have the opportunity to merchandise peaches according to their shopper’s preference,” said Duke Lane III.
2020 Genuine Georgia partners can look forward to customized marketing support programs featuring everything from digital ad programs, social media support campaigns, a dietitian toolkit and customer specific merchandisers highlighting sweet Georgia Peaches.
Sweet Georgia peaches are a nutritional powerhouse of health. A medium peach packs more than 20 different macro and micronutrients, including fiber, vitamins A, C, E, potassium and zinc. They are also naturally free of fat, sodium, cholesterol, gluten and trans fats. The orange-yellow hue of peaches is a cue that they’re an excellent source of beta-carotene, an important antioxidant that’s converted to vitamin A. In fact, a medium peach (1 cup slices) has about 500 IU of vitamin, equal to about 10% of the Daily Value for this nutrient. Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for optimal growth, bone health and vision.
For more information about the Genuine Georgia Group or to partner for the 2020 season, go to www.genuinega.com or call 478.822.9210.
Crowley Logistics recently expanded its on-terminal, perishables handling capabilities by constructing a new USDA inspection dock in Port Everglades, Fla. The new $1.6 million dock has capacity for 80 refrigerated (reefer) containers, more than double the previous size, to better serve perishable shippers moving fruits and vegetables into the U.S. The new dock has individual shoreside power plugs for each reefer, allowing for continuous temperature control.
“This is a one-of-a-kind investment in the perishables market,” said Pat Collins, vice president, Crowley Logistics operations. “It allows for less handling time of the reefer container and cuts out the need to move the container to a separate location for separate USDA inspections. It also allows our trucking partners quicker access to assigned loads facilitating a quicker terminal turn time, allowing them to make more trips per day. Overall, it’s another upgrade we’ve made to more efficiently speed goods to market.”
Once a vessel arrives in Port Everglades, Crowley unloads the reefers first, which allows them to be immediately moved to the expanded dock for inspection and quickly released for immediate customer pick-up. If further inspection or fumigation services are required, Crowley offers a local service for that as well.
While reefers are at the inspection dock, they use electric power sources, allowing their diesel-powered generators to be turned off – a more environmentally friendly power option. The additional electric plugs expand the overall plug-in capacity for the terminal to over 260 plugs.
The new dock also has integrated features to promote safety for employees assigned to it. LED lighting facilitates brighter visibility for both our employees and our regulatory partners. Construction includes poured concrete and steel designed to withstand hurricane conditions and the everyday wear and tear of a marine terminal. And, the newly installed safety interlocked shore power receptacles have an LED indicator light to indicate to the reefer mechanic that the cable is energized.
Grimmway Farms is now shipping the new crop of organic red and gold potatoes from its Cal-Organic Farms division from California.
The company’s Lamont, Calif., facility started shipping the red and gold potatoes in late April, followed by the organic fingerlings in May and russets in early June, according to a news release.
The company is harvesting reds and golds in Coachella Valley and will move to Kern County in late May.
“There is solid demand for new crop potatoes due to an uptick in consumption this spring,” Bob Borda, vice president of organic sales at Grimmway Farms, said in the release. “We’ve seen great growing conditions with mild weather in the desert and harvest volumes look optimal, so we’re looking forward to opening the season strong with plenty of supply and a good quality crop.”
The company packs red and golds in 3- and 5-pound sacks and 50-pound bulk cartons, with size A, B or C spuds, according to the release. A medley of red and golds are also available in a 3-pound pack.
Cal-Organic rainbow fingerlings will be available later in the season, with gold, red and purple potatoes in 1.5-pound mesh packs and 25- and 50-pound bulk cartons, with single-color options available for bulk orders, according to the release.
A near-shutdown of foodservice outlets and booming demand from retailers resulted in Texas onion grower-shippers opening their season with unprecedented market conditions.
There were ups and downs in onion shipment due to the combination of factors — caused by social distance restrictions imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. in March.
Frontera Produce Ltd. of Edinburg, Tx reports onion shipment got off to a quick start out of the gate, driven by higher retail demand. However, by March 27th Loadings nearly came to a standstill. But a better balance has since come about as retailers learn to balance their orders.
Onion shipments started around two weeks early this year, compared to 2019.
Looking at the fast start from a volume perspective, during the week of March 15-21, Texas onion shipments totaled 15.4 million pounds (385,000 40-pound cartons), up more than fivefold from just 2.8 million pounds (70,000 cartons) the same week last year.
Bebo Distributing Co. Inc. of Pharr, Texas, notes there had be been good supplies of Texas onions going into May.
In 2019, the USDA reported Texas shipments of top commodities were:
Retailers are asking shipping companies to push back deliveries, which may drag global container shipments down as much as 30 percent in the next few months. The reason is warehouses are filling with goods ranging from refrigerators to washing machines.
The International Chamber of Shipping reports shipments have fallen an estimated 15 percent so far this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Second-quarter declines, compared with a year ago, will depend on how much governments reopen economies. Inventories of goods such as apparel, textiles, white goods, are full, and receivers of these goods asking shipping lines whether they can store these goods for a period of time or slow their ships down or basically delay taking delivery.
The slump is a setback for shipping giants such as Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. and Ocean Network Express Holdings Ltd., which started the year strong as healthy trade volumes allowed the industry to boost rates. That optimism has now evaporated as the virus outbreak is forcing shoppers to stay home, crimping retail sales in the biggest consumer markets.
Ocean Network Express notes forward bookings for shipments from Asia to North America and Europe have slowed for April and into May. Shipments of products from North and Latin America, Europe and Oceania to Asia are still strong. Ocean Network Express is Japan’s largest container-shipping operator.
In addition to lower volumes, the industry has been hit by restrictions aimed at containing the outbreak. Ensuring that seafarers can board and transfer onto ships amid port curbs and canceled flights remains a major challenge.
Fresh produce retail sales were up 22 percent for the week ending April 26, compared to the same time a year ago.
The market research company IRI reports demand for fresh produce is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. During the last week of April fresh vegetable sales were up 30.4 percent, while fresh fruit sales jumped 16.2 percent.
The numbers represent a substantial jump over the previous week, which was competing with the week of Easter in 2019. It also means the highest figures since the end of the demand peak in the middle of March.
A report by 210 Analytics, IRI and the Produce Marketing Association also points out sales of frozen and shelf-stable produce remain highly elevated, being up 57.6 percent and 46.3 percent respectively.
IRI reports the numbers very clearly show higher everyday demand is being driven by in-home consumption and it is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
As the market is adjusting to the new era of COVID-19, some lingering issues remain with the supply chain. Then there is the totally new shopping arena affecting everything from the demand for products to having to find new ways to drive impulse buying.
The top three growth items in the U.S. in terms of absolute dollar gains over the same week in 2019 were berries (+$35 million), lettuce (+$29 million) and potatoes, (+$24 million).
However, at the category level, significant differences continue existing between dollars and volume, driven by deflationary pressure. With fruit, there were big decreases in price per volume for items such as avocados (-16.1 percent), grapes (-12.5 percent) and tangelos (-9.9 percent) the week ending April 26.
Concerning vegetables, onions had a strong 37.3 percent increase in dollars. However volume sales were up 55.1 percent, with the retail price per volume down more than 11 percent.
Other produce items with large decreases in the price per volume were celery (-24.8 percent), peppers (-12.6 percent) and Brussels sprouts (-6.6 percent).
There was an opposite affect for other items, especially potatoes, with dollar sales still going strong, at +50.8 percent, and volume up 38.7 percent. Retail potato prices were 8.8 percent higher versus the same week a year ago.
As for fruit, the top 10 items in terms of dollar sales saw flat sales for two items (grapes and melons) but double-digit increases for seven.
Oranges continue a hot streak with another terrific 71 percent gain versus year ago. Highlighting nutritional benefits, particularly Vitamin C, in many other fruits and vegetables may benefit sales in weeks to come.
Chile is predicint an 8 percent increase in total citrus exports of 353,000 metric tons (MT) this season. Big increases in soft citrus volumes that more than offset expected declines in oranges is getting most of the credit for the overall rise.
The forecast calls for a 24 percent rise in mandarins, a 21 percent increase in clementines, flat lemons volumes, and a 13. percent decrease in orange exports.
The volume forecast for mandarins and clementines is 115,000MT and 61,000MT respectively. The year-on-year increase in volumes of both categories is due to new plantings made over the last 10 years.
An estimated 1463 acres have been planted annually and that the surface area is higher than 22,239 acres. Meanwhile, the decline in orange volumes to 87,000MT is due to a decline in surface area over recent years.
Many growers have been opting to either regraft or plant other crops. Lemon exports are expected to come in at 90,000MT.
