The Philadelphia Regioanl Port Authority reports refrigerated cargo trade into the Delaware River increased by 9 percent last year. Now operating with the PhilaPort name, the organization recently released its latest trade statistics.
The Delaware River ports handled fresh fruit worth $3.6 billion in 2019. Philadelphia has its own seaport infrastructure. But the port of Wilmington, DE, and New Jersey Delaware River port facilities substantially add to the overall trade numbers of river trade totals.
The Delaware River ports in 2019 received a total of 4 metric tons of refrigerated cargo. Of this total, bananas contributed 47 percent of the tonnage.
Pineapples, which typically arrive with bananas on containerized cargo ships, accounted for 14 percent of the tonnage. Citrus fruit accounted for 6 percent of the river’s tonnage, while grapes and melons each represented 4 percent of tonnage.
Refrigerated meats accounted for 7 percent and “other” commodities filled the total tonnage, with 18 percent.
Reefer containers brought 28 percent of the river’s total cargo tonnage, despite the presence of much heavier items like dry containers (31 percent) and liquid bulk (20 percent).
The river’s container trade has grown by an average of 12 percent per year since 2012. The reefer container cargo growth shot from 88,461 20-foot equivalent units in 2012 to 219,619 in 2019.
U.S. foodservice business in April plunged because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which apparently contributed to a steep fall in U.S. fruit and vegetable imports.
U.S. imports of fresh vegetables in April were $770.2 million, down 25 percent from March and off 6.5percent from April 2019, according to the USDA..
Imports of fruit (both fresh and frozen) in April were $1.27 billion, off 23 percent from March and down 17 percent from April 2019.
By commodity, imports of U.S. fresh produce in April, with percent change from April 2019, were:
Berries (excluding strawberries: $284.9 million, up 3 percent;
Here’s a round up what is expected for summer citrus shipments from the view of some suppliers.
Bee Sweet Citrus of Fowler, Calif., will be shipping valencia oranges and blood oranges from California as well as mandarins, navel oranges and cara navels from Chile. The company also will have domestic and imported lemons.
The Chilean Citrus Committee of Santiago, is expects to have 176,000 tons of clementines and mandarins this season compared to 143,168 tons in 2019.
Clementines started early May, followed by mandarins with both being available through October.
Chilean lemon volume will be similar to 2019, and lasting through October. Navel shipments have just started and be continue through October.
New Limeco LLC of Princeton, FL is importing citrus from Mexico and Honduras.
Seald Sweet International of Vero Beach, FL is importing Primasole clementines from Peru with the early season having 20 to 25 percent over last year. South Africa and Chile soon followed. Late season mandarins from South Africa will increase 10 to 20 percent over last year by late September through October.
Seven Seas of Visalia, CA., a division of Tom Lange Co. Inc., Springfield, Ill., is shipping California valencia oranges, grapefruit and lemons this summer. The company also is importing navel oranges, midknight oranges, mandarins, lemons and star ruby grapefruit from South Africa, Chile and Peru.
Sunkinst Growers Inc. of Valencia, CA., has been shipping lemons, California star ruby grapefruit, valencia oranges and limes. the company has grapefruit, lemons and limes the year-round, while valencia oranges are a summertime exclusive and are now in peak volume.
Wonderful Citrus of Delano, CA is importing mandarins from Uruguay, Peru, Chile, South Africa and Australia this summer and lemons from Argentina.
A new record for refrigerated container volume has taken place at The North Carolina Ports Authority.
The organization reported ports moved 1,459 refrigerated containers — 2,918 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) — in April.
Even with the pandemic, N.C. ports continue to experience a “healthy flow” of refrigerated cargoes; the largest refrigerated import is bananas, according to a news release. Fiscal year 2020 (July-April) volumes are up 20 percent over the previous year, and annual growth from FY2014-19 is up 225 percent.
“It has long been North Carolina Ports’ goal to become one of the premier cold ports for shippers and these numbers are evidence of that mission,” Paul Cozza, executive director of North Carolina Ports, said in the release. “Additionally, our record-setting April highlights our expanding perishables portfolio as we have quadrupled refrigerated container volume over the last five years.”
The Port of Wilmington is seeing import and export demand increase during the pandemic.
“To support this growth, we are making the necessary investments to improve and expand our capabilities which in turn will benefit the North Carolina agriculture industry, the state’s grocery sector and additional cold chain users,” Hans C.E. Bean, North Carolina Ports chief commercial officer.
A new refrigerated container yard opened in April at the Port of Wilmington, a $14 million project that increased on-terminal refrigerated container plugs from 235 to 775.
It is nearly July and that means summer Michigan produce shipments are building in volume. Blueberries and vegetables are expected to have normal volume, although most crops are starting one to two weeks later than last season due to cold and excessive rain last spring.
Both Leitz Farms LLC of Sodus, MI and Naturipe Farms in Grand Junction, Mich report they will be shipping blueberries July through the end of September, with the best volume occurring in July and August.
Buurma Farms of Gregory, MI reports a beautiful crop of vegetables. The company started June with radishes, while mustard greens, collards, kale and cilantro will arrive by June 10 and beets by the end of June.
Mike Pirrone Produce of Capac, MI started about a week ago with collards and kale, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers. Eggplant and peppers will get underway in the last part of July.
Grape tomatoes loadings will start in mid-July, leading into roma and round tomatoes. Cucumbers and tomatoes will be shipped until the middle of October.
Miedeman & Sons of Byron, MI has just started loadings of cabbage. The operation also grows sweet corn, cabbage, bok choy, napa, celery, cabbage and winter squash. Bok Choy starts after the 4th of July, with squash coming on around Labor Day.
Van Solkema Produce of Georgia based in Bryon, MI will have cabbage, corn, celery, radishes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, squash, eggplant, chilies and blueberries. The company is just starting with cabbage and leafy greens, as well as romaine and red leaf lettuce. Zucchini and yellow squash are just starting harvest, while tunnel cucumbers and celery are expected by July 10th. Peppers will follow the third week of July.
South Carolina produce shipments are underway in light volume and North Carolina isn’t far behind.
Grower Network of Lake Park, GA markets fresh produce from the Carolinas and notes shipments usually peak in mid-June for South Carolina and mid-July for North Carolina with volume increasing 3 to 5 percent, which is typical,
In 2019, North Carolina produced 2.2 billion pounds of sweet potatoes, 37.5 million pounds of blueberries, 185 million pounds of cucumbers, 190 million pounds of watermelon, 61 million pounds of bell peppers, 64 million pounds of summer squash, and almost 80 million pounds of pumpkins, according to the USDA.
In 2019, South Carolina produced 127.5 million pounds of peaches, 161.3 million pounds of watermelon, according to the USDA statistics service.
Titan Farms of Ridge Spring, SC is the premier grower, packer and shipper of over 2.4 million boxes of fresh peaches and vegetables annually. Peak loadings of Titan peaches are occurring from June 15 to July 12.
South Carolin’s strawberry shipments have finished and now the state’s top-producing crops for late spring and summer: blueberries, peaches, melons, leafy greens, tomatoes and green onions are getting underway,
South Carolina peach shipments have been ongoing for over a month and loadings should last through August.
L&M Cos., Raleigh, N.C., will have increase shipments for summer because of more volume at its North Carolina and New Jersey farms. Squash loadings started in late May.
The shipper began moving South Carolina cucumbers nearly two weeks agos and will start shipping yellow potatoes around June 20 and North Carolina watermelons July 5.
L&M has vegetable farms in Florida, Georgia and New Jersey to offer product for longer windows of time, before and after the Carolina seasons.
Coosaw Farms, Fairfax, S.C., ships over 2 million pounds of conventional and organic blueberries a year, and this year shouldn’t be different,
Watermelon is the other big crop for Coosaw Farms. Along with the larger-sizing crop from Florida, watermelons grown in South Carolina should be shipping through July.
Jackson Farming Co. of Autryville, N.C., is planting more sweet potato acreage for the upcoming season. The company’s first harvest on seedless and seeded watermelons is estimated for the last week of June, with seedless through the end of September and seeded through mid-August. Cantaloupe should run mid-June to mid-August, and honeydews the first week of July through the first week to middle of August.
Pumpkins at the company’s Edenton, Ennice, Sparta and Autryville farms will be planted in July with harvest from September through mid-October.
Gotham Green, Brooklyn, N.Y., is opening a 30,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse in the Denver area to supply retailers in seven states.
The Aurora, Colo., facility is adjacent to Stanley Marketplace, a food hall/urban market, and an abandoned runway at the former Denver Stapleton Airport.
It’s the eighth greenhouse for the company, bringing its production capacity to nearly 35 million heads a year, according to a news release. Gotham Greens products will be available in 30 states.
The Aurora facility will supply retailers including Whole Foods Markets, Choice Markets and Alfalfa’s, and products include two new lettuce varieties, Crispy Green Leaf and Rocky Mountain Crunch. Gotham Greens also plans to work with restaurants and other foodservice operators as they open again, according to the release.
“Given the current pressures on our country’s food system, one thing is clear: the importance of strengthening our national food supply through decentralized, regional supply chains,” Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, said in the release. “Our business model has enabled us to remain nimble during these unprecedented times and continue to deliver fresh, locally-grown produce to customers and our communities.”
Beyond lettuces, the company grows basil and has branded dressings and dips. Gotham Greens dressings are available at Whole Foods nationwide.
“Although we never envisioned our Denver greenhouse opening and national salad dressing rollout happening during a global pandemic, we’re proud to be providing people across the country with healthy, fresh food options they can get excited about,” Puri said. “With the rise of cooking at home, we’re seeing consumers get creative and enjoy our dressings in a variety of different ways – as a savory dip, tangy marinate or freshly tossed with salad greens.”
California garlic shipments are just getting started and strong demand is expected to continue as consumers do more home cooking and seek to boost immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, CA is now shipping with its early garlic, which is the heirloom garlic variety, Lerg, that is slightly milder than the company’s late garlic proprietary heirloom, the Monviso variety.
This year’s California garlic shipments could hit about 100 million pounds, with 15 million pounds of early garlic and 85 million of late garlic.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of foodservice outlets in March, Christopher Ranch’s garlic shipments were split pretty evenly between foodservice and retail.
The company reports its peeled garlic for foodservice shipments basically went to zero the week of the first shelter-in-place. It required major adjustments as business suddenly included mostly retailers. Still, demand was described as “stratospheric.”
While Christopher Ranch had planned to carry 100 percent U.S.-grown garlic for the 2019-20 marketing season, increased demand in recent months required the grower/shipper to import about a third of its garlic mostly from Mexico and Argentina.
I Love Produce of Kelton, PA reports strong shipments during the COVID-19 pandemic for people seeking to boost immunity and cook at home. The company imports Chinese garlic and ginger.
The company report during the months of January and February roughly when China was shut down (because of COVID-19), that is when that spike in demand started. China is now shipping garlic at close to normal levels.
I Love Produce sees with new crop supply of garlic on tap from California, Spain and China, expanding supplies may take some of the pressure off tight supplies.
ATHENS, Ga., May 19, 2020 — Carrier Transicold has launched its innovative Vector™ 8611MT multi-temperature trailer refrigeration unit.
Designed for trailers split lengthwise with a center dividing wall, the unit creates two refrigerated compartments without requiring a remote evaporator. refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies. tremendous interest from grocery distribution and food service operations that deliver mixed loads and can most benefit from its design,” said Patrick McDonald, product manager, trailer products, Carrier Transicold.
“The all-electric architecture of Carrier Transicold’s Vector platform enables the Vector 8611MT unit to independently manage both zones more simply and efficiently than mechanically interconnected competitive dual-discharge systems.”
Introduced in limited-production in 2019, the Vector 8611MT unit incorporates dual evaporators and fans into a single unit for two-zone cooling, with side-by-side compartments for perishable and frozen goods. By eliminating the need for a remote evaporator, installation is simplified.
The Vector 8611MT unit, like others in the platform family, uses E-Drive™ technology, in which the diesel engine runs a 21 kVA generator that powers the all electric refrigeration system. Vector units have the advantage of built-in electric standby capability, so when parked for loading, unloading or staging, they can be operated via a separate power source, providing full refrigeration capacity while eliminating refrigeration unit engine noise, emissions and fuel consumption.
Vector unit architecture eliminates most refrigerant valves and significantly reduces the number of braze joints and potential refrigerant leak points compared to mechanically interconnected competitive models. Uniquely, the Vector 8611MT unit has independent air control, optimizing airflow and pulldown to both zones.
If heating is required, the unit offers consistent electric heat, rather than hot gas heat. This reduces system complexity and enables the unit to shut down the compressor and other refrigeration components during heating, resulting in fuel savings.
The unit provides 55,000 BTU of cooling per hour at a setpoint of 35 degrees Fahrenheit and excels at freezing temperatures. For customers wishing to add a third refrigerated compartment, the system is pre-configured to enable easy installation of a remote evaporator from Carrier Transicold’s line of full-width, half-width, single- and dual-discharge smart evaporators.
The Vector 8611MT unit complements Carrier Transicold’s traditional multi temperature refrigeration unit, the Vector 8600MT model, giving customers a wide range of multi-temperature configuration options. To determine the right Vector multi temperature solution for your application, turn to the experts in Carrier Transicold’s North America dealer network.
About Carrier Transicold Carrier Transicold helps improve transport and shipping of temperaturecontrolled cargoes with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For 50 years, Carrier Transicold has been an industry leader, providing customers around the world with advanced, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable container refrigeration systems and generator sets, direct-drive and diesel truck units, and trailer refrigeration systems. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier, a leading global provider of innovative HVAC, refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies. For more information, visit www.transicold.carrier.com. Follow Carrier on Twitter: @SmartColdChain, on Facebook at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer US and LinkedIn at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer Refrigeration.
California pear shipments will be getting off to a normal start in early July, after two years of late harvest starts,
Greene and Hemly of Courland, CA report Bartletts in California’s River District will start the season.
Growers are preparing for the season with an uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and safety of employees is factoring into preparation decisions.
“We employ 450 people in our farms and packinghouse,” Chiles Wilson, owner of Rivermaid Trading Co., Lodi, CA., said in a press release by the California Pear Bureau. “We want to make sure we can give them their jobs back this year. It’s not just about us as farmers but all the people we employ and their families.”
The California Pear Advisory Board is focusing on flavor, particularly on the effects of ethylene blocker 1-MCP, commonly used in storing different fruit to halt the ripening process.
