Los Angeles, CA – Pacific Trellis Fruit, LLC. dba Dulcinea Farms, the owner of the Dulcinea® brand, announced that after several years of successful production trials, they will be expanding the sourcing of their PureHeart® Mini Seedless Watermelon from Guatemala beginning in January 2024 and extending into April.
Product shipped will arrive via the West Coast Port Hueneme, California, as well as to the East Coast, through Port Everglades, Florida.
“We are extremely excited about this development as it will expand our ability to deliver Dulcinea PureHeart mini watermelons 52 weeks per year, “explained Rob Markel, VP of Sales – Melons at Pacific Trellis Fruit. “At this time, we are also growing the melons in both Los Mochis and Colima, Mexico, and the fruit to market ships through Nogales, AZ.”
“In addition, the watermelon from Guatemala is currently undergoing Fair Trade Certification, which is a rigorous and globally recognized sustainable sourcing model that improves livelihoods, protects the environment, and builds resilient, transparent supply chains” added Markel.
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About Pacific Trellis Fruit
Pacific Trellis Fruit® is one of North America’s top year-round importers, growers, and marketers of premium fresh fruit, including melons, grapes, stonefruit, cherries and citrus. In 2014, Dulcinea® was acquired by Pacific Trellis Fruit and became their consumer-facing brand. Dulcinea is the pioneer of the PureHeart® personal seedless watermelon, the Tuscan-Style® cantaloupe and SunnyGold® yellow mini seedless watermelon. Pacific Trellis Fruit also features Kiss Melons, a line of high quality, great tasting melons. Pacific Trellis’ corporate headquarters is in Los Angeles, CA, with sales offices in Fresno, CA, Gloucester, NJ, and Tucson, AZ.
The second annual report analyzes key impacts that shaped the container shipping industry in 2023 and provides predictions and scenarios for 2024 with an aim to help the industry plan ahead for what the report called a “grumpy” 2024, according to a news release.
Overall, the report indicates a high probability of market recovery failure in 2024, the release said.
The industry surveys conducted with supply chain professionals globally indicate that, in 2024, the shipping industry is predicted to grapple with persistently reduced demand and oversupply, potentially leading to fiercer competition, further reduced profits and possible market consolidation, the release said.
Although container schedule reliability is improving, persistent challenges remain. Blank sailings are expected to rise in response to market volatility, while imbalanced container availability, driven by economic crises, may continue in certain regions, according to the release.
The shipping industry faces the risk of oversupply in 2024 as deliveries are set to increase to 2.95 million TEUs, according to the release. The surge in deliveries, including “Megamaxes” and “Neopanamaxes,” may lead to intense competition, reduced profits, and potential mergers and acquisitions, the release said.
Carriers, particularly in North America, are navigating a delicate balance between government-driven demand and rising interest rates.
“Overordering of ships during the economic boom could create overcapacity, turning 2023’s profits into 2024’s losses,” the release said. “The sector is projected to face challenges to restore supply and demand equilibrium until 2026.”
The trade group U.S. Apple Association of Falls Church, VA held a webinar following the December 1st update on the amount of apples remaining in storages.
Chris Gerlach, USApple’s director of industry analytics, said the total figure was about 190 million bushels — 140 million of those bushels are in fresh apples while 51 million remain in processing.
“The last time we had a total holding of this size in November it was the November 2014-15 season with 188 million bushels — 144 million bushels in fresh and 44 million bushels in processing,” Gerlach said. “For the most part, we’re right on par with the production with the fresh crop there.”
Gerlach said one deviation from the 2014-15 figures is the number of apples in processing this season. He suspected with a down market last year, processors used the opportunity to fill holdings then.
“It’s a big year,” said Gerlach, who added that fresh apple holdings are closer to 40% greater than a year ago.
Washington state contributes the majority the year-over-year growth. The state is up 38% over last season, which is equivalent to 42 million bushels and about 90% of total growth in the U.S.
New York state’s 15 million bushels is 10% of the national growth; its crop is up 44% year over year.
Michigan shows a 6% decrease year over year, but at 12 million bushels, it is down only 1 million bushels from 2022 and still above the state’s five-year average.
“These states account for about 94% of remaining storages,” Gerlach said.
Honeycrisp, gala, red delicious, granny smith and fuji make up 76% of the total apple holdings. Gerlach said USApple pulled Envy out of the “other varieties” category to track its growth individually moving forward. Apple growers harvested 4.2 million bushels of Envy apples this season.
Cosmic Crisp experienced a 41% year-over-year growth with 9.5 million bushels harvested this year.
Gerlach noted that there are two mindsets for how this year’s crop moved through before December. He said if using the figures set in August by the USDA, it looks like a sluggish movement of apples in storage. However, Gerlach said he suspects the crop is higher than projected and therefore moving at a better rate.
He said the figures in the USApple movement tracker shows a 17.8-million-bushel differential between November and December, up 81% year over year, with varieties coming in and out of storage. Gerlach suspects with apples coming in and going out of storage, that figure could be higher. Washington state moved 16.3 million bushels in November, which is up 97% year over year.
Gerlach said by comparison, using the 2014-15 season, data from the tracker shows only 14 million bushels for November. So, apple movement this season tracks considerably higher.
“With the 18-million-bushel figure, we are exceeding the net movement in the November 2014 time frame,” he said. “There’s no reason to think we’re dragging our heels.”
Gerlach noted net movement of varieties show gala moving 4.4 million bushels, up 74% year over year. Honeycrisp movement is up 105% at 3.7 million bushels. Movement of granny smith apples is up 204% at 3 million bushels. Red delicious rounds out the top four with 2.1 million bushels, up 53%.
Florida’s strawberry strawberry shipments are gradually ramp up and should hit peak volume in time to make deliveries for Valentine’s Day, February 14.
The Sunshine State strawberry season got underway in early to mid-November, and supplies slowly increased throughout December.
Gem-Pack Berries LLC of Irvine, CA is partnering with Parkesdale Farms of Plant City, FL. The companies expect to have peak volume the week of Valentine’s Day.
On a note of caution, the company is monitoring for Botrytis and Chile thrips. Botrytis is a fungus causing a gray mold and appears as white specks or brown spots on the pedals which spread to the flower. Chile thrips are microscopic pests that damage the strawberry leaves and fruit itself.
Parkesdale Farms expects similar volume to a year ago with ample supplies throughout the season.
Gem-Pack also will offer Well-Pict-brand proprietary strawberry varieties grown in Florida.
Wish Farms of Plant City began picking Florida strawberries the first week of November, which is about a week earlier than usual with average berry size and above average quality.
Peak season for Wish Farms is expected to be mid-February to early March, with volume similar to other seasons.
California Gian Berry Farms of Watsonville, CA started harvesting Florida strawberries the second week of November, but cooler than normal weather had kept its volume below normal.
But volume had not reached normal numbers as of mid-December because of unusually cool weather. Still the company expects total volume to be similar to last season, shipments extending through March and into early April.
Astin Strawberry Exchange LLC has 2,000 acres of strawberries this year, with decent volume expected by January 20, with peak season likely coming after Valentine’s Day, but earlier if weather is warm in January.
The company notes an early Easter of March 31 will be good for Florida strawberry shipments with peak volume occurring from mid-February to mid-March.
Between January and October of 2023, Chile exported over 2.9 million tons of fruit, valued at $6.85 billion FOB.
Compared to the same period in 2022, this is a decrease in exported volume of 5.4 percent and an increase of 9 percent in value, as reported by Odepa.
Of this total in value, 70.7 percent is for fruit, 20.1 percent to processed fruit (juices, oils, preserves, frozen, dehydrated), and 9.1 percent to dried fruits (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, among others).
Fresh fruit volume reached 2,254,000 tons, amounting to $4.85 billion FOB for the period. These exports registered a decrease in volume of 6.6 percent, and in value an increase of 13.2 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
The main commodities exported in the analysis period in this group were cherries, registering a volume of 302,842 tons, equivalent to $1.82 billion FOB, which represents 37.6 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports in the analysis period. An increase of 6.1 percent in volume and 21.9 percent in value is evident in shipments of this fruit, compared to the same period in 2022. The main destination is China (91.1 percent of the total value of exports of Chilean cherries were sent to that country).
Table grapes are next in volume, with 495,308 tons equivalent to $892.7 million FOB, which represents 18.4 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports. There was a decrease in shipments of 18 percent in volume and an increase in value of 3.5 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year, with the U.S. standing out as the main buyer in this period (47.7 percent) and China (13.1 percent).
In third place are apples, with shipments of 461,500 tons equivalent to $484 million FOB, which represents 10 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports. There is a decrease of 20.3 percent in volume shipped and 1.1 percent in value, compared to the same period of the previous year. The main destination country was the U.S. (concentrating 14 percent of the total value of apple shipments), followed by Colombia (concentrating 13 percent), and Brazil (10 percent).
And in fourth place are blueberries, with shipments of 72,992 tons and $327 million FOB, equivalent to 6.7 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports. There is a decrease of 19.5 percent in volume shipped and 8.8 percent in value compared to the same period of the previous year. The main destinations were the U.S. (48.6 percent) and the Netherlands (19.3 percent).
After two years of figures marked by the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 brought an improvement in export volumes for Ecuadorian bananas, with 316.35 million boxes shipped to international markets, according to a recent report by the Association of Ecuadorian Banana Exporters (AEBE) latest report.
The U.S. posted a moderate increase in imports of this product, totaling 28.44 million boxes in 2023 with a 9% share of shipments.
The report has statistical data collected by DATACOMEX and the Banana Statistical Observatory, considering consolidated figures up to November 2023.
During 2021 and 2022, the sector experienced an accumulated 14% drop in shipments, with the European Union and Russia as the main destinations. Although figures remain below pre-pandemic levels, exports rose 6% in 2023.
In 2023, 91.86 million 40-pound boxes were shipped to the EU, while in 2022 exports to said market totaled 78.00 million boxes, an 18% increase for this destination.
In the case of Russia, shipments totaled 67.28 million boxes in 2023, with a slight 4% decrease year-on-year, as shipments stood at 70.08 million boxes in 2022.
As for other markets, the U.S. posted a moderate increase in imports of this product, totaling 28.44 million boxes in 2023 with a 9% share of shipments.
Africa also reported an increase in Ecuadorian banana imports. In 2023, 3.83 million additional boxes were exported to this region, reaching 17.64 million boxes and a 6% share of overall shipments.
On the other hand, Asia bought 3.62 million additional boxes compared to 2022, reaching a 6% share.
In total, the ten main brands of Ecuador shipped 118.16 million boxes to international destinations, thus placing 37.35% of the domestic banana supply abroad. Dole and Global Village stand out as the main ones.
The EU and Russia maintained their positions as main markets, accounting for 29% and 21% of total shipments, respectively.
In 2023, 91.86 million 40-pound boxes were shipped to the EU, while in 2022 exports to said market totaled 78.00 million boxes, an 18% increase for this destination.
In the case of Russia, shipments totaled 67.28 million boxes in 2023, with a slight 4% decrease year-on-year, as shipments stood at 70.08 million boxes in 2022.
Africa also reported an increase in Ecuadorian banana imports. In 2023, 3.83 million additional boxes were exported to this region, reaching 17.64 million boxes and a 6% share of overall shipments.
On the other hand, Asia bought 3.62 million additional boxes compared to 2022, reaching a 6% share.
In total, the ten main brands of Ecuador shipped 118.16 million boxes to international destinations, thus placing 37.35% of the domestic banana supply abroad. Dole and Global Village stand out as the main ones.
CJ Buxman, a third generation San Joaquin Valley grower/shipper, and former President of Fruit World Company, has started Sunny Cal Farms in Reedley, CA.
Sunny Cal Farms is offering organic and conventional California-grown specialty and traditional citrus, along with heirloom and novel grapes.
The original Sunny Cal Farms was started in 1981 by CJ’s father, Carl Jasper Buxman, and packed under the Jasper label, which is also being resurrected. CJ, along with his wife and partner Maureen, wanted to use the historic company name and label to rekindle the yearning for fruit that puts quality and flavor above all else.
“It’s great to continue the Sunny Cal legacy,” relates CJ “We’re farmers first, and are committed to providing the highest quality, most flavorful fruit. We’re also focused on listening to our customer needs, and satisfying those needs with the best customer service possible.”
The Buxman’s grow 120 acres of organic and conventional citrus and table grapes, manage another 100 acres, and have long-standing relationships with other foundational California family farmers who share the Buxman’s commitment to providing quality fruit and exceptional customer service.
As curators of specialty and unique products, Sunny Cal Farms can bring program buying consistency to small and mid-sized retailers. Sunny Cal Farms is currently shipping organic and conventional citrus, including specialty varietals, lemons, and navel oranges.
“Our long-standing grower relationships helps us secure a consistent supply of the best quality fruit, and allows us to fill orders,” CJ added. “We’re dedicated to honoring all our commitments and will only sell what we can deliver.”
A new report from the USDA predicts Chilean mandarins and lemon exports will increase for the 2023-24 season.
The USDA forecasts that Chilean lemon production will grow by 6.7% in 2023-24, while exports are expected to grow by 8.8%.
While Chilean orange production is expected to dip slightly, Chile’s mandarin area planted has grown rapidly over the past 10 marketing years due to high profits, the USDA report said. As a result, Chilean mandarin exports in 2023-24 are forecast to grow by 7.3%.
Chilean exporters are attempting to diversify their export markets beyond the U.S. In March 2023, Chile gained access to the Mexican market for lemons, clementines and mandarins under an inspection system that avoids fumigation, improving the quality conditions and increasing shelf life.
The report said Chilean lemon acreage for 2023-24 is forecast at 20,139 acres, up 1% from the previous season.
Lemon area planted in Chile grew from 14,606 acres in the marketing year 2016-17 to 19,968 acres in the marketing year 2022-23.
“In the Valparaiso and Coquimbo regions, citrus became a viable alternative to other crops such as avocado because of its high price and low water requirement,” the report said. “According to Post sources, Chilean lemon producers are currently focused on increasing productivity and yields by better managing water use and disease.”
The USDA forecasts Chilean lemon output to grow by 6.7% to 175,000 metric tons in 2023-24 due to the increase in area planted.
Most Chilean lemon exports occur between June and September, typically peaking in July or August, to Northern Hemisphere markets. The lemon production area spans from the Coquimbo region, in the north of the country, to the O’Higgins region in the central south, the report said. The Metropolitana region, in the central part of Chile, holds 41.1% of the lemon area planted, making it the top-producing region.
For the marketing year 2023-24, Chilean lemon exports will grow 8.8% and total 74,000 metric tons.
The USDA said more than 60% of Chilean lemon exports go to the U.S., making it the top market among export destinations.
Chilean orange production will dip by 2.2% and total 175,000 metric tons in 2023-24, the report said. Planted area for oranges in Chile declined 1% in the last year to 15,567 acres, according to the report.
Orange planted area has declined 15% from 18,258 acres in 2011-12 as producers shifted to mandarins and lemons because of their higher profitability, the report said. Chile’s Metropolitana region is still the top orange-producing region in Chile, holding 39.3% of the orange area planted, followed by the O’Higgins region, which holds 31.3% of the area planted.
Chilean orange exports will decrease by 5.5% and total 90,000 metric tons in 2023-24 compared with the previous year.
In Chile, the orange marketing year starts April with the beginning of the harvest season, with the report noting that the bulk of Chilean orange exports is between July and September each year and peaks around August.
The largest market for Chilean oranges is the U.S., which represented 93% of total exports in 2022-23, the report said.
Chilean mandarin/tangerine production in 2023-24 will increase by 7.1% and total 287,000 metric tons.
The USDA said the mandarin area planted has increased by nearly 2,500 acres per year and will reach nearly 30,000 acres in 2023-24.
“Due to high profits, mandarin area planted grew significantly in the past ten marketing years,” the report said. “Specifically, the W. Murcott variety became a viable alternative to replace other crops such as oranges or table grapes.”
The Coquimbo region is the top mandarin production region in Chile, holding 47.4% of the total acreage. The O’Higgins and the Valparaiso regions, in the central part of the country, hold 21.9% and 20.7% of the area planted, respectively.
Area planted in all mandarin-producing regions grew in the past three marketing years.
For 2023-24, the USDA projects that Chilean mandarin/tangerine exports will increase by 7.3% to 250,000 metric tons.
Chile exports mandarins from April until December, peaking around September.
The top export market for mandarins is the U.S., which receives 95% of Chilean mandarin exports.
Export volumes from Peru, Ecuador and Brazil rose 24% between the week ending Dec. 9, 2023, and the previous week, according to a report from the National Mango Board of Orlando, FL. was over 1.2 boxes.
Brazil
Brazil reached over 12 million boxes for the season, with approximately 265,798 for the week of Dec. 9.
During the same week last year, volume shipped from Brazil was 111,612 boxes for a total of nearly 9.4 boxes.
Ecuador
Ecuador is currently shipping the highest volumes out of the three countries with nearly 810,000 shipped during the week.
That week’s volume is about 45.2% higher than what was shipped the previous week.
The country has shipped over 4 million boxes for the season.
Perú
The volume shipped from Peru was approximately 91,212 boxes for a total of 419,508 boxes for the season. The week’s volume is about 42% higher than what was shipped the previous week.
During the same week last year, volume shipped from Peru was 1.1 million boxes for a total of nearly 2.5 boxes
Trade numbers through October show little change in U.S. fresh produce export shipments compared with a year ago, while U.S. imports of fresh fruits and vegetables had a modest increase in the last 12 months.
The USDA reported total exports of fresh produce from November 2022 through October 2023 totaled $6.9 billion, up 1% compared with a year ago but down 4% from 2018.
U.S. vegetable exports were rated at $2.8 billion for the period, down 1% for the period but up 9% from 2018; fresh fruit exports totaled $4.2 billion, up 2% compared with a year ago but down 11% compared with 2018.
U.S. imports of fresh produce totaled $32 billion from November 2022 through October 2023, up 5% from a year ago and 43% higher than 2018.
U.S. fresh fruit imports were pegged at $19.5 billion, up 1% from the previous year and up 40% from 2018; imports of fresh vegetables were valued at $12.5 billion, up 12% from a year a ago and 50% higher than 2018.
Top U.S. exports for November 2022 through October 2023, compared with 2022 and 2018.
Apples — $869.1 million, down 1% from 2018 and down 18% from 2018.
Berries — $798.8 million, down 3% from 2022 but 12% above 2018.
Grapes — $622.6 million, down 4% from 2022 but down 18% from 2018.
Oranges — $593.2, up 8% from 2022 but down 16% from 2018.
Lettuce — $592.1 million, up 1% from a year ago and up 23% from 2018.
Top U.S. imports for November 2022 through October 2023, compared with 2022 and 2018.
Berries (excluding strawberries) — $4.2. billion, down 1% from 2022 but up 74% from 2018.
Tomatoes — $3.2 billion, up 15% from 2022 and up 34% from 2018.
Avocados — $2.88 billion, down 17% from 2022 but up 20% from 2018.
Bananas — $2.75 billion, up 10% from 2022 and 12% higher than 2018.
Grapes — $2.3 billion, up 7% from 2022 and up 46% from 2018.
