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2018 will be a big rebound for California avocado shipments, if some observers are correct. Conventional avocado volume is expected to hit 2.275 billion pounds in 2017.
The Hass Avocado Board of Mission Viejo, CA believes there will be a 90 million-pound increase from 2,189 billion pounds in 2016. There should be a lot more avocados for hauling next year, with early projections ranging from 400 million to 425 million pounds. Those statistics include avocados from California, Peru, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
Mexico exported 1.7 billion pounds of avocados to the U.S. the shipping year ending in June, which was off from the original estimate of almost 2 billion pounds.
U.S. avocado volume has been increasing an average of about 15 percent over the past 10 to 15 years, but 2017 was the first year when the total shipments declined.
As supplies of California and Peruvian fruit taper off in late August and into early September, loading opportunities will be limited until Mexico’s aventajada crop starts ramping up in September. California’s 200-million-pound crop was about half the size of last year’s.
With Mexico’s next crop starting in September, it is expected to significantly boost loading opportunities with an expected 1,000 or more trucks per week. Mexico will hit its stride after Labor Day,with 45 million to 50 million-pound being shipped a week.
Peru doubled its exports to the U.S. this year compared to 2016, according to the Peruvian Avocado Commission in Washington, D.C.
Peruvian growers will export 140 million pounds of avocados to the U.S. this summer, compared with 70 million pounds last year, and next year’s crop should be even larger.
About Hass Avocado Board
The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) is an agriculture promotion group established in 2002 to promote the consumption of Hass Avocados in the United States. A 12-member board representing domestic producers and importers of Hass Avocados directs HAB’s promotion, research and information programs under supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. Funding for HAB comes from Hass avocado producers and importers in the United States.
Ventura County cabbage and greens – grossing about $6900 to New York City.
Organic produce sales displayed a strong increase in 2016 after sales had cooled a bit the previous year.
The Organic Trade Association’s 2017 Organic Industry Survey showed an 8.4 percent increase compared with the previous year as organic fruit and vegetable sales increased to $15.6 billion in 2016.
In a comparison, organic fruit and vegetables sales in 2015 were $14.4 billion, up 10.5 percent. The fruit and vegetable sector accounted to nearly 40 percent of all organic food sales in 2016, and the 8.4 percent growth rate compares with the overall 3.3 percent gain for total fruit and vegetable sales.
Fresh produce has generally accounted for about 90 percent of the organic fruit and vegetable sales. The balance of sales is with canned, frozen, or dried organic fruits and vegetables.
The OTA survey, produced in February and March by Nutrition Business Journal for the Organic Trade Association, noted organic fruits and vegetables now make up almost 15 percent of the produce that Americans eat.
The OTA survey places overall organic food sales at $43 billion, up $3.3 billion or 8.4 percent higher compared with the previous year. That is well above the nearly flat 0.6 percent growth in total food sales, according to the release. The survey shows organic food now accounts for 5.3 percent of total food sales.
“The organic industry continues to be a real bright spot in the food and ag economy both at the farm-gate and check-out counter,” Organic Trade Association CEO and executive director Laura Batcha said in a news release.
Batcha said there are challenges to the category’s growth.
“We need more organic farmers in this country to meet our growing organic demand, and the organic sector needs to have the necessary tools to grow and compete on a level playing field,” she said. “That means federal, state and local programs that help support organic research, and provide the organic farmer with a fully equipped tool kit to be successful.”
The survey numbers from the organic association differ widely from the United Fresh Produce Association’s FreshFacts on Retail report, which pegged organic produce sales at retail (not including processing or foodservice outlet sales) at $4.46 billion in 2016, up 13.2% from 2015. Additionally, the United Fresh numbers — from Nielsen Fresh — said organic sales in 2016 accounted for 9% of all fresh produce sales. The 9% organic market share number from FreshFacts is 40% below the OTA’s 15% estimate for organic’s share of the produce market.
Pennsylvania apple shipments have started, plus an update on how apples are moving from California operations.
Rice Fruit Co. of Gardners, Pennsylvania have recently started its stone fruit season, which will continue until Labor Day. Shipments started with the company’s Premier Honeycrisp apple, an early season Honeycrip varietal. It will be shipped until mid-August.
The apple grower/shipper started with stonefruit, which is a short, fast and furious season, before quickly turning to apples, including the seasonal varietal ginger gold, the first-to-market Premier Honeycrisp and shortly thereafter, gala.
Rice Fruit Co. today is the largest fresh apple packing facility east of the Mississippi. Besides the fruit grown by R&L Orchards, the company packs fruit for about 75 other fruit-growing families, mostly in Adams County, but some from as far away as Virginia and New York. The company packs fruit year-round, using 18 controlled atmosphere storage rooms. In the spring and summer months, it also stores and repacks fruit from the southern hemisphere.
California Apple Shipments
California’s apple shipments got underway in mid-July and continues through early October. The early California apple forecast projects about 1.6 million boxes of which about 1.2 million boxes will go to processing.
No doubt California is a minor shipper of apples compared to Washington state that ships more apples in a week than the Golden State does over an entire year. California does not store apples, unlike Washington which places most of its fruit in storage for a near year around shipping season.
Calfiornia is the first state in the U.S. to ship apples from a new crop every year.
Although a large percentage of California apples are sold domestically, nearly 20 percent of California apple volume is moved offshore to places such as Canada, Mexico and Southeast Asia.
Primavera Marking of Linden, CA, which ships 90 percent of its apples to retailers, just started harvesting Galas the week of July 24 It will start shipping Fujis around Aug. 15, Granny Smiths around Aug. 28 and Pink Ladies the week of Oct. 16.
A budding new relationship with a medical marijuana company Village Farms International Inc. is resulting in plans to grow 25 acres of greenhouse cannabis to start.
Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. and Village Farms announced recently they’re forming a joint venture for large-scale, “high-quality, low-cost” cannabis production in one of Village Farms’ British Columbia greenhouses.
Village Farms will initially contribute a 25-acre greenhouse facility in Delta, British Columbia under the terms of the agreement. It will be a 50-acre parcel of land, which will be converted to marijuana production for medical use and — where law allows — the recreational market, the companies said in a news release. Emerald Health Therapeutics is a Health Canada-licensed producer of medical cannabis.
Each company will have a 50 percent ownership stake in the venture.
The partners said they are planning for 1.1 million square feet of initial potential greenhouse marijuana production, estimated to yield more than 75,000 kilograms of product per year upon completion of full licensing and greenhouse conversion.
The deal also allows for an option to add two more greenhouse facilities in the future.
Mike DeGiglio, CEO of Village Farms, said the partnership is a “transformational opportunity for their company,” which grows vegetables in greenhouses at several sites in Texas and British Columbia. He said the partnership with Emerald Health is a chance to grow “a substantially more profitable agricultural product.”
“This is a tremendously exciting and potentially lucrative opportunity for Village Farms,” he said on a conference call announcing the venture.
Taking on cannabis production won’t come at the expense of Village Farms’ established tomato and cucumber production; it assures that end of the business will grow from its current 240 acres of production, DeGiglio said.
“I want it to be very clear that Village Farms remains steadfastly committed to our produce business and to provide our customers with the same quality and surety of supply and old-world experience they have come to know and expect over our three decades in business,” he said. “We fully expect to continue to expand capacity in our produce business to meet customer demand by exploring consolidation opportunities, as we have successfully done in the past, and through organic initiatives at our U.S. operations.”
The Delta greenhouse is expected to begin cannabis production by late 2018. which includes options for Emerald Health to lease or purchase from Village Farms additional 25- and 60-acre greenhouses adjacent to the first facility.
“Demand in the medicinal market is forecast to grow tenfold by 2024,” he said, noting that the new business has a potential for $9 billion in revenues.
DeGiglio said Village Farms production costs for cannabis will be less than $1 per gram, compared with an industry average of more than $2.
“We are confident we can be the low-cost provider in the industry,” he said.
The Village Farms/Emerald Health partnership has the potential to expand to up to 4.8 million square feet of greenhouse cannabis production — estimated to yield more than 300,000 kilograms of product annually — which would supply a considerable portion of the expected future cannabis demand in Canada or for export abroad, DeGiglio said.
“Based on our conservative market pricing forecasts and yield projections, conversion of our Canadian greenhouse facilities to cannabis production could generate revenue of 10- to 15-times that of our current Canadian vegetable production with EBITDA margins potentially expanding to more than 50 percent compared with our current Canadian vegetable margins,” DeGiglio said.
The opportunities for produce haulers to haul imported fresh fruit and vegetables continues to increase as foreign farming operations increasingly recognize the demand in the United States and Canada for year around availability of produce. Here we take a look at the exports of two South American countries, who are exporting a majority of their fresh produce to North America.
Peruvian Blueberries
Five years ago there were virtually no blueberries being grown, much less exported by Peru. Today, the South American country has 10,000 acres and continues to expand due to surging demand from the U.S., Europe, and China, according to the USDA report.
The U.S. is Peru’s primary export market, account for over 50 percent of blueberry exports in 2016 (54 percent). Much fewer “blues” are exported to the Netherlands (24 percent), the UK (13 percent) and Canada (2 percent).
The USDA report points out total exports of Peruvian blueberries are projected to reach 40,000 metric tons in 2017, up 42 percent from 28,139 metric tons in 2016 and nearly four times the exports of 10,303 metric tons in 2015. The bulk of Chile’s fresh blueberry exports to the U.S. arrive from September to December, though export shipments can begin in August and continue into April.
The majority of Peru’s blueberry farms are found in the northern coastal region of La Libertad, where the sunny and dry climate allows for nearly year-round harvest.
Peru’s blueberries rank third among that country’s fresh fruit exports.
Peruvian Asparagus
While Peruvian asparagus exports are expected to be lighter than normal during the first half of the season, shipments are expected to make up a lot of ground the second half of the season. However, by season’s end, total volume is expected to be close to normal. Peak Peruvian exports should kick in around Labor Day.
Chilean Grape Wrap up
Grape exports to North America by Chile rose 11 percent in the 2016-17 season. The Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association reports that exports to North America totaled 364,770 metric tons, up 11 percent compared with 2015-16.
Additionally the USDA confirms U.S. imports of Chilean grapes from October 2016 through May 2017 totaled 341,000 metric tons, up 10 percent from the previous year.
North America buyers received half of Chile’s total 2016-17 exports of just more than 730,000 metric tons. Chilean grape exports to all global destinations were up 4 percent in 2016-17.
In 2016-17, the Far East received 23 percent of Chilean grape exports, with Europe taking 17 percent and other destinations accounting for 9 percent of exports.
Washington potato shipments for the new season are underway, while Vidalia onion loadings continue. In British Columbia (BC), blueberry shipments are in peak volume.
Washington state’s potato season got underway in July with some early variety chipping varieties, followed by some colored varieties out of the Yakima Valley. Then came some early processing spuds, followed by fresh market russets.
Fresh potato acerage in Washington has been stable at about 25,000 acres for several years now. Around 70 percent of the state’s potatoes are destined for export markets, comprised mostly of processed products. Most of Washington tablestock potatoes are shipped to Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. The state also has red potatoes coming out of the Skagit Valley.
While Washington potato sheds ship russets the year-round, its red, yellow and white potatoes usually are finished by March or April.
Vidalia Onion Shipments
Steady volume with Vidalia onions is expected to continue through Labor Day. Truck shipments are expected to be very similar to last year’s total volume of 6.2 million 40-pound boxes, coming off of Southeastern Georgia’s nearly 12,000 acres, As of July 26, there were still about 750,000 40-pound cartons of onions remaining in storage.
Bland Farms of Glennville, GA, expects to be shipping Vidalia onions out of storage through late August or early September, with a smooth transition expected to Peruvian imports in September. Imported Peruvian onions will continue for the U.S. into early next year.
A little over 200 truck loads per week are being shipped out of the Vidalia district
Vidalia onions – grossing about $3000 to New York City.
BC Blueberry Shipments
British Columbia’s blueberry shipments should peak through August and could last into early September. In a more normal year, most British Columbia “blues” would be shipped to markets in the Western U.S. However, with East Coast blueberry volume slashed this year due to weather factors, more BC blueberries will be trucked into the Eastern Time Zone. However, BC shipments could be off 30 to 50 percent this season due to poor pollination. As the BC season closes around Labor Day, imports of blueberries from Peru and Argentina will start arriving at U.S. ports.
by NatureFresh Farms
Leamington, ON – The heat of the summer is settling in across the Midwest though this has not deterred NatureFresh™ Farms’ mobile greenhouse tour from missing a beat. Already nearly 50 events completed since mid-April, consumers continue to flock to #GreenInTheCity events to learn more about how greenhouse vegetables are grown.
“The mobile greenhouse has not only been a conversation starter but a difference maker in how we connect with our customers”, said Ray Wowryk, Director of Business Development.
The mobile Greenhouse Education Center (GEC) is a 38’ custom-built unit that is an exact snapshot of how NatureFresh™ Farms grows its vegetables in state of the art high tech greenhouses in Leamington, ON & Delta, OH. Equipped with fruit bearing plants and complimented by a live Bumblebee Eco-System, the GEC serves as an education resource to inform consumers about how greenhouse vegetables are grown.
“We care about the future of fresh and all that it entails; we need to collectively increase fresh produce consumption. NatureFresh™ can help do that with the GEC and by getting front and center with consumers, we share our story to help inform them of the value of greenhouse vegetables. Knowing who grows what you buy is important, understanding how its grown is just as important if not more”, commented Wowryk.
Supporting the GEC this summer are 5 college students who serve as NatureFresh™ Brand Ambassadors at each event. The team is responsible for event day operations and interacting with retail partners to ensure their customers have the best possible experience. With varied backgrounds ranging from agri-business to environmental science to marketing to biology, the team provides unique perspectives of the value of greenhouse grown vegetables.
“We are able to immediately impact consumers purchasing decisions at store level with the knowledge we share about how we grow greenhouse vegetables”, said Cole Burkholder, GEC Team Member & 3rd year Environmental Science Major from Ohio State University. Agriculture is nothing new to Burkholder whose family operates a farming operation of more than 500 acres of row crops in central Ohio. “The look on people’s faces when we explain the greenhouse growing process and they see the live plants with real fruit, it’s priceless, you kind of see that ‘a-ha’ moment in their eyes. We’ve even had customers show us their shopping carts when leaving to show us the tomatoes or bell peppers they have purchased because of our conversation. It’s a pretty good feeling!” commented Burkholder.
Now in it’s 3rd year, the #GreenInTheCity Tour has completed more than 200 events to date across eastern North America connecting with consumers at retail stores, summer camps, schools, and community fairs. The 2017 tour will continue on through early November wrapping up at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON November 12th.
To learn more about NatureFresh™ Farms and the #GreenInTheCity Tour, visit naturefresh.ca/GEC.
About NatureFresh Farms –
NatureFresh Farms™ has grown to become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable growers in North America. Growing in Leamington, ON and Delta, OH, NatureFresh™ Farms prides itself on exceptional flavor & quality. Family owned NatureFresh Farms™ ships Non-GMO greenhouse grown produce year-round to key retailers throughout North America.
Here’s some shipping updates including California strawberries, plus some not so obvious ones such as garlic, Indiana potatoes and imported citrus from Chile.
This has been one of the best season’s for California strawberry shipments as volume, quality and more predictable loadings have been much better than the past three or four years. Good volume should continue from Watsonville heading toward autumn. Last week about 1,000 truck loads were shipped. That should mean good loading opportunities into September, before the transition to shipments out of Oxnard, CA, which will continue into December.
For example, Well-Pict of Watsonville, CA grows and ships strawberries and raspberries for the late-season on about 700 acres in Oxnard. Naturipe Berry Growers of Salinas, CA has a fall crop in Santa Maria, CA., with best loading opportunities coming toward an end-of-August, or early September.
Salinas Valley strawberries and vegetables – grossing about $7400 to New York City.
Garlic Shipments
Most garlic shipments in the U.S. are coming out of California, where supplies are plentiful and quality is good. For example, Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, CA had to cut garlic plantings by about 10 percent the past couple of years due to the drought, but have now rebounded with volume this season being a little above normal. Loadings of garlic started last June and will continue until early September.
Meanwhile, Spice World Inc. of Orlando, FL and The Garlic Co. in Shafter, CA also have good volume out of California.
Indiana Potato Shipments
Red potato shipper Black Gold Farms of Grand Forks, ND starts harvesting spuds this week at its Winamac, IN farming operation and will be shipping through the month. This is the fifth year of the Indiana program.
Chilean Navel Imports
Chile’s navel orange shipments through the week of July 10th were 29 percent over a year ago with 35,591 tons, compared to last season’s 27,600 tons. However, the season started late, but will end two to three weeks earlier this year due to a smaller crop and weather issues. That means imports to the U.S. lasting through October.
The dramatic Mount Kidd, Canadian Rockies
ATHENS, GA — Carrier Transicold will begin offering the new-generation refrigerant R-452A as an alternative for use in its truck and trailer refrigeration systems, following the July 21 announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the refrigerant for transport refrigeration applications.
Developed by the refrigerant manufacturing industry to reduce environmental impact, R-452A has a global warming potential (GWP) that is almost half that of R 404A, the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant used in most land-based transport refrigeration applications. Carrier Transicold will offer the new refrigerant as an option to R-404A later this year.
“As a near drop-in substitute, R-452A offers similar levels of refrigeration performance, fuel efficiency, reliability and refrigerant charge in new equipment as R 404A, and we are pleased to be able to make it available to refrigerated transport operators seeking a lower GWP option to advance environmental sustainability,” said David Brondum, director, product management and sustainability, North America Truck, Trailer, Rail, Carrier Transicold.
R-452A is a refrigerant blend with a low-GWP hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) as one of its key components.
“Carrier Transicold has extensive experience with R-452A, having first offered it in 2015 to help Europe’s transport refrigeration industry respond to the European Union F Gas Regulation, which is driving down Europe’s use of traditional HFC refrigerants with higher GWPs,” Brondum explained. Extensive work has been done by Carrier Transicold in preparation for a similar transition in the U.S.
Brondum noted that the EPA has not banned R-404A for transport refrigeration applications, enabling refrigerated haulers to choose the option best suited for their operations. This allows for considerations of price and availability, fleet size and maintenance budgets.
“Going forward, fleets may want to consult with their Carrier Transicold dealers to determine which refrigerant solution is appropriate,” Brondum said.
While Carrier Transicold will continue to offer R-404A, it will also provide R-452A as an option for new model Vector™ and X4™ Series trailer refrigeration units, Supra® truck units and direct-drive truck units that currently use R 404A. The new refrigerant can also be used as a drop-in replacement for Carrier Transicold units already in service, although certain older models may require component retrofits or software updates, which can be accommodated through Carrier Transicold’s network of authorized dealers.
“Carrier Transicold’s larger goal of reducing the GWP of its transport refrigeration equipment goes well beyond the benefits of R-452A,” Brondum noted. “We are committed to pursuing the commercialization of HFC-free refrigerants in road transportation refrigeration by building upon our expertise with CO2 refrigerant, also known as R-744.”
CO2 refrigerant has a GWP of only 1, roughly 2,000 times better than R 452A and 4,000 times better than R-404A. It is also nonflammable, non-ozone-depleting, globally available and cost effective. Carrier has successfully applied CO2 refrigerant in CO2OLtec® stationary commercial refrigeration systems widely used throughout Europe, in NaturaLINE® container refrigeration systems used by major container shipping lines in support of global commerce, and prototype trailer refrigeration trials with two major European supermarket chains.
For more information about R-452A for transport refrigeration applications, turn to the experts within Carrier Transicold’s North America dealer network.
About Carrier Transicold
Carrier Transicold helps improve transport and shipping of temperature controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For more than 45 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 UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. For more information, visit www.transicold.carrier.com. Follow Carrier on Twitter: @SmartColdChain.
by Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative
Albion, NY – An abundant crop of excellent quality SweeTango apples is coming this fall from member-growers of NBT Cooperative.
This premium apple variety is known for its outstanding sweet flavor with a lively touch of citrus, honey and spice. Its texture is unmatched; biting into this remarkably crisp apple produces a loud crunch and satisfying burst of delicious juice. Harvested in the early fall, SweeTango is an early-season category leader and consumer favorite, having been developed by the University of Minnesota and introduced in 2009 to feature the very best characteristics of the Honeycrisp and Zestar! apple varieties.
Theron Kibbe of NBT Cooperative notes that retailer success with the best-selling SweeTango is due in part to its unique position as an early-season variety. “Nielsen data shows that opportunities for SweeTango are especially strong in the early season, when it’s one of the first premium apple varieties to come on in the fall,” he said. Kibbe referenced Nielsen data dated Aug. 7 – Oct. 29, 2016 that shows SweeTango weekly volume averaging 54 lbs per store and a weekly sales average of $233 per store. “Our eye-catching packaging redesign, and the 2-lb pouch in particular, has been well received with high demand from consumers and retailers alike,” he added.
Harvest is expected to begin in late August. While Washington’s harvest is behind 2016, Midwestern crops are a few days ahead. New York, Quebec and Nova Scotia crops will complete the harvest on schedule and consumers will enjoy SweeTango soon after Labor Day.
Despite weather events — including early frost affecting some orchards in Michigan and a number of hail events in Washington, Michigan, and New York — the 2017 crop has potential to be slightly larger than that of 2016. Kibbe commented, “growers are expertly managing and thinning another fine crop of SweeTango with a good range of sizes. We’re excited to start another season.”
Retailers are urged to place orders now and can find their regional sales representative at http://sweetango.com/about/for-retailers/sales-desk/.
ABOUT NEXT BIG THING, A GROWERS’ COOPERATIVE
Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative is a 47-member cooperative of family growers, spread from Nova Scotia to Washington State, that grows and markets managed varieties of apples, beginning with SweeTango. You can find more information on SweeTango at http://www.sweetango.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sweetango.
2018 will be a big rebound for California avocado shipments, if some observers are correct. Conventional avocado volume is expected to hit 2.275 billion pounds in 2017.
The Hass Avocado Board of Mission Viejo, CA believes there will be a 90 million-pound increase from 2,189 billion pounds in 2016. There should be a lot more avocados for hauling next year, with early projections ranging from 400 million to 425 million pounds. Those statistics include avocados from California, Peru, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
Mexico exported 1.7 billion pounds of avocados to the U.S. the shipping year ending in June, which was off from the original estimate of almost 2 billion pounds.
U.S. avocado volume has been increasing an average of about 15 percent over the past 10 to 15 years, but 2017 was the first year when the total shipments declined.
As supplies of California and Peruvian fruit taper off in late August and into early September, loading opportunities will be limited until Mexico’s aventajada crop starts ramping up in September. California’s 200-million-pound crop was about half the size of last year’s.
With Mexico’s next crop starting in September, it is expected to significantly boost loading opportunities with an expected 1,000 or more trucks per week. Mexico will hit its stride after Labor Day,with 45 million to 50 million-pound being shipped a week.
Peru doubled its exports to the U.S. this year compared to 2016, according to the Peruvian Avocado Commission in Washington, D.C.
Peruvian growers will export 140 million pounds of avocados to the U.S. this summer, compared with 70 million pounds last year, and next year’s crop should be even larger.
About Hass Avocado Board
The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) is an agriculture promotion group established in 2002 to promote the consumption of Hass Avocados in the United States. A 12-member board representing domestic producers and importers of Hass Avocados directs HAB’s promotion, research and information programs under supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. Funding for HAB comes from Hass avocado producers and importers in the United States.
Ventura County cabbage and greens – grossing about $6900 to New York City.
Organic produce sales displayed a strong increase in 2016 after sales had cooled a bit the previous year.The Organic Trade Association’s 2017 Organic Industry Survey showed an 8.4 percent increase compared with the previous year as organic fruit and vegetable sales increased to $15.6 billion in 2016.
In a comparison, organic fruit and vegetables sales in 2015 were $14.4 billion, up 10.5 percent. The fruit and vegetable sector accounted to nearly 40 percent of all organic food sales in 2016, and the 8.4 percent growth rate compares with the overall 3.3 percent gain for total fruit and vegetable sales.
Fresh produce has generally accounted for about 90 percent of the organic fruit and vegetable sales. The balance of sales is with canned, frozen, or dried organic fruits and vegetables.
The OTA survey, produced in February and March by Nutrition Business Journal for the Organic Trade Association, noted organic fruits and vegetables now make up almost 15 percent of the produce that Americans eat.
The OTA survey places overall organic food sales at $43 billion, up $3.3 billion or 8.4 percent higher compared with the previous year. That is well above the nearly flat 0.6 percent growth in total food sales, according to the release. The survey shows organic food now accounts for 5.3 percent of total food sales.
“The organic industry continues to be a real bright spot in the food and ag economy both at the farm-gate and check-out counter,” Organic Trade Association CEO and executive director Laura Batcha said in a news release.
Batcha said there are challenges to the category’s growth.
“We need more organic farmers in this country to meet our growing organic demand, and the organic sector needs to have the necessary tools to grow and compete on a level playing field,” she said. “That means federal, state and local programs that help support organic research, and provide the organic farmer with a fully equipped tool kit to be successful.”
The survey numbers from the organic association differ widely from the United Fresh Produce Association’s FreshFacts on Retail report, which pegged organic produce sales at retail (not including processing or foodservice outlet sales) at $4.46 billion in 2016, up 13.2% from 2015. Additionally, the United Fresh numbers — from Nielsen Fresh — said organic sales in 2016 accounted for 9% of all fresh produce sales. The 9% organic market share number from FreshFacts is 40% below the OTA’s 15% estimate for organic’s share of the produce market.
Pennsylvania apple shipments have started, plus an update on how apples are moving from California operations.
Rice Fruit Co. of Gardners, Pennsylvania have recently started its stone fruit season, which will continue until Labor Day. Shipments started with the company’s Premier Honeycrisp apple, an early season Honeycrip varietal. It will be shipped until mid-August.
The apple grower/shipper started with stonefruit, which is a short, fast and furious season, before quickly turning to apples, including the seasonal varietal ginger gold, the first-to-market Premier Honeycrisp and shortly thereafter, gala.
Rice Fruit Co. today is the largest fresh apple packing facility east of the Mississippi. Besides the fruit grown by R&L Orchards, the company packs fruit for about 75 other fruit-growing families, mostly in Adams County, but some from as far away as Virginia and New York. The company packs fruit year-round, using 18 controlled atmosphere storage rooms. In the spring and summer months, it also stores and repacks fruit from the southern hemisphere.
California Apple Shipments
California’s apple shipments got underway in mid-July and continues through early October. The early California apple forecast projects about 1.6 million boxes of which about 1.2 million boxes will go to processing.
No doubt California is a minor shipper of apples compared to Washington state that ships more apples in a week than the Golden State does over an entire year. California does not store apples, unlike Washington which places most of its fruit in storage for a near year around shipping season.
Calfiornia is the first state in the U.S. to ship apples from a new crop every year.
Although a large percentage of California apples are sold domestically, nearly 20 percent of California apple volume is moved offshore to places such as Canada, Mexico and Southeast Asia.
Primavera Marking of Linden, CA, which ships 90 percent of its apples to retailers, just started harvesting Galas the week of July 24 It will start shipping Fujis around Aug. 15, Granny Smiths around Aug. 28 and Pink Ladies the week of Oct. 16.
A budding new relationship with a medical marijuana company Village Farms International Inc. is resulting in plans to grow 25 acres of greenhouse cannabis to start.
Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. and Village Farms announced recently they’re forming a joint venture for large-scale, “high-quality, low-cost” cannabis production in one of Village Farms’ British Columbia greenhouses.
Village Farms will initially contribute a 25-acre greenhouse facility in Delta, British Columbia under the terms of the agreement. It will be a 50-acre parcel of land, which will be converted to marijuana production for medical use and — where law allows — the recreational market, the companies said in a news release. Emerald Health Therapeutics is a Health Canada-licensed producer of medical cannabis.
Each company will have a 50 percent ownership stake in the venture.
The partners said they are planning for 1.1 million square feet of initial potential greenhouse marijuana production, estimated to yield more than 75,000 kilograms of product per year upon completion of full licensing and greenhouse conversion.
The deal also allows for an option to add two more greenhouse facilities in the future.
Mike DeGiglio, CEO of Village Farms, said the partnership is a “transformational opportunity for their company,” which grows vegetables in greenhouses at several sites in Texas and British Columbia. He said the partnership with Emerald Health is a chance to grow “a substantially more profitable agricultural product.”
“This is a tremendously exciting and potentially lucrative opportunity for Village Farms,” he said on a conference call announcing the venture.
Taking on cannabis production won’t come at the expense of Village Farms’ established tomato and cucumber production; it assures that end of the business will grow from its current 240 acres of production, DeGiglio said.
“I want it to be very clear that Village Farms remains steadfastly committed to our produce business and to provide our customers with the same quality and surety of supply and old-world experience they have come to know and expect over our three decades in business,” he said. “We fully expect to continue to expand capacity in our produce business to meet customer demand by exploring consolidation opportunities, as we have successfully done in the past, and through organic initiatives at our U.S. operations.”
The Delta greenhouse is expected to begin cannabis production by late 2018. which includes options for Emerald Health to lease or purchase from Village Farms additional 25- and 60-acre greenhouses adjacent to the first facility.
“Demand in the medicinal market is forecast to grow tenfold by 2024,” he said, noting that the new business has a potential for $9 billion in revenues.
DeGiglio said Village Farms production costs for cannabis will be less than $1 per gram, compared with an industry average of more than $2.
“We are confident we can be the low-cost provider in the industry,” he said.
The Village Farms/Emerald Health partnership has the potential to expand to up to 4.8 million square feet of greenhouse cannabis production — estimated to yield more than 300,000 kilograms of product annually — which would supply a considerable portion of the expected future cannabis demand in Canada or for export abroad, DeGiglio said.
“Based on our conservative market pricing forecasts and yield projections, conversion of our Canadian greenhouse facilities to cannabis production could generate revenue of 10- to 15-times that of our current Canadian vegetable production with EBITDA margins potentially expanding to more than 50 percent compared with our current Canadian vegetable margins,” DeGiglio said.
The opportunities for produce haulers to haul imported fresh fruit and vegetables continues to increase as foreign farming operations increasingly recognize the demand in the United States and Canada for year around availability of produce. Here we take a look at the exports of two South American countries, who are exporting a majority of their fresh produce to North America.
Peruvian Blueberries
Five years ago there were virtually no blueberries being grown, much less exported by Peru. Today, the South American country has 10,000 acres and continues to expand due to surging demand from the U.S., Europe, and China, according to the USDA report.
The U.S. is Peru’s primary export market, account for over 50 percent of blueberry exports in 2016 (54 percent). Much fewer “blues” are exported to the Netherlands (24 percent), the UK (13 percent) and Canada (2 percent).
The USDA report points out total exports of Peruvian blueberries are projected to reach 40,000 metric tons in 2017, up 42 percent from 28,139 metric tons in 2016 and nearly four times the exports of 10,303 metric tons in 2015. The bulk of Chile’s fresh blueberry exports to the U.S. arrive from September to December, though export shipments can begin in August and continue into April.
The majority of Peru’s blueberry farms are found in the northern coastal region of La Libertad, where the sunny and dry climate allows for nearly year-round harvest.
Peru’s blueberries rank third among that country’s fresh fruit exports.
Peruvian Asparagus
While Peruvian asparagus exports are expected to be lighter than normal during the first half of the season, shipments are expected to make up a lot of ground the second half of the season. However, by season’s end, total volume is expected to be close to normal. Peak Peruvian exports should kick in around Labor Day.
Chilean Grape Wrap up
Grape exports to North America by Chile rose 11 percent in the 2016-17 season. The Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association reports that exports to North America totaled 364,770 metric tons, up 11 percent compared with 2015-16.
Additionally the USDA confirms U.S. imports of Chilean grapes from October 2016 through May 2017 totaled 341,000 metric tons, up 10 percent from the previous year.
North America buyers received half of Chile’s total 2016-17 exports of just more than 730,000 metric tons. Chilean grape exports to all global destinations were up 4 percent in 2016-17.
In 2016-17, the Far East received 23 percent of Chilean grape exports, with Europe taking 17 percent and other destinations accounting for 9 percent of exports.
Washington potato shipments for the new season are underway, while Vidalia onion loadings continue. In British Columbia (BC), blueberry shipments are in peak volume.
Washington state’s potato season got underway in July with some early variety chipping varieties, followed by some colored varieties out of the Yakima Valley. Then came some early processing spuds, followed by fresh market russets.
Fresh potato acerage in Washington has been stable at about 25,000 acres for several years now. Around 70 percent of the state’s potatoes are destined for export markets, comprised mostly of processed products. Most of Washington tablestock potatoes are shipped to Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. The state also has red potatoes coming out of the Skagit Valley.
While Washington potato sheds ship russets the year-round, its red, yellow and white potatoes usually are finished by March or April.
Vidalia Onion Shipments
Steady volume with Vidalia onions is expected to continue through Labor Day. Truck shipments are expected to be very similar to last year’s total volume of 6.2 million 40-pound boxes, coming off of Southeastern Georgia’s nearly 12,000 acres, As of July 26, there were still about 750,000 40-pound cartons of onions remaining in storage.
Bland Farms of Glennville, GA, expects to be shipping Vidalia onions out of storage through late August or early September, with a smooth transition expected to Peruvian imports in September. Imported Peruvian onions will continue for the U.S. into early next year.
A little over 200 truck loads per week are being shipped out of the Vidalia district
Vidalia onions – grossing about $3000 to New York City.
BC Blueberry Shipments
British Columbia’s blueberry shipments should peak through August and could last into early September. In a more normal year, most British Columbia “blues” would be shipped to markets in the Western U.S. However, with East Coast blueberry volume slashed this year due to weather factors, more BC blueberries will be trucked into the Eastern Time Zone. However, BC shipments could be off 30 to 50 percent this season due to poor pollination. As the BC season closes around Labor Day, imports of blueberries from Peru and Argentina will start arriving at U.S. ports.
by NatureFresh Farms
Leamington, ON – The heat of the summer is settling in across the Midwest though this has not deterred NatureFresh™ Farms’ mobile greenhouse tour from missing a beat. Already nearly 50 events completed since mid-April, consumers continue to flock to #GreenInTheCity events to learn more about how greenhouse vegetables are grown.
“The mobile greenhouse has not only been a conversation starter but a difference maker in how we connect with our customers”, said Ray Wowryk, Director of Business Development.
The mobile Greenhouse Education Center (GEC) is a 38’ custom-built unit that is an exact snapshot of how NatureFresh™ Farms grows its vegetables in state of the art high tech greenhouses in Leamington, ON & Delta, OH. Equipped with fruit bearing plants and complimented by a live Bumblebee Eco-System, the GEC serves as an education resource to inform consumers about how greenhouse vegetables are grown.
“We care about the future of fresh and all that it entails; we need to collectively increase fresh produce consumption. NatureFresh™ can help do that with the GEC and by getting front and center with consumers, we share our story to help inform them of the value of greenhouse vegetables. Knowing who grows what you buy is important, understanding how its grown is just as important if not more”, commented Wowryk.
Supporting the GEC this summer are 5 college students who serve as NatureFresh™ Brand Ambassadors at each event. The team is responsible for event day operations and interacting with retail partners to ensure their customers have the best possible experience. With varied backgrounds ranging from agri-business to environmental science to marketing to biology, the team provides unique perspectives of the value of greenhouse grown vegetables.
“We are able to immediately impact consumers purchasing decisions at store level with the knowledge we share about how we grow greenhouse vegetables”, said Cole Burkholder, GEC Team Member & 3rd year Environmental Science Major from Ohio State University. Agriculture is nothing new to Burkholder whose family operates a farming operation of more than 500 acres of row crops in central Ohio. “The look on people’s faces when we explain the greenhouse growing process and they see the live plants with real fruit, it’s priceless, you kind of see that ‘a-ha’ moment in their eyes. We’ve even had customers show us their shopping carts when leaving to show us the tomatoes or bell peppers they have purchased because of our conversation. It’s a pretty good feeling!” commented Burkholder.
Now in it’s 3rd year, the #GreenInTheCity Tour has completed more than 200 events to date across eastern North America connecting with consumers at retail stores, summer camps, schools, and community fairs. The 2017 tour will continue on through early November wrapping up at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON November 12th.
To learn more about NatureFresh™ Farms and the #GreenInTheCity Tour, visit naturefresh.ca/GEC.
About NatureFresh Farms –
NatureFresh Farms™ has grown to become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable growers in North America. Growing in Leamington, ON and Delta, OH, NatureFresh™ Farms prides itself on exceptional flavor & quality. Family owned NatureFresh Farms™ ships Non-GMO greenhouse grown produce year-round to key retailers throughout North America.
Here’s some shipping updates including California strawberries, plus some not so obvious ones such as garlic, Indiana potatoes and imported citrus from Chile.
This has been one of the best season’s for California strawberry shipments as volume, quality and more predictable loadings have been much better than the past three or four years. Good volume should continue from Watsonville heading toward autumn. Last week about 1,000 truck loads were shipped. That should mean good loading opportunities into September, before the transition to shipments out of Oxnard, CA, which will continue into December.
For example, Well-Pict of Watsonville, CA grows and ships strawberries and raspberries for the late-season on about 700 acres in Oxnard. Naturipe Berry Growers of Salinas, CA has a fall crop in Santa Maria, CA., with best loading opportunities coming toward an end-of-August, or early September.
Salinas Valley strawberries and vegetables – grossing about $7400 to New York City.
Garlic Shipments
Most garlic shipments in the U.S. are coming out of California, where supplies are plentiful and quality is good. For example, Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, CA had to cut garlic plantings by about 10 percent the past couple of years due to the drought, but have now rebounded with volume this season being a little above normal. Loadings of garlic started last June and will continue until early September.
Meanwhile, Spice World Inc. of Orlando, FL and The Garlic Co. in Shafter, CA also have good volume out of California.
Indiana Potato Shipments
Red potato shipper Black Gold Farms of Grand Forks, ND starts harvesting spuds this week at its Winamac, IN farming operation and will be shipping through the month. This is the fifth year of the Indiana program.
Chilean Navel Imports
Chile’s navel orange shipments through the week of July 10th were 29 percent over a year ago with 35,591 tons, compared to last season’s 27,600 tons. However, the season started late, but will end two to three weeks earlier this year due to a smaller crop and weather issues. That means imports to the U.S. lasting through October.
The dramatic Mount Kidd, Canadian Rockies
ATHENS, GA — Carrier Transicold will begin offering the new-generation refrigerant R-452A as an alternative for use in its truck and trailer refrigeration systems, following the July 21 announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the refrigerant for transport refrigeration applications.
Developed by the refrigerant manufacturing industry to reduce environmental impact, R-452A has a global warming potential (GWP) that is almost half that of R 404A, the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant used in most land-based transport refrigeration applications. Carrier Transicold will offer the new refrigerant as an option to R-404A later this year.
“As a near drop-in substitute, R-452A offers similar levels of refrigeration performance, fuel efficiency, reliability and refrigerant charge in new equipment as R 404A, and we are pleased to be able to make it available to refrigerated transport operators seeking a lower GWP option to advance environmental sustainability,” said David Brondum, director, product management and sustainability, North America Truck, Trailer, Rail, Carrier Transicold.
R-452A is a refrigerant blend with a low-GWP hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) as one of its key components.
“Carrier Transicold has extensive experience with R-452A, having first offered it in 2015 to help Europe’s transport refrigeration industry respond to the European Union F Gas Regulation, which is driving down Europe’s use of traditional HFC refrigerants with higher GWPs,” Brondum explained. Extensive work has been done by Carrier Transicold in preparation for a similar transition in the U.S.
Brondum noted that the EPA has not banned R-404A for transport refrigeration applications, enabling refrigerated haulers to choose the option best suited for their operations. This allows for considerations of price and availability, fleet size and maintenance budgets.
“Going forward, fleets may want to consult with their Carrier Transicold dealers to determine which refrigerant solution is appropriate,” Brondum said.
While Carrier Transicold will continue to offer R-404A, it will also provide R-452A as an option for new model Vector™ and X4™ Series trailer refrigeration units, Supra® truck units and direct-drive truck units that currently use R 404A. The new refrigerant can also be used as a drop-in replacement for Carrier Transicold units already in service, although certain older models may require component retrofits or software updates, which can be accommodated through Carrier Transicold’s network of authorized dealers.
“Carrier Transicold’s larger goal of reducing the GWP of its transport refrigeration equipment goes well beyond the benefits of R-452A,” Brondum noted. “We are committed to pursuing the commercialization of HFC-free refrigerants in road transportation refrigeration by building upon our expertise with CO2 refrigerant, also known as R-744.”
CO2 refrigerant has a GWP of only 1, roughly 2,000 times better than R 452A and 4,000 times better than R-404A. It is also nonflammable, non-ozone-depleting, globally available and cost effective. Carrier has successfully applied CO2 refrigerant in CO2OLtec® stationary commercial refrigeration systems widely used throughout Europe, in NaturaLINE® container refrigeration systems used by major container shipping lines in support of global commerce, and prototype trailer refrigeration trials with two major European supermarket chains.
For more information about R-452A for transport refrigeration applications, turn to the experts within Carrier Transicold’s North America dealer network.
About Carrier Transicold
Carrier Transicold helps improve transport and shipping of temperature controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For more than 45 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 UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. For more information, visit www.transicold.carrier.com. Follow Carrier on Twitter: @SmartColdChain.
by Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative
Albion, NY – An abundant crop of excellent quality SweeTango apples is coming this fall from member-growers of NBT Cooperative.
This premium apple variety is known for its outstanding sweet flavor with a lively touch of citrus, honey and spice. Its texture is unmatched; biting into this remarkably crisp apple produces a loud crunch and satisfying burst of delicious juice. Harvested in the early fall, SweeTango is an early-season category leader and consumer favorite, having been developed by the University of Minnesota and introduced in 2009 to feature the very best characteristics of the Honeycrisp and Zestar! apple varieties.
Theron Kibbe of NBT Cooperative notes that retailer success with the best-selling SweeTango is due in part to its unique position as an early-season variety. “Nielsen data shows that opportunities for SweeTango are especially strong in the early season, when it’s one of the first premium apple varieties to come on in the fall,” he said. Kibbe referenced Nielsen data dated Aug. 7 – Oct. 29, 2016 that shows SweeTango weekly volume averaging 54 lbs per store and a weekly sales average of $233 per store. “Our eye-catching packaging redesign, and the 2-lb pouch in particular, has been well received with high demand from consumers and retailers alike,” he added.
Harvest is expected to begin in late August. While Washington’s harvest is behind 2016, Midwestern crops are a few days ahead. New York, Quebec and Nova Scotia crops will complete the harvest on schedule and consumers will enjoy SweeTango soon after Labor Day.
Despite weather events — including early frost affecting some orchards in Michigan and a number of hail events in Washington, Michigan, and New York — the 2017 crop has potential to be slightly larger than that of 2016. Kibbe commented, “growers are expertly managing and thinning another fine crop of SweeTango with a good range of sizes. We’re excited to start another season.”
Retailers are urged to place orders now and can find their regional sales representative at http://sweetango.com/about/for-retailers/sales-desk/.
ABOUT NEXT BIG THING, A GROWERS’ COOPERATIVE
Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative is a 47-member cooperative of family growers, spread from Nova Scotia to Washington State, that grows and markets managed varieties of apples, beginning with SweeTango. You can find more information on SweeTango at http://www.sweetango.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sweetango.