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Californa Citrus Shipments will Certainly be Cut Due to December Freezes

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DSCN2885California citrus shipments could very well will be hit even harder than rather than less from recent freezing temperatures.  Initally, close observers in the Central San Joaquin Valley were talking slight to moderate damage, but now you are hearing more serious descriptions such as “moderate to severe” damage. 

However, specific results on how bad navels and madrians were hit won’t be known until around New Years.

Temperatures in citrus-growing areas in California’s San Joaquin Valley once again dipped to potentially damaging levels  for seven of eight days between December 5th and 11th.

Temperatures below 27 degrees for several hours can damage Navel oranges and lemons, while more sensitive Mandarins are susceptible to damage at 32 degrees.

Frost-protection measures such as wind machines and application of water to the groves can provide three or four degrees of protection.

Approximately  12 to 15 percent of the Navel crop and 20 percent of the Mandarin crop has been harvested, leaving a significant percentage of the crop at risk of damage.

There is no doubt that damage has occurred across the citrus belt.

Damaged fruit will be eliminated from the fresh market and directly shipped to  juice plants.  For California citrus, juice plants are, by design, a salvage operation for lower-quality fruit.

California citrus and berries – grossing about $4600 to Chicago.

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Florida Strawberry Shipments Ahead of Schedule; Grapes Arriving from Peru at Miami Port

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IMG_6053Florida strawberry shipments have started a little earlier than usual, and good volume shipments for the pre-Christmas deliveries are expected.

The season typically builds through December, with the decent volume hitting right after Christmas.

In early December,  at least one Florida strawberry shipper had truckload quantities.

 The quality of berries truckers were loading early in the season left something to be desire, but with the last two cold snaps  received the strawberries were sweetening.

Florida strawberries – grossing about  $2700 to New York City.

Peruvian Grapes

The Port of Miami received  its first ever shipment of Peruvian grapes  last month, it is believed to the first of the product to arrive at a Florida port for distribution directly to Southeastern states.

Prior to this shipment, Peruvian grapes could only be imported to the U.S. through ports in Los Angeles and New York. Each shipment must go through cold treatment before entering U.S. borders.

 By importing directly to Miami it saves the shipper  the cost of freight in having to bring the grapes from New York to Miami.  This should translate into  providing e consumers with fresher product at a lower cost.

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Cruisin’ Down a Mexican Highway Means More Loads in South Texas

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DSCN0252After several delays, the Autopista Durango-Mazatlan highway, a 143-mile road from the growing regions of west Mexico to Texas ports of entry, now is expected to open sometime during the first half of 2014.

If you haul produce out of South Texas, this is significant.

It is open, but there are still sections of the road that are not 100 percent  complete.

The route’s 1,280-foot-high Baluarte Bridge already has been completed.   It is the highest bridge in North America and the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world, according to the website highestbridges.com.

There is no need for trucks to travel up and down the mountain, because they bridges allows the 18 wheelers to go through  the mountain.

The highway between Durango and the coastal city of Mazatlan has 61 tunnels and seven bridges that exceed 300 feet in height.

Nearly two-thirds of the produce Texas ships to the rest of the country comes from Mexico.

That only will increase when the new road opens, allowing Mexican growers to easily move product from growing areas in west Mexico to the eastern part of the country in an efficient manner.

Historically it has been impossible  to do this because of the mountain ranges.  However, the  new road system flattens out the trip and making it  entirely feasible for big rigs.

The shortcut should allow Mexican shippers and U.S. importers to save $2,000 when they ship a load east of the Rockies through Texas rather than Arizona or California.

Besides importing Mexican product, shippers may bring in Asian products shipped to deep water ports in west Mexico.  This would allow importers to avoid Southern California’s Long Beach-Los Angeles harbor area, which is expensive and frustrating.

Completion of the road could boost south Texas to become the business port of entry for produce.  Traditionally, Nogales, Ariz., has held the number one spot.

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DeltaTrak Launches New In-Transit Temperature Recorder

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DeltaTrakPLEASANTON, Calif., — DeltaTRAK®, a leading manufacturer and provider of portable environmental test instruments and cold chain management solutions announces the new In-Transit Temperature Recorder specially engineered with a lighter, but durable vented case for superior air circulation and accurate temperature responses.

The new recorder includes streamlined documentation and an improved pull tab design to make the recorder easier to start. Serial numbers on every unit provides traceability documentation and the recorders’ patented design guarantees recording stops at the end of the trip.

“Our recorders’ patented design and new features makes the process of monitoring temperature and providing product quality documentation easier and less costly,” said Frederick Wu, president and CEO of DeltaTRAK.

The new DeltaTrak Single Use In-Transit Temperature Recorders, 16000 series models, are available in 5-Day to 90-Day transit periods. The recorder provides maximum accuracy and generates a permanent record of transit conditions on a 36 inch (91 cm) strip chart.

Its view port also allows the operator to visually confirm activation after the startup tab has been pulled. The in-transit recorders can be used to document the environmental temperature conditions encountered during storage and transportation of food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and other temperature-sensitive commodities.

DeltaTrak® is a leading innovator of cold chain management, environment monitoring and food safety solutions for the food, pharmaceutical, life sciences and chemical industries. Contact DeltaTrak by phone at 1-800-962-6776 or by email at marketing@deltatrak.com. Additional information can be found at www.deltatrak.com. Source: DeltaTrak®

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Chilean Fruit Imports Continue to Grow – and it Takes a Truck to Deliver

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DSCN0057When it seems the U.S. has fewer friends on the world stage, one exception continues to be the South American country of Chile.   The United States enjoys a symbiotic relationship with Chile. The country ranks sixth among Florida’s top product export destinations, with over $3.9 billion in exports in 2011.  Florida exports to Chile increased at a rate of 24.3 percent through October 2012.

The U.S. received 74 percent of total Chilean citrus exports in 2012.

And once that Chilean fruit arrives at an American port, you can bet it takes a truck to get it to the final destination.

Also in 2012, the U.S. imported fresh blueberries valued at nearly $419.8 million, a 12 percent increase from the previous year.  Just over 50 percent of those fresh blueberries originated in Chile, which provides fresh blueberries to U.S. markets during the period of mid-November through January.

 Canada shares a high demand for Chilean fruit with the U.S.  According to a press release issued by Chilean Fresh Fruit Association in May 2013, Loblaws, a leading Canadian supermarket chain, increased its use of Chilean fruit by more than 20 percent during an import promotional period earlier in the year.  Loblaws serves more than 14 million shoppers a week. It also has over a thousand stores across the entire Canadian territory.

There is also another issue to consider when thinking about the future relationship between the U.S. and Chile and other South American and Central American countries.  Geographically they may be closer than other nations, like those of Asia or Europe, but fresh produce moves quickly today.

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Western Citrus Freeze Damage Reports a Ways off; Veggies Probably Okay

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IMG_6810We did a report on freezing temperatures in California, as well as Arizona last week, and to be honest there’s not a heck of a lot more to report on how Western produce shipments will be affected.  But in case you missed that other report, here goes – with some additional information.

In California, freezing temperatures occurred for a few nights late last week and through Saturday a.m.  It is known there will freeze damage to mandrians and navel oranges.  How much freeze damage probably will not be known until the first of the year, if not the first week of January.  There also a limited amount of vegetables being grown in the Central San Joaquin Valley, but no word on the veggies either.

The Salinas-Watsonville area had already completed its vegetable and strawberry shipments for the season when the freeze hit.  The Santa Maria area was on the tail end of the strawberry season and the cold quickly ended what product was left.

Strawberry shipments have now shifted to Ventura County.  While the cold may actually be beneficial to the berries in some areas of the county, others located in hilly, higher elevations of the county probably will suffer losses.  We’ll also have to keep an eye on Southern California strawberries, particularly in Orange County.

It also got pretty frosty in the desert areas of California and around Yuma, AZ for desert vegetable shipments.  It is believed items such as head lettuce, leaf lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower will make it okay, although it will not be surprising if it looks a little like it has been in a fight with Mother Nature.

Southern California strawberries, citrus – grossing about $6600 to New York City.

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Nogales Gearing up for Shipments from West Mexico

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151_5194Normal volume of winter vegetables from West Mexico crossing the border at Nogales, AZ is expected this season.

While limited volume with winter veggies has been occuring for over a month, crossings are gradually increasing in December.  Heaviest volume typically occurs after the first of the year and remains heavy through March.  As vegetable volume declines, table grapes typically start crossing the border in April.

Among the larger Mexican produce shipments this time of the year are watermelons, squash, peppers, eggplant and cucumbers.  However, it is tomatoes that really get shipments going.  Tomatoes, along with green beans, are just getting started.

While overall volume this winter should be fairly normal, there apparently are a lot more Mexican watermelons crossing the border.

A trend produce truckers are likely to notice, especially in coming years, is that produce crossing the border at Nogales is on the decline, while increasing in South Texas.

One reason is that central Mexico grows fresh produce on a year around basis, and most of that product is distributed to the U.S. and Canada through South Texas.  As the same time produce grown in the Sinaloa and Sonora ares of West Mexico is grown on a seasonal basis.  This product has historically crossed the border through Nogales.

It was more than a decade ago that construction of the long awaited Mazatlan-Durango Highway started.  Completion of the road is behind schedule, but expected to be ready in the first half of 2014.  West Mexican produce being shipped to the eastern half of the U.S. is expected to be funneled to Texas instead of going through Nogales, using the new 143-mile highway that has 63 tunnels.

Mexican produce at Nogales – grossing about $3500 to Chicago; $5800 to New York City.

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Grapes May Help Protect Bone Health, Study Says

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DSCN0731Consuming grapes may help protect bone health, according to research presented recently at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. Natural components found in grapes are thought to be responsible for these beneficial effects.

The eight week feeding study, undertaken by Purdue University, was designed to investigate the long term benefits of grape consumption on bone health using an animal model for menopause. An earlier study had demonstrated short term benefits with grape intake in these animals.

The study results, presented by Emily Hohman of Purdue University, showed that animals consuming a grape-enriched diet had improved bone calcium retention compared to those fed the control diet without grapes. Additionally, the grape-fed group had greater femur cortical thickness and strength.

Approximately 57 million Americans are affected by osteoporosis or low bone mass, the effects of which can be debilitating. Until the age of thirty, our bones naturally rebuild themselves on a daily basis, but as we age, we begin to lose bone density. For women, this loss is accelerated during the transition to menopause. Bone mineral density loss during menopause – once attributed solely to the loss of estrogen – actually depends on a combination of factors.

“These results suggest that grapes can improve yet another important aspect of health – our bones,” said Dr. Connie Weaver, lead investigator of the study. “This is an exciting new area of grape research that merits additional focus and study.”

The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research is a professional, scientific and medical society established to bring together clinical and experimental scientists involved in the study of bone and mineral metabolism.

Source: California Table Grape Commission

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Study Shows Consumers are Wanting More Produce at Restaurants

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DSCN0892Restaurants and other foodservice entities should be carrying more fresh fruits and vegetables on menus.  Why?  Because consumers want it.

About 4,000 consumers nationwide were surveyed and 600 foodservice operators were contacted by Datassential in May and June and conclude that ‘produce’ is now a hot food item. Foodservice operators are getting the message and plan to roll out more produce on menus soon.

Foodservice operators, or ‘operators’ for short, include away-from-home food establishments, including restaurants, universities, hospitals, lodging, catering, and others.

“The survey data says about 80 percent of consumers want restaurants to feature more produce on the menu,” said Maeve Webster, senior director of Datassential, Chicago, Ill..

“This is a fundamental shift in what (foods) consumers will eat away from home. It’s not just a fad.”

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Watching for Cold Weather in California and any Shipping Implications

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DSCN1836Freezing temperatures are slated to hit California’s Central Valley tonight (December 4) and stick around through Saturday.  Whether this is a serious threat is too early to tell, and even if it is we’re looking at next week for any initial damage assessments.

The fruit needs a cold snap to finish ripening, but that typically comes during Christmas week.   Growers will be watering the fields and getting the ground moisture up as a precaution.

Desert Vegetable Shipments

Good supplies  of desert vegetables were available on basically all vegetables for the Thanksgiving and the same is expected through December, assuming the weather cooperates.

Produce truckers and growers are hoping warm weather continues and keeps the crops and shipments on schedule and produce good volume moving into the Christmas pull in mid-December.

Favorable weather actually has  the crops are running a little bit ahead of schedule,  but if  it turns cold, things could change  quickly.

We’ll keep an eye on the cold weather in the San Joaquin Valley and see if it not affects citrus shipments there, but grapes, as well as strawberries and other items in Southern California, plus the vegetables coming out of the California and Arizona deserts.

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