Although there has been a slow start to the Culiacan production, volume is starting to kick in this month. Eggplant, cucumbers, colored bells and other vegetables will run strong before the traditional fade as the heat rolls in late April and May.
Sonoran vegetable production is underway in Guaymas for SunFed of Rio Rico, AZ but starting to wind down. The transition started a couple of weeks ago and SunFed fields to the north are going strong.
Quality of the product is reported good. The cold slowed growth up – particularly for the colored bells and eggplant – so harvest started a little later. Squash volume is good but even better with other vegetable and melon.
The production outlook for West Mexico is good. While unlikely, the greatest threat to production could be late-winter cold in Sonora.
Culiacan farms in mid-February, had temperatures colder than normal. Abnormally cool weather has slowed some of the production out of the Sinaloa area. Also impacting the Mexican vegetable season this winter has been excessive rain particularly to the north in the state of Sonora.
Despite the wet and cooler weather in Mexico, this year’s production and market prices have been much better than 2022. A year ago, growers had significant labor problems that impacted production while farms were also battling dramatic year over year cost increases in 2022. This all made for a very difficult first quarter last year. The outlook for the first and second quarters of 2023 looks better than 2022.
Depending on ripeness, bananas range in color from shades of almost hunter green flecked with whispers of yellow, all the way to deep canary yellow speckled with pinpricks of brown. Where a banana falls on this green-to-yellow range holds the key to where this banana will travel next on its circuitous journey from farm to produce aisle.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture publishes a numbered color index that conveys quick-glance standardization to help produce buyers make decisions. Depending on whether the case of bananas in question looks like a No. 2 or a No. 5 will determine the exact amount of time the bananas will spend in a ripening room, benefiting from specific temperature controls and piped-in ethylene gas that helps ripening progress smoothly.
After close monitoring in the ripening room confirms that the fruit is the perfect golden yellow color, the fruit is transported to the store. At the store, the bananas are tucked into merchandising displays. Only now can the produce team sit back and wait to discover if the bananas pass the final, most difficult desirability test: Will the ripe fruit catch a shopper’s eye?
Significant weather factors played havoc with the transition of Salinas Valley vegetables to the deserts of California and Arizona several months ago. It is now time for that transition from the south to Salinas and weather conditions up north are going to result in a rocky return.
Shipping gaps and disruptions are already occurring and will continue until at least early on many vegetable items. The problems started when rains prevented plantings from occurring on time. This will adversely affect the size, weight and condition of the product at harvesting.
Caution is urged when loading Salinas vegetable and make sure your receiver knows what quality, size, etc. of product they will be receiving.
There will be delayed shipments of broccoli and cauliflower in the Salinas Valley because of the excessive cold temperatures in February.
Florida vegetables will be an attractive alternative to Salinas for receivers until Florida starts winding down in April and May.
Celery volume will be limited this spring.
Oxnard received a lot of rain, delaying plantings during the early part of the farming season. However, there are Huron loadings of Iceberg lettuce, which will assist more consistent production of Iceberg through the transition period from the desert to the Salinas Valley. There are very few shipping from Huron this spring. Many will not be making the transition from the desert to Salinas or Santa Maria without shipping gaps.
Packed with savory flavor and nutrients that many other types of produce don’t have, mushrooms are a tasty and healthy addition to all kinds of dishes and cuisines.
Dozens of varieties are available year-round because they’re grown indoors.
’Shrooms are the only source of vitamin D in the produce aisle. A single portabella mushroom has more potassium than a medium-sized banana, and fungi are a leading source of selenium, an antioxidant that strengthens the body’s immune system and can help prevent heart disease.
Packaged fungi outperformed bulk mushrooms in dollar and volume sales, according to IRI data for the four weeks ending Nov. 6, 2022, with prepackaged options representing almost 96% of pounds sold. Eight-ounce packages were, by far, the biggest sellers. Cut or prepared mushrooms made up half of pound sales, reflecting shoppers’ desire for convenience.
ACCENTUATING THE POSITIVE
Fresh mushrooms have a lot going for them, from nutritional advantages to sustainability. The Mushroom Council highlights these fungi benefits:
Families can stretch their grocery budgets by incorporating meaty-tasting mushrooms into recipes that call for ground beef — such as burgers and meatballs.
Substituting mushrooms for meat can enhance weight loss and boost nutrition without leaving consumers hungry after a meal.
Mushrooms rank high in sustainability. An environmental footprint assessment found that production of a pound of mushrooms requires less than 2 gallons of water, 1
Lyndonville, NY – Last year’s domestic apple crop is a tale of two seasons as weather conditions in major growing regions dictated significantly different results for orchards in the Northwest and Northeast.
The extreme heat in late summer and overall challenging weather conditions in Washington caused a significant 20% drop in volume to a 100 million case crop. This shortfall created supply challenges for retailers who typically rely heavily on fruit from the country’s largest apple growing region.
On the other side of the country, the New York apple crop reported a strong 32+ million bushel volume, with good sizing, high color and excellent flavor. Basically a rebound year from the previous harvest, the eastern region experienced near record volume with traditional varieties including Acey Mack, Empire, Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady and Red Delicious.
United Apple has a network of 59 local growers with their managed club varieties: EverCrisp, Ruby Frost and SnapDragon.
EverCrisp is now in its fifth season with product projected to be available through May. SnapDragon is in season nine and had volume until late March. Ruby Frost in its ninth season will have product into June.
Imports
With Washington’s crop being down, United Apple has reached out to its Southern hemisphere import partners to support requested volumes for slicers and processors to build consistent volumes for national programs.
Here is the schedule for United Apple’s import arrivals:
Colombia’s Sugar Mango Association is preparing for the first entry into the United States market, with arrivals beginning the second week of March.
Preparations for entry to the U.S. market have been underway for several years. U.S. consumers will get their first taste of this sweet, pocket-sized mango with a full marketing and social media campaign titled “We’re Small, Sweet, and Easy to Eat.”
These naturally grown “pocket mangos” easily fit in the palm of your hand, and are unique due to their ability to be eaten with their skin, making them an ideal treat for kids or anytime snacking.
Sweet Sugar Mangos have red and yellow, fragrant flesh with a sweet juicy taste and a brix level of 22. Unlike many other exotic mangos, sweet Sugar Mangos do not have a fibrous taste. These miniature mangos are grown naturally, non-GMO, and have a peak harvest season of April through August, with initial imports beginning in March.
Sugar Mangos are exclusively grown in Colombia’s tropical Caribbean Coast, close to Santa Marta. The tropical trade winds and unique soil create an ideal microclimate for this specialty fruit, with an edible skin, much thinner than traditional mangos. The fruit is highlighted for its extreme popularity in the region, known generically as “Mango de Azucar.”
Unlike the generic tree fruit, Sugar Mangos undergo a proprietary pre-harvest and cultivation method, with an immediate cool chain, and a patented, food-safe wash applied post-harvest to condition the fruit well for travel and the best possible taste and shelf life. The Sugar Mango Association is the manager of the Sugar Mango trademarks at origin and globally.
The Association and program are open to qualified growers, distributors, exporters, and importers via license. The variety and brand are trademarked at origin in Colombia, as well as in various international markets, including the United States.
“As with other extremely successful branded fruit programs, Sugar Mangos is designed to deliver a special and unique taste experience to the consumer, and to allow growers, distributors, exporters, and importers all align in a more precise way to ensure a consistent and quality taste experience,” commented Nicolas Mairon, development director for Sugar Mangos brand and licensing programs.
“We have been working for several years with family farmers to prepare this product for export, and for the high expectations of consumers in the North American and European markets. Sugar Mango is lucky to count some of the top regional growers, exporters, and importers as part of our brand.”
Sweet Sugar Mangos are offered commercially in 2 kilo (4.45 pound) cases, which hold between 17-22 mangos. Specially branded retail kits, POS signage, digital tools, and a social media campaign are all available to help merchandise and sell Sugar Mangos in store.
A limited quantity of 6,000-9,000 cases will be offered weekly in the United States for the initial seasons, with programs already being reserved by top grocers, distributors, and markets.
The exclusive importer of Sugar Mangos in the United States is Seasons Farm Fresh, Miami, FL.
IRI retail scan data shows that retail organic strawberry sales in 2021 totaled $447.6 million, up a whopping 22% from 2020.
Organic strawberries accounted for 12.2% of total retail strawberry sales in 2021, IRI data shows. Organic strawberries also represented nearly 6% of total organic produce sales in 2021, according to IRI.
Retailers in 2021 moved 98.5 million pounds of organic strawberries at an average retail price of $4.55 per pound, retail scan data reveals.
Southeast berry grower-shippers are expecting good-quality blueberries and blackberries this spring with decent volume.
Florida Classic Growers, Dundee, FL., is primarily a citrus shipper but added blueberries and peaches to its product line about 10 years ago.
The company produces four kinds of blueberries in the Polk County region in the central part of the state. Some varieties kick off early, while others come on later in the season, providing the company with berries from mid-March until around early May. Volume similar to last year is expected.
Crystal Valley Foods of Miami anticipates a good crop of blueberries and blackberries this season. The operation sources its Southeast berries from Alabama and Georgia. Southeast blueberries will start shipping at the beginning of April, and blackberries will get underway in June.
Crystal Valley Foods expects to have increased volume on Southeast blueberries compared to last year, and blackberry volume should be similar to previous years.
Naturipe Farms of Salinas, CA reports the start of it blueberries and blackberries from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina will be a bit later this year due to weather factors. Volume is expected to be up from a year when there was significant damage in Georgia due to frost.
A significant share of northbound produce shipments from Mexico is coming through the Laredo port district of Texas, a new USDA report reveals.
Called the “U.S.-Mexico Agricultural Trade Logistics Review,” the report indicated that, excluding avocados, about 38% of Mexico’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports flow through Laredo crossings, 30% through Nogales and 17% through San Diego.
Much like fresh produce southbound from the U.S., Mexico’s exports of fresh fruits and vegetables are shipped almost exclusively by truck, the report said.
In value terms, the U.S. held a 64% market share of all agricultural and related exports to Mexico in 2021. During the same year, 81% of Mexico’s total agricultural exports went to the U.S.
While U.S. exports of fresh produce to Mexico often flow through the Western land ports such as Nogales, Ariz., and San Diego, the report said northbound shipments are more heavily oriented towards eastern commercial crossings in Texas.
“Some exceptions exist for products whose production zones in Mexico are in closer proximity to the Nogales/San Diego commercial crossings such as table grapes and watermelon,” the report said. “However, existing infrastructure, inspection capacity, and more direct access to the largest U.S. markets dictate more eastbound trade flows.”
In fact, U.S. imports of avocados from Mexico, totaling more than 1 million metric tons in 2021, are largely shipped through the Laredo district in Texas, the report said.
“Fresh tomatoes represent another product that is shipped at volume through the Laredo district throughout the year (especially through the McAllen port of entry),” the report said. However, the report said there are also seasonal increases through Nogales in the first half of the year with a less-pronounced increase through San Diego mid- to late year.
The report said a notable feature of Mexican fresh fruit and vegetable trade through the Laredo district is the extent to which certain products flow through certain port of entries.
“For example, a large majority of fresh fruit and vegetables transit through the Reynosa/McAllen port of entry as opposed to the Laredo/Colombia port of entries,” the report said.
Based on the geography of production zones for several fresh products in Mexico, the report said the Nogales port of entry is also a seasonally important conduit particularly of table grapes, watermelon and several vegetable varieties.
In 2021 and 2022, northbound agricultural trade from Mexico to the U.S. has been characterized by record values due in part to the current high-price environment for food and agricultural products, the report said.
“Strong consumer demand in the U.S. continues to contribute to record volumes of food and agricultural imports,” the report said.
Another feature of cross-border trade during COVID-19 was an increasing imbalance between north and southbound freight shipped via truck, with far more freight heading northbound than southbound, the report said.
“This imbalance is not new and for several years predating COVID, food and agricultural trade via truck was more heavily northbound-oriented. However, the imbalance sharpened in 2020 and 2021. A north-south imbalance that was traditionally 3-to-1 reached as high as 8-to-1 in late 2020. Also complicating the commercial truck area of the supply chain are driver shortages on both sides of the border.”
The report said the national trucking association in Mexico (CANACAR) estimated that Mexico has a shortage of up to 50,000 truckers.
Fresh Farms of Rio Rico, AZ who also grows produce in Mexico is increasing its grape volume by one million cartons this year.
The grower/shipper has a wide range of fruits and vegetables with year-round availability. The firm also produces conventional and organic produce.
The company is growing its grape volume both in Jalisco and Sonora.
Jalisco volume will start in late March with a green grape harvest. Total Mexican grape volume for the company should be nearly 6.5 million cartons in 2023, up about a million cartons from a year ago.
Most of that volume is in newer varieties, such as Cotton Candy, Candy Snaps, Candy Hears, Candy Dreams, Sweet Globes, Sapphires and more.
Fresh Farms also has soft and hard squashes, green peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, corn, watermelon and other items.
The company is growing its melons category dramatically due to increasing demand.
For all of its commodities the operation is seeking to expand availability. Last year the company shipped over 12 million boxes of produce, up from about 2.8 million boxes in 2009.
