“Favorable late Spring weather and more groves reaching maturity have contributed to a heavy set of great-looking fruit as we approach the 2022 Satsuma season,” explained Kim Jones, owner of Florida Georgia Citrus and current president of Cold Hardy Citrus Association. “The trees are heavy with beautiful, uniform fruit. We anticipate a record Satsuma crop for 2022.”
Shipping starts in early November, with full production available from mid-November to mid-January.
The Sweet Valley Citrus region spans a tri-state zone throughout North Florida, South Alabama and South Georgia. These growing areas share unique soil and weather that make Sweet Valley Citrus so special. Grown on local family farms, tree-ripened, and shipped daily from farmer-owned packing facilities, Sweet Valley Citrus includes Satsumas marketed under grower brands such as Southern Sassies, Southern Juicys and Cherokee Jewel.
Satsuma production has increased in the Sweet Valley region from less than 1 million pounds produced by 15 growers in 2014 to 12 million pounds and more than 150+ growers in 2021. Production is anticipated to continue increasing over the upcoming years due to new plantings already in the ground that should push production to over 100 million pounds by 2027.
With convenient, Southeast locations along major interstate highways, Sweet Valley Citrus growers and packing houses have been less affected by supply chain issues, and suppliers from the Sweet Valley region offer the fastest shipping of fresh citrus to locations east of the Mississippi. Compared to West Coast and imported citrus, this reduced shipping time can extend shelf life from a few days to several weeks and ensures customers and consumers receive the best-tasting fruit when it is ready to eat.
Citrus from the Sweet Valley region is especially flavorful, with excellent Brix and Brix/acid ratio scores providing the extra sweet flavor from a fruit with a naturally low caloric density. “Easy-to-peel Satsumas are a special fruit with a delicious flavor profile and limited season, which makes them ideal for retailers and consumers looking for something local and extraordinary,” said Mack Glass of Cherokee Satsumas.
Sweet Valley Citrus has also recently launched a new website, sweetvalleycitrus.com/, full of information for retailers, foodservice buyers and consumers. “The new website helps expand the allure of Sweet Valley Citrus, especially Satsumas, and will generate demand for the special fruit that grows there,” said Karen Nardozza, president and CEO of Moxxy, the marketing agency that created the Sweet Valley brand, website and other marketing materials to promote the region.
In addition to explaining what makes Sweet Valley Citrus unique and special, the website also helps retail and foodservice buyers connect with growers and packers, and provides detailed information on seasonality, varieties, nutrition, selection and storage.
In addition to Satsuma mandarins, Sweet Valley Citrus is also known for its extraordinary Shiranui mandarins, Cara Cara navel oranges, grapefruit, Kishu mandarins, Tango tangerines, and lemons. Visit sweetvalleycitrus.com or contact hello@sweetvalleycitrus.com for more information.
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About Sweet Valley Citrus
The Sweet Valley Citrus region spans a tri-state zone throughout North Florida, South Alabama and South Georgia. These growing areas share unique soil and weather that make Sweet Valley Citrus sweeter and more flavorful. All citrus varieties, including Sweet Valley’s famous Satsumas, are grown on local family farms, tree-ripened, and shipped daily from farmer-owned packing facilities.
The Sweet Valley Citrus brand was created by the Cold Hardy Citrus Association, a 501(c)(5) organization established in 2017 to ensure all producers in the region have a unified voice in an emerging industry and to provide education on best farming practices. Members include growers, handlers, shippers and allied businesses. For more information visit sweetvalleycitrus.com.
Delaware River Valley seaports should reach an all-time high this fall and winter with fresh fruit and vegetable imports.
Peru and Chile are driving the key growth with increased volume and more varied production from growers.
Chilean imports at Philadelphia started 50 years ago.
The port’s reefer container cargo has grown by an average of 12 percent since 2012.
PhilaPort is the brand used by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, a Pennsylvania agency located in Philadelphia.
Nomenclature and statistical references for the Delaware River are complex because there are major port facilities in three neighboring states.
Thirty miles south of Philadelphia, the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, offers a huge and expanding fresh produce import trade. In Gloucester City, NJ, facing Pennsylvania from across the wide river, are massive dock and warehouse facilities owned by Holt Logistics Corp.
Countless businesses along the river and scattered throughout this sprawling metropolitan area coordinate with state and federal agencies to build their fruit business.
Family businesses owned by the Holt’s, Manfredi’s, Procacci’s and Kopke’s, and other families, have invested countless millions of dollars to boost port cold storage and other infrastructure.
Americold, Lineage, and other cold warehouses are also expanding to meet demand.
Manfredi Cos., Inc., of Kennett Square, PA offers extensive cold storage space, as well as transportation, logistics, and repacking services to all Delaware Valley docks.
Manfredi used to used imports from the area to fill seasonal gaps of domestic products, but now is importing the year-round. The company also notes offshore growers are making significant investments for volume growth for the next 15 years.
Summer citrus imports historically preceded a market void before Peru filled the market. Now for Manfredi, imported citrus is in its warehouse12 months a year, creating a different approach to warehouse planning.
Peruvian fruit production has been arriving earlier and earlier into the Delaware River, with the first ships of 2022 arriving in July. Peruvian grapes came into the market this September as a precursor to the Chilean deal.
Grapes and blueberries are Manfredi’s largest-volume Peruvian products. Avocados rank third. Peruvian citrus and mangos are also up for the cold storage.
Moroccan Clementines arrive in the fall and winter. For this season, Manfredi awaits Moroccan growers’ projections, although they are expected to be similar to last season.
Manfredi has recently been working with Brazilian mango growers to have a new program into the Delaware River. Refrigerated containers of Brazilian grapes began arriving here late last summer.
PhilaPort notes Brazil, South Africa’s Western Cape, North Africa, Spain, and Portugal, are all looking to increase volumes for delivery in the Delaware River.
PhilaPort on April 27 announced the maiden call of a new MSC service to the Port of Philadelphia. Running the route named “Indus 2” is the 6,730-TEU (20-foot Equivalent Unit) container vessel MSC Michaela.
Indus 2 embarks from Mundra, India. Subsequent calls are Nhava Sheva, India, and after the Suez Canal, there are stops in Gioia Tauro, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Sines, Portugal; and then on to Halifax, ending at Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.
PhilaPort credits Packer Avenue Terminal operator, Holt Logistics, with doing a great job with the customer base and made Indus 2 a reality.
Indus 2 offers opportunities for cold chain produce volume increases from Mediterranean countries. These may include frozen Egyptian vegetables and Italian gourmet meats.
U.S. Apple shipments were lagging at the start of the season during the past month or so, but overall volume is expected to be similar to 2021-2022.
But it’s going to be a little different for the 2022-2023 season simply because Washington represents 75 to 80 percent of fresh apple production in the United States. The growing conditions in Washington state are a critical factor in total US apple production for the country.
Honeybear Marketing LLC of Brewster, WA reports a difficult growing season in Washington this year due to a cool spring and a spotty bloom.
The vertically integrated, multi-region apple grower and packer reports the Honeycrisp and Gala varieties have been hit hardest and the state’s fresh apple production is expected to be down from 120 million bushels last year to a projected 105, to 110 million this year.
The Midwest and Northeast make up the remainder of US apple production. Each region has a share of about 10-15 percent in total US production. Last year was a tough year for the Midwest, only harvesting about 60 percent of a normal crop due to frost. This year however, both Michigan in the Midwest and New York in the Northeast are expecting a full crop. All in all, total US fresh apple production is expected to be similar to last year.
A colder spring is caused a late start with the apple harvest, which was delayed a couple of weeks and didn’t really get underway until around Labor Day for the early varieties. The result has been shipping gap, especially for varieties like Gala and Fuji. Some retailers have reported empty selves until the new crop to arrive in stores.
With many regions being out of fruit before new harvest arrives, retailers and processors are looking to the Southern Hemisphere for imported supplies. In fact further reliance on dual hemisphere supplies are predicted to last into the spring and summer of 2023 because the overall domestic crop volume for this year has not much different from last year.
Research finds that eating grapes regularly leads to unique gene expression patterns, reduces fatty liver, and extends the lifespan of mice consuming a high-fat western-style diet.
In comprehensive studies published recently in the journal Foods, it was reported that the long-term addition of grapes to the diet of mice leads to unique gene expression patterns, reduces fatty liver, and extends the lifespan of animals consuming a high-fat western style diet. The research team was led by Dr. John Pezzuto of Western New England University.
Pezzuto, who is an author of over 600 papers in the scientific literature, said he was especially amazed by these results. “We have all heard the saying ‘you are what you eat’ which is obviously true since we all start out as a fetus and end up being an adult by eating food. But these studies add an entirely new dimension to that old saying. Not only is food converted to our body parts, but as shown by our work with dietary grapes, it actually changes our genetic expression. That is truly remarkable.”
What is the effect of this alteration of gene expression? As shown in this paper, fatty liver is prevented or delayed. Fatty liver is a condition that affects around 25% of the world’s population and can eventually lead to untoward effects, including liver cancer. The genes responsible for the development of fatty liver were altered in a beneficial way by consuming grapes. In ancillary work, not only is the expression of genes altered, but metabolism is also changed by dietary grapes. This study was recently published by a collaborative team led by Dr. Jeffrey Idle in the journal Food & Function.
Studies of grapes add an entirely new dimension to the saying ‘you are what you eat.’
In addition to genes related to fatty liver, the work found that the grape-supplemented diets increased levels of antioxidant genes. According to Pezzuto, “Many people think about taking dietary supplements that boast high antioxidant activity. In actual fact, though, you cannot consume enough of an antioxidant to make a big difference. But if you change the level of antioxidant gene expression, as we observed with grapes added to the diet, the result is a catalytic response that can make a real difference.”
Another remarkable effect demonstrated in this research was the ability of grapes to extend the lifespan of mice given a high-fat western pattern diet. The high-fat western pattern diet is known to be associated with adverse conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Adding grapes to the diet, which did not affect the rate of consumption or body weight, delayed natural death. Although translating years of lifespan from a mouse to a human is not an exact science, Pezzuto notes that his best estimate is the change observed in the study would correspond to an additional 4-5 years in the life of a human.
Precisely how all of this relates to humans remains to be seen, but it is clear that adding grapes to the diet changes gene expression in more than just the liver. In studies recently published in the journal Antioxidants by Pezzuto and his team of researchers, it was found that grape consumption alters gene expression in the brain. At the same time, grape consumption had positive effects on behavior and cognition that were impaired by a high-fat diet, suggesting that the alteration of gene expression was what produced this beneficial response. More studies are needed, but it is notable that a team led by Silverman at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) reported that the daily administration of grapes had a protective effect on brain metabolism. This new research indicates that this is due to alteration of gene expression.
References:
“Consumption of Grapes Modulates Gene Expression, Reduces Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and Extends Longevity in Female C57BL/6J Mice Provided with a High-Fat Western-Pattern Diet” by Asim Dave, Eun-Jung Park, Avinash Kumar, Falguni Parande, Diren Beyoğlu, Jeffrey R. Idle and John M. Pezzuto, 5 July 2022, Foods. DOI: 10.3390/foods11131984
Peruvian table grape exports for the 2022-23 season are predicted to increase by 11 percent to 71.5 million boxes equivalent to 8.2 kilograms each, according to Provid, the country’s table grape export association.
Besides volume increase, Peru has expanded its production season, which begins with the Red Globe in June and ends in March, covering almost the entire year. In Piura the seedless grapes start in September, following along the Peruvian coast until March in Ica, culminating with the second harvest in Piura in April.
Peru exported 64 million boxes of table grapes in the 2021-22 season, an increase of 13 percent compared to the 57 million boxes sent during previous season.
White seedless accounted for 42 percent of exports in 2021-22, up 37 percent from the previous season, followed by Red seedless (28 percent, +14 percent), as well as Red Globe (25 percent, -7percent) and Black seedless (3 percent, -20 percent).
Northwest potato hauling opportunities are improving as the harvest continues. Low supplies from the old crop had reduced chances of loading, combined with a high demand situation earlier in September.
Small sizes are plentiful resulting in a wide range of prices based on size, from a low of $10 per 50-pound carton of 100-size russets up to the low $40s for sizes 40 and 50, the USDA reports.
Norkotah Potatoes are being shipped out of Idaho and Washington. Large-size Idaho Norkotah supplies (40- through 60-count) remain tight; small-size potatoes (70- through 100-count) are ample Large-size order fulfillment is improving, but will remain sporadic Norkotah quality remains good; skinning and excess moisture may be observed in fresh-run potatoes MFC Norkotah Potatoes will begin to ship out of storage in mid-October.B
The new crop of Burbank harvesting has just started.
Burbank Potatoes will be available once the sweat process is completed in approximately late October to early November.
A big part of the U.S. onion shipments originate from Idaho and Oregon.
Idaho harvest onion acreage in 2021 was reported at 10,900 acres, the same as 2020 but up from 8,400 acres in 2018.
Oregon’s harvested onion acreage in 2021 was reported at 21,800 acres by the USDA, up 7% from 20,300 acres in 2020 and up 13% from 19,300 acres in 2018.
In 2021, Idaho onions accounted for 15% of all U.S. onion shipments reported by the USDA, while Oregon commanded a 13% share of all U.S. shipments.
Idaho onion shipments were reported in all months during 2021, but the heaviest shipments were reported from September through April.
Domestic truck shipments of Idaho onions totaled 11.24 million 50-pound bag equivalents in 2021, with export truck shipments reported at 478,000 bags.
Idaho’a piggyback onion shipments were reported at 4,000 50-pound bags, while rail shipments of Idaho onions totaled 1.98 million 50-pound bags.
Oregon’s domestic truck shipments of onions totaled 9 million bags in 2021, while export truck shipments of Oregon onions were reported at 904,000 bags. As with Idaho, Oregon onion suppliers shipped during every month of 2021, with the heaviest volume from September through April.
Oregon’s piggyback shipments of onions in 2021 totaled 70,000 bags, while rail shipments of Oregon onions tallied 1.87 million bags, according to the USDA.
U.S. cranberry shipments are forecast to be 8.3 million (100-pound) barrels, up 4% from a year ago, according to The U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee.
The U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee, reports the majority of the cranberry crop is processed for juice concentrate and sweetened dried cranberries although the fresh and frozen category is growing.
“Cranberries have a very small window when fresh cranberries are available because they are so perishable. The fruit is harvested within a six-to-eight-week timeframe in September and October, depending on weather and fruit maturity.
Cranberries also are a unique product since it is only grown in the northern part of the U.S., unlike other specialty crops.
The 2022 crop experienced a variety of adverse weather across the country, beginning at the bloom stage in the Northwest and continuing with the extreme drought in the Northeast.
In addition, the upper Midwest experienced hail and other major weather events.
This is significant since Wisconsin produces the majority of cranberries in the U.S.
Shipments of fresh product are expected well into December, while whole frozen cranberries are typically available all year.
The increasing demand for fresh, frozen and sweetened dried cranberries has been notable in the past five years, in part to growing exports.
Wisconsin is the biggest cranberry-producing state, statistics show. In 2021, Wisconsin is projected to produce 5.2 million barrels of cranberries or about 63% of U.S. output.
The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, says the expanded crop in Wisconsin and the U.S. should have good demand, considering lighter harvests in 2020 and 2021.
Cranberries are grown on 21,000 acres across 20 counties in Wisconsin, according to the association. The sand and peat marshes in central and northern Wisconsin create ideal growing conditions for cranberries.
During the early 1890s, the center of the Wisconsin cranberry industry shifted to the Cranmoor area, just west of Wisconsin Rapids. Later developments occurred in the Black River Falls, Warrens and Tomah areas, followed by cranberry farms in northern Wisconsin, primarily around Manitowish Waters, Eagle River, Spooner and Hayward.
Other leading cranberry growing states, according to the U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee’s 2022 forecast, include:
Massachusetts: 1.89 million barrels
New Jersey: 550,000 barrels
Oregon: 510,000 barrels
Washington: 160,000 barrels
Less than 5% of the cranberry crop is sold fresh. Fresh cranberry shipments have been stable in recent years, according to statistics from the U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee. Fresh shipments in 2020 totaled 285,814 barrels, up a little more than 1% from 2019 and 2018.
Processed cranberry sales have shown stronger growth in the last five years. The U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee reported processed cranberry sales in 2020 were 5.78 million barrels, little changed from 2019 but up 10% from 2018.
Ocean Spray reports it will have ample fresh cranberries this fall. It is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the U.S., Canada and Chile.
The current 2022 crop forecast for Ocean Spray is over 7 million barrels, up from 6.6 million barrels of cranberries harvested in 2021.
North American cranberry harvest is active from mid-September through about mid-November; Ocean Spray also markets cranberries from Chile, which are harvested from March through May.
The co-op sources fresh cranberries from British Columbia, New Brunswick, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Washington.
Oppy and Ocean Spray became partners in 2003 to market fresh cranberries.
Since then, Ocean Spray’s presence has expanded significantly to include strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, citrus and grapes through its partnership with Oppy.
Ocean Spray’s most popular fresh product is Ocean Spray Cranberries.
Americans typically consume about 80 million pounds of cranberries during Thanksgiving week alone.
The majority of Ocean Spray’s 12-ounce fresh cranberry bags ship in November.
The United States is by far the largest importer of fresh fruit and vegetables worldwide and imports continue to grow, according to this analysis by Fruit & Vegetable Facts. Including in the first half of this year. In 2021, the United States imported 21.5 million tons of fresh fruit and vegetables. Germany is the 2nd largest importer worldwide with a quantity of about 9 million tons. In the first half of this year, imports from the United States grew by 3%.
More than half of the imports come from neighboring Mexico. In the first half of this year, however, imports from this country lagged slightly behind those in the first half of last year. The top 3 of imports from Mexico consists of tomatoes, peppers and avocados.
Other important suppliers to the United States are Guatemala (especially bananas), Costa Rica (pineapples and bananas), Canada (cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers) and Ecuador (especially bananas).
Imports from Peru and Chile Peru and Chile are respectively the 5th and 7th suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables to the United States. Imports from Peru continue to grow. This year in the first half the amount was 18% more than last year and will exceed the 1 million ton mark on an annual basis.
Grapes and onions are the main products imported from Peru. Blueberries take third place. Last year, for the first time, they exceeded 100,000 tons. Asparagus, avocados, bananas and mandarins are the other main imports from Peru.
Imports from Chile seemed to have passed their peak, but in the first half of this year they still grew by more than 10%. Grapes are by far the most important product. Until a few years ago, some 20,000 tons of peppers were imported from the Netherlands, but last year that was only 1,400 tons. Onions (6,100 tons) and beetroot (5,300 tons) were more important last year.
Exports The United States is also a major exporter. Annually it exports about 6 million tons. Exports are decreasing with mainly the export of home grown products. The re-export was increasing, but stagnated in the first half of the year. The re-export mainly concerns bananas to Canada. Canada is also by far the most important customer for the export of home-grown products in the United States. Mexico is number two and far behind Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom follow. This mainly concerns sweet potatoes.
Although the San Luis Valley Colorado got off to a show start this season due to weather factors, overall shipments have been strong as the season built steam, in part because of an early season gap in the west between an early ending old crop and the start of a new one.
The San Luis Valley ships about 1.6 billion pounds of potatoes a year, 90% of which go to the fresh market. An average volume crop is seen this season.
Tater Traders of Golden, CO, who ships San Luis Valley potatoes, reports similar potato crops nationwide for the 2021-2022 was down a bit, noting the valley expects about 1.5 billion pounds this year. Despite last season’s tight crop, the doesn’t anticipate too much of a shipping gap between a fully depleted pipeline and the October harvest.
Even with the new crop nearing harvest, Colorado grower-shippers could be facing another year of tight potato supplies.
Similar a year ago, the 2022-23 crop is down. Water shortages remain and may be worse this time around.
Skyline Potato of Center, CO a reports a crop about 10 days later than normal. A similar situation exists with crops in New Mexico and Idaho.
Wada Farms has regional offices in Monte Vista, CO., agrees, and sees average yields this year.
A shortage in supplies of western potatoes, including Idaho has resulted in buyers looking more the Colorado so far this season. Some buyers also are taking shipments from Colorado to save on freight rates when it is closer to their markets.
Farm Fresh Direct of America in Monte Vista, CO ., anticipates a quality 2022-23 potato crop and notes the potatoes are rebounding well from a slow start due to springtime winds and cool temperatures.
