Archive For The “News” Category
RaboBank has released its North American Agribusiness Review for February 2023, provided a market outlook on several products for this year, including fruits and vegetables, considering a disinflationary process that has started in the U.S.
The report indicates that: “The disinflationary process is going to take a significant amount of time. Therefore, we do not expect the Fed to cut rates in 2023, despite our forecast of a recession in the second half of the year. The Fed will have to keep rates high to squeeze inflation out of the economy.”
However, at least for products like fresh vegetables, seafood, and milk, prices have already started to drop from the beginning of the year.
After a year where food inflation reached double digits, consumers will be happy to see some decrease in grocery prices in general by mid-year.
Fruits
The report analyzes a couple of fruits in the market individually. Avocados have seen a consistent decrease in price since Sept. 2022 by almost 50% year-on-year. With record-setting crops and high volumes from Mexico, prices have dropped considerably.
On the other hand, apple prices have increased caused of shorter crops in WA, causing low availability of some varieties. By mid-February, some non-organic varieties reported up to 53% price increases year-on-year.
Strawberry prices also increased 11% year on year with increased demand, the report shows, however, that a record high acreage planted in California gives hope that availability will improve during 2023 and prices may normalize.
Orange and lemons, showed a 5% and 7% decrease in shipping point prices, a consequence of California’s increased citrus production.
Vegetables
Vegetable prices are expected to decrease, slowly but surely, as supply pressures ease.
“In January, the fresh vegetables CPI was the fastest dropping index at 2.3% month-on-month, showing retail prices reacting to upstream’s price ease,” said the report.
Potatoes seem to be the most complicated product, with the lowest production since 2010 with just 397m cwt. As a consequence, prices have reached a historic high, with a 75% increase year-on-year.
In general, prices for carrots, celery, cucumbers, sweet corn, and bell peppers, are all up year-on-year caused by a combination of short supplies and strong demand.
Consumers should expect lower prices, but it won’t be a quick process, so experts ask for patience when it comes to buying fresh produce at your local grocery store.
By Kenny Lund, Executive Vice President, ALC Logistics
Back in 1976, when Allen Lund went out on his own and established the Allen Lund Company, there was tight control on “regulated freight,” and brokers like him could only manage loads of vegetables and fruit, along with raw goods like bailed cotton. His very first load was a load of cotton.
Most other goods were tightly regulated. Regulations on carriers, rates, and government-approved truck brokers were numerous. Every non-exempt load had to have an approved filed tariff. Transportation was expensive and inefficient.
It all changed when deregulation was brought in under the Carter Administration and continued under the Reagan Administration. Within a few years, thousands of carriers, brokers, shippers, and receivers started operating in a new, freer transportation system. The government got out of the daily pricing of loads and let freedom through capitalism determine the rates. If this injection of freedom had not happened, we would still be hindered by over-regulation and government red tape. Fewer products would be available and they would be more expensive.
Capitalism is not perfect, but there has never been a better system to bring people out of poverty, create more businesses, and supply more products at lower prices throughout the country. Currently, there are more than 400,000 trucking companies, 10,000 transportation brokers, and our stores are chock-full of products from across the country and around the world.
It is easy to compare to the supply chains of communist and socialist countries. Every economic measure bears this out. Democracy and capitalism win every time.
In the early 90s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the U.S.S.R., Allen Lund was asked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to go with a team to Moscow to help improve the produce supply chain that helped feed 11 million Russians in and around that city. For three months, he observed and tried to improve a system that allowed more than 50% of the fruit and vegetables coming into the area to disappear or be destroyed in transit. Drivers who did not care sold their refrigeration fuel on the black market and delivered rotten vegetables. The government paid them anyway. Allen Lund saw how badly a fully controlled economy operated with incredible lack of efficiency. He saw hope in the younger generation as they worked to build up the black market that began to operate with some capitalist principles.
Fast forward to today, it is painful to observe that socialism and even communism are on the rise with those under 30 in the USA. It is inexplicable…and yet there it is. Too many of our universities teach that businesses are all corrupt and that the government and centralized control are the answer. As a business involved in the great American supply chain, the Allen Lund Company has a front-row seat to see how well our nation’s distribution systems work. We must then take it upon ourselves to educate and, in many cases, re-educate the population. We must pass down to the next generations the information about how good we have it with a system based on freedom. We also MUST run our business with professionalism and integrity. Scams, collusion, and cronyism are a stain on the freedoms we enjoy and only paint targets on our free society. Capitalism is the system that allows all participants to achieve the high standard of living available to those who work hard. Freedom is the answer – not government over-regulation.
I’m ready to have a fresh conversation with you!
*****
Kenny Lund graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Business Administration. He managed the Los Angeles, refrigerated transportation division of the Allen Lund Company for eight years, before shifting full-time into managing the Information and Technology Department in 1997; becoming the Vice President of the department in 2002. Lund was promoted to Vice President – Support Operations in 2005. In 2014, Kenny, in the position of VP of ALC Logistics, began working with that division of ALC to sell their AlchemyTMS software solutions. In 2019, Lund was promoted to Executive Vice President of ALC and ALC Logistics.
Yakima, WA: Superfresh Growers® will expand its sweet cherry production by 30% this summer, thanks to the addition of a state-of-the-art packing line.
Domex Superfresh Growers plans to have the facility integrated and running well ahead of the arrival of the 2023 Pacific Northwest cherry crop, which is typically late May. The state-of-the-art optical sorter line will handle dark sweet and Rainier cherries.
“Freshness and speed to consumers is the key to success in the cherry category,” said Robert Kershaw, CEO of Superfresh Growers. He continued, “It is magical when an investment improves the experience of all stakeholders in the supply chain. Freshness is the intersection that growers, retailers, and consumers all want. Everyone wants cherries fresh off the tree.”
Superfresh Growers was the largest and latest US cherry grower and packer during the 2022 season. Their last shipments, from high-altitude orchards, extended beyond the Labor Day holiday into September.
“We expect a big year on cherries in 2023. Our bounce-back volume from 2022 should be fantastic. Our season will be longer than ever, again extending through August. We are excited for the quality this new line will provide, and for the additional capacity we will deliver to the market,” states Conner O’Malley, President of Sales.
About Superfresh Growers
Superfresh Growers is a sixth-generation family-owned grower and shipper of apples, pears, cherries, blueberries, and kiwi berries from the Pacific Northwest, including organics in all varieties. Superfresh Growers is the largest packer of fresh cherries in the United States. Learn more at www.superfreshgrowers.com.
ATHENS, GA – Boasting high refrigeration capacities, demonstrated fuel savings of 20 to 25% and reduced emissions for greater sustainability and regulatory compliance, Carrier Transicold’s new X4™ 7700 trailer refrigeration unit is now available through the company’s North America dealer network.
“In full production at our world-class manufacturing facility in Athens, Georgia, the new premium performance X4 7700 single-temperature unit builds on the X4 platform’s decade-long reputation for high capacity and rugged, dependable service,” said Bill Maddox, Senior Manager of Product Management, Truck Trailer Americas, Carrier Transicold. “Continuing the tradition of reliable design and simply smarter engineering, the X4 7700 unit offers a 96% reduction in particulate emissions and double-digit gains in fuel efficiency compared to standard X4 models.”
The new unit employs an advanced version of the smart engine used throughout Carrier Transicold’s existing trailer platforms. Benefits of the new unit include:
• Enhanced compliance – Under current regulations, the X4 7700 provides lifetime compliance with the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) stricter rules for trailer refrigeration systems.
• Significantly better fuel economy – The advanced engine features commonrail fuel injection for optimized fuel delivery that reduces fuel consumption by 5 to 10%. The new third speed, called “eco speed,” automatically decreases engine RPMs during intervals where conditions permit, significantly improving operating efficiency compared to normal low-speed operation for even more fuel savings. Combined, these performance enhancements demonstrated 20 to 25% average fuel savings, relative to standard X4 units, for premium performance X4 7700 units tested by over-the-road fleets under a variety of operating conditions during the summer of 2022.
• Greater sustainability – The unit uses R-452A refrigerant with a global warming potential 45% lower than that of the traditional transport refrigeration unit refrigerant, R-404A. The efficient common rail fuel system and a diesel oxidation catalyst push particulate, hydrocarbon and NOx emissions to new lows, and the unit is the most environmentally responsible choice in the X4 Series for fleets seeking sustainable options.
• Lighter weight – At 1,690 pounds, the X4 7700 weighs about 10% less than its competition.
• Highest capacity – As with its predecessor in the X4 Series, the X4 7700 achieves the high industry benchmark of 68,000 BTU/h at a setpoint of 35 degrees Fahrenheit under certification conditions of the Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute.
“The X4 7700 provides more BTUs of cooling per engine RPM than competitive units, meaning competitive units must run harder than an X4 unit to achieve similar results,” Maddox said.
All X4 7700 units are equipped with Carrier Transicold’s industry-leading LynxTM Fleet telematics solution for remote monitoring of temperatures, location, movement and system operating performance. To help maintain the charge of the battery supporting the unit and its telematics system, Carrier Transicold now also offers its TRU-Mount solar panel as a factory-installed option.
Carrier Transicold’s CARB-compliant TRUs help fleets significantly reduce their environmental impact, supporting Carrier’s 2030 Environmental, Social and Governance Goal of reducing its customers’ carbon footprint by one gigaton.
For more than 50 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, directdrive and diesel truck units, and trailer refrigeration systems. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, the leading global provider of healthy, safe, sustainable and intelligent building and cold chain solutions. For more information, visit Carrier Transicold. Follow Carrier on Twitter: @SmartColdChain, on Facebook at Carrier Transicold Truck/Trailer U.S. & Canada and on LinkedIn at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer Refrigeration.
Walmart Press Release
Springtime festivities are right around the corner. But, despite the excitement this time of year brings, we know our customers are managing household budgets more tightly and are being choiceful in their purchases. In fact, 65% reported they expect inflation will have an impact on their Easter celebration.
At Walmart, our purpose is to help customers save money and live better. We’re committed to keeping prices low, so families can spend less time worrying about the cost of coming together and more time celebrating with their loved ones. To ensure our customers can do just that, we’re continuing to invest in the moments that matter this year by offering a Walmart-curated Easter meal and Easter basket at last year’s price.*
An Entire Easter Meal and Basket for Less than $100
Last year, we made significant investments on top of our everyday low prices to offer an entire basket of holiday mealtime essentials at the same price as 2021. It was a first for us at Walmart, and both new and existing Walmart customers responded enthusiastically when saving money was a top priority.
We know that continues to be true for many of our customers, so we’ve decided to do it again, this time for the Easter meal and basket. We’re offering both for less than $100 total, so our customers can celebrate Easter without compromise.
Even with some food costs stabilizing, they remain high overall, especially for Easter essentials like eggs. That’s why we’ve worked hard to offset the higher cost of eggs by lowering the cost on other Easter essentials and offering an entire Easter meal at the same price as last year.
Our meal features the popular staples and customer favorites, from ham and green beans to pie and many of the fixings in between. Whether your family celebrates with a big brunch or an intimate dinner, you’ll find everything you need to create an incredible meal at an affordable price at Walmart.
And of course, what’s Easter without a wow-worthy basket of goodies? This year, we’ve also invested in an entire assortment of must-haves for customers to create a traditional Easter basket at last year’s price. With the savings, you can easily assemble an Easter basket packed to the brim with decorative grass, a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bunny, Reese’s Eggs, toys and more, perfect for the little ones.
These low prices are available now, and customers can shop for both the meal and Easter basket online and in stores until April 15 by visiting www.walmart.com/EasterSavings.
It’s Not Only About Saving Money – But Also Time
We’re proud to not only save customers money, but precious time as well. We know our customers are busy, especially during holidays, so we make shopping for all the Easter essentials fast and convenient for our customers no matter when, where or how they prefer to shop Walmart, whether that’s in store or online and both offerings are available for curbside pickup and delivery.
We’re proud to continue showing up for our customers in the ways that matter most to them. We’re committed to keeping prices low and making the shopping experience easier and more convenient, from the important celebrations to the little moments in between.
*Comparison based on the average price charged for the featured items from Feb. 15 – April 15, 2022, vs. our national or highest regional price to be charged for the same items from Feb. 15 – April 15, 2023. Prices at your local Walmart may be lower.
U.S. citrus growers will struggle to grow output in the next 10 years, the USDA predicts in its annual outlook report.
In fact, the USDA predicts U.S. citrus output will decline from 11.2 billion pounds in 2022 to 9.8 billion pounds in 2032. That loss in citrus production will be offset by gains in noncitrus fruit and tree nut output, the report said.
Citrus production will decline “largely due to further attrition of bearing acreage in Florida’s orange and grapefruit industries.” Citrus production in California — the top producing state of fresh market oranges, lemons and tangerines — is projected to remain steady.
Total value of citrus production in the U.S. is projected to remain steady because of higher prices due to smaller domestic supply, the report said.
The USDA report said total combined farm value of fruit, tree nuts, vegetable and pulse crop (dry beans, dry peas, lentils and chickpeas) production is projected to reach $59 billion by calendar year 2032, up from $49 billion in 2021.
Over the next 10 years, vegetable and pulse crop production is expected to grow more slowly than in the previous decade, rising by 4% between 2023 and 2032.
“This primarily reflects technical measurement challenges associated with documenting the growth of protected culture [crops], which displaces field-grown area, and to rising import competition,” the report said. “Imports are expected to continue to rise as U.S. consumers demand a more diverse, competitively priced, year-round vegetable supply.”
The USDA said its challenges with documenting the growth of protected culture largely center on the rapid growth of the protected culture subsector (mostly greenhouses and urban vertical farms) that is slowly replacing field-grown production for several major fresh vegetables.
“With some exceptions, this [protected culture] sector is still not well represented in traditional USDA data collection programs that have recorded declining field-grown area and production for some crops,” the USDA said.
In recent years, there has been a rapid rise of import volume across many fresh and processed vegetables, including imports of organic foods produced in the Southern Hemisphere, the USDA said. USDA projections assume imports will continue to rise.
Despite expanding production of higher-priced vegetables such as broccoli and organic vegetables, the value of fresh-market vegetable production, excluding melons, is projected to increase by less than 1% between 2021-23 and 2030-32 as price pressure continues from strong import growth, the report said.
In terms of production, the report said key fresh-market vegetables over the next 10 years include lettuce, onions, carrots and sweet potatoes.
“Within the lettuce subsector, growth is projected in romaine while field-grown leaf production and iceberg output decline,” the USDA said. Field-grown leaf lettuce share is expected to be limited by rising protected culture output, the report said.
Projected U.S. potato production will grow 9% as value rises 10% over the 2022-32 baseline period, the USDA said.
“While planted acres are forecast to increase in 2023, total planted acres in the top 13 potato producing states are forecast to remain flat through the remainder of the baseline period,” the USDA said.
Commercial domestic mushroom production is forecast to decline slightly in the early part of the projection period, followed by steady production.
Mushroom farm value is projected to reach about $1.2 billion by 2032, a 15% increase over the 10-year period, the USDA said.
A recent detailed 18-page National Berry Report by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service details volumes of berries placed in the market since Jan. 1, 2023. It offers information on strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries from the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.
Peruvian Blueberries
Peru produces about 68 percent of the blueberries in the market so far this year.
The market has received a total of 112.3 million flats of blueberries, up from 101.2 million a year ago so far this year. Peru has shipped 76.1 million flats of blueberries in 2023. For the same dates in 2022, Peru provided 60.3 million flats.
Running a distant second this year is Chilean blueberry volume, which still accounts for a strong 17.2 million flats. This is up from 14.5 million a year ago.
Mexico’s volume to the market is slightly down this year, to 11.4 million blueberry flats, about a million below the 2022 figure.
The state of Georgia dropped way off this winter, from 11.5 million flats early in 2022 to 6.7 million thus far in 2023. Also, Argentina’s blueberry volume to the U.S. this year is significantly down by 1.2 million, to less than 700,000 flats so far in 2023.
Colombia and Uruguay are both slightly down as blueberry sources, collectively accounting for less than 200,000 flats.
Mexican Strawberries
Since the first of the year, strawberry volume from Mexico, totaling 26.7 million flats, almost equals the combined total from California and Florida.
California has shipped 13.7 million flats so far in 2023. Oxnard provided 13.5 million of those total California flats. With Florida providing 14.1 million, the two states in 2023 have combined to ship 27.3 million flats of strawberries.
Florida’s 2023 volume is down year-on-year, from 16.0 million year-on-year. California’s strawberry volume has dropped from 16.7 million a year ago.
Mexico’s volume is up three million flats to date over 2022. A year ago, Mexico’s total strawberry exports to the U.S. totaled 23.6 million flats.
Pharr, TX, is significantly increasing its lead as the strongest Mexican strawberry crossing point. To date in 2023, Pharr’s strawberry volume is 17.6 million flats, up from 14.3 million a year ago. Laredo, TX, rose to 6.0 million flats, up from 4.2 million flats of strawberries in the first six weeks of 2022. The other significant crossing point for Mexican strawberries this year is Otay Mesa (San Diego, CA) which is down two million flats to 3.0 million.
Raspberries and Blackberries
USDA figures show very consistent volumes for both raspberries and blackberries entering the market this year, compared to the same period in 2022. The 2023 blackberry volume is 27.9 million flats, versus 27.3 million in 2022. Raspberry volume for 2023 is 29.9 million flats, up slightly from 28.5 million a year ago.
Mexico is the overwhelming raspberry source, providing all but 300,000 flats for the U.S. market so far. California’s raspberry volume plummeted from a half-million flats in early 2022 to a quarter-million so far this year. So far this year, Canada and Guatemala combine for 38,000 flats of raspberries.
Mexico has supplied about 62 percent of the blackberries for the U.S. market so far this year. Mexico’s blackberry volume this year is up around 1.5 million flats to 17.3 million. All other sources of blackberries account for 10.2 million flats, with California shipping 9.3 million flats into the early 2023 market.
Georgia’s blackberry volume is down about 300,000 flats to 784,238 total in 2023.
Guatemala has shipped about a half-million flats of blackberries in the early weeks of each of the last two years.
Mexico exported just over one million tons of avocado to the U.S. in 2020. With this, the combined annual commercial value totaled $3.1 billion dollars, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The federal agency reports the success of exported Mexican avocados has been based on its quality, safety measures and a larger area devoted to cultivation, with a total 248,456 hectares.
Along with this extensive growing area, the country’s sustainable practices and an efficient and effective use of water resources have allowed the industry to secure surplus volumes in order to set annual records in the international market.
Of total exports, 95% corresponded to fresh whole avocados, 4% to guacamole and 2% to pulp.
Data from the USDA shows from January to November last year, 82% of the total fresh avocado imported came from Mexico, with a value of $2.7 billion dollars.
According to data from the Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP), in 2022 the sale of guacamole showed a year-on-year increase of 8%, going from 35,809 tons to 38,723 tons, while avocado pulp was marketed in quantities averaging 338 tons per week.
The origin of the fruit was exclusively from Michoacan fields certified by Mexican and U.S. health authorities.
However, in the second half of 2022, the USDA approved imports from Jalisco, expanding the scope of the Mexican industry in the U.S.
In the case of guacamole, which is a sauce that combines avocado pulp, garlic, onion, chile, tomato, lime juice and salt, 2,975 tons were destined for the U.S. market in the three weeks prior to the Super Bowl, while in the same period last year, pulp exports averaged 371 tons per week.
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?
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.