Archive For The “News” Category
U.S. imports of organic fresh produce from Mexico and Peru are growing fast, U.S. Department of Agriculture trade numbers reveal.
U.S. trade statistics from September 2020 through August 2021 showed Mexican organic avocados topped all organic produce exports to the U.S. in value for the most recent 12-month period.
U.S. imports of Mexican organic avocados totaled $150.8 million from September 2020 to August 2021, up 23% from a year ago and up 29% from two years ago.
Running a close second, U.S. imports of Mexican organic blueberries totaled $143.8 million in 2020-21, up 55% from a year ago and almost three times as much as $50 million two years ago.
Mexico’s organic banana shipments to the U.S. totaled $83.3 million, up 10% from $77.8 million in 2020 and more than 60% higher than two years ago.
U.S. imports of Mexican organic greenhouse bell peppers have exploded in the past five years, rising from $13.3 million in 2016 to $81.5 million in 2021.
Meanwhile, U.S. imports of Mexican organic mangoes rose from just $8 million in 2016 to more than $45 million in 2021, according to the USDA.
U.S. imports of Mexican organic squash totaled $19 million in 2021, up from less than $1 million in 2017.
Mexican organic lemons shipments to the U.S. totaled $7.6 million in 2021, up 18% from last year and nearly three times more than $2.8 million in 2018.
Organic fresh strawberry shipments to the U.S. totaled more than $2 million in 2021, up from zero in 2020.
Peru’s blues
Peru also has been rising fast as a supplier of organic produce.
U.S. imports of Peruvian blueberries totaled $64.7 million in 2021, up 14% from last year and more than twice the value of two years ago.
U.S. imports of Peruvian organic bananas totaled $38.8 million in 2021, down 6% from 2020.
Peruvian organic ginger shipment to the U.S. totaled $29.4 million, up 47% from 2020 and more than twice 2019 level of $12.8 million.
By Nora Trueblood, ALC MarCom
Every year we read about the generosity of the produce industry, whether it is donating salad bars to schools, providing extras to the farm workers in the fields, or continuing to support efforts like Navidad en el Barrio. Even after the past two challenging years with COVID-19, and supply chain disruptions, giving is still taking place.
According to Keith Curtis, founder and president of The Curtis Group, and featured in the digital issue of the Daily Press, “I believe that 2021 will be noteworthy. Not because donors have reached their max, but because we must and will continue to dig deep to support the critical work of our nonprofit partners.”
Imagine, if you will, donations pouring into a warehouse in Bell, CA, where all of the product is palletized, organized and then distributed to over 27 different agencies, from San Diego to Riverside, to Pasadena and downtown LA. Almost all of the donors that gave to Navidad en el Barrio for the 2021 effort have donated before, but there were new companies that jumped in, as well. The challenge this year was that companies were feeling the stress of meeting retail orders before they could even consider donating to a non-profit.
Fortunately, Navidad en el Barrio was the recipient of donations from Randall Farms (in cooperation with Tyson Foods), who gave frozen chicken to every family, Wada Farms along with the Allen Lund Company provided a full truckload of Idaho potatoes, Grimmway Farms provided carrots for every family, and Taylor Farms sent bagged lettuce. Also included in the grocery bags were apples from Sage Fruit and FirstFruits Farms, blueberry applesauce from Crunch Pak, avocados from Mission Foods, and a full truckload of Halos, oranges and lemons donated by Wonderful Citrus. For the second year tortillas were donated by the Santa Fe Tortilla Co.(this donation was transported from Little Rock, AK to Southern California). A new donor this year was PepsiCo – who kindly added snack items to many bags. And speaking of bags, our local Target, in La Canada Flintridge, donated 1,000 of their Target bags which were used at the Our Lady of Guadalupe distribution site.
One of the largest donor’s year in and year out is Coca-Cola. This year there were three truckloads of product from both Northern and Southern California, including water, tea and juice. Other regulars with NEEB included Cacique Inc. and Cardenas Markets(both under the direction of Ana Cardenas, an angel to NEEB), who provided cheese, rice and chorizo. Finally, Northgate Market included tomato sauce, as they do, every year.
I am proud that the Allen Lund Company has continued to support Navidad en el Barrio, along with many other well-deserving non-profits. For NEEB we coordinated the transportation to the warehouse, provided logistical support in the multi-pick loads from grower/shippers and had volunteer manpower throughout the day of distribution at the main warehouse. Additionally, there were ALC folks at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities/Downtown LA, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, distributing bags to families. Overall 12,500 families were recipients of two full bags of groceries. A mighty effort for a wonderful cause. We are already looking forward to 2022, and Navidad en el Barrio would like to increase the give to 15,000 families! So, while we wish there were not the need, this amazing group of donors continue to make sure more families can enjoy a happy Christmas.
From the Allen Lund Company to all of you – Merry Christmas.
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Nora Trueblood began her career with ALC in 2002 as Director of Marketing & Communications. Prior to joining the company, Trueblood worked as the event manager with the Montrose Arts Council and Alpine Dance in Montrose, CO., had her own production and event planning company, and spent 7 years with Lorimar Television.
The American Transportation Research Institute, the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization, released its 17th annual Top Industry Issues report, identifying a number of the industry’s key concerns including the driver shortage, driver retention, driver compensation, lawsuit abuse reform, truck parking and for the first time, the shortage of diesel technicians.
Nearly 25 percent of the survey respondents were professional truck drivers and among driver respondents, Driver Compensation and Truck Parking tied for the number one industry concern. Detention / Delay at Customer Facilities was ranked by drivers as their second most pressing concern.
“The ATRI list of top industry issues provides a critical snapshot of the challenges impacting our industry at any given moment,” said ATA Chair Sherri Garner Brumbaugh, president and CEO of Garner Trucking, “and this year is no exception as supply chain constraints dominate the nation’s headlines. ATRI’s annual analysis not only captures the industry’s sentiment on the criticality of each of these issues but also maps out a course for addressing each through the stakeholder-ranked strategies.”
For the fifth year in a row, the Driver Shortage topped the list of industry concerns, garnering more than four times as many first-place votes as the number two issue, Driver Retention. Further reflecting the industry’s workforce challenges, Driver Compensation was ranked third overall. Lawsuit Abuse Reform rose three spots this year to take the number four spot and the lack of available Truck Parking rounded out the top five industry concerns. The Diesel Technician Shortage made the top-10 list for the first time this year, as the 10th ranked most critical issue in the industry.
More than 2,500 trucking industry stakeholders participated in this year’s survey, including motor carriers, drivers, industry suppliers, driver trainers, law enforcement, and others.
“This year’s large response shows just how serious our industry is about identifying the most critical concerns and more importantly, figuring out how we collectively deal with each issue,” said ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster.
“It really is no surprise that truck driver-related issues – notably the driver shortage and driver retention – ranked so high on the survey. Coming out of the pandemic, with the increased demand for goods and other pressures on the supply chain, getting and keeping drivers has been a real challenge industrywide,” Brewster said. “We also see the impacts of the current supply chain crunch in how highly issues like driver compensation, truck parking, infrastructure and driver detention ranked on the list.”
The complete results of the annual survey were released as part of 2021 American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition. The full report can be found at ATRI’s website.
Imports of agricultural products to the U.S. totaled $32.743 billion in the first half of 2021, registering an increase of 8 percent when compared to the same time period as the previous year.
Of this, $1.229 billion were imported from Peru, registering an increase of 3 percent when compared to 2020, as reported by Agraria.
Peru remained the fourth largest food supplier in the U.S. market, only surpassed by Mexico (36 percent), Canada (11 percent), and Chile (5 percent).
The main Peruvian products imported by the U.S. in the semester were grapes (35 percent share), asparagus (9 percent share), mango (8 percent share) and blueberries (5 percent share).
In addition to these, it’s worth mentioning shipments of ginger (2 percent share) and onion (2 percent share), which have been very well received in the North American market.
U.S. grape imports totaled 584,056 tons with a value of $1.733 billion in the first half. When compared to 2020, the volume remained similar, and the value showed a growth of 6 percent.
Peru consolidated itself as the third largest supplier of grapes during this period with a 24 percent share, behind Chile with a 44 percent share and Mexico with 30 percent.
Asparagus imports into the U.S. reached 171,231 tons with a value of $397 million, 16 percent more in volume and 7 percent more in value when compared to 2020.
Peru shipped 35,593 tons with a value of $115 million, 19 percent more in volume and 1 percent more in value when compared to 2020. Peru remained the second largest supplier with a 21 percent share, behind Mexico with a 78 percent share.
Mango imports in the North American market reached 323,256 tons with a value of $420 million, 5 percent more in volume and 13 percent more in value when compared to 2020. Peru shipped 64,916 tons with a value of $93 million, 9 percent less in volume and 1 percent less in value compared to 2020.
Despite the result, the country consolidated itself as the second largest mango supplier, with a 20 percent share, after Mexico with a 66 percent share.
Blueberry imports totaled 112,746 tons with a value of $754 million. Compared to 2020, the volume had a growth of 25 percent, and the value showed an increase of 42 percent.
Peru shipped 10,421 tons with a value of $62 million, 6 percent more in volume and 13 percent more in value compared to the previous year. Peru positioned itself as the third largest supplier in the period, with a 9 percent share.
The first and second places in the top of suppliers were occupied by Mexico, with 44 percent share, and Chile, with a 27 percent share.
Ginger imports in the U.S. reached 54,766 tons with a value of $91 million, 2 percent less in volume and 15 percent more in value compared to 2020. Peru supplied 9,178 tons with a value of $27 million, 27 percent more in volume and 42 percent more in value compared to the previous year.
Thanks to this result, the country was the second largest supplier of ginger, with a 17 percent share, after China, which ranked first with 63 percent share.
Onion imports reached 348,570 tons with a value of $258 million, 21 percent more in volume and 15 percent more in value compared to 2020. Peru supplied 40,787 tons with a value of $24 million, 47 percent more in volume and 76 percent more in value compared to the previous year.
Thanks to the good reception, the country began to position itself as the second largest supplier of the vegetable, with a 12 percent share, only behind Mexico, with an 81 percent share.
By Collin Payne, ALC Denver
As we enter a recovery period from the COVID-19 “recession” the transportation industry is showing signs of strength. The threat of the virus has been reduced across the country, but inflation has been caused by rising commodity prices and record-level government spending.
Crude oil 1-year price change- $41.43>$81.35Coal 1-year price change – $60.74>$149.30Aluminum 1-year price change – $1944>$2640Apples 1-year price change – $102>$122U.S. dollars in circulation:October 2010 – $960,369,000,000October 2015 – $1,391,429,000,000October 2020 – $2,040,201,000,000October 2021 – $2,202,506,000,000
The re-opening of the economy has triggered a supply shortage in labor and productive commodities – microchips, lumber, aluminum, apples, lettuce. Due to labor shortages, the market has seen rapid increases in low-wage paying positions, further shrinking the number of drivers on the road.
Registered trucks drove 304.9 billion miles in 2019, carrying almost 12 billion tons of freight – making up 72.5% of the total tonnage shipped domestically. Why would you spend 10 days on the road driving from Washington to Pennsylvania and back, when you can find a paying job with benefits close to home?
This has had a domino effect on the supply chain industry, forcing shippers to seek expensive and/or creative solutions. When will the worst of inflation begin and when will we see the end of rising prices?
The average inflation rate of the United States over the last 10 years is 1.8% – in April 2021 the inflation rate rose above 5% and is currently 6.2%. Currently, the price of produce per pound is up 7.3% from early 2020, and the two-year outlook shows fresh produce transportation nearly doubling. There is a general consensus that we are nearing the peak of inflation rates, and this will continue through 2022.
With several trillions of dollars being added to circulation since April 2020 and no plans insight to stop, there are no guarantees of reduction from current inflation rates.
Carriers will see a direct increase in the price of equipment, tractor/trailer repairs, fuel, insurance, and meals. Shippers will see a direct increase in the cost of labor, transportation costs, and raw material costs.
We are in the position to see inflation happen from a birds-eye-view, giving us a special position to take. Allen Lund Company’s duty is to communicate this issue to our shippers and carriers to ensure they are properly prepared for the continued rise in prices.
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Collin Payne is a transportation broker in ALC Denver and has been with ALC over 2 ½ years. Collin graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS in University Studies of Global Arts, Planning, Design and Construction Concentration.
A mammoth 2.6 kilogram (5.7 pound) lemon the size of a forearm has been grown in a backyard in Western Australia.
Chef Melissa Palinkas excitedly shared an image of the monster citrus to her Instagram recently, snapping the ponderosa lemon next to a regular lemon.
Palinkas, who lives in Western Australia, told the Daily Mail Australia the unusual mega lemon was grown by a local East Fremantle couple in June.
It grows seasonally with a winter yield,’ she said.
Intrigued by its mammoth size Ms Palinkas, who prides herself on sustainable produce, said she used the lemon for a salad, after finding it unsuitable for juicing.
‘It is sweet, so I shaved it and made a ponderosa lemon salad with zucchini and green olives with a burnt lemon dressing,’ she said.
‘The middle part is much like Australia’s native finger lime, pearls that burst with juice inside which I sprinkled over the top.’
Palinkas described the pith, which is the flesh of the lemon, as sweet with ‘no bitterness at all’ and peeled a second ponderosa to brew some fresh limoncello – a popular Italian lemon liqueur.
The ponderosa is a hybrid between a citron and an ordinary lemon.
While not cultivated commercially it is grown by gardening enthusiasts for decorative purposes but can be used as a replacement for lemons in jams, pies and other recipes.
Idaho’s potato volume in 2020 was 134.7 million cwt., up from 130.9 million cwt. in 2019 but down from 141.75 million cwt. in 2018, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The yield per acre in Idaho in 2020 was 450 cwt. in 2020, up from 425 cwt. in 2019 and unchanged from 2018.
Potatoes used for processing in Idaho and Malheur County Oregon totaled 90.7 million cwt. in 2020, up from 86.8 million cwt. in 2019, according to the USDA.
Russet potatoes accounted for 90% of the varieties planted in Idaho for the 2020 crop year, the USDA said, down from 91% in 2019. The percentage of yellow potatoes increased from 2% to 3% from 2019 to 2020, while whites and reds were unchanged at 3% and 4%, respectively, compared with 2019.
Planted area of potatoes in Idaho totaled 300,000 acres in 2020, down from 310,000 acres in 2019 and 315,000 acres in 2018.
Government statistics show the final value of Idaho’s 2020 potato crop sold totaled $912 million, down 5% from 2019.
The USDA’s average price for the 2020 Idaho potato crop was $7.28 per cwt., down $0.70 from last year.
Prices for truckload services spiked to their highest levels yet in October, reflecting shippers’ willingness to pay a premium to move goods through their supply chains.
The DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI) was 239 in October, up 2% from September. An industry-standard indicator of freight activity, the TVI is a measure of dry van, refrigerated (“reefer”) and flatbed loads moved by truckload carriers last month.
“Congested ports, intermodal yards and warehouses acted as a drag on the number of loads moved last month,” said Ken Adamo, Chief of Analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics. “As a result, retailers and online sellers took on higher truckload prices in order to make sure their freight is positioned for success for the November and December shopping period.”
Spot van, reefer rates surged
• The national average rate for van loads on the spot market rose 3 cents to $2.87 per mile (including fuel surcharge) in October. The monthly average rate has increased for five consecutive months and is up 47 cents year over year.
• Reefer and flatbed spot rates averaged more than $3 a mile for the sixth straight month. The reefer rate was $3.29 per mile, up 4 cents compared to September and a new high. The flatbed rate decreased 1 cent to $3.08 a mile in October amid a seasonal drop in freight related to construction and heavy machinery.
Spot load postings fell 3.3%
• The number of loads posted to the DAT load board network fell 3.3% in October while truck posts rose 4.2%. The national average van load-to-truck ratio was 5.6, down from 6.3 in September, meaning there were 5.6 available loads for every available van on the network. The van ratio was 4.3 in October 2020 as the economy recovered from COVID-related lockdowns, and 1.7 in October 2019.
• The reefer load-to-truck ratio declined from 13.5 to 12.0 as harvest activity winds down. The flatbed ratio was 48.6, nearly unchanged from September.
Fuel surcharges spiked
• Contract rates increased for all three equipment types. The national average contract van rate was $2.90 per mile, up 7 cents month over month, while the reefer rate increased 9 cents to $3.07 a mile. The average contract rate for flatbed freight edged up 2 cents higher to $3.33 a mile.
• At 39 cents a mile for van freight, the national average surcharge for diesel fuel hit a new record and was up 20 cents year over year. The national average price of on-highway diesel was $3.61 a gallon in October, the highest monthly average since November 2014. After labor, fuel is the largest operating cost for truck fleets.
Potato shipments have been shut down indefinite to prevent the spread of potato wart from Prince Edward Island (PEI) to other Canadian provinces and the U.S. The order came from the Canadian government effective at midnight November 24th.
The announcement comes after potato wart was confirmed on October 1 and 14, 2021 on two PEI farms where potatoes were being grown for processing. On November 2, 2021, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced the suspension of the movement of seed potatoes from PEI to the United States.
Shipments of PEI seed potatoes to other Canadian provinces have been suspended and enhanced measures for cleaning other potatoes from PEI are being implemented. For the U.S., all exports of potatoes from PEI will be suspended until further notice. Additionally, equipment used in fields in PEI face new restrictions before crossing into the U.S.
“The U.S. potato industry appreciates (Canada) for acting quickly and recognizing the dire threat to the U.S. and Canadian potato industries should potato wart be spread beyond PEI,” said NPC President and Maine potato grower Dominic LaJoie.
Should potato wart be transmitted to the United States, the U.S. potato industry would likely lose access to all international fresh potato markets, costing the industry over $225 million in annual sales.
“We appreciate the steadfast support of Secretary Vilsack and the entire USDA APHIS team in addressing this virulent disease. The U.S. industry stands ready to engage with APHIS, CFIA and the Canadian industry to ensure that science-based measures are maintained to mitigate disease risk and productively address trade between the two countries,” said Jared Balcom, Vice President of Trade Affairs for National Potato Council.
In response to that limited action, last week NPC and 13 state potato organizations sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack asking for the U.S. government’s support to prevent the spread of potato wart to the United States by suspending the importation of all potatoes grown in PEI, not just seed potatoes.
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The National Potato Council represents the interests of U.S. potato growers on federal legislative, regulatory, environmental and trade issues. The value of U.S. potato production is over $4.5 billion annually and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly.