Archive For The “News” Category
By Texas International Produce Association
Pharr, Texas: A celebration for the “Start of the Produce Season 2020-2021” was held on October 8, 2020 at the Pharr International Bridge, which seems appropriate for a bridge that crossed 190,174 fresh produce truckloads in FY2020 – more than any other international bridge in the US.
Over 65 percent of all the fresh produce crossing from Mexico through Texas is crossed at the Pharr International Bridge. Plans are already in place to expand the bridge by another 4 lanes in order to expedite crossings.
“In addition to the bridge expansion, three other projects are up for bids on October 2021,” said Luis Bazan, Pharr Bridge Director. “Under the DAP 16 [Donations Acceptance Program] these projects include an expansion of the dry dock, a cold inspection facility and the regional agriculture lab and training center.” Funding is already approved for these projects, according to Bazan.
Founded in 1942, the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) promotes, advocates, educates and represents the nearly $8 billion in fresh produce that is either grown in the state or calls Texas the first point of US-arrival for North American distribution.
A merger has been announced by Washington Fruit & Produce Co. and Yakima Fresh to sell apples, cherries and pears.
The new partnership, Washington Fruit Sales, merges Yakima Fresh with the Washington Fruit & Produce sales team, according to a news release. Roche Fruit Co., which has marketed fruit through Yakima Fresh, continues to do so, while owning and operating its farming and packing operations.
Tommy Hanses, CEO of Washington Fruit & Produce, said he and his partners, Don and Doug Gibson of Mount Adams Fruit Co., are excited to work with the Roche Fruit and Yakima Fresh teams.
“We share many of the same values and philosophies, including commitment to quality and excellence in all that they do,” Hanses said. “The fit between these organizations enhances our ability to serve the needs of our customers.”
Washington Fruit & Produce was founded in 1916, and Roche Fruit was founded two years later.
“We have known the Washington Fruit team and organization for years and believe the opportunity to partner with another long-term, quality focused, family owned organization is really unique and will resonate with our customers,” Michael Roche, president said.
Steve Smith, general manager of Yakima Fresh, said the merger provides the company with an “exceptional opportunity.”
“The breadth and depth of our combined programs is very exciting,” Smith stated.
Yakima Fresh was founded in 2005, by three Yakima apple companies — Hansen Fruit & Cold Storage Inc., Roche Fruit Co. LLC, and Yakima Fruit & Cold Storage Co. Inc. — and Stadelman Fruit LLC, Zillah, Wash.
Starr Ranch Growers, Wenatchee, Wash., announced this spring it will be marketing Stadelman Fruit’s crops.
CMI Orchards, Wenatchee, also formed a partnership this spring with Yakima Fruit and Cold Storage Co.
Stemilt Growers, Wenatchee, became the marketer of cherries and apples from Hansen Fruit in 2018.
WENATCHEE, WA: Furthering its commitment to being a one-stop-shop for retailers looking for premium apples, pears and cherries grown in Washington State, CMI Orchards LLC reports continued expansion for the company. Strategic partnerships with Yakima Fruit, as well as with Pine Canyon Growers, in addition to significant internal growth, has added over 4 million boxes to CMI’s manifest.
“This is all a part of a long-range plan for strategic growth to better serve our customers,” said CMI President, Bob Mast. “The design began to unfold back in 2018 when CMI Orchards added Pine Canyon Growers as a grower, packer and shipper. This addition greatly strengthened our manifest and our progress has enabled us to team up with another great partner in Yakima Fruit.”
“Yakima Fruit, formerly connected to Yakima Fresh, has a highly desirable manifest that greatly bolsters our offerings, including exceptional early Honeycrisp and high-colored genetic strains of Honeycrisp, Gala and Fuji,” said Mast. “The partnership also adds considerable Cosmic Crisp volume.” According to Mast, the partnership was executed on March 20, 2020.
As a result of recent growth, CMI reports the following increases in their core, organic and branded offerings: Granny Smith (+89%), Gala (+44%), Pink Lady (+92%), Fuji (+62%), Honeycrisp (+62%), and organic Honeycrisp (+47%). According to CMI, their total organic crop has surpassed 3.5 million boxes, which is made up of increases in core organic varieties such as Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp, in addition to branded organics which create opportunities for retail pricing tiers that help boost sales. In 2020, CMI will bring the first Washingtongrown EverCrisp to market, and will launch the very first harvest of organic EverCrisp nationwide.
Mast reports that in addition to high production orchards, the Yakima Fruit partnership brings an opportunity to strategize on future plantings with available unplanted acreage to best meet the needs of CMI’s retailer and consumer preferences for both apples and cherries. “CMI is thrilled with the opportunity this blank slate provides and is looking into planting early cherry varieties, licensed branded apples and cherries, as well as high flavor, high quality core apple varietals.”
“Between our exceptional domestic apples, premium managed varieties, year-round supply and commitment to innovation, we are perfectly positioned to serve the growing needs of the market,” said Mast. “CMI is already known within the industry as a leader for new branded items and organics, and this partnership will enable us to continue to pioneer advancements in these areas while expanding our fruit supply, meeting the needs of all of our customers. “We are very proud to welcome the Yakima Fruit team to the CMI Orchards Family and look forward to a long-lasting partnership,” Mast said.
ABOUT THE COMPANIES
CMI Orchards, founded in 1989, is the sales and marketing arm of McDougall and Sons, Columbia Fruit Packers, Double Diamond Fruit Company, Highland Fruit Company and Pine Canyon Growers. With 9 warehouses locations throughout the State of Washington, this new partnership will add one additional packing shed, greatly increasing CMI’s production capacity and efficiencies.
Yakima Fruit was incorporated in 1949 by the Cohodas Brothers Company of Michigan, a wholesale produce distribution company with branches throughout Michigan and Wisconsin. Following World War II service with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Herbert L. Frank relocated to Yakima, Washington to assume management of the recently acquired packing and storage facility. Subsequently, Yakima Fruit was managed by Lawrence C. Frank and then Michael C. Wilcox, a third-generation grower with sales and marketing experience. In April 2018, a majority interest in Yakima Fruit was acquired by Pioneer Partners LLP, an investment subsidiary of the Hancock Natural Resources Group.
Berry marketer Sun Belle Inc. has agreed to acquire the business and property of CoolHouse Distribution Center, LLC in Laredo, Texas. The acquisition adds a fifth Sun Belle distribution center to company operated facilities in Jessup, Maryland; Miami, Florida; Schiller Park, Illinois; and Oxnard, California.
CoolHouse’s three-year old facility has 35,000 square feet of refrigerated and freezer space on 11.4 acres of land. The building was designed to be doubled in size and is strategically located between Laredo’s two international bridges across the Rio Grande, the Colombia Solidarity Bridge and the World Trade Bridge. The Port of Laredo is the largest inland port of entry in the US and is currently the nation’s top US gateway for international trade.
CoolHouse Distribution Center was established in 2017 by Lucy Montemayor and her father Rodolfo Delgado, principals of well-known customs broker Rodel International, Inc. CoolHouse provides client-specific value-added services including quality inspections, sorting, repacking, labeling and building orders. Currently CoolHouse transloads and handles an average of 50-60 trucks daily. The facility is certified to handle organics, is Kosher certified, and is approved by US Customs to transload In-Bond shipments with Canadian and European destinations.
Janice Honigberg, president of Sun Belle Inc., announced that Sun Belle has purchased 100% of CoolHouse Distribution Center and will maintain the existing CoolHouse third party business under the CoolHouse banner. Lucy Montemayor will join Sun Belle as general manager of the Laredo distribution center.
“I have known and worked with Lucy for more than 20 years and have always been impressed by her expertise and integrity,” said Honigberg. “She has done amazing work in building a state of the art facility and a thriving business with the utmost attention to quality and detail. I am delighted that she will be an integral part of our Sun Belle team, and look forward to her leadership as we grow CoolHouse, establish Sun Belle Laredo, and install new blueberry packing and heat seal lines.”
Montemayor said she is excited to join forces with Sun Belle. “Janice and others strongly urged me to start CoolHouse to help meet the growing need for transloading and other services. We designed our facility from the ground-up in such a way that the warehouse can be expanded by another 35,000 feet in the same configuration. We built it with expansion in mind – I’m confident that Sun Belle will benefit greatly from this foresight as its business continues to grow.”
Honigberg added, “We have long known that a Sun Belle refrigerated handling and distribution center in Texas was our next step. This took on greater importance following our recently announced long-term exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with Giddings Mexico.” Under that agreement, Sun Belle markets all of Giddings Mexico’s conventional and organic blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
Patricio Cortes, general manager and co-founder of Giddings Mexico, said, “We are extremely pleased that Sun Belle is establishing a distribution center in Laredo. As we continue to increase our berry production in many diverse growing areas throughout central and northern Mexico, we are confident that this centralized distribution center will add significant customer support and real time responsiveness so that the freshest product delivers from our farms to retailers and to consumers.”
Honigberg noted that in addition to CoolHouse, a sales and distribution company named Sun Belle Laredo will also be established to deliver berries directly to customers in the south and southwest and for customer pick-ups. “Between our five distribution centers we can service retailers and food service providers throughout the country with even better efficiency and coverage.”
Sun Belle Inc. was established in Washington, DC in 1986 by Honigberg and is the exclusive marketer of the Sun Belle and Green Belle brands. The company distributes conventional and organic blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries; certified biodynamic organic cranberries and blueberries; golden berries and red currants; and green house and specialty produce. In addition to the new warehouse in Laredo, Texas, Sun Belle also has distribution facilities and sales teams in Jessup, Maryland; Miami, Florida; Schiller Park, Illinois; and Oxnard, California.
Walmart and Condor Properties recently broke ground on a signature brand new state-of-the-art distribution center in Vaughan, ON. On the heels of announcing a major $3.5 billion investment into all aspects of the business, Walmart’s new facility is a next generation 550,000-square-foot distribution center.
“This is a very exciting time for Walmart Canada and our customers across the country. Our new distribution centre is going to be a world-class facility, which will help us grow and make our business better and simpler for our customers,” said Horacio Barbeito, president and CEO of Walmart Canada. “These are challenging times for everyone, but we are investing for growth because we believe in Ontario and Canada’s future and are proud to do business in this great country.”
When the modern facility is operational in 2024, the site will handle ambient general merchandise and food products. More than 70 million cases of Canadians’ favourite products from more than 3,000 suppliers, including big brands to small businesses, will flow through this distribution centre annually — the highest volume of any Walmart facility in the country. The project is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs in Vaughan and benefit the local economy.
The new facility in Vaughan is in addition to a brand new 300,000-square-foot distribution center currently under construction in Surrey, BC. Walmart is also renovating an existing distribution centre in Cornwall, ON.
The distribution centers are part of a suite of investments Walmart Canada is making to generate significant growth and to make the online and in-store shopping experience simpler, faster and more convenient for Walmart’s customers. The investment over the next five years will lead to the use of advanced technologies working alongside associates in a state-of the-art facility to move products as quickly as possible.
California pomegranate shipments are returning to normal this season following two years of being down some.
The Pomegranate Council of Sonoma, CA reports a year ago there was heavy rain and hail during the bloom and a lot of bloom drop led to a crop being about 18 percent below normal.
This season shipments are expect to be about 6 million to 6.5 million 25-pound box equivalents. Typically 20 to 25 percent of California’s pomegranates are exported.
The council reports continuing heavy demand from overseas markets, although there is a lot of uncertainty regarding transportation as airlines reduce flights and ships are not making deliveries at the same rates they have in the past.
The California pomegranate harvest normally starts south of Bakersfield in the Wheeler Ridge area in mid- to late August.
The early varieties start shipping the second week of October, until the wonderful variety comes on, which accounts for about 70 percent of the harvest.
While a few pomegranates are grown in Utah, Georgia, Texas and Arizona, 95 percent or more of the domestic pomegranates are grown in California between Bakersfield and Fresno.
Growers harvest pomegranates as long as they can, often well into November.
Consumers’ financial strength is closely related to how well U.S. retailers’ fresh produce departments perform, according to an IRI representative.
Jonna Parker, the company’s Team Lead for Fresh, said that IRI primary shopper research found that if Americas were to receive a second stimulus check from the U.S. government, they would be more likely to spend it on meat and produce than other food and beverages.
“In all, 21% of consumers said they would buy more meat, 20% more produce and 7% would purchase restaurant meals more often,” she said in a joint report by 210 Analytics, IRI and the Produce Marketing Association (PMA). “This shows the fresh produce department performance is closely tied to financial strength.”
Consumers were also asked how the loss of a weekly unemployment benefit of $600 might affect shopping behavior.
“The top answer among current beneficiaries of the benefit was ‘buy less meat’ at 35%, followed by ‘buy fewer fresh fruits and vegetables’ at 29%, ‘buy fewer premium products’ at 24%, ‘switch more purchases to store brands versus national brands’ at 19%, and ‘buy fewer convenient meals to instead cook from scratch’ at 18%,” Parker said.
The joint report noted that fresh produce sales at U.S. retail in the week ended August 9 were up 9.5% year-on-year – putting it below the 12-13% weekly growth seen during July. Year-to-date through August, fresh produce department sales are up 11.1% over the same time period in 2019.
Frozen fruit and vegetables increased the most, up 27.4%. Joe Watson, VP of Membership and Engagement for the PMA, said that economic pressure “tends to have big impacts on grocery shopping”, including channel choice, the type of items and quantity bought, and the importance of price and promotions.
“During the next few weeks and months, it will be important to highlight the great value of fresh produce and home cooking,” he said. “At the same time, consumers appreciate help with recipe ideas and meal planning as that is an increasing area of struggle. We will also keep an eye on back-to-school that will look very different this year, which will once more impact year-over-year trending.”
By Nora Trueblood
We have been inundated with information, some mostly correct, some not, specific to COVID-19. I don’t know about you, but I am quite exhausted by it all. Every one of us is on a different journey because of the pandemic, and I personally continue to recognize that a person’s opinion is just that…their opinion. I do think it is safe to say, that we are all trying to manage and figure out our own journey through life as we deal with COVID-19.
Keeping it Fresh is distributed to many of our perishable/produce customers, and I wanted to take the opportunity in this issue to bring to your attention some of the great philanthropy that is taking place during this crazy time. Many of these growers/shippers work with the Allen Lund Company in everyday business, but many also donate food to Navidad en el Barrio, a project that has existed since 1972, and one that ALC has supported since 2004.
So, a hearty thank you from the Allen Lund Company and the recipients of these generous donations to:
- The Wonderful Company Donates 1.6 Million Halos Mandarins
- Grimmway Donates Truckloads of Carrots During Pandemic
- Rainier Fruit, with T&G Global, Donate Apples to Local Schools Amid Quarantine
- Tanimura & Antle Supplies HarvestSelect Boxes to Retailers
- Dole Food Company gives 2.2 Million Pounds of Fresh Produce to Communities in Need
We still have quite a road ahead, and we wish all of our industry friends the best as we maneuver through our current challenges.
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Nora Trueblood is Director of Marketing and Communications, Allen Lund Company Corporate of La Canada, CA. She 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.
South Mill Champs of Kennett Square, PA., has acquired Loveday Mushroom Farms of Winnipeg, Manitoba, allowing it to ship product
to all major population areas in North America within 48 hours.
The company also has launched a number of new products including stuffed mushroom caps — and large crimini mushrooms stuffed with flavored cheese. They come in spinach and artichoke, Mediterranean and pizza flavors.
Minute Mushrooms, part of the growing value-added line of products offered by South Mill Champs, come in three varieties — Sautéed Portabella Mushrooms, Garlic Herb marinated mushrooms and Steak Sizzlers portabella mushrooms and onions — and provide a 60-second solution to mushroom side dishes and add-ons at home.
The company reports despite challenges presented by COVID-19, South Mill Champs will have an additional 15 million pounds of mushrooms in 2021 to support continued growth.
Caution is urged loading Salinas Valley lettuce, which could cost you money due to rejected loads, claims or deductions from your freight rate.
Below is an update from Markon Cooperative Inc. of Salinas, CA regarding the explosion of plant virus and disease issues heavily impacting lettuce crops over the last couple of weeks in California’s Salinas Valley.
- Green leaf has been the least affected, but yields are down 20 to 50 percent in some iceberg and romaine lettuce crops
- Sclerotinia is not uncommon in late summer/early fall crops, but the Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus is typically not as widespread as it is currently being reported
- Harvesting crews are heavily trimming heads to detect and cull defects, but may not be able to eliminate these issues 100%
- Production crews are harvesting fields at a faster pace due to the increase in culled product; upcoming fields will have less time to fully mature
- Expect light weights, intermittent quality and shelf-life issues, and elevated markets for lettuce items for the duration of the Salinas season
Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $8700 to New York City.