Archive For The “News” Category
U.S. retail grocery prices increased 0.8 percent in May and are running nearly 5 percent above a year ago, according to the USDA.
The USDA’s June Food Price report said retail grocery prices were increasing faster than prices for food sold at restaurants.
Prices for food sold at restaurants increased by 0.4 percent from April to May, and stood 2.9 percent higher than May 2019. For food sold at grocery stores, prices jumped 0.8 percent from April to May. Compared with a year ago, retail grocery prices in May were 4.8 percent higher than a year ago.
For all of 2020, the USDA now predicts retail grocery prices will increase 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent. Restaurant food prices are projected to increase in a range from 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent in 2020, according to the agency.
Inflation for fruits and vegetables increased 0.7 percent from April 2020 to May 2020 and is up 1.5 percent compared with a year ago. The USDA said labor costs have risen because of COVID-19.
“With some exceptions, most fresh-market vegetable growers rely on human labor to produce and place a crop into supply channels,” the USDA report said. “It is anticipated that skilled labor will be scarcer and procedural changes to comply with recommended social distancing may reduce productivity.”
Inflation for fresh vegetables rose 0.9 percent from April to May, while fresh fruit increased 0.2 percent.
For the year, retail inflation for fruits and vegetables is projected to increase as much as 1 percent, according to the report.
Associated Wholesale Grocers of Kansas City, KS plans to complete a new distribution hub in Hernando, MS., in 2023.
AWG decided to undertake the project following a review of the company’s growth trajectory and the capabilities and sustainability of its current facilities, according to a news release.
“Our industry is ever-changing, and it is our mission to provide our member-retailers all of the products, services and tools they need to compete favorably in all markets served, all at the best possible cost,” CEO David Smith said in the release. “This new facility has capabilities that checks all of those boxes. We are excited to be able to significantly expand what we stock and ship to our member stores while becoming more efficient and cost-effective in our operations.
“This new facility will be a critical component in our plan to build a safer, better and more efficient supply chain,” Smith said. “In addition to becoming the primary supply source for the region, we will also leverage this new operation as an expanded variety source to all of our facilities and member stores. This will create more value throughout the supply chain for AWG and our members.”
Operations from two distribution centers in the area — in Memphis, TN., and in Southaven, MS. — will eventually be consolidated into the new facility.
The plans are subject to incentives approval, which is being finalized with local and state leaders.
AWG has partnered with Witron, which specializes in creating food warehouse automation and order picking systems, on the project.
“The Witron system is integrated into every area of the new facility; the handling of case and pallet goods, ambient temperature, refrigerated perishables and frozen foods, as well as the handling of individual unit products,” AWG wrote. “This will increase throughput of products, increase efficiencies, improve accuracy and reduce loss due to damaged goods.”
“This in turn will allow AWG and member stores to realize savings across transportation, inventory management, as well as experience enhanced pick accuracy and lower salvage rates,” AWG wrote. “All of this will result in cost savings for AWG members while still maximizing the integrity and safety of the food supply chain.”
Idaho-grown red potatoes continues to be shipped due to investments in storage technology by Eagle Eye Produce of Idaho Falls, ID.
“Historically, the storage crop Idaho-grown red potatoes during this time of year see pressure bruising and the quality dips below strict guidelines to where suppliers look to pull from other regions,” Jared Neville, commodity director, said in a news release. “This new proprietary storage method has allowed us to better control our quality to where we can continue to sell our local product.”
With a prolonged season, Eagle Eye’s red potatoes are integrated with its other year-round programs. The facility allows for one-stop shopping, with Idaho russets, reds, yellows and value-added products available.
“We are proud to be able to continue to supply our customers directly with product grown, packed, and shipped by us,” Neville said.
The company offers retail and foodservice pack styles under several brands names, with private label packing available, and a national sales and marketing team to support a global customer base,
Carrier Transicold of Southern California has opened a 42,000-square-foot service facility.
The Jurupa Valley, Calif., facility has 12 bays and is the largest of Carrier Transicold of Southern California’s (CTSC) three locations. Carrier Transicold equipment and services support the shipping of temperature-controlled cargo and cold-chain visibility, according to a news release.
CTSC, based in City of Industry, Calif., opened a satellite operation in the Inland Empire region four years ago and demand made the larger facility necessary.
“Our new facility provides better access and greater convenience for refrigerated haulers serving the area and especially those entering Southern California from the east,” Bill Willett, president and CEO of CTSC, said in the release. “It’s another example of how we are investing deeply to help support our customers.”
The facility includes a service area with 25 technicians, a training area and a showroom.
RRoot 24 Farms of Moxee City, WA, is a new organic blueberry company shipping its first crop from 650 acres of production, with “many more” in transition to organic, according to a news release.
“Our name comes from the fact that we’re deeply rooted in the land and that our two growing regions — Moxee and Othello — are each at opposite ends of Route 24, which traverses the heart of Washington — crossing the Columbia River to link our two farms,” Tim Youmans, executive vice president of sales and marketing, said in the release.
Youmans most recently was vice president of commodities and national accounts, but was at berry company Driscoll’s for more than 18 ½ years before that, most recently as vice president of sales.
Root 24 is a new company and brand, but the berries are from established production; the growers previously supplied other brands.
The company also markets frozen, dried and powdered blueberries, allowing it to be selective when packing for the fresh market. The blueberries are available in six-ounce dry pints and 18-ounce and 2-pound clamshells. The company also has a 6-ounce jumbo pack.
The company’s fresh berry window is from late June through early August.
“Our geography is unique and our season is relatively short,” Youmans said in the release. “We have matched varieties with ideal consumer flavor attributes to the land we grow on and to our organic farming system. We have tried to view varietal selection holistically and always with a focus on a true blueberry flavor experience that drives consumer consumption.
U.S. imports of fruits and vegetables rose 6 percent from May 2019 through April 2020, which was led by grapes, avocados and berries.
USDA trade statistics report imports of fresh vegetables for the period were $9.31 billion for the year ending April, up 7 percent. Imports of frozen/fresh fruit were $15.08 billion, up 6 percent.
Combined U.S. imports of fruits and vegetables totaled $24.38 billion, up 6 percent from the previous year.
Imports of avocados rose 14 percent for the year ending in April, the value of grape imports increased 24 percent and berries (excluding strawberries) increased 8 percent compared with the previous year.
U.S. imports for the year from May 2019 to April 2020, with percentage change compared to the previous year:
- Berries (excluding strawberries): $2.92 billion, up 8 percent;
- Avocados: $2.79 billion, up 14 percent;
- Bananas/Plantains (fresh/frozen), $2.46 billion, up 1 percent;
- Tomatoes: $2.4 billion, up 1 percent;
- Grapes: $1.77 billion, up 24 percent;
- Peppers: $1,66 billion, up 4 percent;
- Citrus: $1.18 billion, down 6 percent; and
- Strawberries (fresh or frozen): $1.01 billion, up 3 percent.
A massive distribution center in Laredo, Texas, for Mexican avocados and other produce items is being built by Mission Produce Inc. of Oxnard, CAs.
Construction on the 262,000-square-foot facility began in May and is scheduled to be completed in mid-2021, according to a news release. It will shorten Mission’s replenishment time and add flexibility in managing inventory, according to President and CEO Steve Barnard.
“The city of Laredo is strategically positioned on the border of Texas and Mexico, making it an ideal location for the distribution of Mexican avocados into the United States,” Barnard said.
The distribution center will also add to third-party services Mission provides to other businesses, with versatility to include other produce. Forty docks, ripening rooms, bagging areas and pallet cooling capacity will allow the company handle any commodity.
Ample refrigerated docks and short-term storage space can accommodate third-party logistics needs to house, cool and cross-dock fresh produce imported from Mexico.
“Mission Produce’s decision to invest in Laredo speaks volumes for city’s international trade and logistics industry, which has made Laredo the number-one port in the country,” Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz said.
A M King Construction Co. LLC is building the facility.
The export and import forecast for the 2020 financial year due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been revised downward by the USDA.
The forecast also reports China has told state-owned agricultural companies to suspend purchases and cancel orders as tensions flare with the U.S. over the situation in Hong Kong. The report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) said: “The COVID-19 outbreak has created a shock to world economies that will cause an unusually high level of uncertainty for the foreseeable future.”
The organizations cut the U.S. agricultural export forecast for the 2020 financial year ending Sept. 30 to $135.5 billion, down $3 billion from the February forecast. This is primarily due to reductions in bulk commodities including soybeans, cotton, corn, and wheat.
The forecast for horticultural exports is unchanged at $35.5 billion. Whole and processed tree nuts are unchanged at $9.1 billion, with most shipments destined for Europe and Asia.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are steady at US $7.1 billion on stable shipments to top markets Canada and Mexico. Processed fruits and vegetables are unchanged at$7 billion on steady shipments to Canada.
Meanwhile, U.S. agricultural imports in 2020 are projected at $130.2 billion, down $2.3 billion from the February forecast. This decline is primarily driven by expected decreases in imports of horticultural products.
The forecasts for imports of fresh fruit and vegetables are reduced by $500 million and $200 million respectively, as these perishable products are vulnerable to spoilage when there are delays in the supply chain.
It said these delays are “due to precautionary steps having been added to the production and transportation processes and reductions in the availability of labor.”
The export and import figures, if realized, would mean the U.S. would have its smallest positive trade balances in years, just $6.3 billion. By comparison, in 2014 the country exported $152.3 billion and imported$109.3 billion of agricultural products, resulting in a positive trade balance of $43.1 billion.
Tridge, a global sourcing and market intelligence hub for food buyers and suppliers, has reported the latest market trends affecting the food and agriculture sector. This week the biggest news relates to a surge in demand for Mexican strawberries, which has increased its export rates by 11% since April.
In comparison to this time last year (April – June), the demand for the product in the global market has risen significantly. North America, for example, has increased its import rate for Mexican strawberries by 23%.
A similar trend has been witnessed for Mexican bananas. Despite prolonged lockdown in the country, exports for bananas have increased by 8% compared to 2019, with North America and Europe being the main export destinations.
However, Middle Eastern countries have experienced a decline in fruit imports from Mexico. This is due to a lack of air freight and trade restrictions across borders, resulting from the impacts of Covid-19.
Hoshik Shin, founder and CEO at Tridge, said: “While the impacts of Covid-19 are still impacting trade, our workforce has observed significant increases in the demand for fruits from European and North American importers.
“Weather conditions and labour shortages have affected harvest yields for some producers, meaning that importers will be looking for alternative suppliers. Using an online sourcing and trading platform such as Tridge will give buyers more options when looking for quality products at good prices.”
About Tridge
Tridge is a global trade ecosystem where buyers and suppliers of agricultural and food products can find everything they need to understand their markets with just a simple search. Using a combination of the latest digital technology and the latest insights gathered through a human network, they provide a very powerful global-scale platform for buyers and suppliers to connect and do business with each other more confidently.
Using a global network covering over 150 countries worldwide, Tridge has developed a comprehensive data set of 300,000,000+ prices and 1,600,000,000+ trade data points covering 1000+ items in the agriculture and food sector, and successfully facilitates the B2B and B2C trading of these items. Tridge aims to achieve digitalisation and globalisation of the trade industry.
DAT Solutions, a North American online freight marketplace entered an agreement to acquire Freight Market Intelligence Consortium (FMIC) from Chainalytics Inc.
“FMIC is a subscription-based benchmarking and analysis service that leverages almost $50 billion in actual freight transactions from almost 200 companies across manufacturing, retail, wholesale and third-party logistics,” according to a news release.
DAT has $118 billion worth of global shipment data across multiple transportation modes and real-time spot-market transaction pricing. Combining this with FMIC’s intelligence and rate modeling expertise, the company will be able to develop new products, services and insights.
“More than a thousand shippers, brokers and carriers from across the globe directly contributing rates uniquely positions DAT to deliver the only near real-time view into freight pricing and global supply chain in North America. This gives our customers unrivaled logistics insight and a stunning 360-degree view of the entire supply chain” Claude Pumilia, DAT president and CEO, said in the release.
Benefits of the acquisition include a source for global freight intelligence, transportation and market intelligence solutions, access to global market analytics, a team of market experts and model-based benchmarking techniques for transportation markets.
“The combination of FMIC’s contract rate benchmarking and analytics with DAT’s spot-market data and freight matching will provide unparalleled capabilities for analytics and forecasting on the global freight and supply chain markets,” Gary Girotti, Chainalytics executive vice president of supply chain intelligence and technology products.