Archive For The “News” Category
Distributor Salix Fruits ended 2019 with 30 percent growth over 2018, in part because of its imported Argentine lemon program in the U.S.
The global fruit distributor has partnerships with growers in South and Central America, Mexico, the U.S. and other countries. Domestic fruits include cherries, pears, apples, blueberries, plums and peaches.
The company’s U.S. headquarters is in Atlanta, with other offices in Chicago and Philadelphia. Other offices are in South Africa, Chile, Spain, Brazil, Russia and Argentina.
Growth was led by trade in the U.S., Latin America and Canada in the second half of the year, according to a news release.
Salix saw growth in its export of Washington apples and U.S. grapes.
“We export to the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia,” Juana Elortondo, sales manager for Salix Fruits, which also has offices in Chicago and Philadelphia. “This channel represents 25% of our business.”
In 2018, Salix fruit added CEO Alejandro Moralejo and Chief Financial Officer Daniel Calvo, which allowed the company to continue to strengthen its citrus program, according to the release.
“Salix was able to take advantage of new opportunities in the U.S. by nurturing its partnerships with Argentine lemon producers, such as Padilla Citrus,” according to the release. “By complementing the Argentine volume with imports from Mexico, Turkey and Spain, Salix provides lemons to the U.S. market throughout the year.”
Within a few years, the company Westfalia estimates it will be exporting 10,000 to 15,000 metric tons (MT) of fruit from its own orchards, plus an additional 15,000 metric tons from third-party growers.
The company’s growth coincides with growth in the overall Colombian avocado industry. Westfalia predicts total Colombian exports will increase by at least 30 percent a year, hitting 100,000MT within five years.
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The Colombian avocado industry focuses mostly on exports to the European market, but Westfalia believes its operation will increase exports to the U.S. in time, not only because it’s the largest avocado market, but also because of its geographic proximity. Transit times from Columbia to the U.S. are under a week, and are 24 hours less than Mexico when exporting to the U.S. East Coast. The operation also is looking to export avocados to other South American countries and to Canada as Columbia seeks to become a reliable year-round avocado supplier, complementing volumes from Mexico.
Although Westfalia does not foresee Colombia replacing Mexico, it believes Colombia should be a good plan B for the U.S..
“The constant changes within the Mexican industry can be challenging for the trade, especially for retailers and consumers. So I think Colombia could provide more stable conditions with certain volumes for the future.
“I have no doubt in my mind that, in the next few years, the U.S. market will be the most important target market for Colombian avocados.”
U.S. imports had significant increases in Hass avocados from all Latin American origins through September this year, the USDA reports.
Total imports from the region rose by 20 percent over last year during a nine-month period.
The growth came amid the lowest California avocado shipments in a decade, which created a supply gap for overseas producers.
A lot of the increase was due to Mexico with its rising avocado volume.
But there were also substantial increases in percentage terms from Peru, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia.
U.S. imports from Peru – the next biggest origin – rose by 24 percent, which is more than triple the amount imported from Peru in 2016, and also comes amid a 15 percent reduction in total Peruvian exports this season.
Chilean exports to the U.S. rose by 61 percent in 2019 through September. This increase came despite the Chilean avocado indsutry also forecasting lower total supplies from a year ago for the 2019-20 season.
Meanwhile, the U.S. imported five-times more Hass avocados from the Dominican Republic.
And U.S. imports from Colombia rose eight-fold from in August 2017 under a restrictive export protocol. This was eased a little earlier last year and an significant increase in avocado shipments to the U.S. is seen over the next few years.
A promotional campaign for Chilean fruit called the “Super Fruit Bowl” is lining up with the National Football League’s Super Bowl.
To celebrate the Chilean summer fruit season, the campaign “invites consumers to discover the wide range of fresh fruits available from Chile during the winter months” and offers them a chance to win tickets to the NFL’s big game, according to a news release.
The release said the contest is running on ESPN.com and the ESPN app through Jan. 19, with Chilean fruit ads continuing into February.
“This campaign was such a natural fit for us,” Karen Brux, managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association. “We’re in the heart of the biggest season for Chilean fruit, with blueberries, cherries, grapes and stone fruit now arriving to North America. With a “super fruit bowl” available to U.S. consumers, this is a great opportunity to attract consumer attention and build awareness for Chilean fruit.”
The release said digital ads and videos appearing on ESPN.com and the ESPN app will direct consumers to a landing page where they can learn more about Chilean fruit and also enter to win two tickets and VIP passes to the Super Bowl, $1,000 in spending money and a one-night hotel stay.
The program is part of a larger promotional campaign for Chilean Fresh Fruit that will be running through April, according to the release.
U.S. apple exports to Mexico could should increase this season even Mexico is expected to have a larger crop.
The USDA’ s fresh deciduous report for fresh deciduous fruit for Mexico said although Mexico’s apple production is up 24 percent the removal of the 20 percent tariff last May could boost U.S. exports there.
The tariff was in place for nearly a year, as a retaliatory measure against U.S. tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminum. Mexican imports of U.S. apples dropped nearly 16 percent during this period in comparison to marketing year 2017-18, the USDA re;ported.
Mexican consumers remain price sensitive purchasers of fruit, according to the report.
With lower apple prices for marketing year 2019-20, the USDA said apple consumption in Mexico is expected to rebound, resulting in a slight decrease to pear consumption.
Mexican grape exports are forecast at high levels for the 2019-20 season.
The state of Sonora accounts for 85 percent of total table grape production in Mexico, and and 77 percent of the total planted area. Sonora
has increased plantings over 20 percent in the last three years.
Generations Farms LLC, a grower, shipper of onions in Vidalia, GA has been purchased by Optimum Agriculture. The buyout includes nearly 5,600 acres of land and packing/processing facilities.
The Vidalia, Ga., area operation is the former Stanley Farms, which began growing Vidalia onions in 1975, although R.T. Stanley began farming in 1964. It became Generation Farms in 2016 when it was purchased and merged with carrot company Coggins Farm, Lake Park.
Short term plans for the new owners is to ramp up production of onions and other items, according to a news release.
Optimum Agriculture, described as a global agricultural company focused on land acquisition and management, plans to continue to use the Generation Farms brand name on the onions, watermelon and other produce grown and marketed by the company.
Optimum ICD Holdings LLC is the new owner of the Generation Farms properties, trademark and land, which includes acreage in Tattnall and Toombs counties in Georgia. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed, according to the release.
The new owners plan to increase production at Generation Farms, naming onions, watermelons, sweet potatoes, green beans, cabbage and sweet corn in the release.
“This acquisition is part of a long-term plan to maximize operational efficiencies by diversifying weather and harvest risks across states,” Gaston Marquevich, CEO of Optimum Agriculture, said in the release. “Our short-term objective is to increase the utilization of the facilities by increasing production and to deliver a constant supply of food to retailers throughout the year.”
Optimum plans to continue all current operations at Generation Farms, along with supplying previous customers. Marquevich welcomed Generation Farms’ employees to the company in the release.
Optimum ICD Holdings has two other U.S. properties, the El Maximo Ranch in Osceola County, Fla., and the Alico Pond Island Grove, a 1,364-acre property with citrus in the same county. Optimum’s U.S. office is in Miami.
In June, Grimmway Farms purchased the Lake Park, Ga., and northern Florida operations of Generation Farms. Those properties were not involved in the Optimum Agriculture sale.
2019 is expected to see retail food prices increase in a modest range of between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent, despite above-average inflation for fresh vegetables.
The would result in 2019 being the fourth year in a row with deflating or lower-than-average inflating retail food prices, according to the USDA’s recent Food Price Report.
The 20-year historical annual average for retail food price inflation is 2 percent. Last year, retail food prices rose 0.4 percent, the first increase in three years.
Restaurant food prices are now rising faster than supermarket food prices, while retail food prices and restaurant price inflation increased at similar rates from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Restaurant food prices have increased at a higher clip since 2009.
Higher labor and overhead costs for restaurants largely account for the difference in cost structures, the report said.
For that reason, decreasing commodity and wholesale prices have influenced supermarket pricing more than restaurant prices, the report said.
In 2020, supermarket food prices are again projected to increase between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent. Both fresh vegetables and fresh fruit are expected to see retail price increases in 2020 below the 20-year historical average, according to the report.
The USDA reports restaurant food prices in 2020 are forecast to increase in a range between 2 percent and 3 percent, similar to recent years.
YUMA, Ariz. — The “Iceberg Drop” placed second on the USA Today’s list of “the five of the most surprising drops scheduled for New Year’s Eve 2019.”
The USA Today mention reads “(the drop) is a natural fit for this agricultural city, – About 90% of the winter lettuce and greens consumed in the U.S. are grown in the Yuma area.” The second annual event takes place in historic downtown Yuma and is hosted by Visit Yuma.
The 8-foot-by-8-foot, lighted, stylized head of lettuce was created by Penn Signs to go along with the theme “Lettuce Celebrate.” The embellished Iceberg head will be lowered from a crane at 10 p.m., to sync up with the ball drop in Times Square in New York City, and again at midnight.
The Iceberg Drop was among a list of unique drops to include a bug, other eats and a pinecone too. The other featured events are the Flea Drop in Eastover, North Carolina, Sartori Big Cheese Drop in Plymouth, Wisconsin, PEEPS Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and The Great Pinecone Drop in nearby Flagstaff, Arizona
The public is encouraged to attend the Iceberg Drop to ring in 2020. The event features DJ Bobby McClendon of BMC Productions and Entertainment starting at 8 p.m. and Radical Rewind leads up to the drop times, making a festive celebration on Main Street in Historic Downtown Yuma. Many restaurants and bars in the downtown area will be open late, and Visit Yuma will have beer and wine available for sale in the street, and complimentary party favors as long as supplies last.
There is a tendency to purchase more strawberries and mandarins in families with kids 17 and under than homes without kids.
“Although households without kids represent a larger buyer group, families are more likely to ‘overindex,’ or spend more dollars per category, in relation to other demographic groups,” the United Fresh Produce Association wrote in its latest FreshFacts on Retail report. “Families particularly overindex in fruit sales, which is supported by strawberries and mandarins ranking as the top two most popular items for families.”
Along with strawberries and mandarins, raspberries, apples and bell peppers resonated with households with kids of all ages. Grapes, avocados and carrots were more popular for families with children under 12, while families with kids 13-17 had potatoes, cooking greens and lettuce in their top 10 list.
United Fresh noted that digging more deeply into the numbers is worthwhile because doing so provides understanding of how households are using those items.
“For example, bell peppers overindex more strongly than carrots across all family groups; however, bell peppers are almost exclusively consumed by the adults while carrots have a higher consumption rate among children,” United Fresh wrote. “Knowing not only what products families buy but who and how they consume it can influence your marketing strategy and even package design.”