Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
California table grapes remaining to be shipped this season at the close of September were the highest in at least a decade.
Red seedless varieties account for most of the increase from last season. Origin Fruit Services South America compiled the report showing California table grapes remaining to be shipped as of September 30th were 12.9 million boxes – 19 percent above the 10.8 million boxes at the same time last year.
The report has recorded stocks, or remaining shipments, for the past 10 years. The second-highest level over this period was in 2008 when stocks of 11.2 million boxes were registered. Since 2009, stocks as of September 30th have ranged from 7.5 million boxes in 2012 to 11.1 million boxes in 2010.
Remaining shipments of red seedless grapes recently amounted to 7.4 million boxes – up 39 percent from a year ago. White seedless volumes are the same as last year at 4.5 million, while black seedless are up 16 percent at 656,000 boxes.
Red Globes, meanwhile, are down 25 percent from last year at 365,000 boxes.
San Joaquin Valley table grapes – grossing about $7500 to Miami.
Record shipping volume
The California table grape industry set a new five-week shipping record, moving over 23 million boxes into the worldwide marketplace September 8th through October 12th.
About 60 to 65 percent of California table grapes are normally shipped from September 1st through January.
L&M Pepper Shipments
L&M Farms of Raleigh, NC has expanded pepper field acreage this year with proprietary-seed colored bell peppers under the Simply Sun brand, which is now grown and shipped year-round. Loadings are now originating from Georgia and then will shift to Florida before returning back up north on the East Coast to North Carolina and then over to Michigan. The Simply Sun colored bells come in red and yellow now, with orange peppers coming into the program as well.
Strawberry Imports
Dave’s Specialty Imports, Miami, Fla., is importing a jumbo blueberry pack and has significantly expanded its imports of organic strawberries from Mexico.
Imported Mexican organic strawberries are crossing the border and will overlap slightly with the start of Florida strawberry shipments in January.
By CarbAmericas
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. – CarbAmericas will start shipping Cypress Creek Organic green asparagus from Caborca, Mexico in January 2019. CarbAmericas is the premier importer of fresh fruits and vegetables celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018.
The season will start in January and run through April 15 and pick up again from October to March. CarbAmericas will offer long term and contract pricing for its organic asparagus program. This new organic program will complement the company’s longstanding conventional asparagus offerings.
CarbAmericas will supply organic asparagus in 11/1lb and 28/1lb boxes, consisting of standard and large size asparagus.
“We will also pack our organic asparagus in a 12 oz bag that will be more convenient for the consumer, introduce “new customers” to the organic category through purchase triggers, and will provide a better price point,” said Jeff Friedman, president of CarbAmericas.
The Caborca-grown product will load in Yuma Arizona.
The company takes a holistic approach, working with category management processes and our retail partners to bring new customers to the Organic category.
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About CarbAmericas
CarbAmericas was established in 1993 and is a vertically integrated, year-round supplier and importer of fruits and vegetables. Specializing in asparagus, broccoli, mangos, berries, snow and sugar snap peas, CarbAmericas ships to both retail and foodservice in the U.S., Europe, Asia and South America. With team members working alongside their growers across the Americas, CarbAmericas truly stands behind its commitment to take a holistic approach, working with category management processes and retail partners to bring new customers to the organic category.
Mountain King Potatoes
by MountainKing Potatoes
HOUSTON, TX – MountainKing Potatoes has announced the completion of a bumper crop-like harvest of its Butter Reds, one of the company’s most popular gourmet varieties.
Originally from the Netherlands, the 100-percent all-natural variety from Colorado’s San Luis Valley relies on Beta-Carotene for its intense yellow flesh. Fresh packed in 3#, 5# and 10# poly bags, the newly harvested Butter Reds are available October to April.
Known for their waxy texture which holds up better to boiling, roasting and grilling, MountainKing’s Butter Reds have become a preferred choice for stews, potato salads and when roasted with fresh herbs and grilled.
MountainKing Potatoes is one of the world’s largest growers of high-flavor potato varieties. Currently, about one million U.S. households enjoy MountainKing products every week.
U.S. imports of Peruvian onions got off to a slow start this season, but quality is good and total production is expected to exceed those of a year ago.
Sweet Onion Trading of Melbourne, FL reports the onion crop is a little late due to colder than normal weather during the growing season. Still, good quality onions are being reported from all production regions.”
As of August 30th, imports of Peruvian sweet onions were down 215 containers from the previous season at the same time. It is the lowest shipments since 2014.
Keystone Fruit Marketing of Greencastle, PA notes U.S. imported Peruvian sweet onions are down 28 percent, but are expected to catch up with last season’s imports in time for Thanksgiving. Keystone Fruit Marketing’s initial imported onions from Peru arrived the first week of September. The company experience light volume in September and early October because of cooler temperatures during the growing season.
Volume for Keystone is just now becoming more normal.
G&R Farms of Glennville, GA has reports its Peruvian sweet onion harvest starts in July, with retailers receiving their first product in mid-August. As with Sweet Onion Trading and Keystone Fruit Marketing, G&R Farms believes the slow start will see a rebound as the season progresses. The harvest lasts into late March or early April.
At Shuman Produce of Reidsville, GA, the operation imported more than 1,000 containers of Peruvian onions last season, marketed under the RealSweet brand.
With rising demand in the U.S. for sweet onions, the company plans to increase volumes this season.
Shuman Produce, which is one of the largest Vidalia sweet onion shippers, reported that season went very well. It has experienced a very smooth transition from its Vidalia sweet onion season to Peruvian sweet onions.
This big question is still what will be the precise amount of damage caused to the North Carolina sweet potato crop by Hurricane Florence and the remnants of tropical storm Michael. It will take at the least weeks, if not months, and perhaps even until next spring.
Many growers saw double-digit rainfall amounts dumped on their fields from Hurricane Florence September 10-11. If that wasn’t bad enough, Michael dumped another three to four inches of rain on fields a month later.
It is simply too soon to tell how the excess water will affect the sweet potatoes when packing begins. On the positive side, there is optimism regarding the quality of the crop that had been harvested prior Michael hitting.
Michael hit North Carolina on October 12 and most growers are believed to have harvested 80 percent of the crop. The sweet potato fields have since dried and harvest should be completed in November, or when the first hard frost occurs.
A primary concern now is related to disease. Although it hasn’t shown up thus far, it could be a problem after the sweet potatoes are put in storage for at least a couple of months. In fact, watching for disease in storage will continue until next spring.
Nash Produce LLC of Nashville, NC knows their will be crop damage, but just how much is the question. At this point Nash Produce is reporting no problem with sweet potatoes.
As of October 13th, season-to-date North Carolina sweet potato shipments totaled 14.9 million pounds, down from 43.2 million pounds the same time a year ago.
North Carolina sweet potato farms did not plant as many sweet potatoes this year due to low prices last season.
The USDA reports U.S. sweet potato acreage planted in 2018 is 157,200 acres, compared to 159,300 acres a year ago. However, no estimate from the USDA has been released yet.
California pomegranate shipments are expected to be off about 15 percent this season.
A freeze in California’s San Joaquin Valley earlier this year is attributed to most of the decline. In a normal year, about 6 million, 25-pound boxes are shipped. This year the estimated loadings will be around 5 million to 5.5 million boxes.
The Wonderful Co. of Los Angeles reports it will have adequate volume for customers this season despite tighter supplies and higher costs for labor, transportation and water.
Crown Jewels Produce Co. LLC of Fresno, CA began harvesting pomegranates the second week of September on the early foothills variety, followed by the wonderful variety in early October.
Trinity Fruit Sales Co. Inc. of Fresno is experiencing much heavier volume this season with its early variety of pomegranates, with lighter than usual volume with its later variety.
At DJ Forry C. of Pismo Beach, CA, the company notes fewer shipments have occurred the past three years due to an oversupply, with some growers even bulldozing trees. Declining profits have been reported whether for juice, arils (a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed) or fresh market.
Simonian Fruit Co. of Fowler, CA began harvest the third week of September and expects to be shipping pomegranates into December, or perhaps January. The company is reporting good sizing, color and overall quality.
Although the U.S. ranks third in pomegranate production, the top two producers — China and India — sell most of their fruit domestically, leaving much of the export market to the U.S..
The U.S. exports 30 to 40 percent of its crop to Canada, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.
Lettuce cuttings have just got underway in the Huron district on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley, while Salinas Valley lettuce shipments will continue for a few more weeks….Meanwhile, a double digit increase in navel shipments is forecast for California oranges.
In fact, Salinas lettuce is expected to continue until mid November. Mid November also is when initial lettuce shipments will get underway from the desert areas of California and Arizona, within a week of Thanksgiving (November 22nd).
The Nunes Co. of Salinas reports there has been an oversupply of lettuce and organic vegetables this past summer.
Church Bros. LLC of Salinas expects reduced lettuce shipments in late October until Huron moves into volume.
Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $7800 to New York City.
Navel Shipments
California navel orange shipments for the 2018-19 season are forecast to be 11 percent larger than last season, rebounding from a short crop a year ago.
The initial 2018-19 navel orange forecast from the USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture is 80 million cartons, up 11 percent from the previous year. Government survey data shows a statewide fruit set per tree of 426, well above the five-year average of 333.
Of the total navel orange forecast, 77 million cartons are estimated to be in the Central Valley, according to the forecast.
Central San Joaquin Valley citrus – grossing about $5100 to Chicago.
Import concerns
While the forecast for increase navel shipments is good news, there are some concerns about declining navel orange acres in California.
Navel orange bearing acreage in California’s Central Valley has dropped from a peak of about 135,000 acres in 2009 to just 113,000 acres for 2018-19, according to the California Citrus Mutual of Exeter, CA.
Inexpensive Southern Hemisphere imports have arrived early and stayed late, squeezing returns for California growers and contributing to a long-term decline in acreage.
While this year’s California navel crop will be higher than the short crop of a year ago, there is continuing concern about long-term acreage declines related to imports.
Hurricane Michael has dealt an estimated $230 to $300 million loss to Georgia’s fall vegetable shipments, according to preliminary estimates by University of Georgia agricultural specialists.
The University of Georgia report specifically cited:
***Fruiting vegetables such as bell peppers, at or very close to harvest, have suffered enough damage to foliage that sunburn will quickly damage the crop;
***Tomatoes, trellised cucumbers, and eggplants were all also severely damaged;
***Squash and zucchini crops saw near complete destruction in some areas while others seemed to fare better;
***and fall sweet corn, which is planted heavily in the most affected regions of southwest Georgia may be a complete loss in some counties.
The University of Georgia vegetable report points out damage to the fall vegetable industry caused by Hurricane Michael was significant for growers in southwest Georgia.
“It must be stressed that we are still evaluating fields and some of these numbers may change as we gather more information,” the report said. “Due to the widespread nature of the power outages growers may not have functioning coolers or irrigation pumps, which means that secondary losses due to inability to cool and pack harvested product or to irrigate crops in the fields may climb.”
In addition, the report notes disease pressure will increase on crops due to the rain and damage that plants may have received from the storm that occurred October 10-11.
Disaster report for growers will most likely be sought, according to the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association since very few vegetable crops in the direct path of the storm will be able to be salvaged. Few if any specialty crops have crop insurance.
The University of Georgia report estimates losses range from 30 to 100 percent of fall vegetables in the state, depending upon the location.
Damage closely followed the path of the storm, with a line stretching from Seminole and Decatur counties up through Mitchell and Grady, Colquitt, Tift and even reaching fields in the Crisp county region.
Vegetable production regions near Lowndes and Echols Counties may have some loss but are expected to have escaped the worst of the damage.
Initial California kiwifruit shipments got underway in early October and normal shipments are expected through April.
Preliminary estimates has the crop at 10.9 million, 7-pound trays for the hayward variety. For non-hayward green or gold varieties, the forecast is 1 million units.
Trinity Fruit Sales Co. Inc. of Fresno started shipping the first week in October and has described the crop as “really good.”
Greene & Hemly Inc. of Courtland notes shipping of gold varieties of kiwi has just gotten underway. The company is a grower for Sun Pacific Marketing of Pasadena. The operation is reporting no quality problems with kiwi despite the excessive daytime heat this year, describing San Joaquin Valley temperatures this season as normal. Gold kiwis are said to be more sensitive to hot temperatures or dry humidity that is common with 100-degree heat, but many operations are putting the fruit under shade structures to reduce the effects of the temperatures.
Western Fresh Marketing Services Inc. of Madera is expecting normal kiwi shipments and expressed concerns about adequate water and labor, as well as the unknown of how much kiwi will be imported from Italy. But overall the company is optimistic about this season and sees a good crop.
In upcoming seasons greater green kiwifruit shipments from California are seen because of increased acreage.
San Joaquin Valley kiwi and table grapes – grossing about $5200 to Chicago.
Rivermaid
Rivermaid Trading Co. of Lodi, CA has added two new growers to its Northwest pear program this season, which should increase it’s pear shipments by 18 percent. The company expects to market more than 1 million 44-pound carton equivalents of pears out of the Northwest this year.
Overall company pear shipments, including California, should exceed 2 million units.
Rivermaid Trading has described its California and Northwest pear season as really unique to the apple and pear industrys. What makes is so unique is the operation says it has figured out how to do it without the two areas competing with each other.
Rivermaid now has nine growers and is looking to add two more next season.
Air shipments continue to be the dominant mode of transportation for U.S. imports of Argentina blueberries, but shipments by boat increased in 2017, according to the USDA.
Even bigger volume of sea shipments is expected this year. Although initial arrivals began in September, October had 49 percent of the total volume and November had 39 percent of the volume in 2017, with the season ending in early December.
Air shipments accounted for 85 percent of all Argentina blueberry volume in 2017, down from 98 percent of volume for air in 2015.
Still, Argentina’s air shipments of blueberries are far above those of its South American competitors.
The ag department reported air shipments of Peruvian blueberries accounted for 6.3 percent of total imports in 2017. For Chile, air shipments accounted for 12 percent of U.S. imports in 2017.
Argentina blueberry exporters will be shipping more fruit to the U.S. by boat through Chile this year, which has a transit time of 17 days.
About 35 percent of Argentina blueberries will be exported to the U.S. by sea containers this year.
The 2017 Season
The USDA reports Argentina blueberry imports to the U.S. in 2017 at the Miami airport, accounted for about 64 percent of the total imports, compared with 76 percent in 2016 and 55 percent in 2015.
Boat shipments of blueberries to Philadelphia/Camden accounted for 13 percent of U.S. imports in 2017, up significantly from 3.4 percent in 2016 and 1.6 percent in 2015.
Imports of 12.1 percent of Argentina blueberry imports arrived at JFK Airport in New York in 2017, up from 7.6 percent in 2016 and 4.2 percent in 2015.
The Giumarra Cos. of Los Angeles had it’s first Argentina blueberry air arrivals during the first week of September, and will be receiving product into early December.
Giumarra also is increasing its volume of fruit the company receives in bulk and by vessel this season from Argentina.
This reasoning allows the operation to avoid fumigation for both the organic and conventional fruit. Giumarra then will pack the fruit in the U.S. in order to ensure its customers are receiving freshly packed product and in the pack type they require.
Just about everyone is in agreement there will be fewer U.S. apple shipments this season, which extends into the late summer of 2019. How many fewer, depends upon whom you ask.
The U.S. Apple Association is predicting 256.16 million, 42-pound cartons will be shipped. This is 6 percent below the USDA’s forecast, as well a 6 percent less than a year ago.
Western Apple Shipments
More specifically, the U.S. Apple Association is predicting this season’s Washington apple shipments will be at 155 million cartons, which is 10 percent below the USDA’s forecast of 171.4 million cartons. The U.S. Apple estimate for Washington is off 13 percent from 2017 shipments and 5 percent below the five-year average.
Washington growers reported that
The early harvested apple crop has fallen short of the expectations of Washington growers due to uneven bloom timing, which resulted in uneven maturity rates in orchards.
In total, Western U.S. apple shipments are estimated at 166.2 million cartons, off 9 percent from the USDA’s estimate and 12 percent below a year ago.
Midwest and Eastern Apple Shipments
The U.S. Apple Association and USDA figures pretty well match for Michigan and New York. The U.S. Apple estimates for New York is 31 million cartons, unchanged from the USDA estimate of 30.9 million cartons and the same as last year’s output.
Michigan apple shipments estimated U.S. Apple stand at 28 million cartons, unchanged from the USDA’s 27.96 million carton estimate. Michigan’s forecasted crop is 40 percent above a year ago and 8 percent higher than the five-year average.
Michigan accounts for about 90 percent of Midwest apple shipments.
BelleHarvest Fruit Sales Inc. of Belding, MI reports while this season’s forecast shows a nice rebound in volume, it falls short of the record 2016 apple shipments of 30.4 million cartons.
Fifty percent of the Michigan apple crop will consist of Fuji, Honeycrisp and gala, a number expected to increase in coming years.
The U.S. Apple estimate for the Midwest stands at 31.6 million cartons, virtually unchanged from the USDA estimate of 31.4 million cartons and up 35 percent from a year ago.
Eastern Apple Shipments
Crist Brothers Apple Orchards of Walden, NY points out various apple shipping regions in the East have similar volume to last year, which includes New England’s Vermont, which had some dry weather.
Virginia apple shipments have experienced excessive rains since last May and June, but is still expecting normal shipments.
Pennsylvania apple shipments are expected to total 12-million bushels, down 5 percent from last year.
New York apple shipments from Hudson Valley should be similar to the five-year average.
Western New York shipments are predicted to be about the same as a year ago.
The U.S. Apple estimate predicts Eastern U.S. apple shipments to total 58.4 million cartons, nearly unchanged from the USDA’s estimate of 58.7 million cartons and down only 1 percent from a year ago.