Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
South Texas grapefruit and orange shipments have started withh expectations of a fresh crop for 2024-25 of 2.5 million cartons of grapefruit, 1 million cartons of early oranges and 500,000 cartons of late oranges.
Trade association Texas Citrus Mutual of Mission, TX sees of a similar volume compared to last year, with the condition of the fruit looking strong. Fruit quality has been great in the first few weeks of harvest.
In the 2023-24 season, USDA shipment figures indicate Texas fresh grapefruit shipments of 2.317 million 40-pound cartons and fresh orange shipments of 1.627 million 40-pound cartons.
The Texas citrus harvest should be finished by April.
Despite challenges including freezes, hurricanes and drought, assurances of water deliveries could encourage growers to plant more citrus in future years, the association reports.
Texas grapefruit harvested acreage in 2023 totaled 9,000, according to the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service. Yields of grapefruit were estimated at 250 boxes per acre, with an overall on-tree return of $20.93 per box. The value of both fresh and processed fruit was $50.5 million. Of utilized production of 90,000 tons, fresh accounted for 50,000 tons and processing uses accounted for 40,000 tons.
Texas orange harvested acreage in 2023 totaled 6,100, generating 48,000 tons of utilized production. Fresh market orange utilization was 35,000 tons, compared with just 12,000 tons for processing. The overall value of the Texas orange crop in 2023 was $14.8 million, with yields of 185 boxes per acre. The on-tree equivalent for orange prices was $11.30 per box, according to the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service.
The latest Mango Crop Report by the National Mango Board shows there’s going to be an increase in overall mango volume shipped to the United States in December, an increase mostly attributed to an uptick in Peruvian and Ecuadorian fruit.
The 2024 Peruvian season is expected to be about 248% higher than 2023, with a projection of approximately 20.7 million boxes. Volume shipped from Peru was approximately 843,470 boxes for a total of 1,867,105 boxes for the season, an increase of over 700,000 boxes compared to 2023, during the same week.
The Kent variety makes up a little over 93% of shipments, followed by Ataulfo (5%), Keitt (0.8%), and other varieties (0.5%)
Ecuador’s mango season began the first week of September and will run until the last week of December. Currently, the country is in the process of harvesting and/or packing, and volumes shipped on the week ending 11/23/2024 were approximately 1,078,651 boxes for a total of 12,074,802 boxes for the season. This is an astounding increase compared to the 416,548 boxes during the same week last year.
Ecuador’s most traded varieties are Tommy Atkins, making up a little over 43%, followed closely by Kent, which makes up 39.7% of the overall volume shipped, followed by Keitt (12%) and Ataulfo (5%). Other varieties make up only 0.1%.
Brazilian mango season, on the other hand, is expected to be about 32% lower YOY, although volume shipped during the period is higher compared to last year, same date, the overall total of boxes for the season is projected to be around 8,167,073, nearly a 3 million decrease from last year. The Brazilian mango season began in the first week of August and will run until the last week of December.
The total mango volume shipped during the last week of November was approximately 2,424,189 boxes, with two main mango varieties being shipped to the United States, Kent (59%) and Tommy Atkins (24%).
A strong comeback is being experienced for California table grapes after facing challenges during the 2023-24 season. USDA data reveals the state had shipped 71 million boxes by early November, 12 million more than during the same period last season.
All table grape shipments are coming from the San Joaquin Valley, which typically operates between June and January. On Nov. 8 alone, the state shipped a little over 705,000 boxes of table grapes.
With harvest ongoing, the industry expects to harvest a crop of over 90 million boxes and to continue shipping through December.
According to USDA data, last season ended with 69.7 million boxes shipped from California, a season heavily impacted by Tropical Storm Hilary in August.
Over the last four years, California has shipped fewer boxes by this point in the season, with the highest volume during that period in 2022 at 70.6 million boxes.
Ample onion supplies with good quality are expected by growers and shippers for the holidays and beyond.
The Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee of Parma, ID reports harvest of yellow, red and white onions has been completed for the 2024-25 season.
The means a consistent supply and quality in all sizes and colors are available for shipping.
Peri & Sons Farms Inc. of Yerington, NV completed its onion harvest in late October and is pleased with onion quality and sizing.
The grower/packer/shipper offers red, yellow and white onions along with a sweet, proprietary variety called Sweetie and a tearless sweet onion with low acid content called Sweetie Tearless. The company also ships cipollinis, shallots and some garlic.
Wada Farms Marketing Group, Idaho Falls, Idaho, finished harvesting its red, yellow and white onions in mid-October, and expects a good crop without any supply issues.
Wada Farms ships its storage crop from July to April or May then sources from other areas, such as California, Arizona and New Mexico during the summer.
Eagle Eye Produce of Idaho Falls, ID reports plenty of good-quality onions and yields this year.
About 80% of the company’s onions are sold in 25- and 50-pound bags and boxes. The rest are loaded in consumer packs.
Wilcox Fresh of Rexburg, ID focuses on Spanish sweet onions grown mainly in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
The company’s main program runs from August to April with summer onions sourced from Southern California and New Mexico.
The initial apples remaining in storage report of the 2024-25 season shows fresh apple holdings are down 7% over November 2023, but still 8% more than the five-year average for the month of November, according to The U.S. Apple Association of Falls Church, VA.
USApple reports this includes over 95% of the country’s national storage capacity.
The report shows processing apples in storage are also down — about 9% — over last year, but equal to the November five-year average.
Washington leads the states with 31,187,651 bushels of apples in regular storage and 110,287,587 in controlled atmosphere storage. New York came in second with 4,969,991 bushels in regular storage and 8,764,168 bushels in controlled atmosphere. Michigan was third with 2,615,000 bushels of apples in regular storage and 8,637,000 bushels in controlled atmosphere storage. Pennsylvania was fourth with 1,711,783 bushels of apples in regular storage and 2,967,826 bushels in controlled atmosphere, and Virginia rounded out the top five with 683,091 bushels in regular storage and 1,040,853 bushels in controlled atmosphere.
While Washington’s holdings as of November are slightly lower than holdings in November 2023, it’s still slightly above the five-year average. The same is true for Michigan and New York. Pennsylvania’s holdings are down from 2023 and below the five-year average. Virginia’s holdings are down this year, but similar to the five-year average for the state.
As of this report, Cosmic Crisp led the varieties in regular storage with 5,182,685 bushels, Pink Lady/cripps pink was second spot with 4,698,124 bushels in regular storage, fuji was third with 4,176,483 bushels, Honeycrisp was fourth at 4,069,109 bushels in regular storage and granny smith was fifth with 3,981,225 bushels in regular storage.
For apples in controlled atmosphere storage, gala outpaces all other varieties with 26,107,068 bushels, followed by red delicious at 20,056,203 bushels, Honeycrisp with 16,910,664 bushels, granny smith with 16,486,909 bushels and fuji with 12,337,186 bushels.
By the middle of October Peruvian asparagus exports totaled 71,630 tons for a FOB value of $199 million, reflecting a drop of 8 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Agraria, citing a recent report by Fresh Cargo Peru.
The report says that in this period the primary destination for Peruvian asparagus was North America, which concentrated 74 percent of Peruvian shipments for a value of $133,476,273. In second place was Europe (24 percent) with $7,926,620; followed by Latin America (2 percent) with $5,028,451; Asia (0.5 percent) with $1,956,400; and the Middle East (0.1 percent) with $413,734.
60 percent of these shipments were made by boat, while 40 percent were shipped by air.
The report reveals among the largest exporting companies in the industry are Agroexportaciones Nathanael with a 10 percent share of total Peruvian shipments, which amounts to 6,827 tons. It is followed by Danper Trujillo with a 6 percent share and 4,398 tons; TA Export with 6 percent and 4,173 tons; Kimsa Fresh with 5 percent and 3,843 tons; Florida Blanca with 5 percent and 3,258 tons.
The USDA is reporting New Zealand apple exports in 2024-25 are projected at 380,000 metric tons, up 40,000 metric tons from 2023-24 exports.
“If realized, this would be the highest exports since 2019-20, and the third-most volume of apple exports in a year,” the report said.
The harvest season in New Zealand starts in January and finishes in June, with peak harvest for apples from March to May.
The USDA said New Zealand’s export priorities will likely focus on Vietnam, China, the U.S. and the United Kingdom in the foreseeable future. India also is projected to be a growing market for New Zealand exporters, the report said.
U.S. imports of New Zealand apples in 2024 were valued at $44.9 million, down from $69.2 million in 2023, according to USDA trade numbers.
Royal gala was the most significant variety for export from New Zealand in 2023-24, however, the USDA said increased export demand for varieties such as Envy, Dazzle, and the new variety Rockit has resulted in increased unit pricing per metric ton.
“Commentary from growers is that with the current replacement of damaged orchards and increasing interest rates, farm gate returns will be a substantial factor in the selection of future varieties,” the report said. “As a result, the industry already sees diminishing hectares for varieties such as Braeburn, which in 2011-12 accounted for 22% of national hectares and in 2023-24 was just 6%.”
Growers in New Zealand are replacing apple trees lost to Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.
“The cyclone caused considerable damage due to large-scale floodwaters, silt, debris, wind, and surface flooding in the primary apple-growing regions of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne,” the USDA said.
New Zealand’s apple planted area in the 2024-25 market year is forecast to increase substantially to 27,181 acres, up from 22,700 acres last season. Apple area expected to be harvested is estimated at 25,833 acres, up from about 22,000 acres in 2022-23.
“Although the recovery from the Cyclone damage is underway, on-farm inflation and debt servicing continue to put cost pressure on the growth of the industry,” the report said.
A 17 percent increase in Peruvian grape exports for 2024-25 are forecast to reach a record of 620,000 metric tons, compared with the previous year.
The U.S. was Peru’s top export destination in 2023-24 with exports reaching 244,000 metric tons (up 3% from the previous season), followed by the Netherlands with 70,000 metric tons (up 7%) and Mexico with 45,000 metric tons (up 21%).
An annual deciduous fruit report on Peru from the USDA estimates that grape production will total 790,000 metric tons in 2024-25, up 2% from the previous season.
In early November 2023, Peru’s newly refurbished Port in Pisco started to serve both Ica and Arequipa regions with weekly express services, the USDA said. The Pisco Port connects Ica with the U.S. via a trans-shipment hub in Panama (to Savannah, Philadelphia and Los Angeles), Manzanillo (Mexico), Vancouver (Canada) and northern Europe (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Amberes, France).
Transit days on average will be 12 days to Philadelphia, 18 days to Mexico, 22 days to Los Angeles, 20 days to Rotterdam and 30 days to Vancouver, the report said.
The 2023-24 growing season was seriously affected by unusual weather conditions — such as heavy rains and high temperatures — that resulted in a lower harvest. Production in the north of the country (Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertas) was severely affected, the report said.
This year, the USDA said the expected increase in grape production is due to better yields in northern Peru (Piura), which was severely hit by an extremely hot winter and heavy rains last season.
Peru’s table grape production area stretches from north to south along the Pacific Ocean, the report said. Peru’s five most popular grape varieties for export are Sweet Globe (22%), red globe (16%), Autumn Crisp (14%), Allison (7%) and Sweet Celebration (5%). Currently, 75% of table grapes are licensed, and 25% are traditional non-licensed varieties.
Grape production is mainly located in Ica (49%) and Piura (37%), the report said. Other relevant areas are Lambayeque (6%), La Libertad (5%) and Arequipa (3%). The total area under cultivation is estimated at 87,522 acres, and the harvesting season in Peru begins in October and ends in April with a north-to-south harvest pattern. With innovative technological advances, table grape production in Piura can harvest twice a year, once in March/April and again in November/December, the report said.
ldaho’s potato harvest is winding down about on schedule and although good volume is expected in the coming year, a small drop in acreage is reported by the USDA.
Overall U.S. potato acreage in 2024 is down slightly from 2023, according to the USDA. This year, the U.S. is forecast to plant 2% fewer acres than in 2023.
At 941,000 acres, the 2024 U.S. potato planted acreage forecast is a 24,000-acre reduction from 2023 but is 18,000 acres more than the 2020-22 average.
The USDA said decreases in acreage were most pronounced in the Pacific Northwest, which typically accounts for 60% of the domestic crop. Washington (down 10,000 acres), Idaho (down 5,000 acres) and Oregon (down 3,000 acres) are expected to have the largest downward year-over-year adjustments as processors reduce contracted acreage, the USDA said.
In 2023, the USDA reported Idaho planted 330,000 acres of potatoes.
Potato acreage reductions are also expected in seven of the 10 other USDA-surveyed states, likely reflecting higher late-season storage volumes and softer open-market prices during the September 2023 to August 2024 potato marketing year.
The USDA estimates that 934,200 acres of the 941,000 planted U.S. acres will be harvested based on average abandonment rates.
“If this estimate is realized and the U.S. average yield is close to the trendline (458 [hundredweight] per acre), total potato production would be 3% lower (12.9 million [hundredweight]) than last season, but 4% higher than the 2020-22 production average,” the USDA said.
Average yields in 2020-22 fell below trend largely due to weather-related issues in Idaho and Washington. USDA will release its preliminary 2024 U.S. and state-level potato yield and production volume in the November Crop Production report, which will include updated acreage estimates.
Pummelos are currently in season and being shipped to Bee Sweet Citrus customers. The shipper/packer is based in Fowler, CA.
In addition to pummelos, Bee Sweet Citrus also has domestic lemons, Meyer lemons, grapefruit and Golden Gem grapefruit available for customers. California-grown Navel oranges and mandarins will be available this month as well.
“Our team has been harvesting pummelos out of the Central Valley for about three weeks now,” said Bee Sweet Citrus Director of Harvesting and Grower Relations Randy Stucky. “Size structure has been slightly larger than last season, with excellent internal color and juice content.”
Scientifically referred to as Citrus maxima, pummelos are large green citrus fruits that can sometimes reach up to eight inches in diameter. The variety is native to Southeast Asia and is known for having thick rinds with bright reddish-pink internal hues. Often sweeter than most grapefruit varieties, pummelos can be eaten alone or used as an ingredient for various recipes.
“Most people are familiar with pummelos due to their large size and thick rind, but what truly makes them unique is their role in Asian communities,” said Bee Sweet Citrus Director of Communications Monique Mueller. “Pummelos symbolize good fortune, health and happiness, and many families consume them for good luck during the Lunar New Year.”
Bee Sweet Citrus recently shared that pummelos are now included in its premium variety line. The fruit’s bags, PLU stickers and cartons have been re-designed to celebrate their role in Asian communities, and the company can provide customers with various forms of point-of-sale material to complement the packaging.