Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
It is springtime in the Santa Maria Valley and a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables are being shipped.
Babe Farms of Santa Maria, CA will have a good selection of specialty root vegetables, baby head lettuces, friseé, fennel, celery root and Baby Butter Cakes lettuces.
The company reports mostly favorable weather resulting in good condition and quality on all of its products.
Beachside Produce LLC, of Nipomo, CA is known for its broccoli crowns but also grows cauliflower, celery, cello lettuce and a full line of Western vegetables as well as a variety of Asian vegetables in a partnership with Pismo-Oceano Vegetable Exchange of Oceano, CA
Above average rainfall has disrupted some of the growing season, but weather improvements is getting the season back on a more predictable track.
Corona Marketing of Santa Maria is loading strawberries as well as squash, chili peppers (starting in July) and green beans this spring. Overall volume is expected to be similar to a year ago.
Pacific Coast Produce of Santa Maria began strawberry shipments in March and will continue into the summer.
Pacific Coast Produce started its summer vegetable program, which consists of eight kinds of chili peppers and includes conventional and organic green and yellow squash, in early May and continues through November.
The company’s core products are broccoli, celery and cauliflower. Quality is excellent on all commodities, and volume will be similar to last year.
Gold Coast Packing Inc. of Santa Maria specializes in value-added items, ranging from small-format 12-ounce packs of broccoli florets to 2-pound packages of items that are more specific for retail.
Gold Coast also is developing salad kits for retailers. That program was launched last summer with Costco with a Better Than a Burger salad kit.
The company also offers broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, spinach, Brussels sprouts, cilantro and various product blends.
California’s Santa Maria growing area includes up to 50,000 acres of farmland in the Santa Maria Valley, which is made up of acreage in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, and additional land outside the valley.
Commodities are led by Strawberries, followed by cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce and avocados. There has been a decrease in vegetable acres planted in recent years and an increase in strawberries,
Strong supplies of Southern Hemisphere citrus is expected by fresh
fruit importer-exporter Salix Fruits of Philadelphia. It recently launched summer citrus program, marking the start of the lemon, mandarin and orange season in the Southern Hemisphere, according to a news release.
“This year, we anticipate a recovery in citrus volumes from nearly all origins,” Alejandro Moralejo, CEO of Salix Fruits, said in the release. “After last year’s climatic challenges, such as the El Niño phenomenon in Peru, we are prepared for a significant increase in our supply to all our destinations, including the U.S., Canada, India, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Russia.”
Salix says the season began in March-April with early mandarins, which will continue until October.
“Lemons will be available from March to September, while oranges, starting with navels and continuing with valencia types, will be available from May to October. Grapefruits will be available from May to August, and Tahiti limes will be available all year round from Colombia and Peru,” Moralejo said.
With offices in different countries, Salix Fruits says it’s able to source products from throughout the Southern Hemisphere based on its customers’ preferences.
“From Argentina, lemons are our main product for all markets,” said Moralejo. “For the U.S., we source other citrus fruits like oranges and mandarins from Chile, Peru and Uruguay. Also, South Africa is one of our main citrus origins for all the destinations.”
Ocean freight rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels and supply volumes have increased this season, the release said.
Georgia peach shipments are making a major rebound from last year’s devastating season. Loadings got underway in early May and have just moved into good volume.
Industry optimism is based on a full Winter of productive dormancy and a long, cool Spring of perfect weather. Combine these growing conditions with well-rested fruit-bearing trees in their prime and you’ve got a sweet recipe for the best summer of succulent Georgia peaches in multiple decades. These conditions are also key in providing premium sizing and vibrant color to the fruit. Georgia Peach Council growers will be picking over 50 varieties of beautifully blushed peaches across 10,000 acres of manicured orchards. Good volume should continue into mid August.
Duke Lane, president of the Georgia Peach Council, as well as Will McGehee, marketing director of the Georgia Peach Council have expressed optimism on large crop with good quality.
About Georgia Peach Council:
The Georgia Peach Council is the proud supporter of Georgia’s commercial peach farms, including Lane Southern Orchards, Pearson Farm, Dickey Farms, and Fitzgerald Fruit Farms. Today, over 50 varieties of peaches are grown statewide. Each year, Georgia produces over 130 million pounds of peaches, between mid-May and mid-August. For more information about Georgia peach background, health information, recipe ideas and more, visit https://gapeaches.org/.
California hit a volume record for the week ending April 27th shipping over 9.8 million trays of strawberries. The last time California hit even close to that number was back in 2018 at 9.7 million trays in late May, according to Bobalu Berry Farms of Oxnard in a news release.
The week ending May 11th there were still over 9.3 million despite a little rain hitting northern districts. Bobalu expects to see peak numbers for the next several weeks as the northern districts increase their weekly volume. This is all good news for providing a great opportunity for promotions nationwide as “Strawberry Month” reigns during the month of May. June volume will be similar and the company expects see another peak in strawberries from California during this coming month.
CROP UPDATE
Oxnard continues to see optimum weather keeping our fruit size and volume steady. We also benefit from our on-site processing facility keeping our fields clean and diverting lesser quality fruit to the freezer when needed. We will continue to ship from Oxnard during the month of May and focus on highest quality and maintain our three-day harvest rotation.
The fields still look great, the plants are very healthy, and the fruit has excellent flavor with these mild daytime and night time temperatures.
We have enough acreage in Oxnard allowing us to maintain our volume levels there as we wait for our Santa Maria fields to transition into peak by early to mid June. Our Santa Maria program is primarily on the westside of town so this region follows the same harvest trend as the Watsonville/Salinas region. The plants in Santa Maria are setting up to provide some excellent fruit.
Once these ranches in Santa Maria hit peak volume numbers, they will carry us well into the fall before our fall crop kicks in.
A bountiful harvest of California strawberries has arrived for California Giant Berry Farms of Watsonville, CA as the company shares news of giant volumes of its cornerstone product. The berry purveyor’s high yields and volumes of excellent quality fruit ensures peak promotable volumes of California strawberries throughout the coming months.
“Our season started off strong, with healthy plants from the beginning,” said Nick Chappell, director of sales at California Giant Berry Farms. “Despite some fruit culling due to rain early in our season, our plants have otherwise seen optimal growing conditions — which translates into the high-quality, sizeable, and flavorful fruit California Giant is known for.”
Out of the Santa Maria region, California Giant is reporting sizeable, high-quality conventional and organic fruit. The region is currently peaking and will continue to produce abundant harvests throughout the month. The Watsonville and Salinas growing region is seeing week-over-week increases in volumes, with estimates projecting substantial harvested volumes now and spanning to late-June. The region’s ranches are reporting excellent quality and flavor, alongside sizable fruit.
As the spring season gains momentum in California’s Central Valley, Bee Sweet Citrus is highlighting star ruby grapefruit as a key variety in the company’s seasonal citrus lineup.
“Grapefruit harvest in the desert is wrapping up, and we’ve recently begun harvest in the Central Valley,” Bee Sweet Citrus Director of Harvesting and Grower Relations Randy Stucky said in a news release. “While the crop estimate is down from last season, the quality of the fruit has been excellent — with good external blush and internal color.”
Star ruby grapefruit is known for its deep red color and sweet, tangy flavor. The Fowler, Calif.-based company says that with few to no seeds, this variety is less acidic than other grapefruit varieties and complements healthy breakfast and snack recipes.
Avocado shipments from Mexico in 2024 for avocados is forecast to be up 5% over 2023, according to a new USDA report.
The Mexican avocado annual report, issued in early April, pegged the country’s avocado production in 2024 at 2.77 million metric tons, up from 23.65 million metric tons in 2023 on strong export demand.
Exports will continue to grow in 2024.
he U.S. is the top market for Mexican avocados, accounting for 81% of total export shipments. The U.S. is followed by Canada, Japan and Spain.
Mexican avocado output has grown dramatically in the last decade, fueled by global demand for avocados. The USDA said production grew nearly 75% between 2014 and 2023, reaching 2.65 million metric tons and making Mexico the No. 1 avocado producer globally.
Mexico’s avocado exports totaled 1.4 million metric tons in 2023, up 17% compared to 2022 exports of 1.2 million metric tons.
“The past five years have seen a significant increase in avocado production, especially in the Valley Region of Jalisco, as producers diversify their crop mix to include avocados, or completely eliminate corn, wheat, and pasture area in favor of avocado orchards,” the report said.
With planted area growing 46% between 2014 and 2023, the government of Mexico estimates Mexican avocado planted area (i.e. area with mature, productive trees) at nearly 636,500 acres in 2023, up 2% from 2022.
Mexico is the No. 1 avocado supplier to the U.S., the report said, accounting for 89% of U.S. avocado imports, followed by Peru (6%) and the Dominican Republic (4%).
Mexico’s 2023 avocado exports comprised 96% fresh product, 3% guacamole and 1% pulp for further processing. The December to February timeframe accounts for 33% of exports, with the Super Bowl being one of the biggest demand drivers for Mexico’s avocado exports to the U.S.
Avocados ranked fourth in value among Mexico’s agricultural exports in 2023, after beer, tequila and berries.
Sunkist Growers of Valencia, CA is one of the state’s largest lemon shippers and is expanding its volume by adding multiple organic lemon growers this season to meet consumer and customer demand for year-round supply.
The company also has increased its lime volume by expanding it list of growers.
Noting increasing lemon and lime demand compared with pre-COVID levels, foodservice demand continues to regain its footing following the pandemic.
California blueberry volumes have been increasing in recent weeks, with a much better season anticipated this year.
The state’s volume typically peaks around the third week of May, with blueberries available from mid-late April to mid-June.
The California Blueberry Commission reports estimates indicate about 80 million pounds of blueberries being shipped this season.
Of this total, 60 million should be fresh blueberries, and 20 million pounds processed.
This figure would represent a nearly 20 million-pound increase from last year when the crop was hindered by cold and rainy weather.
The last blueberry acreage assessment in California showed among the three California districts (divided into coast, north, and south) district 3, including Fresno County to the south, had the largest acreage of blueberry plantations in the state.
About 27% of blueberry acreage is in Tulare County, followed by San Joaquin and Fresno counties.
California’s largest blueberry export market is Canada, and has been for many years.
With a forecasted 5% growth in production for 2024, the Mexican avocado industry continues to reign supreme. A recent report by the USDA puts this year’s production at 2.77 million tons as trade and demand remain strong.
The United States is the largest importer of Mexican avocados, taking 81% of shipments. Exports to the U.S. were valued at USD$2.7 billion in 2023. Canada, Japan, and Spain complete the podium as top buyers.
Until July 2022, Michoacán was the only Mexican avocado-producing state eligible to export to the United States. With Jalisco entering the game, overall exports rose 17% year-on-year in 2023.
Production has grown steadily during the past ten years, mostly due to increasing demand, as well as rising domestic consumption. According to official data, annual per capita avocado consumption in Mexico grew from about 18 pounds in 2021 to nearly 24 pounds in 2023.
However, Mexicans continue to see avocados as a luxury item, and the fruit is not included in the basic food basket defined by the government.
Between 2014 and 2023, production volumes grew nearly 75%, reaching 2.65 million tons. These figures have kept Mexico well-grounded as the number one avocado producer globally.
Additional data from Mexico’s Agri-Food and Fisheries Information System (SIAP) said production reached 2.65 million tons in 2023. This was a 4% increase year-on-year.
Acreage has also seen exponential growth, going from 434,757 acres in 2014 to 636,471 in 2023.
Reedley, CA — Fruit World, a fresh and creative produce company, has announced a strong start and an abundant supply of organic stone fruit this season. Fruit World is poised to offer retailers and wholesalers substantial volumes nationwide as the early season kicks off.
Focusing on premium organic stone fruit, Fruit World strives for consistent taste and quality. “This season, our organic apricots and sweet cherries take center stage, showcasing their most abundant volumes yet, arriving three weeks ahead of last year,” shared Cindy Richter, Director of Sales at Fruit World.
The season will start with apricots from Blossom Hill, a multi-generational, pollinator-friendly family farm. Promising strong volumes expected to ship through the end of June, organic and conventional apricots will be available in multiple pack styles, including 100% recyclable packaging, staying true to their eco-conscious ethos. Fruit World will also ship early-season Dreamcot and Solcots out of Reedley for the first two to three weeks in May.
Recognized for providing some of the earliest organic cherries and apricots in the market, Fruit World is well-prepared for spring promotions. Cindy stated, “With California’s famed ‘banana belt’ microclimate, our stone fruit experienced perfect weather for pollination and ideal growing conditions, resulting in a robust supply.” Early organic sweet cherry varieties such as Tioga, Lynn, Hazel, and Coral have experienced a full fruit set, and some have already started to color up. The recent rain is expected to have had a minor effect on the supply, but nothing that Fruit World expects to have a substantial impact.
“All of these factors have aligned to create a strong apricot and cherry program that will be on schedule to meet the needs of spring promotions, notably the Memorial Day surge in demand,” shared Cindy.
About Fruit World
Fruit World is a fresh and creative produce company with generations of history. Fruit World grows and ships the most flavorful fruit in California—including organic and conventional citrus, organic grapes, organic stone fruit, and more—and works with customers who share a passion for quality and taste. They’re all about honoring their growers, staying true to their farming heritage, and keeping family farming thriving for future generations. Visit fruitworldco.com.