Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
North Carolina’s sweet potato harvest season is nearing completion with fresh pricing up substantially compared with a year ago.
The transition between old-crop and new-crop sweet potatoes was apparently lending support to pricing in early September. Harvest in North Carolina should continue to be active into November, and prices should ease with expanding supply and shipments.
USDA shipment statistics indicated that North Carolina accounted for two-thirds of total U.S fresh sweet potato shipments of 272 (40,000 truckloads) for the week ending Sept. 17
As of Sept. 3, the average fob price for U.S. fresh sweet potatoes was $60.56 per cwt (hundredweight), up 20.6% compared with the same time a year ago, according to numbers collected by the USDA. The Sept. 3 fob price of for sweet potatoes of $60.56 per cwt was nearly 30% higher than the $46.70 per cwt price in early August.
The USDA reported the average advertised retail price for fresh sweet potatoes was 94 cents per pound, down 8.7% from the same week a year ago.
Corey Produce of Bethel, N.C. reports increased moisture this year, should result in a slightly bigger sweet potato crop in 2022.
The company grows sweet potatoes in Martin, Pitt and Edgecombe counties in North Carolina, with its packinghouse located in Bethel N.C..
The company report this year’s crop looks a little better than last year’s crop, because last year was extremely dry in Martin County.
Corey Produce acreage is about the same as last year.
The operation began harvest September 12 and will be finishing harvest any day now.
Lancaster Farms of Wilson, N.C.-based reports a strong, quality sweet potato harvest. While acreage for the company is down, yields may be up 10%.
R.B. Lancaster and Sons Inc. family has lived and farmed in Wilson County, N.C., and the surrounding counties for seven generations, since the late 1700s.
The company has a four-year crop rotation, farming between 1,400 and 1,800 acres annually.
Harvest for Lancaster Farms started harvest Aug. 26 for early plantings and began harvest again Sept. 16, and wrapped up the harvest expected in late October.
Fall is in full swing, and fresh Pacific Northwest–grown USA Pears are available now in produce sections from coast to coast.
As the leaves change colors, Oregon and Washington growers are harvesting an estimated 16 million standard box equivalents of fresh, USA-grown pears. The versatile, high-in-fiber fruit boasts an extended shelf life, helping consumers avoid food waste, and is the perfect complement for any meal — from charcuterie boards and salads to main dishes, baked goods or desserts.
“This year’s harvest was slow to start, due to a prolonged cold and wet spring, but the pears coming off the trees were worth the wait,” said Jim Morris, marketing manager at Pear Bureau Northwest.
Despite the wet spring, USA Pears anticipates a crop on par with its five-year average.
The harvest was bolstered by the Pacific Northwest’s extra-long stretch of dry, warm weather. With 10 varieties of fresh pears grown in the Northwest fresh pears can be found in the store almost year-round, from Anjou to Starkrimson.
Weather problems have turned a previously optimistic fall shipping season for California strawberries into one with less volume and truckers should be aware of potential issues with quality.
Fewer than normal shipments are now expected through November.
The Santa Maria/Oxnard growing region currently produces roughly 80 percent of marketed strawberries in the U.S. Supplies are extremely limited through most of November. Quality is only average; strawberries will see upwards of 25% bruising and 4% decay upon arrival. Maintaining the cold chain will be vital for shelf-life to reduce chances of claims at destination. The Salinas/Watsonville growing region currently produces roughly 10-15 percent of marketed strawberries in the U.S. Volume is extremely limited; quality is average at best. Production will be completed in the next 10-14 days.
The Salinas/Watsonville growing region currently ships roughly 10-15 percent of the strawberries in the U.S. Volume is extremely limited; quality is average at best. Production will be completed in the next 10-14 days.
South Texas volume is very low as the season is just beginning. Currently less than 5 percent of strawberries shipped in the U.S. are grown in Mexico coming through South Texas. Volume is expected to gradually increase over the next two to three weeks. Quality is good; green shoulders and small sizing have been reported.F
Florida loadings will begin after Thanksgiving in a very limited manner. Orders are estimated to begin shipping the week of December 5.
Mexican blueberries are on the road to Philadelphia while Peruvian blueberries are already arriving at the Philadelphia seaport.
Procacci Bros. Sales Corp., of Philadelphia observes young Peruvian blueberry fields seem to double in production every year. Now those plants are starting to bear fruit.
In addition to Mexico and Peru, Procacci imports Argentine, Chilean and Columbian blueberries.
Peru’s blueberry export volumes have exploded over the past four years.
By late September and early October, good volume will be arriving atNorth American ports.
Sunny Valley International Inc., in Glassboro, NJ, reports blueberry imports from Peru has ramped up and is now in full volume. This is expected to run throughout the fall and winter. Fruit size is good and quality looks strong.
Sunny Valley sees typical timing on the Chilean season, which will begin in late November or early December, running through March or April.
Sunny Valley, reports the Argentine blueberry crop was gaining steam in mid-September and is to run through November or into December.
Pandol Bros., Inc., of Delano, CA, confirms Peruvian blueberry imports into the U.S. started in early September. It notes there was a production increase of early Peruvian blueberries. Next, September supplies from North American growers were not that high creating a demand for imports.
Finally, there are the international exchange rates, making it more attractive for Peruvian growers to ship to the U.S., versus less attractive currency returns from Europe.
Beaver said typical timing is expected on the Chilean deal, which will begin in late November or early December, running through March or April. “This should be an excellent crop.”
For Sunny Valley, the Argentine blueberry crop was gaining steam in mid-September and is to run through November or into December.
Maitland, FL: Florida’s November tomato crop will be smaller than normal due to the impact of Hurricane Ian, but Florida will remain a significant supplier from now through December. The weather since the hurricane has been ideal, allowing growers to quickly recuperate fields. This means that even those farms that sustained damage will be able to harvest a portion of their crop, according to the Florida Tomato Committee.
The storm had no impact on tomato production in North Florida, which will have steady volume from now through mid-November. As the harvest moves south to Central Florida, supplies will be lighter than normal due to the impact of the storm around the Palmetto and Ruskin growing areas. November volume will be down, but there will still be tomatoes available. Central Florida production is expected to ramp up through December. The storm’s impact was less severe in the Southwest Florida growing regions around Naples and Immokalee, which will help offset reduced volume in Central Florida. Production in Southwest Florida will steadily increase starting in December.
Plantings for South Florida’s winter tomato crop have continued as normal with no impact from the hurricane.
Peru is predicted to export 71.5 million boxes of table grapes this season, an 11 percent growth compared to last season, according to Agraria, based on figures from the Association of Producers of Table Grapes of Peru (Provid).
Peru is now the second largest exporter of the fruit globally.
“This shows that the Peruvian industry has been able to respond to the demand of the more than 50 international markets it reached with a diversified and quality offering, which makes us recognized as highly reliable suppliers,” said Provid.
The association noted that some of the factors supporting this growth are the extended production window, which begins with Red Globe in June and ends in March, followed by seedless grapes in September until March in Inca and April in Piura.
Shipments of California Navel oranges for the 2022-2023 season is forecast at 1.52 million tons (38.0 million boxes), up 19 percent from last season.
The initial forecast is based on an objective measurement survey conducted in California’s Central Valley from mid-June to the beginning of September. The objective measurement survey indicated fruit set was up 47 percent from last year but the average fruit size was down 2 percent from last year.
Harvest begins in October.
Imported mangos arriving in the U.S. from Brazil launched the South American season mango season in mid to late September. This was followed by mangos from Ecuador in late September and early October. Mangos from Peru started arrivin and Peruvian mangos will start arriving in November.
The National Mango Board report mostly 9’s, 10’s and 12’s, with varieties including Tommy Atkins, Kent, Keitt, Palmer, and Ataulfo.
Panorama Produce Sales of Mommaroneck, NY, which has 20 years of experience importing mangos from South and Central America, agreed the quality of mangos coming out of South America this season looks promising
The volume of South American mangos appears normal.
Continental Fresh of Miami, FL, which specializes in tropical imports from Latin America, notes that there could be a perfect window for Brazilian mangos.
This may be the best onion crop from Peru in a decade, at least according to G&R Farms of Glennville, GA.
The company’s first Peruvian imports arrived in August and will continue into April when the Vidalia onion crop gets underway.
Bland Farms LLC of Glennville, GA also expects a good crop from Peru due to good growing conditions. A consistent crop, very comparable to past years past, with a nice, even size profile is seen. Volume from Bland Farms should be similar to last year, The company started started in September and will go through the spring.
Shuman Farms of Reidsville, GA emphasizes the importance Peruvian onions in it program. Shuman imports sweet onions through the Port of Savannah allowing the operation to maintain a full-time local workforce 12-months of the year.
Peru accounts for about 23% of imported onions, second only to Mexico, according to the USDA. In 2021, the U.S. imported nearly 357 million pounds of Peruvian onions, up from about 315 million pounds in 2020.
G&R notes Peru is a perfect climate and ecology to produce a great onion crop that mirrors the consistent quality and flavor you would find from Vidalia sweet onions. The Peruvian sweet onion crop provides a year-round option for fresh, sweet onions when the U.S. sweet onion industry is out of production.
Youngstown Grape Distributors Inc. of Reedley, CA may ship fewer pomegranates this season due to a late bloom resulting in variable yields in California’s central valley.
Youngstown is a fifth-generation, vertically integrated pomegranate farming, packing, fresh-cut and high-pressure processing juice company.
The company notes the early varieties are lighter than the wonderfuls because the bloom was very late this year, and some blocks did not set normally with the late bloom. The result in inconsistency from block to block.
The company grows foothill, early wonderful and wonderful varieties.
The harvest looks fairly normal, beginning for Youngstown in early September and finishing in late November. Availability of fresh pomegranates is anticipated through the end of the year.
In general, the back end of the season may see fewer shipments because of reduced yields.
Youngstown has been packing and selling arils since 2008, and offers both organic and conventionally grown product.