Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
LOS ANGELES – The Giumarra Companies is expanding its domestic citrus program with the addition of a new influx of California-grown mandarins in October.
“We’re nearly tripling our domestic mandarin volume during a key timeframe when citrus is in high demand and health and wellness are still top of mind for consumers,” said Alex Marriott, Category Citrus Lead – Domestic for the Giumarra Companies. “Our overall citrus program is growing and we are well-positioned to service our retail partners with high quality, consistent supplies throughout fall and winter.”
The mandarins will be packed under Giumarra’s Bright Bites™ brand and are accompanied by the company’s full line of seasonal California citrus offerings, including oranges, Cara Caras, lemons, and grapefruit.
“Citrus is an important category to Giumarra’s core product line and we are building our program to become a one-stop shop for high-quality product, consolidation, and support services for our customers,” said Jeannine Martin, Director of Sales – Reedley and Corporate Vice President for the Giumarra Companies.
The Giumarra Companies offers citrus from domestic and international growers packed under its Nature’s Partner family of brands.
About the Giumarra Companies
The Giumarra Companies is a leading international network of fresh produce growers, distributors, and marketers that encompasses a world of flavor and freshness. Since its inception in 1922, the company has taken pride in a longstanding commitment to quality, service, and industry leadership. Products packed under Giumarra’s trusted family of brands are supported by a suite of top-tier services and enjoyed by consumers daily. Together with our partners, we’re feeding the world in a healthy way.
YUMA, AZ — Just in time for the annual Medjool date harvest, Bard Valley Natural Delights® shares Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) data showing a promising year for the category, and even more so for the Natural Delights brand.
According to IRI data pulled on June 27, 2021, the total Medjool date category is up 5.7% year over year (YOY). Bard Valley Natural Delights growth is up 6.4%, outpacing competitors and driving overall category growth.
Some key insights from this data also show that fixed weight packaged products are up 7.5% YOY, a trend that has been accelerated with the rising concerns with bulk products during COVID. The brand expects that shoppers will continue to prefer more packaged products in the 2021-22 year.
Organic product growth is up a staggering 14.5%. Bard Valley Natural Delights organic product growth is up 15% which, much like overall category growth, shows that the brand is leading organic category growth as well. Bard Valley Natural Delights continues to invest in organic products by converting many of their groves to USDA Certified Organic and broadening product lines to include both conventional and organic varieties.
“We’ve been meeting the needs of organic shoppers for several years now, so this data is encouraging as we continue to expand our product lines to include organic options,” added Baxter.
About Bard Valley Natural Delights®
Natural Delights® Medjool Dates, the leading Medjool date brand in the country, is a naturally sweet, whole fresh fruit grown in Bard Valley at the intersection of Arizona, California and Mexico where its very specific set of growing conditions are met.
Fewer loadings are seen this season by Idaho-eastern Oregon onion shippers due to weather factors.
Snake River Produce of Nyssa, OR reports good supplies of all onion sizes, but the hot weather had a negative impact on yields.
The Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion growing region experienced temperatures hovering at or above 100 degrees beginning in late June. Combine the heat with a very dry and windy spring, yields are expected to be down from 2020.
Owyhee Produce of Parma, ID reports yields being down in the Treasure Valley significantly from both last year and the 5-year average.The company expects to be down 20% from its 5-year average, which would be off 30% to 40% from last year. Last year’s yields were 20% above normal.
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California pomegranates are a true fall fruit, with nearly all shipments of whole fruit moved from September through December.
2020 shipments of pomegranates from California were up 7% from in 2019, according to the USDA.
Suppliers report a good outlook for the pomegranate crop, despite hot weather during the growing season.
Pomegranate harvest started the first week in September for Trinity Fruit Co. of Fresno, CA.
The company markets a proprietary variety called Aco from Israel in September, and wonderful pomegranates begin the first week of October. Organic wonderful pomegranates also will be available in October.
Trinity Fruit expects a similar crop to last year, except its early crop will significantly increase due to new plantings coming into production.
Because of hot weather, pomegranate coloring has been developing slower than usual, but quality is expected to be excellent. Whole fruit pomegranates will be marketed through December, while the company’s arils will continue into April.
Trinity Fruit reports increasing demand every year and this year is going to be no exception.
The company notes imports compliment California supply, resulting in nearly year-round availability of pomegranates and arils.
Flavor Tree Fruit Co. LLC. of Hanford, CA had its largest crop last year, and is expecting an even larger crop this season.
The company expects to ship about 1.3 million 25-pound cartons of pomegranates.
Flavor Tree Fruit Co. has an aril production facility in Kern County, which is a fast growing business. Aril shipments start at the end of October and continue through February, or March if quality is good.
Whole pomegranate shipments may continue until about the second week of January at Flavor Tree, just long enough to have some fruit for Super Bowl parties.
By Stemilt Growers
The dog days of summer are fading in the distance, and that signals the start of Stemilt’s new pear crop and the arrival of summer varieties.
The company is in full harvest mode on its Rushing Rivers® conventional and organic Bartlett and Starkrimson pears and packing fruit fresh to order now to spur the back-to-school rush and first promotions of the season at retail.
Stemilt’s summer and winter pear varieties are grown in the Wenatchee and Entiat River Valleys, where growing conditions are perfect for pears. Great airflow, a mountain climate that protects pears, and volcanic soils all combine to make these locales a pear farmer’s dream come true.
According to Stemilt marketing director Brianna Shales, early indicators point to a high-quality pear crop with a range of sizes for promotion and World Famous flavors.
“It’s hard to believe we are already at that intersection between the summer and fall seasons for produce, but that’s what the start of pear harvest always signals for me,” said Shales. “Starkrimson and Bartlett pears are the first to come off the tree for Stemilt and are ready to promote at retail during the transition to fall sets and fall flavors.”
Starkrimson is trending towards normal fruit size and opportunities to promote bulk and bags at retail. Stemilt has two pouch bag offerings for this bright red fruit, including the always-popular back-to-school pack Lil Snappers®. The 3lb. pouch bag of kid-size fruit is a great feature alongside first of the season bulk ads that feature red and green pears. Stemilt also has a larger 5lb. pouch bag pack in the Rushing Rivers® pear brand for its summer varieties.
“Starkrimson is a fantastic eating red pear and available for the early part of the pear season,” said Shales. “This year’s fruit is super juicy with high sugars and true dessert eating quality.”
Bartlett is the category leader at the front half of the pear season, and Stemilt is actively harvesting and packing both conventional and organic fruits now.
“Organic pears are a challenge to grow, but we’re a believer and long-time leader in them,” said Shales. “This year, we have increased volume on organic Bartlett as new acreage has come into organic production. Starting the season off with an organic Bartlett feature is a great way to build organic and pear sales.”
On the conventional Bartlett side, Stemilt will have a similar size crop as last year and is harvesting fruit to help with season extension into February. Stemilt will have good supplies of bulk and bag sizes, but fewer jumbo-sized Bartletts this year.
In September, Stemilt started harvesting winter pear varieties, including Bosc and Concorde. D’Anjou pears harvest next and start shipping in October following a cold treatment and ripening process that ensures ready-to-eat fruit.
Good, consistent shipments of California table grapes are predicted well into December, although there are some concerns quality issues may arise.
While Pandol Bros. Inc. of Delano, CA doesn’t see any big gaps in supply for the rest of the California grape season, there is some angst regarding labor shortages at both the grower and retail level, which could have some negative consequences on movement.
At the farm level, farmers with too much of one variety maturing at the same time could be hard-pressed to pick the fruit in top condition if they don’t have sufficient labor.
From the retail end, Pandol reports some retail stores have a shortage of labor at the produce department level. If retailers don’t rotate grapes in the right way, then repeat purchases could suffer.
A retail clerk may stock the grape display in the morning, but if that display isn’t stocked again before the rush house, impulse purchases may be at risk.
Still, Pandol sees the outlook for strong California grape shipments with only slight variations from projected volume likely.
Columbine Vineyards, Delano, CA reports California grapes got off to a great early season start, but in mid season there were too many green grapes based on an accelerated harvest due to weather, and at the same time there were not enough reds.
Looking ahead, Columbine Vineyards sees good volume with the red seedless varieties, and continued good volume with green grapes.
While the crop has good volume, the company is concerned about export logistics, materials cost, labor costs and water scarcity.
Exports may be down this year because of troublesome logistics at ports.
About 30% of California grapes typically go to export markets, and strong demand for air and vessel capacity has made exports more difficult.
By California Giant Berry Farms
WATSONVILLE, CA – After a bountiful domestic season, California Giant Berry Farms is anticipating a high-quality, on-time start to the import season thanks to its Peruvian-grown blueberries.
This strong harvest in Peru – coupled with a 100% increase in volume – means retailers will be able to market fresh blueberries from California Giant Berry Farms branded year-round.
The Peruvian harvest begins this month on time “and in some cases a bit earlier,” Nadar Musleh, Executive Director of International Business Development, California Giant Berry Farms, explained. “We project U.S. arrivals to begin in early September. Production will continue through December in Peru, then we’ll continue with production in Chile through March – meaning retailers will be able to offer their shoppers a consistent supply of our high-quality California Giant blueberries year-round.”
“Blueberries in general are having a very good season in Peru with a 25-30% increase over last year’s volumes, and California Giant in particular is outpacing this production increase by doubling our volume over last year,” said Musleh.
Through expanded acreage and maturing fields at its three state-of-the-art production facilities in Peru, California Giant will have more varieties to offer customers this year – including Ventura, Biloxi, Kestrel and Bianca – which allows for supplies to reach even more areas in the U.S.
In addition, by increasing both organic and conventional production, “we also will be able to offer organic product to U.S. customers every week this fall and winter without interruption,” Musleh added.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA GIANT BERRY FARMS
California Giant Berry Farms started small. Cousins Pat Riordan and Bill Moncovich teamed up with best friend Frank Saveria to sell strawberries from a simple trailer in Watsonville, CA. Nearly 40 years later, California Giant has grown into a global family of people passionate about delivering the best strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries in the most sustainable way. Quality, consistency and community inspire the mission and values of: Community, Quality, Philanthropy, Fairness, and Mutual Respect is what continues to sustain us. Because the bigger the smile, the better.
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By Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association
Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association (CCCGA) leadership attended a recent Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC) meeting where the committee announced its 2021 cranberry crop forecast for the United States.
Massachusetts is the founder of cranberry cultivation, initiated on Cape Cod in 1816, and currently stands as the second-largest cranberry growing region in the country. The Commonwealth produces approximately 23% of the annual crop in the United States.
For Massachusetts, CMC is forecasting a crop of 1.9 million barrels (each barrel equals 100 pounds), up 5% from the Commonwealth’s 2020 harvest. Overall, CMC is anticipating the national crop to yield about 8.1 million barrels, also an increase of 5% over last season.
“Similar to last year, our bogs are tracking to deliver a solid crop yield for Massachusetts growers, what I would consider an average crop for our region based on past performance”, shared CCCGA Executive Director Brian Wick.
For more information about Massachusetts cranberries and their health benefits, visit Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association online at cranberries.org or follow the Association on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
By Applewood Fresh Growers
Applewood Fresh®, a fourth-generation grower, packer/shipper and marketer of Michigan-grown apples, has started shipping the Rave® and SweeTango® varieties.
Rave® apples are part Honeycrisp and part MonArk. They have that infamous Honeycrisp bite, but harvest a few weeks earlier than other apple varieties. MN55 cultivar apples were bred naturally through traditional cross-pollination methods by David Bedford at the University of Minnesota’s apple breeding program.
The company has grown the juicy, early season Honeycrisp-meets-MonArk cross for the past four years. Availability is expected to grow exponentially in 2021 and beyond. Rave® is only available for a limited time each year. Look for Rave® shipments from Mid-August through October, said Scott Swindeman, Managing Owner of Applewood Fresh.
Applewood Fresh expects a similar production to last year for SweeTango®. As the lead marketer in the Midwest for the variety that, also, comes from the University of Minnesota breeding program, Applewood Fresh promotes the marriage of the Honeycrisp and Zestar! varieties in SweeTango for its standout flavor and texture. SweeTango started shipping from Michigan in early September.
Applewood Fresh offers bulk packaging in Standard and Euro Tray pack Cartons, as well as several packaged options; 2 and 3 lb. pouch, 3 lb. poly bags and tote bags to fit the new trend of increased packaged apple sales. “Retailers should promote packaged fruit and merchandise in lead-off positions in their produce departments to drive sales. Customers are looking for quick grab and go solutions as they navigate the store to expedite their shopping trip,” said Brian Coates, VP of Sales and Business Development.
Grower/shipper Eagle Eye Produce of Idaho Falls, ID began loading the new crop russet, red, and yellow potatoes from their packing facilities in Idaho the second week of August.
“We anticipate a good harvest this year with excellent product available to go to market with, although this growing season has seen some challenges,” said Coleman Oswald, director of sales at Eagle Eye Produce. “We experienced higher than normal temperatures this summer with very little precipitation, which may lead to lower than anticipated yields. With the reduced yields, we are anticipating strong and active markets this season, which we are currently seeing take shape as harvest begins.”
Eagle Eye Produce’s year-round potato programs are fully integrated. This industry-leading structure allows for one-stop loading of russet, red, yellow, and value- add products from their facilities in Idaho.
Eagle Eye Produce is headquartered in the heart of Idaho potato country, but it grows much more than potatoes. Annually cultivating more than 30,000 acres of fresh produce from Idaho to Mexico, and across most of the Western United States with a national sales and marketing team to support their diverse year-round commodity programs and proven brands. Eagle Eye Produce owns and operates state-of-the-art warehouses and packing facilities in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and California, and is dedicated to innovation, offering a full line of ready to cook simple meal solutions.