Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
Vick Family Farms of Wilson, NC is expected average volume shipments for sweet potatoes during it’s 2021-22 season, with harvest wrapping up in November just in time for the holidays.
In 2021, the company celebrated 25 years of packing and marketing its own brands.
The operation’s first packing facility was built in 1996 and it now owns and operates two packing sheds, as well as working with other local growers and sheds throughout the season.
Vick is experiencing a harvest being later than normal due to weather factors. This has resulted in potatoes not sizing up as quickly. However, being well into the harvest the company has been pleased with yields and quality.
With average yields, volume is expected to be similar to last year, thanks in part to some additional planted acreage.
North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, noted the harvest began in early September. The grower organization anticipates the state’s acreage will be similar to last year and thus far sweet potato diggings are showing an excellent quality crop.
Between August 2020 and August 2021, NCDA reported a total of 11,971,868 40-pound cartons of fresh-market sweet potatoes being shipped. The state’s industry ships sweet potatoes 12 months a year.
The Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission is expecting good sweet potato shipments in 2021 as well — after growers dodged the bullet with Hurricane Ida.
California citrus shipments for the 2021-22 season will be down due to the severe drought.
California Citrus Mutual report this season will definitely have a lower crop.
The USDA predicts there will be a 14% decline in its orange measurement survey from September and some observers feel this estimate may be understating the dip in crop production.
CCM believes there will still be plenty of citrus shipments, noting the smaller 2021-22 crop will be much more manageable for grower-shippers.
The 2020-21 navel crop lasted longer than usual because of a weaker export market. The 2021-22 navel season got underway the last half of October.
Multiple factors have led to a lighter crop load, Creamer said.
The depth of impacts on the water shortage and the drought vary from hardly any impact to very, very drastic impact, depending on where growers are located and their surface water rights and the location of their water district.
Mandarin output also is expected to be lower in 2021-22, while lemons may see increased volume. Seedless lemons represent a small but growing segment of the industry.
Based on early estimates, mandarin supplies could be as much as 50% lower compared with a year ago.
Mandarins are as much as 70% down on existing fruit-bearing trees, but that is partially offset by new bearing acreage coming on.
Roughly 75% of the California citrus crop is grown in the Central Valley, with some lemons and mandarins produced in the coastal regions. Lemons and grapefruit are primarily raised in the desert growing areas.
Excellent Peruvian onion imports are seen this season as the early crop is show exceptional quality. It may be the best crop in three decades.
Mild, sweet, large and round with flattened tops and bottoms, Peru’s sweet onions are typically available September through April, complementing the Vidalia, Ga., region’s trademarked Vidalia onions, usually shipped April through September.
However, G&R Farms of Glennville, GA reports shipping schedules may be a little behind last year because of delays with transportation and logistics.
Bland Farms of Glennville, GA, has a corporate office and onion farms in Ica, as well as more farms in Arequipa, Peru.
Shuman Farms of Reidsville, GA., began shipping RealSweet onions from Peru in early September. The company reports very good quality and sizing.
The grower/shipper has a full-time staff and infrastructure in Peru, where there was a recent update to the facility and packing house. The company installed new grading lines and sorting equipment to improve product quality and a more efficient final repack in Georgia after passing through the Port of Savannah.
Jac. Vandenberg, Inc., the Tarrytown, NY-based fresh produce importer and marketer, is gearing up for a second year for its SUNRAYS® grape brand. After a successful debut, SUNRAYS® grapes is announcing several new developments to its 2021-2022 program which officially starts in November.
Kicking off the SUNRAYS® grape season this year will be Cotton Candy grapes packed out of Brazil, available in loose-weight bags and 1-pound clamshells.
Brazil will also become the fifth sourcing region for the SUNRAYS grape program which already has Peru, Chile, Mexico and California growers participating. As with last season, Vandenberg has carefully selected its growing partners to participate in the SUNRAYS grape program ensuring those participating growers meet strict quality and flavor requirements.
SUNRAYS® grapes are available year-round from Brazil, Peru, Chile, Mexico and California.
Another major development for the SUNRAYS grape program this year will be a limited offering of its brand new, innovative BIO bags out of Peru. These bags will be the first biodegradable, home compostable grape bags in the US market.
“Sustainability has always been at the core of the SUNRAYS® brand and we want to now make that message clear and transparent to the public with this certification,” says Paap. “What’s unique about this certification is not only is it looking at environmental sustainability but also social and economic sustainability. All of these areas play an important role in the success and longevity of the farm and product.”
Vandenberg expects to see its first growers certified early next year with SUNRAYS® bags carrying the Sustainably Grown certification by November 2022.
The harvest of new the Medjool crop started during the first couple weeks of September and trees were carrying loaded with fruit. Double Date Packing of Coachella, CA had a smaller crop last year, but is expecting a big crop for 2021-22.
Over 50 percent of the date crop is exported.
SunDate, also in Coachella, agrees noting the first date groves looks like a good crop. The company was in heavy harvest by the week of September 6th. Once the dates are harvested, they are graded stored for a few weeks to find out how good the crop is.
The Medjool variety will be harvested until about the end of October with the Deglet Nour dates picked during the last two months of the year.
Picking those dates is still a sight to behold. Though for safety reasons, packers often use automated “cherry pickers” with platforms to perform the many hand tasks needed in the life of a date (from pollination to thinning to picking), there are still many traditional pickers in the Coachella Valley that climb the trees the old-fashioned way and perform the cultural tasks 50-75 feet above ground as they cling to the tree.
Chile is expecting to export 117,000 metric tons (MT) of blueberries in the 2021-22 season, according to the Chilean Blueberry Committee of Asoex.
The figure is on par with what was exported last season – 117,800MT.
The Committee noted that although total production is expected to increase to 178,000MT due to new plantations coming online and varietal reconversion with higher-productivity cultivars, exports are not forecast to increase due to there being a more rigorous selection criteria for fresh export fruit.
Therefore, the addition production volumes will be destined mainly for frozen exports and the domestic market, the Committee said.
It added that to date, new varieties makeup 25 percent of the export offer and will contribute to growth in production and better fruit quality.
Regarding organic blueberries, fresh exports are expected to reach 18 percent and frozen to reach 27 percent.
Of all the problems that could be faced, one that will have little impact on the production and export of blueberries is the drought, because producers have very efficient technical irrigation systems, the Committee said.
For logistical difficulties, exporters are currently working intensively on scheduling shipments with shipping companies to minimize the problem that is affecting global supply chains
Panamanian banana exports grew 7.1 percent so far this year, accumulating 242,840 tons.
The director of the sector in the ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), Jose De La Lastra, told news organization El Pais that good management, technological improvements, and an increase in hectares have contributed to the growth in the last three years.
Sales are predicted to add another 138,000 tons in 2021, ending the year 5 percent above last year, with revenues estimated at $200 million.
MIDA stated that there are 19,768 acres planted this year, employing 33,000 workers.
In 2020, Costa Rica and Guatemala topped the list of the main exporters of fresh or dried bananas in Central America, followed by Honduras, Panama and Nicaragua, as indicated by CetralaméricaData.com.
The U.S. was the main destination for this product with 65 percent of sales, which were also marketed in the Netherlands (10 percent), the UK (4), Belgium (3), Italy (3), Germany (2) , Spain (1) and Portugal (1), according to the publication.
The fresh cranberry outlook is strong for the Cranberry Cooperative of the Americas, said Scott Simmons, director of sales.
In March, the owners of Habelman Bros. Co. in Tomah, Wis., and L&S Cranberry LP in St. Lucien, Quebec, announced the formation of Cranberry Cooperative of the Americas.
“Those two are the largest two independent growers of fresh cranberries in North America,” Simmons said.
“It’s been a great opportunity to really elevate what we can do.”
He said the cooperative’s high-speed co-packing capacity is a key to the cooperative’s strengths.
Simmons said CCA offers big fresh cranberry volume in Wisconsin and Quebec.
“The crops in those regions are looking good,” Simmons said, noting average size, good fruit quality, good color, and good keeping quality anticipated.
“The organic crop might be a little behind, versus the conventional crop in Wisconsin, but it is still good shape.”
Quebec’s fresh cranberry season runs a little earlier than Wisconsin, especially with the Canadian Thanksgiving on October 11th.
“The crop tends to go earlier, but some of that is driven by early season varieties that are harvested and used specifically for early demand,” Simmons said.
Canada’s fresh cranberry season tends to be broken into two seasons: Canadian Thanksgiving demand, then increasing for December demand.
In the U.S., retailers want cranberries when they become available in September, with volume eventually increasing for the U.S. Thanksgiving November (25th) push, followed by lighter volume in December.
“We have supply right through the holidays,” Simmons said. “We manage our crops so that we’ve got good varieties that can last through December.”
From a freight cost perspective, Wisconsin is well-positioned to supply cranberries to much of the South, Midwest and West, while Quebec can cover much of the East Coast demand.
MountainKing Potatoes of Houston expects strong quality for its fall harvest of fresh potatoes in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.
MountainKing’s creamers and fingerlings began shipping in late September. Its Butter Reds and Butter Russets will be available by the end of October.
“The 2021 crop outlook is very bright,” Andreas Trettin, director of marketing for MountainKing Potatoes, said in a news release.
“The ability of our farms to evaluate prior season successes and setbacks have provided us with a great road map. Modifications were made to fertilization and irrigation plans as well as land changes amongst our varieties. These adjustments continue to breed improvement year after year.”
MountainKing’s early harvest test digs indicate impressive potato sizes with minimal bruising, Trettin.
MountainKing will see “dramatically increased” acreage for its yellow-flesh varieties as shoppers continue to shift from traditional white-flesh reds and russets to more flavorful yellow-flesh types, according to the release.
MountainKing acreage expanded by 94% for its Butter Russets, 30% for its Creamer Reds and 14% for its Butter Golds, according to the company. In total, MountainKing allocated more than 1,200 acres for its yellow-flesh varieties. The company also dedicated more than 400 acres for its small potatoes.
“We spend a lot of time in the offseason examining IRI data and customer feedback on the different varieties,” Trettin said. “Our increased acreage directly reflects customer purchasing habits and national potato sales trends.”
Mexican raspberry exports soared by 18.9 percent in the first six months of the year, maintain a positive streak, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
There were 68,153 tons of raspberries exported during the first half of 2021, with foreign sales already seeing an increase of 21 percent from 2019 to 2020, going from $912.4 million to over $1 billion.
Mexican raspberries have been exported to 33 countries located in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, such as Canada, the Netherlands, Russia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, and Kuwait.
However the main buyer is the U.S.
Foreign sales of these berries stood at $713 million as of May, posting nearly 20 percent more than the $599.8 million for the same period in 2020, according to information from the Agrifood and Fisheries Information Service (SIA
Raspberry production has also made progress in Mexico, increasing 13.6 percent in 2020, going from 128,848 tons in 2019 to 146,343 in December of last year.
Jalisco is the main producer of these berries with 104,080 tons, followed by Michoacan with 28,895 tons, and Baja California with 10,222 tons.
In 2019, Mexico was the world’s second largest producer of raspberries with 128,848 tons and presents the biggest agricultural yield of these berries in the world. Mexico consumes .3 kg per capita.