Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
Both California kiwi and persimmon shipments are expected to be down this season.
Trinity Fruit Sales of Fresno, CA handles sales for Venida Packing Co. of Exeter, CA. Venida reports the 2020-21 California kiwifruit crop should be about 9 million tray pack equivalents compared to 10.5 million last year.
Kiwifruit is a storage crop, similar to apples, with packing being completed by the end of November, with shipments continuing out of storage until May. The company has seen a tremendous increase in loadings to retailers, but a huge drop in foodservice as more consumers are staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for persimmons, fewer shipments are predicted this season.
Persimmons are an alternate-bearing crop, with a heavy-volume year usually followed by a lighter one.
There are two main kinds of California persimmons. The fuyu variety is squattier, and it is eaten when it’s hard, like an apple.
The hachiya variety is more the traditional cooking variety, or it can be eaten fresh once it’s soft.
Persimmons are shipped to major retail chains and club stores from October until mid-December.
Venidi
Light loadings of onions from Idaho and Eastern Oregon got underway in mid August and as diggings progress, shipments of storage onions are now going on.
Haun Packing of Weiser, ID cites nearly ideal weather and growing conditions resulting in an excellent quality onion crop this season. Some growers began harvest in July and full harvest throughout the region was underway by mid to late August.
RPE of Bancroft, WI ships red and yellow onions out of the region for a couple of growers and notes the season is on schedule.
Baker & Murakami Produce Co. of Ontario, OR points out the 2019 season was a rough one due to adverse weather, then onion loadings were stymied this spring due to COVID-19. The company sees a lot of uncertainty is shipments for the next 8 to 10 months because of the pandemic.
Wada Farms of Idaho Falls, ID notes onions in the Treasure Valley are looking great due to ideal weather and a bumper crop is expected. Shipments should continue into April.
Snake River Produce Co. LLC of Parma, ID ships onions from August until April and is optimistic about the shipping season. Similar views also came from Eagle Eye Produce of Idaho Falls, ID, as well as ProSource Inc. of Hailey, ID.
By Northwest Pear Bureau
Pear growers and producers from Washington’s Wenatchee and Yakima valleys and Oregon’s Mid-Columbia and Medford districts have estimated this year’s fresh pear shipments at 16.6 million standard box equivalents, or approximately 366,000 tons of fresh pears. The estimate is coming in slightly above last season’s total.
Harvest started in mid August for early varieties Starkrimson and Bartlett in all regions, with growers to begin picking Green and Red Anjou and Bosc over the last two weeks of August. Specialty pears Comice, Seckel, Forelle and Concorde pears started near the end of August and into the first week of September.
Four leading varieties make the up 96 percent of the Northwest crop.
The industry is expected to ship 8.6 million standard boxes of Green Anjou pears, which will be more than 51 percent of the total crop. Other primary varieties include 4.2 million boxes of Green Bartlett pears at 25 percent of the crop, 2.3 million boxes of Bosc for 14 percent of the crop, and just under 1 million Red Anjou pears at 5.5 percent of the total volume.
The organic pear estimate is expected to come in at 1.96 million standard boxes – more than 43,000 tons which is nearly 12 percent of the total Northwest crop. Green Anjou and Bartlett combine for 74 percent of the organic crop, and Bosc and Red Anjou make up 14 percent and 6 percent respectively, with the remaining specialty varieties also available to fill out the crop year.
About Pear Bureau Northwest
Pear Bureau Northwest is a non-profit marketing organization established in 1931 to promote the fresh pears grown in Washington and Oregon, home to 87% of the US commercial fresh pear crop. The Bureau represents over 800 grower families and partners with outlets throughout the world in an effort to increase overall success with the pear category.
About 40 percent of pumpkin acres in 2017 were grown in five States: Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, and California. However, all state produce at least some pumpkins.
At Turek Farms in King Ferry, NY the company observes people are not going on vacation, because they are staying home and spending more on landscaping and cooking,” said Turek ships hundreds of loads of traditional orange jack-o-lanterns to retailers in the Northeast.
The majority of Turek’s pumpkins are ready the last 10 days in September and the first 20 days of October.
At Jackson Farming Co. based in Autryville, N.C., pumpkins for carving are ready to be shipped in mid-September, although a few loads go out to retailers who set up their produce departments up right after Labor Day. Jackson’s peak shipping period is October 1 – 15.
Washington state is expecting plentiful supplies of pumpkins and ornamental gourds, according to Bay Baby Produce of Mount Vernon, WA. The operation grows over 550 acres of pumpkins in the Skagit Valley, including 15 pumpkin varieties from pie to ornamental and three varieties of long-stemmed, hard-shelled pumpkins for decoration.
Bay Baby expects to started harvesting the second week of August and continues until October 15, with product shipping from the first of September until October 25. Bay Baby’s designs are shipped across North America and down to Mexico, with some exported to Japan and Taiwan.
Frey Farms of Keenes, IL starts picking the last week of August and first week of September, stocking up building up its inventory. Then right after Labor Day it starts shipping to retail stores.
Frey’s ornamentals, from mesh bags of white, orange and striped mini pumpkins to gourds and decorative corn, start ramping up the second and third week of September. However, most loadings of its jack-type pumpkins take place in October.
Avocado imports from Mexico have been similar to a year ago, and shipments will continue to increase over the next several weeks.
Del Rey Avocado Co. Inc. of Fallbrook, CA notes the country’s flora loca crop started in mid-July with a limited number of trucks coming into the U.S.
Volume had dropped to 600 truckloads — about 25 million pounds — per week for a few weeks, but movement increased to about 30 million pounds per week and nearing 40 million pounds by the end of September.
Volume from Mexico will gradually increase over the next few months with the aventajada crop and then the regular crop peaking in January.
Calavo Growers Inc. of Santa Paula, CA sees the estimate for Mexico’s summer crop being strong, with an estimated 20 percent more avocados than last year.
Volume of avocados from Mexico in August has been 50 percent greater than July’s volume.
In all, Mexico supplies 75 to 80 percent of the avocados shipped to the U.S.
Colorado vegetable shipments are moving in pretty normal, steady volume, while the majority of the state’s peach crop was hit hard by a hard freeze during the growing season.
Tuxedo Corn Co. of Olathe, CO, as well as others, began shipping sweet corn early August. The company has about 1670 acres of corn.
Fagerberg Produce Co. of Eaton, CO began loading red, white, yellow and sweet onions in mid-August. The company has 1,500 acres of onion and should be shipping through February.
At Sakata Farms of Brighton, CO, onion loadings have just started from its 400 acres. About 80 percent of the company’s product is yellow onions, with the balance being with red and white onions.
Hirakata Farms of Rocky Ford, CO lost some of its cantaloupe to hail, but the remainder of the melons are in good shape. The company’s watermelon crops will lack yields in some fields this season, but have great yields in others. Still, volume will certainly look good after losing 60 percent of their melons last year to weather.
Hungenberg Produce Inc. of Greeley, CO got underway July 10 with its conventional and organic carrots being shipped through November. The company has 1,200 acres of carrots, with 250 acres being organic.
At Mountain Valley Produce in Center, CO is starting to harvest potatoes this week in the San Luis Valley. Diggings should be complete by October 10th, with loadings taking place into the summer of 2021.
A freeze that dipped into the low 20s last April has resulted in peach shipments being down 85 to 90 percent at Talbot Farms Inc. in Palisades, CO. Instead of shipping 8 million pounds of peaches this season, the grower/shipper will only have about 800,000 to 1 million pounds.
Overall, Colorado peach shipments are expected to be down 65 percent from normal.
Talbot reports some orchards had full or near-full crops through the Mesa County growing area, although Talbot was not among that fortunate group. Delta County is just to the south are has a better crop. Crops there were less advanced during that April freeze.
U.S. apple shipments from fresh and processed production is estimated for 2020 to be 253.6 million (42-pound) cartons, down from 262.3 million cartons in 2019, according to the USDA.
Forecast apple production this season is expected to be lower in all states except Oregon.
Late winter weather in Michigan delayed development of spring buds and some orchards there suffered a severe freeze in early May.
The USDA’s 2020 estimates for fresh and processed apples, in 42-pound cartons, with percent change from the 2019 crop:
- California: 6.42 million cartons, down 11.5 percent;
- Michigan: 21.9 million cartons, down 2.8 percent;
- New York: 30.9 million cartons, down 1.6 percent;
- Oregon: 4.28 million cartons, up 20 percent;
- Pennsylvania: 10 million cartons, down 17.2 percent;
- Virginia: 3.8 million cartons, 15.8 percent; and
- Washington: 176.2 million cartons, down 2.7 percent.
Mushroom shipments in the U.S. and Canadian are slowly starting to increase after growers curtailed planting in response to a huge drop in sales when COVID-19 hit in March.
South Mill Champs of Kennett Square, PA notes there have been extensive shortages of mushrooms because of the disruption of the foodservice market as a result of COVID-19. Shipments still remain significantly lower than a year ago, but meeting demand during what is typically the slowest time of the year for mushroom sales.
To-Jo Mushrooms of Avondale, PA., reports it had minimal supply interruptions, although there were challenges with fluctuations in demand. Since mid July more consistent shipments have been occurring.
Highline Mushrooms of Leamington, Ontario, reports it has maintained very strong and consistent demand from retail for mushrooms recently, making it difficult to maintain adequate supply for the demand.
Phillips Mushroom Farms of Kennett Square, PA notes when COVID-19 hit, it did not reduce growing or harvesting projections very much beyond normal seasonal changes, and demand has remained strong throughout COVID.
Ostrom Mushroom Farms of Olympia, WA., has reported frustrations because the company was in the process of moving production about 220 miles away to Sunnyside, WA., where an all-new workforce had to be trained under trying circumstances.
Washington apple shipments for the 2020 fresh crop are forecast at 134 million 40-pound cartons, nearly the same as the 2019 crop of 133.9 million cartons, reports the Washington State Tree Fruit Association of Yakima.
“The 2020 Washington state apple crop looks to be similar in size to last year’s,” Jon DeVaney, association president, said in a news release. “Harvest is underway and growers anticipate being able to meet strong consumer demand with an ample and high-quality harvest. Our members are growing large crops, but with more varieties to choose from and while continuing to raise the already high standards of quality that domestic and international consumers have come to expect.”
For the second year in a row, gala variety apples will be the biggest volume variety. Galas will account for 23 percent of the state’s crop, compared with 17 percent for red delicious, 14 percent for fuji, 13 percent each for Honeycrisp and granny smith and 5 percent for cripps pink.
The surging Cosmic Crisp variety will account for about 1.2 percent of the total crop.
Organic apple production is predicted to hit to 21 million cartons, or 16 percent of the fresh crop. That compares with organic production of 15 million cartons in 2019.
The fresh apple forecast is based on a survey of association members.
South African citrus imports have risen sharply this season, increasing between 15 and 38 percent over last year.
Summer Citrus from South Africa reports it became clear early in the season consumers in the northern hemisphere wanted citrus products because they are a great source of vitamin C.
It now appears that South Africa’s soft citrus such as naartjies and clementines are doing well, and oranges are particularly sought after by US consumers.
The Citrus Growers Association reports the South African citrus industry expects to export about 140 million cartons this year, compared with 127 million last year. The increase is due to the new cultivation of soft citrus and lemons that has begun bearing fruit.