Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
A significant increase in Chilean blueberry exports are expected this season, while Chilean grape exports could see a small decline. Additionally, with more volume in Chilean cherry exports, this should translate into more fruit from that South American country arriving on U.S. shores.
The Chilean Fresh Fruit Association reports grapes easily account for the largest Chilean fruit export to the U.S., representing nearly 40 percent of all the Chilean fruit shipped here. A drought in Chile is being blamed for an expected slight decrease in export volumes. Official estimates for the 2019-20 season are only 1.6 percent lower than last season.
It is estimated that about 78.5 million boxes will be exported to the U.S. this year, which, which would mean only about 1.3 million boxes less than the previous season. Blueberries, cherries and the stone fruits are expected to make up the difference over the next four to five months.
In 2017-18 there were 6.2 million boxes of Flame Seedless exported to the United States, while last season (2018-19) volume dropped to 2.1 million boxes. Flame Seedless has been an industry standard for decades but is being replaced with newer varieties such as Timco and Allison. Timco volume grew by 61 percent and Allison by 72 percent in the past year.
Chilean grape shipments began in late December and should increase through January and continue into May.
Cherries from Chile have been in the U.S. marketplace for a couple of months with shipments continuing and increasing through January. The vast majority of Chilean cherries are exported to China.
Chilean fruit companies are projecting that they will export about 42 million five kilogram cartons this year, which will represent a 16 percent increase over last season.
North America receives about 60 percent of Chilean blueberry exports. With organic “blues,” North America accounts for 96 percent the Chilean exports. Chilean fresh blueberry exports are expected to grow by about 4 percent during the 2019-20 season led by organics.
Chilean stone fruits account for less than 10 percent of the country’s fruit exports to the U.S.
U.S. potatoes remaining in storage to be shipped is down 4 percent from a year ago as of December 1st.
The USDA reports 37 percent of U.S. spuds have been shipped for the 2019-20 season. Processors in the eight major states used 76.3 million cwt of potatoes for the season, up 3 percent from December 2018.
Compared with a year ago, the USDA reported lower volumes of potatoes were in storage in North Dakota, Minnesota and Idaho. Cold weather in Idaho and a combination of wet conditions followed by cold weather reduced output in those growing regions.
The USDA reported that Idaho potatoes remaining in storage stood at 95 million cwt. on December 1, down 6 percent from 101 million cwt. the same time a year ago. In North Dakota, storages held 14 million cwt., down 18 percent from 17 million cwt. on Dec. 1 2018. In Minnesota, holdings were estimated at 12.3 million cwt., off 4 percent from 12.8 million cwt. on hand a year ago.
A record setting October helped successfully launch Peruvian table grape exports this season, with dramatic volume increases for the U.S.
Data from the country’s Exporters’ Association shows that
Exports in the season’s opening month rose by 15 percent to the U.S., according the Peruvian Exporters Association.
Table grapes accounted 12 percent of Peru’s total agricultural exports during October, second to blueberries, but ahead of asparagus, onions, quinoa, cacao, and bananas.
The Netherlands was the main table grape export market during the month, growing by 3 percent, followed by the U.K. with 6 percent growth.
The U.S. was the third largest market, with an astounding growth thus of 211 percent. The three-fold higher exports over last season came as U.S. grape supplies were significantly lower.
Chilean imported mandarins by the U.S. are expected to decline in the years ahead as Chilean exports develop to the newly opened Chinese market.
The USDA reports America is by far the leading market for Chilean mandarin exports, with a 96 percent market share.
Chilean exporters of mandarins, however, started diversifying its market destinations with the opening of the Chinese market
for citrus products in November 2019. An increase in exports also is predicted China for Chilean mandarins, clementines, oranges, lemons, and grapefruit.
The market opening comes amid rapid growth in the Chilean mandarin planted area, which rose by 13 percent in 2019 to over 19,000 acres. Chilean authorities project that the opening of the Chinese market will further expand the citrus planted area.
The marketing season for Chilean mandarin ranges between May and October each year.
Chilean mandarin exports to the world have increased by 200 percent since 2014. The South American country shipped a record 170,230 metric tons (MT) of the fresh fruit in 2018.
New Mexico is replacing Georgia as the top producer and shipper of pecans following the devasting affects of Hurricane Michael a year ago, if predictions hold.
Georgia has been the nation’s largest supplier of pecans for years, accounting for about an 88 million pound harvest and representing one-third of U.S. pecan production.
This has change for the 2020 shipping season a year after Hurricane Michael’s 115-mile-per-hour winds ravaged nut tree orchards Pecan growers are still struggling as they harvest this year’s crop.
The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service reports in an average year, farmers harvest between 1300-1400 pounds of pecans per acre. However, but this year’s production is down by more than 50 percent.
The service believes growers will be fortunate if they average 500 pound per acre this year. Pecan trees lost a large percentage of limbs.
The USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service notes although U.S. national pecan production should increase this year by over 20 percent, with an estimated 281 million pounds, Georgia production will plummet to 76 million pounds, followed by Texas (47 million pounds, up 8 ½ percent), Arizona, and Oklahoma.
At the same time New Mexico is estimated to have an increased production of 6 percent based on a forecasted record high of 97 million pounds for the current harvest. New Mexico first surpassed Georgia last year after the howling hurricane winds decimated some 32,400 acres, downed trees, and dropped production dramatically.
Pecan trees take nearly a decade to produce and a couple years more to turn a respectable profit. This means with the amount of trees lost mean, may take up to 10 years for Georgia growers to fully recover.
.
New Mexico produces pecans on nearly 52,000 acres in the southern part of the state with most product coming from the Mesilla and Hatch Valleys and the Pecos River Valley, although expansion in pecan acreage is being noted further north as raising pecans continues to replace cotton acreage because cotton prices continue to drop.
As the early winter season in the U.S. gets underway, an unusually rainy season is coming to a close in Central America and the Caribbean.
Central American Produce Inc. of Pompano Beach, FL reports despite early season rains produce quality is good.
Central American imports papayas from Guatemala year-round, and the first watermelons, gala melons, cantaloupes and honeydews just got underway in the past week. The company also had praise for the melons from Honduras being imported.
There also have been recent arrivals of cantaloupe, honeydew and butternut squash.
HLB Specialties of Pompano Beach, FL experienced some delays in shipments due to rains in Honduras with rambutan. The firm also is importing rambutan from Guatemala, as well as papayas.
Thomas Produce of Calgary, Alberta has year around imports items from the Caribbean and Central American such as red and green Thai chili peppers.
Ecoripe Tropicals of Miami, FL imports product the year around from Central America. One example is okra, although its heaviest volume is from December to May. The company specializes in air arrivals so the product is extra-fresh, and supplement this with ocean arrivals. It also will have rambutan through January.
Brooks Tropicals of Homestead, FL will import Caribbean Red papaya into early spring. The operation also is importing SlimCado and limes in decent volume.
J&S Tropicals of Miami, FL imports tropical tuber line products from Costa Rica, Honduras and Ecuador. For example there is yucca roots used in stews and soups during the winter as well as malanga blanca,white yams and chayote. The company had 20 containers in a two-week time span; for a specialty item, that is pretty impressive.
“If that can perform well, that’s going to be a big deal for us,” he said.
.
U.S. apple exports to Mexico could should increase this season even Mexico is expected to have a larger crop.
The USDA’ s fresh deciduous report for fresh deciduous fruit for Mexico said although Mexico’s apple production is up 24 percent the removal of the 20 percent tariff last May could boost U.S. exports there.
The tariff was in place for nearly a year, as a retaliatory measure against U.S. tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminum. Mexican imports of U.S. apples dropped nearly 16 percent during this period in comparison to marketing year 2017-18, the USDA re;ported.
Mexican consumers remain price sensitive purchasers of fruit, according to the report.
With lower apple prices for marketing year 2019-20, the USDA said apple consumption in Mexico is expected to rebound, resulting in a slight decrease to pear consumption.
Mexican grape exports are forecast at high levels for the 2019-20 season.
The state of Sonora accounts for 85 percent of total table grape production in Mexico, and and 77 percent of the total planted area. Sonora
has increased plantings over 20 percent in the last three years.
A 5 percent increase over last year is forecast for the 2019-20 Mexican blueberry export season by th National Association of Berries (Aneberries) in Mexico.
Exports should total about 44m metric tons (MT), with the heaviest volumes expected from January though March.
North America receives a whopping 97 percent of the fruit, while Europe accounts for 1.7 percent and Asia 0.5 percent.
Mexican blueberry shipments started in light volume last August. The latest figures from the USDA show as of November only 4,617MT of blueberries had been harvested.
Mexcian strawberries and blackberries are expecting similar volumes to last season, according to Aneberries.
A 5 percent increase is estimated for Peruvian grape exports for the 2019-20 shipping season, according to a new estimate from the USDA.
Peru’s total grape exports will reach 402,000 metric tons in 2010-20, up 5 percent from a year ago. The forecast comes in the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural annual fruit report on Peru.
The U.S. was the primary export destination in 2018, accounting for 32 percent of Peru’s total exports. The U.S. was followed by Netherlands with 20 percent and Hong Kong with 11 percent of Peru’s grape shipments.
Increasing Production
Peruvian grape production continues to rise and will total around 648,000 metric tons in 2019-2020, a 3 percent increase compared with last season. d Peruvian grape production is fully recovered from the heavy rains of the 2017 El Niño and is expected to maintain an upward trend in the upcoming years. Peru has a dry coast with over 12 hours of sunlight per day year-round. Those conditions make it an ideal region for grape production, allowing growers in Peru to mature vines 55 pecent faster than in neighboring countries.
Peru’s grape production is mainly located in Ica (41 percent) and Piura (22 percent), with total area under cultivation totaling more than 79,000 acres.
Importers and distribution companies of winter Mexican produce are expecting normal volumes through Nogales, AZ, which is the heaviest the first quarter of the New Year.
West Mexican growers have a wide range of winter produce. Borders crossings into Nogales, AZ started in November, despite some planting delays.
IPR Fresh of Rio Rico, AZ sees an increase in squash this season. The firm’s soft squash started shipping in mid-October, and hard squash kicked off in early December and both should be available until mid-May.
The company also is shipping slicer cucumbers through mid-May, and European cucumbers into mid-April.
Tricar Sales Inc. of Nogales expects similar volume to last year on cucumbers, European cucumbers, eggplant, roma tomatoes, round tomatoes and Italian, yellow and gray squash.
Lisa Inc. of Nogales started with pickling cucumbers in October and jalapeño in late November. However, jalapeños loadings will be light indefinitely due to unfavorable growing conditions in southern Mexico.
Crown Jewels Produce of Nogales sees steady shipments of gray, yellow and green squash and eggplant until June. The company got underway with slicer cucumbers in September and should continue from three growing areas until July.
Vandervoet & Associates Inc. of Rio Rico was shipping watermelons and honeydews from Sonora until December and will move product from southern Mexico between mid-January and March.
Calixtro Distributing Co. Inc. of Nogales have a full line of winter vegetables from West Mexico through April.
Calixtro Distributing Co. Inc. in Nogales will offer a full line of winter produce from West Mexico, said salesman Frank Calixtro.