Posts Tagged “apples”
Here’s a look at available fresh produce loads in the Western half of the USA where volume is primarily steady, or increasing.
In South Texas, avocados from Mexico are providing over 600 truckload equivalents per week and the volume will be increasing in the weeks ahead….South Texas grapefruit loadings are very light, but have started, and will hit good volume around mid- November….In West Texas in the Hereford area, as well as in nearby Eastern New Mexico, there is light volume with potatoes.
Looking at the San Luis Valley of south-central Colorado, about 500 truckloads of russett potatoes are being shipped weekly.
Idaho has another huge crop of russet potatoes. While the railroads move a significant amount of the state’s spuds, the majority of the volume still is shipped by truck. Nearly 1,700 truckload equivalents of potatoes are providing loads on a weekly basis.
California’s San Joaquin Valley is shipping everything from grapes to carrots and tomatoes, among other items. Over 2,000 truckloads of grapes are being shipped weekly from vineyards spread between the Bakersfield area to Merced. Decent volume with tomatoes also are available, but a seasonal decline will continue in coming weeks.
In Washington state, apples from the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys may be providing the single largest amounts of fruit volume in the country. A huge apple crop is averaging about 2,500 truckload equipments on a weekly basis.
Vancouver, British Columbia – Apple lovers will have a new variety to sink their teeth into that is set to debut in select stores this fall. It’s named the Salish™.
“This is a delicious example of government and industry working together to deliver new market opportunities to our farmers,” said MP Cannan. “When you taste the Salish™ apple, you are sampling the sweet rewards of many years of research and investments in innovation that will pay off for the farmers that grow this tasty achievement.”
The Salish™ is tangy, juicy and very crisp. It is medium-sized, with a pinkish red blush over a yellow background colour. The apple has characteristics that appeal not only to consumers, with its high quality appearance, texture and flavour, but also those that Canadian apple growers seek, such as its late harvest date, good storage and shelf life, high yields and good growth habits for high-density orchards.
“With already 15 orchardists committed to growing the Salish™, we look forward to having increased production year after year,” stated John Kingsmill, General Manager & CEO of PICO. “This delightful apple holds the promise of being one of the best.”
BACKGROUND
About the Salish™
The Salish™ is named for the Canadian Interior language of Thompson, Okanagan-Colville, and Shuswap. AAFC researchers at the Pacific Agri-Food Centre (PARC) in Summerland led the Salish’s™ development and worked closely with the Okanagan Plant Improvement Corporation (PICO) to test it with growers.
The Salish™ consistently scored very well in formal sensory panels, thanks to its tangy, juicy flavour and crisp texture. In a joint project with AAFC’s breeding program and PICO, PARC’s sensory program ran additional consumer tests at the UBC Apple Festival. The Salish™ generated a lot of positive response, with festival goers returning to ask for it specifically. A few specialty stores in the Vancouver area have also created a loyal following for the apple.
Limited quantities of the Salish™ will be available for sale at select stores in Greater Vancouver and Kelowna this fall. (See list of retailers at www.picocorp.com/media.)
Apple Production in British Columbia
In 2011, BC produced about 24 percent of the apples grown in Canada and was the third largest producer after Ontario and Quebec. The total marketed production from BC in 2011 was 96,614 metric tons with a farm gate value of C$36.7 million. This represented about 26percent of the national farm gate value of apples in 2011 (Statistics Canada).
About 60percent of all planted land in BC orchards is planted with apple trees. Nearly 92 percent of the apple crop is sold fresh, with British Columbians consuming around 25% of the apples grown in BC. The rest of the crop is processed, with apple juice being the most popular product.
Of the $14.4 million in fresh apples exported from BC, 74 percent went to the U.S.
Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Washington and Pennsylvania apple shippers are filling the gap left by major crop losses in Michigan and New York. However, many Eastern growers who thought they would be shipping through the end of the year, probably will not as they run out of product. As a result, the demand for Washington apple loadings likely will increase sooner rather than later.
Apple volumes from Pennsylavania were up to 20 percent more than expected, given the severe crop shortages in New York and Michigan.
Avocado Shipments
More avocados will be crossing the border from Mexico in the USA in the months ahead for distribution by truck throughout North America.
Mexico, which is the largest supplier of Hass avocados to the USA market, prediciting record loads for the 2012-13 crop and expects to export a record volume of avocados to the USA market during the 2012-13 season.
Mexico, projected exports of Hass to the United States from July 2012 through June 2013 will total more than 918 million pounds, up from around 782 million pounds during the prior year.
The most active shipping period and biggest volumes will occur from between October-through-December (around 291 million pounds) and the January-through-March period (around 269 million pounds).
Blueberry Imports
Blueberry imports from Chile just continue to increase and should be available from various USA ports in coming weeks. The initial berries will be arriving via air shipments through the first half of December. But as volume picks up, most blueberries will arrive at USA port via boats. Biggest volume arrivals should be during January and February.
Lower Rio Grande Valley (Mexican crossings of citrus, fruit, veggies, avocados, etc. – grossing about $2200 to Chicago.
Washington apples – about $6000 to New York City.
Eating an apple a day might in fact help keep the cardiologist away, according 
to research from Ohio State University.
In a study of healthy, middle-aged adults, consumption of one apple a day for four weeks lowered by 40 percent blood levels of a substance linked to hardening of the arteries.
Taking capsules containing polyphenols, a type of antioxidant found in apples, had a similar, but not as large, effect.
The study, funded by an apple industry group, found that the apples lowered blood levels of oxidized LDL — low-density lipoprotein, the “bad” cholesterol. When LDL cholesterol interacts with free radicals to become oxidized, the cholesterol is more likely to promote inflammation and can cause tissue damage.
“When LDL becomes oxidized, it takes on a form that begins atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries,” lead researcher Robert DiSilvestro, professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University and a researcher at the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research & Development Center, said in a press release. “We got a tremendous effect against LDL being oxidized with just one apple a day for four weeks.”
The difference was similar to that found between people with normal coronary arteries versus those with coronary artery disease, he said
The study is published online in the Journal of Functional Foods and will appear in a future print edition.
DiSilvestro described daily apple consumption as significantly more effective at lowering oxidized LDL than other antioxidants he has studied, including the spice-based compound curcumin, green tea and tomato extract.
“Not all antioxidants are created equal when it comes to this particular effect,” he said.
DiSilvestro first became interested in studying the health effects of eating an apple a day after reading a Turkish study that found such a regimen increased the amount of a specific antioxidant enzyme in the body.
In the end, his team didn’t find the same effect on the enzyme, but was surprised at the considerable influence the apples had on oxidized LDL.
For the study, the researchers recruited nonsmoking healthy adults between the ages of 40 and 60 who had a history of eating apples less than twice a month and who didn’t take supplements containing polyphenols or other plant-based concentrates.
In all, 16 participants ate a large Red or Golden Delicious apple purchased at a Columbus-area grocery store daily for four weeks; 17 took capsules containing 194 milligrams of polyphenols a day for four weeks; and 18 took a placebo containing no polyphenols. The researchers found no effect on oxidized LDLs in those taking the placebo.
The study also found eating apples had some effects on antioxidants in saliva, which has implications for dental health, DiSilvestro said. He hopes to follow up on that finding in a future study.
The study was conducted as a master’s thesis by graduate student Shi Zhao, and was funded by a grant from the U.S. Apple Association/Apple Product Research and Education Council and a donation from Futureceuticals Inc. of Momence, IL.
Also involved in the study were associate professor Joshua Bomser and research associate Elizabeth Joseph, both in the Department of Human Nutrition, which is housed in the university’s College of Education and Human Ecology.
Fall is definately settling in across the USA and autumn produce loads also are increasing.
The biggest indication the new season is gearing up is in the Northwest with shipments of apples from Washington’s Yakima and Wenachee Valleys. Last week the state’s apple volume exceeded 2,200 truckload equivalents and the amount will continue increasing in the weeks ahead. Demand for apples around the country is strong in big part due to Michigan losing most of its crop due to weather, plus significant losses in New York state.
In California, the heaviest volume for produce shipments continues with table grapes from the San Joaquin Valley, averaging about 1,600 truckloads per week. Salinas Valley lettuce is providing the next most available loads averaging about around 1,200 truckloads each week. There also are good loading opportunities with Watsonville area strawberries and with tomatoes from the Central San Joaquin Valley. The valley also is shipping stone fruit, but it is now in a seasonal decline.
In the upper mid-west, central Wisconsin about 400 truckloads of potatoes a week, but this will be increasing. In the same area, fresh cranberry shipments are small compared to potatoes, but still significant and will be increasing, particularly by the end of October as Thanksgiving shipments get underway.
In New England, there are light amounts of apples being shipped. Massachusetts cranberry shipments from the Cape Cod area also have started, and will increase in a similar fashion to those in Wisconsin.
On New York’s Long Island, about 60 truckloads of potatoes are being shipped weekly from the eastern end of the island.
Looking at North Carolina, the nation’s largest sweet potato shipper, there are about 65,000 acres of the product. Normal volume is expected. Some of the old crop is still being loaded. However, the new sweet potato crop will soon provide most of the shipments. A average amount of about 15 million cartons of sweet potatoes should be shipped from North Carolina over the next 10 or 11 months.
Washington apples – grossing about $4400 to Chicago.
Salinas Valley vegetables and berries – about $7100 to New York City.
Wisconsin potatoes – about $1000 to Chicago.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – about $1500 Atlanta.
There will be a half dozen fresh potato shippers up and running in the Red 
River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota by the end of this week. That is a few more than typically run in mid-September, but with an early wrap-up in Big Lake, MN, demand is quickly shifting to the Red River Valley. Cooler temperatures this week should speed the harvest even more.
In North Carolina, the earliest shipping of cured sweet potatoes got underway September 17 from the new crop. However, some shippers will be shipping the old sweet potato crop through September….North Carolina leads the nation in sweet potato volume, which comes off of 64,000 acres from various parts of the state.
Sweet onions from Peru are arriving at various USA ports. Arrival of asparagus from Peru also are occurring, and should peak between now and into October.
Washington state is now shipping its second largest apple crop on record, estimated to be nearly 109 million boxes.
In California, pomegrante shipments are underway. It joins a host of more common produce items ranging from table grapes and stone fruit in the San Joaquin Valley, to veggies from the Salinas area…..The Santa Maria district is shipping a wide variety of berries and vegetables, although not in the volume found around Salinas. Freight rates fromt he Santa Maria district have risen slightly, while most other areas of the state are showing much change in rates, indicating adequate truck supplies.
Salinas Valley produce – grossing about $7200 to New York City.
Washington state fruit – about $4000 to Dallas.
Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes – about $2250 to Chicago.
Washington state has new crops of potatoes, pears and apples now being 
shipped to point across North America.
In the Skagit Valley, located just north of Seattle, red, yellow, white and even a few purple potatoes are now providing loads. Much of the activity centers around the town of Mount Vernon. This isn’t the heavest volume produce area in the state, but it has a reputation for having consistent quality. That reduces chances of claims and rejections for the trucker.
Washington’s main potato shipping area is in the Columbia Basin in the southern part of the state, that also extends into the Umatilla Basin of Oregon. This region is averaging nearly 900 truckload equivalents of potato shipments a week. The Columbia Basin also is shipping dry onions.
The Yakima and Wenatchee valleys are now shipping the new crop of pears. Oregon shipments will be up slightly from a year ago with 10.6 million 44-pound equivalent boxes forecast. Washington state may be down slightly from last year with about 19.1 million 44-pound boxes. Although the Northwest is expected to have six percent fewer pear loads this season, it still exceeds the five-year average for shipments by about two percent.
Between Washington state and Oregon, the two states account for about 75 percent of the nation’s pear volume.
As has been reported in several recent stories on HaulProduce.com, a huge apple crop is still being forecast, with loadings expected to be brisk this season as Washington state works to fill voids in Michigan and New York state, who are shipping less apples due to weather related problems.
Columbia Basin potatoes and onions – grossing about $5600 to New York City.
Washington apple and pears – about $3700 to Chicago.
Summertime loads for produce haulers in New Jersey growers are declining, 
but there are still a limited amount of peaches being shipped. However, peach shipments will wrap up within days. There’s also limited handling of basil and mint are also finishing and will be halted by frost that typically occurs in mid-October.
The fall season shipments for spinach, escarole/endive, lettuces, turnips, radishes, and white and sweet potatoes are just getting started. There also are less amounts of vegetables ranging from cabbage to collards, kale, beets, Swiss chard, pickles, cucumbers, .radishes, butternut and acorn squash, and herbs such as parsley, dill, coriander, arugula and cilantro.
The top volume fresh-market vegetables in New Jersey are: tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, escarole, snap beans and asparagus. The primary fresh-market fruits are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and apples. Jersey also is one of the top five states in producing cranberries for processing.
New Jersey also ships apples, but unlike the major Western apple shipping states, the Jersey fruit is shipped after harvest. without being stored time in controlled atmosphere conditions. New Jersey apple loadings began in late-August, with the Gala, MacIntosh, Jonathan and Courtland varieties, and are followed by Red Delicious, Empire, Jonagold and McCoun. Golden Delicious, Rome and Stayman Winesap start shipments in mid- to late September. Braeburn, Fuji and Granny Smith will start in early-October.
Fall official begins in the USA on September 22nd, 9:49 CST. However, in a 
sense fall really kicks off in the minds of many, after Labor Day, September 3rd. It also means the beginning of fall produce loads for many new items, and is the start of late season shipping for a number of produce items. Total USA produce volume does not match that of summer, but it certainly beat the low volume season of winter.
California provides a lot of loading opportunties for produce haulers during the fall season.
Grapes – Historic shipments of table grapes from the San Joaquin Valley will peak in September. Nearly 110 million 19-pound cartons are expected to be shipped by the end of the season in late 2012.
Oranges – While the smaller valencia loadings, expected to total 28 million boxes, end in October, the much larger navel orange crop kicks in as valencia finish.
Apples – While shipments have been underway for several weeks, loadings of the popular fuji and granny smith varieties have just started.
Strawberries – Shipments are running about 11 percent ahead compared to this time last year. While loadings are past their summer peak, decent volume continues into the fall. Through August about four to five million trays were being shipped, and this will drop to around three to four million trays during September. While most strawberry shipments through the summer have been from the Watsonville/Salinas area, those loadings with be in decline before ending in late November. The volume from that area will be replaced with shipments originating from Oxnard.
Pomegranates – This may not be one of the visible or promenate produce items for hauling, yet there will be about four million boxes of pomegranates shipped, beginning in early October.
Kiwifruit — About two-thirds of the loadings originate out of the Southern San Joaquin Valley and about one-third from the northern Sacramento Valley. Shipments are expected to be down 15 to 20 percent for the 2012-13 season, with loading forecast at about 7 million, seven pound trays, with loadings to kick off around the second week of October.
Persimmons – Average shipments are forecast, with loadings becoming available around the third week of September from such towns as Madera and Reedley.
Pumpkins – Shipments got underway from around Manteca, CA the week of August 27th., which is about normal. However peak loadings are not expected until the end of September and early October.
There will be fewer apples for hauling in two of four of the leading eastern states this fall. 
New York got hit the hardest by frost related weather earlier this year, but there also will be fewer loads available for produce haulers in North Carolina. Pennsylvania and Virginia will be up in volume only slightly.
New York state’s Western and Central apple shipping areas were hit the hardest, with less frost damage occuring in the eastern part of the state, home of the Hudson Valley. Still, New York’s volume will be down 52 percent from last apple season ( 590 million pounds compared to 1.2 billion pound a year ago).
In Pennsylvania, apples are forecast to be at 481 million pounds. It shipped 458 million pounds last year.
North Carolina took a beating. This year it expects to load 40 million pounds of apples compared to 140 million pounds in 2011.
The leading apple shipper in the mid-west, Michigan will ship 85 percent fewer apples this season.
Ironically, Washington state, which normally ships about half of the nation’s apples every year, is expected to account for 77 percent of the nation’s apple loads for 2012-13. This is despite suffering some hail damage. The state was on track for historic volume, until the fowl weather hit. Still, Washington state is expected to have its second largest amount of apple shipments on record.
One difference produce haulers can expect out of the Northwest this season is for Washington shippers to be packing more apples than normal in the smaller, consumer bags. This is because Michigan normally is heavy with bagged apples, and Washington packers will be looking to help fill this void.
Produce truckers should always watch what is being loaded, not only for proper count, but for quality and appearance of the product being loaded. This is especially true if you are hauling apples from most shipping areas this season. Expect shippers to be loading some fruit with pits or hail damage marks on it. Just make sure whom you are hauling for is aware of this situation to help reduce changes of claims or rejected loads. Also, be sure and note it on the bill of lading.
Washington state apples grossing – about $5600 to New York City.