Posts Tagged “California strawberry shipments”
Focusing on California, stone fruit volume is building, while strawberry shipments are shifting from Ventura County to Santa Maria.
While there has been light volume of California stone fruits in recent weeks, decent volume is expected to occur with the next 10 days to two weeks.
The state does not have a big crop of stone fruits this year, but shipments should be strong, in large part due to production problems in the SoutheastA.
About 90 percent of the South Carolina peach crop was wiped out by a devastating freeze, while Georgia lost about 40 percent of its peaches.
California stone fruit shipments should be fairly steady by the middle of May.
While heavier shipments have occurred the past couple of season during late April with nectarines and some other stone fruit items, that is about a week earlier than what’s considered normal. More normal is returning this season with the crop a little later.
Strong volume is seen by the third week in May, just in time for deliveries for the Memorial Day weekend May 27 – 29.
West Coast stone fruit shipments used to be much larger, but that has change over the past decade or more with a decline in acreage. Also, a marketing order was eliminated several years ago, resulting in it now being difficult to get a firm handle on acreage totals. However, appears acreage declines have bottomed out. Many stone fruit growers also had shifted to growing other items such as almonds and Mandarins.
California white peaches started in late April, while yellow nectarines and white nectarines, plus apricots got underway in early May. Black and red plums will be starting in the middle of May.
California Strawberry Shipments
As of April 15th, California strawberry volume was over 5.5 million trays, more than half a million over the projected 4.9 million. Currently, Ventura County strawberry shipments are in a seasonal decline with volume still a little more than a little northward at Santa Mara, where volume is approaching peak loadings. Last week, Santa Maria shipped about 450 loads of strawberries. The Watsonville area near Salinas is shipping strawberries in very light volume, which will be increasing.
Santa Maria strawberries and vegetables – grossing about $6400 to New York City.
Here’s an overview on the soaring volume of imported mangoes, plus a shipping update on California strawberries leading up to Easter.
Since 2005, imported mango shipments have increased over 75 percent, from 62 million boxes in 2005 to 109 million boxes in 2016. Once considered an exotic fruit, mangoes are becoming more mainstream now than ever, and visibility continues to increase yearly as more consumers demand them.
Imports of the tommy atkins mango variety and now crossing the border into South Texas (about 250 truck loads a week) through Nogales, AZ. Crossings at both areas are increasing as the Mexican mango season ramps up.
Peruvian mango imports have been in a surplus this year, with 50 percent more of the tropical fruit than the previous season, which is coming to a close. Besides Mexico, imported fruit has recently started from Guatemala and will get underway from Haiti in April.
Mexican tropical fruit and vegetables crossing the border in South Texas – grossing about $4800 to Boston.
California Strawberry Shipments
If California’s “monsoon” season is finally behind it there is a lot of hope there will be heavy strawberry shipments in the weeks and months ahead. California strawberry loadings are behind in shipments compared to two years ago, when the season kicked off extremely early for lack of rain.
California strawberry shipments had totaled 5.2 million trays at the by the end of the week of March 11th, down a little from the 6.7 million shipped the same time a year earlier. However, this was far less than the 12.9 million trays shipped by that time in 2015.
Strawberry shipments set records in 2016, harvesting 196.4 million trays. Volume for the previous year, despite the early start, was 189.9 million trays. Total California strawberry shipments this should be similar to 2016. The state has 36,141 acres this year compared to 36,039 acres last year, while yields continue to increase significantly.
California ships over 87 percent of the strawberries in the U.S.
Ventura County now is gearing up for peak season strawberry shipments. The Santa Maria got underway in late February and volume has been increasing during March. The Salinas/Watsonville area is just now getting underway. Peak shipments are expected in time for deliveries leading up to Easter — April 16.
Light volume with Santa Maria strawberries, cauliflower and broccoli shipments – grossing about $5800 to New York City
Updated estimates continue to show fewer Red River Valley potatoes for hauling this season, plus here’s a look at California strawberry loads and Texas citrus.Fall Potato production in North Dakota is 20.8 million hundredweight, down 25 percent from 2015, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Yield, at 325 hundredweight per acre, is down 20 hundredweight from a year earlier. Area harvested, at 64 thousand acres, is down 16 thousand acres from 2015.
Red River Valley potatoes – grossing about $1700 to Chicago.
California Strawberry Shipments
January rains in California may have disrupted the harvest and shipments of strawberries, but the welcome moisture should bode well in the weeks and months ahead. Volume is building out of Ventura County leading up the popular St. Valentine’s Day, February 14th. Oxnard shipment should continue through April. In the meantime, light volume from the Watsonville area as well as Santa Maria will start in March.
Strawberries and vegetables from Ventura County – grossing about $6200 to New York City.
Texas Citrus Shipments
Citrus acreage in Texas is expected to increase from 27,000 acres this year to as much as 30,000 acres by next year, despite challenges like citrus greening and the Mexican fruit fly.
Most of the state’s citrus are Texas red grapefruit varieties, but there also are early and mid-season oranges, navels and valencias.
The season has been progressing smoothly and orange shipments should continue through March and possibly into April.
The firm started grapefruit in early November and expects to continue through April.
Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas grapefruit, oranges and imported Mexican vegetables and tropical fruits- grossing about $2500 to Atlanta; $2800 to Chicago and $4200 to New York City.
Excellent loading opportunities for California grapes are continuing into the fall shipping season, while strawberries also are moving in good volume. Meanwhile, here’s an update on Georgia fall vegetable shipments.
California Grape Shipments
California grape shipments are above of those of a year ago. About 82.9 million million of grapes were loaded in the San Joaquin Valley in the week ending September 26, up from 70.7 million pounds in the same week last year. However, this was down from 88.1 million pounds the previous week.
Season-to-date, about 2.1 billion pounds of grapes had shipped in the U.S., down from 2.2 billion pounds last year at the same time.
San Joaquin Valley grapes and melons – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
California Strawberry Shipments
California strawberry volumes should continue heavy as fall loadings increase. Weekly volumes shipping in September were at record levels for that time of year, with the trade shipping over 5.5 million trays a week during the month.
During the second half of September, there were volumes from both the Salinas/Watsonville area and the Santa Maria growing district. Higher-yielding varieties were coming into production in from both areas, with being a factor behind the shipping surge. The week of September 19 some Oxnard growers were already shipping some fall strawberries.
By the first or second week of October, loadings from Oxnard should be going good, although fall acreage is down slightly from last year.
Salinas Valley vegetables and Watsonville strawberries – grossing about $6600 to New York City,
Georgia Vegetable Shipments
Late-summer growing conditions have been good for production of southern Georgia cabbage, cucumbers and greens. There will be very light loadings of cabbage in late October. However, volume will pick up significantly in early to mid-November. Good loading opportunities are seen for the holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
Cucumber shipments started in south Georgia a couple of weeks ago, with loadings expected to continue into the first half of November.
In mid-September, Georgia growers typically begin harvesting leafy greens, including kale, collard greens, turnip roots and mustard greens. and ramp up larger volume in mid-October.
Now that we are well into summer, here’s a look at California strawberry shipments, blueberries from the Northwest and New Jersey, as well as from Michigan, plus more.
For the 2016 season, California will ship nearly 80 percent of the strawberry volume in the United States.
The 2016 California Strawberry Acreage Survey from the California Strawberry Commission notes 32,515 acres of strawberries were planted in California for the 2016 season. This breaks down to 27,783 acres planted in the fall of last year for production in the winter, spring and summer and then 4,732 acres planted this summer for production in the fall.
California strawberries are shipped year-round in California, with the ‘late-season strawberries’ second planting often referred to as the “summer plant.”
The majority of this acreage is shipped into the fall/early winter, and primarily originates from the Oxnard and Santa Maria areas.
Watsonville strawberries and Salinas vegetables – grossing about $4500 to Chicago.
Blueberry Shipments
Oregon blueberry shipments are now coming out of the Willamette Valley region with mid- to late-season varieties. Fresh shipments have ended a week or so early this year and now loadings are coming with “blues” out of storage. Shipments should continue through September.
Meanwhile, peak blueberry shipments are expected through August from British Columbia and New Jersey, with both areas continuing with lighter volume through September.
Michigan Produce Shipments
Michigan could set record blueberry shipments as loadings continue this season. However, growers are fighting a pest known as the Spotted Wing Drosophila, a nasty invasive fruit fly. It’s requiring close attention with insecticides, are abundant, requiring stringent controls, DeGrandchamp said.
Meanwhile Southwestern Michigan also is shipping peaches and plums (Berrien County), but in much lighter volume. The apricot season has ended.
Berian County apple shipments get underway in September, followed closely by loadings from Allegan County.
Michigan blueberry shipments – grossing about $3500 to Dallas; Michigan vegetable shipments grossing 25 to 30 percent less, depending upon destination.
Here’s a produce shipping outlook from around the nation. We’ll cover everything from California tomatoes, strawberries and melons, to watermelon shipments in the Eastern half of the U.S.
California tomato shipments are gaining steam from the San Joaquin Valley to the southern coastal area.
For example, tomato loadings from Firebaugh, CA got underway June 1st and within two weeks all the tomato shippers in the San Joaquin Valley were moving product.
If the weather cooperates, the valley could be shipping tomatoes through Halloween.
On the Southern California coastline, pole tomato shipments got underway around June e13th from the Oceanside area. Shipments of roma tomatoes will start July 1. Round tomato volumes will likely peak from mid-August through October, with roma peak shipments taking place from July through September.
Good volume with cherry tomatoes should be shipped this summer from Baja, California. However it will be the middle of October before there are rounds and vine-ripes from the region.
California Strawberry Shipments
Heavy shipments of strawberries from the Salinas-Watsonville area are taking place. On average, about 950 truck loads of strawberries are being shipped weekly. The Santa Maria district is shipping roughly one-half the volume of Salinas-Watsonville.
Watsonville strawberries and Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $7200 to New York City.
Cantaloupe Shipments
It’s getting awfully hot in the desert region, but cantaloupe shipments are still on track. About 825 truck loads of cantaloupe are being loaded weekly from the Imperial Valley, as well as the Yuma area and central Arizona.
Watermelon Shipments
Georgia is easily leading the pack of states currently shipping watermelons. Heavy volume should continue through the Fourth of July before a seasonal decline begins. Meanwhile, very light volume has started with South Carolina watermelon shipments. North Carolina gets underway the first week of July. Another big state for watermelons is Missouri. Watermelon shipments from the boot heel of Missouri get start in mid July.
Southern Georgian watermelons and vegetables – grossing about $2600 to New York City.
Mexican Mangoes
Imported Mexico mango volumes have been trailing last year, but that is changing. Record shipments from Mexico are now occurring. For example, during the week of June 6th, 3.6 million cartons of mangoes were shipped. This was 6 percent more than projected.
California produce shipments have been disappointing so far this spring when it comes to total volume and freight rates, loadings are on the rise. Here’s a look at several different areas from the Golden State.
Kern Co. Produce Shipments
Currently there is light to moderate volume coming out of the Bakersfield area (Kern County) on items ranging from carrots to turnips, beets, rutabagas and navel oranges….(Carrots, along with sweet corn are available in the Imperial Valley). Carrot volume is light in Kern County, but will have a significant increase in May…..Around May 1st, Kern County green bell peppers get started.
There should be more info on Coachella Valley grape shipments soon when the first domestic grapes get underway in early May. This will occur within a few days after the start of Mexican grape shipments. (Look for a more detailed shipping outlook on Mexican grapes, Friday, April 22nd.) Coachella table grapes, similar to Mexico, are expected to finish shipments a little early this year – late June. About this time table grapes from the Bakersfield area will get underway with both red and green varieties, followed by black seedless grapes in mid July.
Kern Co. vegetable shipments – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
Strawberry Shipments
California strawberry shipments have been a big disappointment this year. As of April 9th about 27.3 million trays had been shipped, far less than the 43.3 million trays at the same time a year ago. Lack of labor and weather have been cited as primary factors. California has 32,515 acres planted this year, a drop of 5,585 acres from 2015.
Ventura County strawberries and vegetables – grossing about $5100 to Atlanta.
Salinas Valley Vegetable Shipments
About 500 truck loads of head lettuce are being shipped weekly from Salinas, with volume expected to increase on it and other types of lettuce. Overall, Salinas is still leaving a lot to be desired in total vegetable shipments, but the month of May should be much better. Lettuce shipments from the Huron area in the San Joaquin Valley are in a seasonal decline. There’s several other veggies in very light volume also coming out of the Central San Joaquin Valley.
(Another California shipping update will be coming next week.)
Salinas Valley vegetable shipments – grossing about $6800 to Boston.
A handful of storms that have hit drought-stricken California this winter has put a damper on overall California strawberry shipments to date.
With the week ending March 5, 6.7 million trays of strawberries had been shipped. That was down significantly from the 12.9 million trays shipped at the same time last year. However, this year’s volume for that week was about 1 million trays more than the projected.
Despite the slow shipments in January, volume is increasing fast, particularly out of Oxnard. Those Ventura County loadings should continue until about mid-May.
Ventura County celery, berries, and lettuce shipments – grossing about $4000 to Chicago.
Strawberry Health Benefits Promoted
The California Strawberry Commission is promoting consumption of eight strawberries a day, citing research that finds it may aid cognitive function, among other health benefits.
The MIND diet — short for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay — lowered the risk of Alzheimer’s as much as 53% in rigorous adherents and about 35% in those who follow it moderately well, according to a Rush University Medical Center study.
Berries are the only fruit specified for inclusion in the MIND diet, and the study’s authors have noted cognitive benefits from consumption of strawberries and blueberries.
The study results were published last September in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Separately, strawberries and other berries have been named by the American Diabetes Association as among the top 10 superfoods for a diabetes meal plan because of their low-sugar, vitamin, antioxidant and fiber content.
Eight medium strawberries equal about one cup a day and total 45 calories. Vitamin C content per serving exceeds that of oranges, according to the commission, and the fruit provides folate, potassium, three grams of fiber and seven grams of sugar.
California strawberry shipments are down this season about 40 percent compared to this time a year ago.
But the West Coast isn’t alone with lower volume on strawberries. Some are calling Florida’s strawberry season a crop failure. Florida strawberry shipments are down 50 percent, while Mexico is off by one-third.
Strawberries shipments are typically big for Valentine’s Day (which was February 14). This next big push is for Easter, which arrives early this year, March 27th. Although California strawberry shipments should increase for Easter, loadings are still expected to be well below normal.
Mexican strawberry shipments are also increasing. During the week of January 18-22 Mexico was averaging 160,000 to 180,000 trays. The following week there was at least 20 percent.
Above average rainfall in California from El Nino is expected to last into April, which could continue to make increases in strawberry volume a challenge.
A trend that is now adversely affecting early season shipments the past few years has been the shifting of strawberry field acreage away from Ventura County in Southern California, which is the earliest shipping district. Oxnard (Ventura County) has just over 6,800 acres of strawberries. That compares to the 10,300 acres planted just three years ago. Most of the grower/shippers have planted more strawberries in the Santa Maria district over the last few years, which is further north along the California coast.
The reason for the acreage shift relates to the varieties of the fruit. Oxnard needs a good short-day strawberry variety and there aren’t any good ones right now. Growers simply are not getting the yields in Oxnard.
If you’ve noticed sky high strawberry prices in your local supermarket, there’s a reason. Shipments from California, Mexico and Florida are all low, but things are starting change.
November rains excellerated already seasonally lower volumes for California strawberry shipments, and volumes also have been below the three-year average. Volume will improve, but it’s going to take some time. El Niño predictions are still showing the strong probability of continuous rains and occasional heavy down pours in the west.
Some California shippers will rely on Florida and Mexico production to supplement California loadings, though bad weather in central Mexico in mid-November was complicating that crop.
This time of year California volume is unpredictable due to cold weather and number of daylight hours. With short days, cold nights and the threat of rain, volume is difficult to predict.
Florida strawberry shipments are increasing and should hit decent volume by next week from the Plant City, Fla. area. However, it will be the first of the year before peak volumes occur.
By the week of November 23rd, shipments from Watsonville, CA had mostly wound down for the year, as production shifted to Southern California. Ventura County is ramping up and Orange County will get underway soon.
Southern California citrus shipments – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
Central and Southern Florida tomatoes, vegetables – grossing about $2300 to New York City.