Posts Tagged “California”
In case you haven’t noticed strawberries in retail supermarket are costing about 30 percent more, or about a dollar more per 16 ounce claimshell package, than only a few weeks ago. After a summer of plentiful supplies, this is the time of year when strawberry production is in a transition from the bountiful fields at Watsonville, CA to areas further south, such as Ventura and Orange counties, as well as in Mexico. It will be the first of the year before supplies increase, and perhaps some break in what you are paying in the stores.
Long gone are days of 99-cent-per-pound apples. Yet, this fruit is one of the better buys in produce departments. Despite a freeze wiping out the vast majority of apples in Michigan last spring, plus cold weather hitting New York apples hard, the nation should have nine percent more apples than a year ago – thanks to a humongous crop in Washington state. Still it depends on the variety, what you will pay. For example, two of my favorites, the Gala and the fuji apples are selling at my store for $1.77 per pound. However, another favorite of mine, the Ambrosia apples, costs about 50 percent more.
Table grapes have been another wonderful eating experience this year. California’s crop has been so sweet and cruncy I sure hate to see the season end. I’m noticing the late season grapes from California are not quit as good as the super tasting product that has been available for month. Grapes also have been one of the best buys in the produce department. The California product will soon be replaced by grapes from Chile. We can only hope Chile has as good a crop.
Other good buys in the produce department continue to be bananas and kiwifruit.
Early California navel orange shipments have gotten off to a good start this season and expect to load around 93 million boxes before the season concludes. This would be up from 83 millon cartons from the previous season. Loadings have been steady and are expected to remain this way in the weeks ahead.
Something to keep an eye on is the restrictions California is putting ictions on citrus fruit and plants in Tulare County after two recent detections of Asian citrus psyllid. It is not a full quarantine, but if another psyllid is found — it would be the fourth detection. This would trigger a two-year quarantine. Current restrictions are in place for six months.
The psyllids, which can carry citrus greening disease, feed on citrus trees, sucking the sap and weakening them, but they can carry citrus greening, a bacterial disease. The disease is no threat to humans or animals, but it can stunt and even kill citrus trees. The problem also has been detected in Florida and Texas.
Desert Shipments
In The California desert, as well as Yuma, AZ, recent warm cauliflower and broccoli shipments well above normal. Loadings are usually brisk this time of year anyway as supplies to buyers for the Christmas holidays are ramping up. A similar situation exist for various types of lettuce in the desert.
Strawberries
California is in between seasons now and strawberry shipments are light. While the Watsonville area has pretty much finished, loadings are now coming out of Ventura and Orange counties. Volume will remain light until after the first of the year.
Entering the lightest season volume wise for produce loads, it’s not uncommon for multiple pick ups and drops to fill out the trailer. Pick ups starting in southern California may extend to the California desert, Yuma and perhaps even Nogales. Changes for the better are occuring at the Arizona, Mexico border that should improve produce crossings in the USA and reduce delays for loadings at the many Nogales warehouses.
The Mariposa port was built in the 1970s, designed to handled 400 trucks crossing into Arizona daily. Over the years changes have increased the truck count to around 1600 to 1800 a day. In the past an estimated 25 percent of the trucks crossing the border into Arizona were delayed because of gridlock on the Mariposa Road (State Route 189), which connects the port to I-19. Numerous stop lights on the state route often contribute to the delays.
In 2009 a $220 million expansion of the port was started and is scheduled for completion in 2014. This should increase traffic capabilities to 4,000 to 5,000 trucks a day crossing the border in Nogales.
Meanwhile, there is light volume of watermelon, honeydew, squash, bell peppers, tomatoes and other items crossing the border from Mexico, it will be another month of so before the volume really improves.
Nogales produce is grossing about $3400 to Chicago, about $5800 to New York.
Christmas is only three weeks away and produce holiday shipments have already started with some items.
The last of fresh cranberry loads are now moving to USA markets, but primarily from Central Wisconsin. While Massachusetts often promises Christmas shipments, it has a checkered history of actually delivering, primarily due to quality issues and the demand from the processing marketing.
Probably the most reliable is The Cranberry Network LLC, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., which markets fruit grown by Tomah, WI-based Habelman Bros. Co., the nation’s largest fresh cranberry grower. It plans on packing and shipping fresh-market cranberries through mid-December.
In Texas, the Winter Garden District located just south of San Antonio is gearing up with cabbage, broccoli and onion shipments. Further south in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, there are grapefruit and orange loads available, as well as a variety of vegetables, not only from the valley, but crossing the border from Mexico.
California
California has a big clementine crop this season coming out of the San Joaquin Valley. The valley continues to ship a record setting table grape crop, which will be winding down in coming weeks.
In the desert areas of California (Imperial Valley) and Arizona (Yuma), volume is increasing on vegetables. Last winter was very mild and unlike many past winters, picks and loads were not significantly disrupted by weather factors. Odds are this won’t happen in two consecutive years, but we’ll find out in the weeks and months ahead.
Imports
Imported Spanish clementines arriving on the East Coast are expected to be 25-30 percent lower than last season.
Importers of Peruvian and Chilean onions expect good movement and good quality with winter approaching. Arrivals are taking place now with onions from Peru, while onions from Chile will start arriving anytime, a 20 percent drop is seen.
Imperial Valley vegetables – grossing about $3800 to Chicago.
Truck brokers, freight forwarders, as well produce grower/shippers and receivers could face fines totaling as much as $10,000 per violation and per day if refrigeration equipment on the trucks they hire is not in compliance with new California regulations becoming effective with the New Year. The penalties apply even if the trucks are only passing through California and do not stop in the state. The rules apply under California’s Health and Safey Code.
The regulations stem from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and covers truck and rail owners and operators, plus any “hiring entity” using their services.
These issues were dicussed during a recent web seminar sponsored by Western Growers, Irvine, Calif., the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, Fresno, and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn. Also participating was Rodney Hill, an air pollution specialist from CARB who helped develop the rule.
As an example of rule violations, Hill said a truck loaded in Arizona and traveling through California on its way to a delivery point in Oregon could be fined, even though no deliveries are made in California. The rule applies because the truck is operating within the state. It doesn’t matter where the truck is licensed.
Hill Compliance for hiring entities shouldn’t be too difficult, though, according to Hill and others in the Web seminar.
Matt McInerney, Western Growers executive vice president, said due diligence and documentation are the keys to keeping produce companies out of trouble. Hill agreed with that assessment.
“Begin changing your contracts now so you will be ready Jan. 1,” McInerney said.
“For those of you who have pre-printed pads of bills of lading, I know you want to use up what you have. But you should get new ones printed, or get a stamp made with the right language so you can add it to the forms you have on hand.”
Hiring entities and loading dock personnel, Hill said, will not be expected to inspect refrigeration equipment to see if it is compliant.
However, if the equipment is not compliant and the hiring company’s contracts and other documents don’t have language showing it required the carrier to use compliant equipment, citations and fines will be issued, Hill said.
California Navel orange shipments for the 2012-13 season is estimated at 93 million cartons (40-pound equivalent) statewide and 90 million cartons for the San Joaquin Valley, according to the USDA.
While shipments for California Navels should be heavy, it will probably be short of a record. The record was hit in the 2010-11 season, when the Central Valley alone produced 93 million cartons, and up 6 percent from the 2011-12 loads.
The first shipments took place in early November.
Red potato shipments out of North Dakota and Minnesota are nearly 35 percent head of loadings through October than they were during he same fall period a year ago. Red River Valley fresh potato shipments are expected to be the largest since 2008.
The total USA potato volume is estimated to be at least 12 million hundredweight larger than a year ago.
The North American Potato Market news is reporting that average daily shipments of russets has dropped 0.6 percent compared to last year while daily red shipments increased 18 percent.
Texas citrus season is in full swing, and shipping has begun for grapefruit and oranges. The USDA forecast for the 2012 – 2013 Texas citrus season is 2.8 million cartons of oranges and 10.6 million cartons of grapefruit.
Moderate shipments of watermelons from Mexico will continue crossing the border into Nogales, AZ through the end of the year. Overall Mexican fruit and vegetable crossing at Nogales are seasonally light, but the will change in Janaury as a host of produce items will be increasing in volume.
Strawberries continue to be a favorite of consumers, as well as other berries ranging from raspberries to blueberries and blackberries. The popularity of each continues to increase. The fruit not only is tasty, but healthy.
The agricultural lending company Rabobank sees retail berry sales continuing to incrase by seven percent annually for the next three years.
Rabobank’s Food and Agribusiness Research and Advisory group recently released a report, titled “The U.S. Fresh Berry Boom — Who Will Profit from the Growth?”
No surprising is the report notes California will continue to be the leading producer of fresh berries for strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Sharpest gains in recent years have been with strawberries and blueberries.
California produces 88 percent of the country’s fresh strawberries and significant portions of fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Florida is also a significant producer of fresh berries.
During the fall and winter months strawberry and blueberry importes from Mexico and Chile compete directly with Florida’s season. Chile now accounts for over 50 percent of imported blueberries.
Consumers are now purchasing more berries that been grown south from British Columbia and continuing all the way south along the coast to Chile. This shift will continue following seasonal patterns, but also seeing increased volume in the more southern regions.
Over the past five years, California has shown tremendous growth in strawberry production the past five years. In 2008, the state produced 114 million cartons of strawberries, which grew to 181 million cartons in 2010. In 2011, volume actually slipped to 178 million cartons but this year, but in 2013, the total volume should be in the 190 million carton range.
The majority of those gains come from increased yields. California’s strawberry acreage totalled 36,519 acres in 2008, but was down to 37,732 acres this year.
It is a different story for blueberries. Worldwide statistics show total world acreage of blueberries has grown significantly over the years. It has quadrupled in the past 15 years and now sits near 200,000 acres with most of that being in North and South America. The Americas represent close to 80 percent of the world’s blueberry acreage and production.
While head lettuce shipments continue from the Salinas Valley and the Huron District in the San Joaquin Valley, volume is rapidly decreasing as the seasonal shift if well underway and volume increases from the desert areas of the Imperial Valley in Southern California and in the nearby Yuma district of Arizona.
Normal shipments are expected from the desert areas through the end of the year. Loadings for romaine from the Imperial Valley should start the week after Thanksgiving.
Lettuce loads from the Salinas Vallely are expected to overlap the Imperial Valley season by a week or two.
Record shipments of tables grapes continues from the San Joaquin Valley spanning the Kern District to the northern part of the valley is averaging over 1,600 truckloads per week…..Also from the Kern District is shipments of carrots, averaging about 350 truckload equivalents per week.
Strawberry shipments from the Watsonville District are in a seasonal decline, while volume is picking up from Ventura County. Moderate volume continues from the Santa Maria District. As with many vegetables in California, berry volume is much lower than only a few weeks ago.
There’s a number of produce items in California providing light volume, but at this point may be helping to fill out the truck. Those items may range from oranges to lemons, kiwi, various veggies and even holiday product such as pomegrantes.
San Joaquin Valley produce – grossing about $4400 to Chicago.
More consumers are realizing the healthy benefits of eating nuts.
A record crop of around 550 million pounds of pistachios is projected as the 2012 harvest nearing completion. Pistachio growers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada are expecting huge demand from consumers.
There are currently about 250,000 acres of pistachios planted in the four states (98 percent of that is in California), and currently only 145,000 acres are producing crops. Based on industry data, the current plantings are expected to boost the crop size to 800 million pounds by 2016, double what it was in 2009.
About 60 percent of the total USA pistachio volume is exported mostly to China and to the European Union.
In the USA there are sponsorships of the American men’s and women’s water polo teams. The women’s team won the gold medal at the recent London Olympics.
There also continues to be sponsorship of the Miss California Pageant, with the idea of tying in with Miss California on the beauty and fitness side of eating pistachios.
The pistachio industry also is involved in sponsoring various nutrition and health studies. Previous studies have focused on benefits to cardiovascular health and on lowering of cholesterol by eating pistachios.
Pistachios are not alone in the nut category in terms of experiencing growing global demand. All tree nuts, whether it be almonds or walnuts or pistachios, seem to be doing well.
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.