Posts Tagged “desert produce shipments”
California melon shipments will be ramping up soon from the San Joaquin Valley, while further south in this valley, various colored potato shipments are picking up. Finally, we take a look at the season closing shipments for Florida Valencia oranges.
California’s Westside district of the San Joaquin Valley should have normal shipments this season, with loading underway by the end of June. Most shippers will begin packing between June 20 and July 1. California desert produce shipments are winding down, which means most of the nation will be receiving its supplies of cantaloupe, honeydew and other melons from and the Central San Joaquin Valley.
Consistent shipments of California melons are now expected through Labor Day. This will follow a trend for this year’s spring melon shipments that started from Arizona and California’s Imperial Valley where there good supplies and steady loadings of trucks.
Potato Shipments
Potato shipments have been decent from the Bakersfield (Kern County) area this spring, but are expected to get even better now that loadings out of Florida and Arizona are winding down. This Southern San Joaquin area is shipping primarily yellow and red potatoes, with lesser amounts of white potatoes. Shipments of white potatoes are just finishing, while reds will go through July 4th and yellows through mid-July.
Kern County potatoes, carrots – grossing about $4500 to Chicago.
Florida Valencia Shipments
Florida has slightly increased shipments of valencia oranges and honey tangerines. The USDA reports late season valencia oranges increased production by 300,000 equivalent cartons while honey tangerines increased by 10,000 cartons. Grapefruit and non-valencia orange shipments remain unchanged from the previous month’s report. In its June 10 report, the USDA reported all oranges at 81.4 cartons compared to 81 million cartons the previous month and 96.9 million cartons the previous season.
Florida Valencia orange shipments are 97 percent complete, while growers have finished grapefruit and tangerine shipments.
Desert produce shipments are winding down headed towards an earlier-than-normal finish out of the Arizona’s Yuma district and California’s Imperial Valley.
Volume is already very light on broccoli and cauliflower from the desert regions. Meanwhile, those same items are getting an early start from the Salinas Valley.
Salinas vegetable shipments started with very light volume a week ago, and it will the week of March 16th before broccoli and cauliflower start hitting good volume.
Meanwhile, a similar situation exits with lettuce ranging from Iceberg to romaine and leaf lettuce, which are winding down in the desert areas….To bridge the gap between the desert areas and Salinas, there is about a three-week shipping season out of the San Joaquin Valley’s Huron disrict. However, there’s going to be a shipping gap as Huron lettuce shipments won’t get underway until the week of March 23rd.
Meanwhile, shipping gaps with head lettuce, romaine and leaf that were common during the desert winter shipping season are expected to remain in play through March and into April as Salinas starts shipping.
California/Arizona desert vegetables – grossing about $6500 to New York City.
Salinas/Santa Maria vegetable shipments – grossing about $4500 to Chicago.
Here’s a glimpse of produce loading opportunities from across the country, ranging from Florida, to Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and California.
Florida Produce Shipments
There has been a decline of about 14 percent for orange shipments this season compared to a year ago. Florida’s decline is primarily due to the disease citrus greening. So far, Florida has pretty much dodged the winter freezing weather bullet of Mother Nature.
As for Florida strawberries, warmer temperatures in the first week of February, with highs in the 70s and 80s, expects to boost production – and shipments – just in time for shipments for Valentine’s Day. January cold fronts had caused strawberry shipments from the Plant City area to be slashed by about 25 percent.
Florida citrus and strawberries – grossing about $2000 to New York City.
Colorado Potato Shipments
San Luis Valley potato shipments are fairly steady from week-to-week, averaging about 750 truck loads weekly.
Colorado potatoes – grossing about $1750 to Dallas.
Idaho/Oregon Onions
Onions are being shipped from Eastern Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon. Volume is averaging over 800 truck loads per week.
Idaho-Oregon onion shipments – grossing about $510o to Atlanta.
Desert Produce Shipments
Most of the nation’s winter veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, head lettuce and romaine are being shipped out of the desert area of California’s Imperial Valley and at Yuma, AZ. Moderate volume is reported.
Desert vegetable shipments – grossing about $6300 to New York City.