Posts Tagged “feature”
Sweet cherry shipments are well underway in the Northwest, and produce is arriving at destination points across the country for the 2021 crop.
The cherry industry has shipped just under 600,000 boxes total, much less than forecasted before cooler weather arrived.
July may not hit the high volumes experienced in 2017 (15 million) or 2018 (13.5 million), but at an estimated 11.3 million boxes the 2021 crop should deliver just under the 5-year average of 11.8 million boxes in July.
As detailed in the Northwest Cherry Growers last report, the end of May brought cool and unsettled weather which delayed the first pick for many of the early growers. Similar weather patterns have largely continued to be the case as harvest slowly spreads and picks up speed in other spots across the Northwest. Atypical storm fronts and lower daytime temperatures have caused growers to delay picking in order to allow their fruit to reach optimal maturity before harvest, which has led to an overall slower start to harvest and limited initial volumes.
While most growers are not looking at a full crop this season, their combined volume will steadily increase and should produce a steady supply through mid-August.
Yakima Valley cherries grossing – about $6900 to Chicago; $9700 to New York City.
Summer vegetable shipments in Ohio are off to a good start, according to Buurma Farms of Williard, OH.
The vegetable shipper started loading trucks in late May, led by radishes, turnips, mustard greens, collard, kale and cilantro. In early June the company added in red lettuce, green lettuce, escarole and endive, romaine and Boston lettuce to its shipping list.
Acreage is similar to last season.
With the harvest is on schedule, it is shaping up as a pretty much normal year.
In July, there will be an increase of cucumbers, sweet corn and peppers, among other items.
Ohio vegetable shipments will continue into November.
Buurma Farms is located in the north central part of Ohio between Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.
The grower ships to customers east of the Mississippi River from Boston down to Miami and as far west as St. Louis and Memphis.
In addition, Buurma Farms can ship produce overnight to about two-thirds of the population of the U.S.
A nearly 20% decline in spending on eating out occasions contributed to a 5% decline in food spending in 2020, according to the USDA.
In a report on food expenditures, the USDA said 2020 U.S. spending on food totaled about $1.56 trillion, 5.3% lower than the $1.65 trillion spent on food in the U.S. in 2019. Last year was only the second time annual total food expenditures decreased over the last 25 years.
The only other time spending decreased, notes the USDA, was in 2009 during the Great Recession.
The 2020 decrease in total food spending was driven by an 18.3% drop in spending at restaurants, cafeterias, and other eating-out places.
Because of the additional cost of eating away from home, that decrease outweighed an 8.5% jump in food-at-home (FAH) spending.
For the past 25 years, U.S. food annual total expenditures and the share of food-away-from-home showed steady increases, with the highest share of food away from home spending occurring during the summer months.
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic limited mobility of U.S. consumers and led to an economic recession for most of 2020, disrupting historical trends in food spending,” the USDA report said.
In April 2020, U.S. consumers spent about two-thirds of their food dollars at food at home retailers (grocery outlets), the highest value on record.
The last quarter of 2020 saw monthly increases in food at home spending, an expected outcome of colder weather and holiday meal preparation, which resulted in record-high food at home spending in December.
On the other hand, food away from home spending decreased in November by 10% and showed a slight increase in December but remained well below 2019 levels.
“While COVID-19 vaccine distribution for select groups began in the United States in December 2020, the post-pandemic landscape of the food economy remains unclear,” the USDA said.
Mexican strawberry exports soared 24.8 percent at an annual rate from January to April 2021, reaching $662 million dollars.
Opportimes reported volume hit 156,800 tons, an increase of 16.3 percent over last year.
Mexico’s share of the U.S. import market declined in the past two years, to about 60 percent in 2020, from 79 percent in 2018, while imports from Chile to the U.S. increased 6 percent, and imports from Peru grew 40 percent, the California Strawberry Commission reported.
Despite a decline in export shipments in mid-March 2020 when the U.S. lockdown began, shipments to the U.S. increased in 2020.
The California Strawberry Commission reported total shipments from the state in 2020 were 1.892 million pounds, 4 percent more than the previous year. While total shipments from Florida calendar year in 2020 were up 20 percent from the previous year.
Strawberry exports from central Mexico to the U.S. typically occur from November to March, while strawberry exports from Baja California, Mexico, occur from January to April in smaller quantities.
Mexican strawberry exports create competition during the Florida season and the California growing areas of Orange County and Oxnard.
The California Strawberry Processing Advisory Board reported the 2020 estimated package of frozen strawberries in the U.S. was 359.7 pounds, slightly below the previous year and below the average levels of recent years.
With a lower package, below average starting stocks, and a slight increase in demand, U.S. frozen strawberry imports were up 26 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year.
Import volumes from Mexico, the largest supplier of frozen strawberry imports to the US, increased 17 percent from 2019.
Lemons and limes continue to grow in per capita consumpution, according to USDA figures.
Between 2010 and 2018, per capita lemon availability grew 46%, from 2.8 pounds in 2010 to 4.1 pounds in 2018, the USDA reported.
For limes, the growth is slightly more impressive, rising from 2.6 pounds in 2010 to 3.9 pounds in 2018, an increase of 50%.
U.S. imports of both citrus varieties have been going up. For lemons, imports have grown from 93 million pounds in 2010 to 322 pounds in 2019, a gain of 246%. In the same time period, domestic lemon supply increased from 968 million pounds to 1.41 billion pounds, a gain of 46%.
The import share of the total U.S. lemon supply was 19% in 2019; in 2010, the import share of the total U.S. lemon supply was 9%.
For limes, the USDA does not record any domestic lime production as of 2019. U.S. imports of limes have increased from about 800 million pounds in 2010 to 1.36 billion pounds in 2019.
An estimated 460,000 metric tons (MT) of Hass avocados will be exported from Peru in the 2021 season, an increase of almost 30 percent over last season.
ProHass Peru reports this increase will represent an additional 100,000MT compared to the previous season.
New strategies have been launched this year, including opening markets while consolidating existing ones and working closely with SENASA to make sure only mature fruit is exported, ProHass reports.
The primary change will be incorporating small and medium producers to export their fruit.
“Avocado growers in the Sierra de Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Lima and Arequipa regions among others will be included, with fruit harvested and exported as early as January.
The Peruvian avocado export season is now expanded to nine months, from January to September.
Peru’s main export destinations are Europe and the U.S, with the former importing 270,000MT, and the latter with a projected volume around 100,000MT.
Asia follows with 78,000MT and then Chile with 42,000MT, a country that has increased its import of Peruvian fruit this year and is expected to have an increase for the season of around 70 percent over last year.
It has been a slow start for 2021 Argentina apple exports.
During the first four months of 2021, the Rio Negro region exported 24,071 tons of apples, reflecting a 30 percent decrease when compared to the same period of last year and the lowest export volume of region’s history, as reported by Rio Negro.
According to the Agricultural Food Health and Quality Service (Senasa), traditionally, the first semester sets a trend on what the season will be. Official statistics show most of the destinations for this fruit showed negative numbers. Considering the slump, it is difficult for apple export volumes to end on a positive note at the end of 2021.
Domestic market shipments and stocks registered in cold storage also fell during this part of the year.
Senasa points out pear exports reached 171,865 tons during this period, reflecting a drop of 4 percent when compared to the same time last year.
Between apples and pears, the region is shipping about 17,000 fewer tons of fruit, reflecting losses of just over $14 million during this time.
The Chilean Citrus Committee of ASOEX estimates a 6% increase in citrus exports, encompassing navels, lemons, and easy peelers (clementines and mandarins).
With a total citrus forecast of 387,000 metric tons, Chile expects to ship roughly 85% of all of its volume to the U.S. market, according to a news release from the group detailing the initial crop estimate.
Growth will continue to be driven by the easy peeler category, with a projected 7% increase for clementines (rising to 55,000 metric tons) and an 11% increase for mandarins (up to 145,000 metric tons), according to the news release. The estimated double-digit growth for mandarins in 2021 follows a 40% volume jump in 2020.
Lemons, of which an estimated 60% will be shipped to the U.S., are expected to see a 3% increase, according to the release.
Chilean navel volume will stay relatively the same, at around 89,000 metric tons.
According to the committee, the overall increase in volume is due primarily to the expansion of plantings over the past decade. There are now 55,105 acres of citrus in Chile.
“Last year’s rain in the central region replenished reservoirs and helped boost production,” Juan Enrique Ortuzar, president of the Chilean Citrus Committee, said in the release.
Leamington, ON – A recent loss conscious program focuses on selling Nature Fresh Farms imperfect produce to reduce food waste.
The Waste Me Nots program was recently created to leverage Nature Fresh Farms Tomatoes, Peppers, and Cucumbers that do not meet the criteria of their Quality Control team. As most greenhouses hope to grow flawless quality produce, some product grows to be naturally bent or smaller in size. Although unique in shape and size, these vegetables still have the same nutritional value and flavor as their perfect counterparts. Nature Fresh Farms wants to put these pieces of produce in the spotlight, creating more of an opportunity to fight waste and give shoppers further access to nutritious foods.
‘We believe it’s important to ensure that nutritious and delicious produce does not go to waste,” shared Ray Wowryk, Director of Business Development. “By creating this program, we are helping our retailers with a ready-made waste reduction alternative.”
Since volume of this type of product is not predictable, the program cannot be guaranteed to supply specific quantities and will depend on the product grown. However, Nature Fresh Farm feels that the unpredictability is outweighed by the fact that their quality and freshness is worth rescuing and sharing with consumers, making the most of all their product grown.
“Sustainability is at the center of everything we do at Nature Fresh Farms. Not only does this encompass our packaging and growing processes but also that the food we grow gets utilized completely,” explained the Director of Sales, Matt Quiring. “The Waste Me Nots program helps us to reduce waste while allowing us to better service the price focused shoppers looking for quality tasting products at a discounted price and let our retail partners bring in some incremental sales to the category.”
Nature Fresh Farms wants to bring more cost-effective options to its consumers and bring the focus back to the taste and freshness of the produce, not solely the look of it. They hope to break the cycle of imperfect food waste by offering discounted misshapen vegetables that there would normally not be a market for and expand the consumers knowledge of the type of produce they purchase.
About Nature Fresh Farms
Nature Fresh Farms has become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable farms in North America. It is a year-round grower with farms in Leamington, ON, Delta, OH, and Mexico.
Wonderful Citrus of Delano, CA will import summer citrus from Chile, South Africa, Peru, Uruguay and Argentina and Chris Cockle, with volume expected to be up significantly.
2021 will be the first year the company will have a year-round supply of Halos featuring high quality and value, meaning it will be on ad by supermarkets.” Cockle said, adding that the 2021 summer season will feature promotable Halo volumes for the first time.
Wonderful has exclusive access to one of the largest growers in the Southern Hemisphere, in South Africa, providing consistent high quality and reliable supply.
The company notes transportation costs are up this year, but Wonderful has options to increase efficiency across the country for shipping. Wonderful also has an exclusive third-party packing house in Savannah, GA.
Summer citrus volume for Yonkers, N.Y.-based Jac Vandenberg should see slightly increased volume, says John Paap, brand manager for the company.
With expected volume of close to 1.7 million cartons, the importer sources citrus from Argentina, Australia, Chile, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay, Paap said. About 1% of Jac Vandenberg’s volume is organic, and Paap said the company intends to expand its organic citrus offering in coming years.
Jac Vandenberg of Yonkers, NY expects a slight increase volume with summer citrus.
Vandenberg expects to import 1.7 million cartons of citrus from Argentina, Australia, Chile, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay. About 1% of the company’s volume is organic.
Vandenberg has a full lineup of citrus products, which includes lemons, oranges, mandarins, grapefruit and tangelos.