Posts Tagged “feature”
New Jersey blueberry shipments should be up this season.
The Atlantic Blueberry Co., of Hammonton, NJ reports “blues” loadings should continue through July, with slightly more volume than a year ago.
Last season New Jersey shipped about 38 million pounds of blueberries, and this year the prediction is closer to 42 million pounds.
As for Atlantic Blueberry Co. itself, the company sees have more volume, without disclosing numbers.
Diamond Blueberry Inc. of Hammonton, NJ’s reports a good crop in Southern Jersey. It began shipments the second week of June, with average volume seen.
Diamond Blueberry Inc. is the sales agent for Variety Farms, which will have mostly the Duke and Bluecrop varieties, and volume close to last season.
By USDA AR
No summer barbecue is complete without fresh watermelon. As the nation moves towards the summer grilling season, you may want to consider how watermelon’s fruit chemistry can affect your overall health. Researchers in the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently identified over 1,500 small molecules of diverse chemical characters in the fruit, known as phytochemicals. They concluded that eating watermelon is an excellent way to increase your intake of antioxidants, non-protein amino acids and lycopene. This means that every time you eat watermelon, you’ll be improving the health of your cells, organs and nervous system.
The research specifically finds that the antioxidants in watermelon can help your body fight free radicals and slow down cell damage. The fruit’s non-protein amino acids will also help to repair your body tissue, break down food from other meals, and even regulate your blood pressure.
“Watermelon could be part of the refreshing and healthy fruit options on your summer picnic table,” said USDA-ARS scientist Larry Parnell. “The fruit has gone through many years of evolution, domestication, and selection for desirable qualities—mainly those associated with flesh color, texture and nutrient and sugar content. But our research continues to find that the fruit contains a wide range of nutrients that improve your overall health.”
Most Americans purchase the sweet dessert watermelon species, Citrullus lanatus, at their local grocery store or farmer’s market. This species is among the most important vegetable crops grown and consumed throughout the world, with over 100 million tons in annual global production. The fruit also has more lycopene than a raw tomato, which is linked to healthy eyes, overall heart health and protection against certain cancers. Other nutrients, like carotenoids, flavonoids, carbohydrates and alkaloids, are also found in the flesh, seed, and rind.
“I worked with Dr. Parnell and the team to develop a pioneering concept of using big data and computational biology to identify and catalog all of the phytochemicals that exist in edible fruit,” said ARS researcher Amnon Levi. “The research to identify the metabolic pathways and genome sequence of genes involved in the production of beneficial phytochemicals could be highly useful for plant scientists and breeders aiming to improve nutrient content in fruits and vegetables.”
The watermelon’s phytochemicals are human-cell-protecting compounds found in fruit, vegetables, grains and beans. All of these nutrients can contribute to your overall health in numerous ways.
Watermelon was introduced to Europe via Moorish Spain in the 10th century. Since then, watermelon has been cultivated successfully in warmer Mediterranean regions before being brought to the Americas by European colonists during the 16th century. Today, watermelon is grown in 44 U.S. states, while major production is centered in California, Florida, Georgia and Texas.
Fruits and vegetables are a part of a healthy, balanced diet, with the recommendation being 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day.
The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $17 of economic impact.
Wenatchee, WA.- CMI Orchards anticipates growth in the 2021 cherry crop.
Excellent weather conditions, including an absence of significant frost events, have contributed to outstanding quality, great sizing, and 17% growth of this year’s crop as compared to 2020. “We are seeing consistent spread throughout our growing districts, with Skeena and Sweetheart cherries showing exceptional size and quality,” explained Joel Hewitt, Domestic Sales Organic Manager for the company.
“The timing of this year’s crop started off a bit later than last year but is lining up nicely with market demand with limited overlap with the California crop. We expect harvest to continue throughout the remainder of June and July,” explained Export Manager Scott Agnew.
CMI Orchards is the leader in Northwest cherries, bringing a number of specialty varieties and innovative programs to retail partners. Vice President of Marketing, George Harter, describes CMI’s selling tools as second to none. “The Northwest cherry season is short and sweet, and our goal is to deliver the best sales opportunities for our customers creating a win-win situation,” he said. “We’re expecting to peak just in time for Independence Day celebrations, and our American Dream program is a great tool for retailers to stir up excitement in store with eye-catching, patriotic displays and packaging.”
About CMI Orchards
CMI Orchards is one of the largest growers, packers, and shippers of premium Washington State apples, pears, and cherries.
Dole pineapples and bananas to the United States will pass through Port Tampa Bay starting in late July, via a new shipper service according to the Tampa Bay newspaper.
In addition to fruit, the direct weekly route linking Tampa, Honduras and Guatemala will also deliver containerized shipping of cargo such as automobiles and other commodities. Two ships, the MV Dole Maya and MV Dole Aztec, will deliver all goods and materials from Central America to Tampa; Gulfport, Miss.; and Freeport, Texas.
One reason Tampa was picked was a 135,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse that opened in 2018, allowing the port to receive shipments of bananas, pineapples, limes, mangoes and other fruit from Central America.
“Our cold storage and port terminal operations facility is ideally positioned to serve the Tampa/Orlando I-4 corridor, which is Florida’s largest and fastest growing market, and reaching well beyond,” developer Richard Corbett of Port Logistics Refrigerated Services, which operates the warehouse, said in a statement.
John Trummel, vice president and general manager of Dole’s commercial cargo division, said in a statement the new Tampa route would enable the company and its non-agricultural clients new ways to reach their destinations “faster and more competitively.”
While Dole Food Company is the world’s leading commercial producer of pineapples and bananas. Port president and CEO Paul Anderson highlighted the opportunity to import all kinds of commodities.
“This marks a major milestone in our strategic efforts to continue to diversify our cargo mix and expand our container volume, which is now our fastest growing line of business,” Anderson said in a statement.
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.