Posts Tagged “feature”
Chilean citrus imports by the U.S. grew at double-digit rates in 2018.
The Chilean citrus import season ended with easy-peelers in late October and early November. Navels are imported from June through October or so and lemons are imported by the U.S. from May through October.
This makes for a good match with the citrus season in the U.S., because 90 percent of Chile’s mandarins are shipped to the U.S. market.
Chilean citrus imports are very similar to the same varieties grown in the U.S., so that makes it very in high demand and assures increasing volume in coming years.
Chilean citrus imports to the U.S. this year have been up 30 percent.
Chilean clementine and mandarin exports grew from about 110,000 metric tons in 2017 to about 165,000 metric tons this year.
Chilean navel shipments to the U.S. — representing about 90 percent of all Chile’s navel exports — will show about a 12 percent increase compared with a year ago, and lemon shipments are projected to be 10 percent higher.
The U.S. takes about 50 to 60 percent of Chile’s lemon exports.
Chilean growers are continuing to plant more citrus trees because of strong demand from world markets.
The number of citrus exporters and new exporters, as well as citrus growers in Chile continues to increase. This is different than for crops such as stone fruit and grapes, since there is not as much potential for growth in demand compared with citrus.
Observers believe eventually the Chilean citrus industry begin consolidating. But currently the citrus industry continues attracting new players as it has been for the past decade.
Chile faces a similar challenge to U.S. grower/shippers as growing and labor costs increase and there is less labor availability. This is requiring growers to become more efficient in the future, with more mechanization and increased yields. There also is increasing competition.
Peru continues to increase its mandarin production in similar fashion to Chile. Uruguay is looking to increase citrus exports. Argentina lemons are now being exported to the U.S., and South African navel shipments to the U.S are growing.
This is resulting in more competition in the U.S. market, which is pressuring Chilean growers to open up new markets, diversify and offer new varieties to new markets.
Coast-to-coast there have been weather and natural disasters which have greatly reduced shipments of collard greens in the holiday season.
There have been hurricanes in the southeast and wildfires and Santa winds in California, as well as rain in Texas.
WP Rawl of Pelion, S.C., is a grower, processor and shipper of leafy greens and notes hurricanes Florence and Michael had the indirect effect of heavy rains and winds during a three-week period in the east and southeast. This resulted in trying growing season and stunted crops, including collard greens.
Growers in different regions of the country harvested fields earlier than usual because of the weather and high demand for Thanksgiving, leading to a lack of shipments for the holiday season.
“After the Thanksgiving holiday and unseasonable weather, our crops did not recover to the level we had in years prior,” Ashley Rawl, vice president of sales, marketing and product development, said in a press release. “Our team made a collective decision to delay harvesting for a few weeks to allow our crops the opportunity to grow.”
San Miguel Produce of Oxnard, CA., reported this is only the second time in two decades that the greens industry has seen such a national shortage.
“Most times shortages are regional and there are options to work with colleagues around the country to help fill gaps,” Jan Berk, owner and chief operations officer of San Miguel Produce, said in a news release. “Unfortunately, we have called other growers the past few weeks hoping someone might have extra or recovered sooner than expected … only to hear they are short too and looking to source collards.”
Growers have been pushing crops with additional fertilizer to spur growth for Christmas demand, according to San Miguel Produce, but there is still concern about availability to meet demand. It is peak season for the dark leafy greens category, according to the release, and many growers have invested in crops for many months to prepare for the season’s harvest.
Collards are sometimes associated with comfort and prosperity, according to the release, making them high in demand around the holidays. As a result some growers and shippers are promoting other greens in the place of collards.
“We consider this a great opportunity to encourage consumers to try other types of leafy greens,” Rawl said in the release. “With similar nutritional profiles, kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens are just as good for you and have similar tastes.”
By California Giant Berry Farms
WATSONVILLE, CA – It’s been a year full of development and expansion at California Giant Berry Farms.
Not only has the berry company turned into a year-round powerhouse supplier of berries, but they also kicked off their newly implemented winter cross-docking collaboration in November with Mann Packing in Yuma, Arizona.
“We launched this cross-docking consolidation collaboration to provide customers with a one-stop-shop,” explains California Giant Director of Foodservice, Tom Smith. “The duration of the Yuma season typically runs from late November through mid-March – during this timeframe we can approximate cross-docking 15,000-20,000 cartons of fruit per week, resulting in a much more efficient consolidation process. Customers can reduce the number of stops on their trucks, therefore reducing time on the road and adding shelf life to the berries when they arrive to the consumer. We plan to return to the Salinas Valley in Spring 2019 to further this partnership as we continue to service our customers.”
In addition to their one-stop-shop approach – they are essentially bringing the ‘shop’ to their partners so they can also load their vegetable orders while in the desert. The continuation of collaborating with vegetable shippers is certainly on their radar as they explore freight-forwarding opportunities in the future.
As much needed rainfall swept California a couple of weeks ago and brought the Salinas-Watsonville season to an end, berry volume remains strong and steady for California Giant as Mexico, Florida and South America contribute to the fall-winter months with an abundance of fresh, quality berries.
This year, the berry company has expanded their raspberry program, providing year-round availability of the crop, while adding consistency to their 4-berry program. The key word for California Giant is consistency: in quality, consumer messaging, and production – they are now able to supply their partners and consumers with all their berry needs, all the time.
The company’s evolving and rapidly expanding Mexico raspberry program has grown 10-fold within the last year alone. The program has already resulted in well-received feedback from their partners – not to mention the impressive growing methods and techniques behind the Mexico winter crop. In addition to this, the incredible raspberry variety – the Adelita – bred from Planasa, can arguably stand up to any other variety or label on the market.
“This expanding raspberry program has been pivotal for us,” says California Giant Director of Retail Sales, Nick Chappell, who recently visited their Central Mexico operations covering over 1,300 miles of terrain and met with multiple growers and field personnel. “Our raspberry operations in Mexico are both advanced and progressive, and ultimately, the gap we once had in the winter months where our raspberry supply had fallen short has now been filled. We look forward to offering year-round availability of all four berries and offering a smooth transition from our Mexico season all the way through the start of our California season.”
Volume with imports of Chilean fruit are becoming a little more in focus as forecast evaluations from a big hail storm last November are being summarized.
Export volume of Chilean cherries for the 2018-19 season are projected to be 10.5 percent lower than last season and off 7.1 percent from the initial estimate this year. Cherry exports are estimated at 33.44 million boxes, down from 37.38 million boxes a year ago. Peak export shipments of Chile cherries are expected the last week of December and the first week of January, with the season wrapping up by late February.
Most Chilean cherries are exported to China, but the U.S. also receives volume.
Through November 24th, the USDA reported season-to-date-shipments of Chilean cherries to the U.S. totaled 200,000 pounds, down from 2 million pounds for the same period last year.
Fewer Blueberries
Chilean blueberries apparently had less damage with the hard-hit O’Higgins region representing about 7 percent of the total planted area. However, hail also was reported in some growing areaser area of blueberries in the Maule Region. From the metropolitan region of Santiago to the south, over 4,900 acres of blueberries could have some damage from hail storms.
Chilean blueberry exports for 2018-19 are now projected at 100,800 metric tons, 4 percent lower than the 105,000 metric tons initially forecast. Reduction in volume will be felt in early and mid-season exports.
Through mid-November, about 1,905 metric tons had been exported from Chile, mostly bound for North America. Peak blueberry shipments are expected from December through February, with shipments continuing into March.
Through November 24th, the USDA reported season-to-date imports of Chilean blueberries totaled 2.4 million pounds, down from 3.7 million pounds the same time last year.
Chilean Grapes
The first Chilean grape imports on the East Coast are expected a few days prior to Christmas. While some Chilean grape advocates have said North America grape buyers are not interested in older varieties like California’s flames and red globes, the California grape trade is saying it will be shipping domestic grapes through most of January.
North America is Chile’s biggest grape market, taking 45 percent (39 million boxes) of Chilean grape export volume during the 2017-18 season.
When shipping any produce across borders whether from the USA to Mexico or Canada or the other way around, it is always good to consider the topic of international payments. While this may appear as a miniscule and rather technical area, it is in fact can get very expensive when paying or being paid through foreign currency.
Why can cross-border payments take a bite into a business’ bottom line? The reason for that is the exchange rate you’re getting for your foreign currency. Let’s take the Canadian Dollar to USA rate as an example. For December 13, 2018, the interbank official exchange rate stands at 0.748. If you are due for a payment of US $10,000, it means you should be charging $13,361.85 Canadian. In practice, U.S banks will never exchange foreign currency for the official exchange rate – they offer a much lesser rate than that. So, if your bank currently offers a rate of 0.723 (which is within range for what most U.S banks offer) you would trade that 13,361.85 Canadian to $9,660 US – netting a loss of $340 US against your original goal of $10,000 just because you were willing to accept foreign currency payments.
There’s a better way to deal with inbound and outbound international money transfers, though. The fact some banks may be overly expensive or demonstrate abusive behavior should not deter you from international business. Of course, it is preferable that whomever you engage in business will pay you in US Dollars but in some cases that may just not be possible. There are third party providers who are able to transfer and receive money from abroad in foreign currency and exchange it to dollar for much better rates.
These companies are named money transfer companies or FX providers. There aren’t particularly known or popular in North America, but as many as 50% of the internationally trading small businesses in the UK and Australia use them. In spite of the fact that these companies have limited success to date in the North American markets in comparison with the rest of the world, they maintain a strong presence. Take OFX for example, one of the top rated for online transfers – they have offices in San Francisco with a large staff, while their headquarters are in Sydney, Australia. The firm employees more than 700 employees worldwide and is traded in the Australian stock exchange so you know that not only you are going to get better rates, your money is safe too.
Bringing fresh produce center stage is a goal of discount retailer Aldi, which is in the midst of its $5 billion US expansion program.
The expansion includes building new stores and remodeling existing ones.
The new focus on produce includes a 40 percent expansion in the amount of product lines carried, with the produce department located at the front of the store. Most supermarket chains are investing more in produce departments, which are considered key components in stores.
In a move a couple of decades ago, there was a trend to make produce front and center and the first department shoppers see when entering a supermarket. With produce as an anchor in stores, many chains then look to improve their other in-store departments.
Aldi’s motion to move produce to the front and center suggests the retailer wants to be known as well-stocked store with everything the shopper needs. Additionally, once the fresh produce department is a strong anchor, stores have a tendency to follow through with other departments.
It appears that Aldi with fresh produce, will follow trends of having clean, conventional and organic products that are conveniently packaged. Aldi will likely add even more organic and clean options, in an effort to attract younger shoppers from 18 to 40 years old, who are after more affordable organic options. Whether Aldi will stock more value-added products remains to be seen.
Aldi already offers attractions for Gen X and Millennial shoppers and many of their center-store products have specialty claims, be it free of artificial colors or antibiotic-free meat.
Greater emphasis on fresh often come from higher income households. Will an expanded produce selection beyond basics higher-income shoppers at Aldi? One study shows that 93 percent of Aldi shoppers said pricing/value drove them to the format and 77 percent purchased fresh produce. One-third of shoppers expect to shift much more of their shopping to Aldi.
On price, Aldi will remain a discount retailer, so if the
If other supermarkets want to compete with Aldi, which will remain a discount retailer, those competitors will have to lower their price or invest in other areas of the store to maintain a ‘premium’ on Aldi as well as other discounters by offering a higher level shopping experience.
Studies have shown that 60 percent to 70 percent of markets experienced price declines of 1 to 3 percent when an ALDI opened. Some retailers will also increase service levels, emphasize quality, organic offerings, local items and more choices in general to increase their own competitive advantage.
While excessive heat and untimely rains during the growing season, After a lighter-than-normal start in late October, Florida’s tomato shipments started accelerating in mid-November.
Florida tomato shipments are now shifting from Central to Southern Florida and will continue into the winter. Peak volume from Sinaloa, Mexico and South Florida is coming as volume ramps up volume in December.
Last year, there was 25.9 million 25-pound equivalent containers of round tomatoes shipped.
This represents a 21 percent decrease compared to the previous season and the smallest crop on record since 1976-77, when a freeze knocked out Florida’s winter crop.
The significant volume reduction in 2017-18 was mainly due to the result to the fall crop caused by Hurricane Irma.
Citrus Shipments
Florida orange shipments have been downgraded to 77 million boxes, off 3 percent from October in a new estimate.
The USDA adjusted estimate also includes other citrus. Early, midseason and navel varieties are forecast at 32 million boxes, down 6 percent from last month, according the USDA crop report released November 8th. Valencias are forecast at 45 million boxes, unchanged from last month’s estimate.
The grapefruit crop forecast decreased by 300,000 to 6.4 million.
While some of the projections have been lowered, the numbers still represent a very significant improvement on the 2017-18 season, when the crop was devastated by Hurricane Irma in September.
Other Oranges
California is estimated to ship 49 million boxes of oranges, up from 45.4 million last year. The state is expected to have 40 million boxes of early, midseason and navel varieties, up from 35.9 million last year.
Texas is forecast to ship 1.8 million boxes of early, midseason and navel varieties and 600,000 boxes of valencia oranges.
Grapefruit
The USDA projected 3.9 million boxes of grapefruit from California, down slightly from last season. Florida is expected to produce 6.4 million boxes, including 5.3 million of red grapefruit and 1.1 million of white grapefruit. Texas is forecast to have 6.2 million boxes of grapefruit this season, up from 4.8 million in 2017-18.
Other Citrus
California is expected to increase mandarin and tangerine production from 19.2 million boxes to 23 million boxes, and Florida’s volume is forecast to grow from 750,000 boxes to 1.2 million boxes.
Arizona is projected to produce 1.4 million boxes of lemons, up from 1 million last year. California’s production is expected to dip slightly from 21.2 million to 20 million.
by Peruvian Avocado Commission
Washington, DC. – This season, Peru reached record-breaking sales numbers by exporting over 726 million pounds of avocados worldwide, of which 182 million pounds were shipped to the United States. Peru is the second largest exporter of avocados in the world, the second largest supplier to the U.S., and the largest supplier to Europe. Avocados from Peru (AFP) supported this significant distribution through various strategic and unique retail, trade and consumer marketing activations that proved to be essential components to this season’s success.
“This was a season of firsts for us,” said Xavier Equihua, President & CEO of the Peruvian Avocado Commission. “We conducted over 10,000 demos nationwide in Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club in 60 days, launched the first partnership between two superfoods (Peruvian Avocados and California Walnuts), aired the first ever avocado TV spots during the World Cup and Major League Baseball All-Star Games, launched the first “Peru at the Zoo” activation at the Maryland Zoo and introduced Cuzco, Avocados from Peru’s new mascot.”
This season’s robust marketing campaigns spanned across all channels including social, digital, radio, broadcast, mobile, print, retail initiatives and consumer activations –all pointing to the quality, taste, nutritional benefits, and versatility of Peruvian avocados.
Avocados from Peru Completes 10,000 Demos in 60 Days & Participates in Walmart’s Wellness Week
Avocados from Peru completed 10,000 demos in 60 days at Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club’s nationwide –a record-breaking number for the category. AFP also participated in this year’s Walmart Wellness Week, the largest health event in the world. Peruvian avocados are the only produce items to ever be included in this prestigious event and contributed demos at 997 locations throughout the week and served a consumer favorite recipe –Avocado, Walnut and Peach Salad.
Avocados from Peru and California Walnuts
This season, consumers had the opportunity to taste and see the versatility of both Peruvian Avocados and California Walnuts in a first ever superfood demo collaboration at Costco, Sam’s Club and Walmart. The activations were supported by both demo partners through social, digital, PR, geo-targeting and website landing pages.
First Ever Avocado Sponsorship at World Cup and MLB All Star Games
This year AFP became the first in its category to sponsor two of the world’s most prominent athletic events –The World Cup and the MLB All Star Games. AFP ran TV spots celebrating World Avocado Month during the games as well as on morning and evening news programs. This initiative was also supported through digital and social promotions in partnership with Fox 5.
First Ever Produce Item to Partner with CBS and New York Yankees Baseball
AFP partnered with CBS to bring the ‘Avo-Dog’ promotion to one of the nation’s most iconic baseball parks over Labor Day weekend, offering baseball fans a free topping of Peruvian avocado with the purchase of any food item during the New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics games at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York.
Initial Florida strawberry shipments got underway with the arrival of December and a good, quality crop is being reported.
Well-Pict Inc. of Watsonville, CA, also grows strawberries in Wimauma, south of Tampa, and will continue to ship strawberries from there until mid- to late March.
The Florida Strawberry Growers Association Inc. in Dover, FL predicts the state will have about 10,000 acres of strawberries this season.
Astin Strawberry Exchange of Plant City, FL has increased its organic berries this season, and similar to conventional berries, should have good volume the first half of December, peak shipments taking place from late January until mid-March. Heaviest volume for the company occurs during February. Astin’s organic production is up 40 percent, while conventional volume has increased by 10 percent. The company expects to ship 6 million flats this season.
Grape Shipments
California grape shipments and how long they will last has importers in a quandry.
Vanguard International USA, Inc. of Issaquah, WA reports if the quality of California table grapes hold up, the harvest could last until the end of the year, with shipments lasting into January. At the same time Vanguard points out Peru’s global grape shipments were up 40 percent year-on-year to 3.4 million boxes as of October 31st. But U.S. buyers will stick with California grapes as long as the quality is there.
Meanwhile, the California industry set a new 5-year record shipping 23 million boxes worldwide between September 8th and October 12th.
Pandol Bros. Inc. of Delano, CA believes the total California crop might even be 10 million more boxes than 2017. Pandol noted in 2017, late season grape shipments were disappointing because there were so many cold storages full of aging grapes. There are some concerns this year over a repeat of last season.
Pandol reports most retailers are planning to transition to Peruvian grapes later this season, which would be in January, instead of the second half of December. The company also observed retailers know the ports can be problematic around the Christmas and New Year holidays and the logistics of trucking from California are more reliable.
Chile’s table grapes have been hit by a recent hail storm, but the extent of damage is yet to be assessed. It is expected that the bad weather has slashed the walnut crop in half, while the cherry crop could have up to $100 million in losses.
Potato shipments should be strong during the holidays and well into 2019, despite bad weather in some growing regions and an overall reduction in production.
Potatoes USA of Denver is the marketing organization for the 2,500 commercial potato growers operating in the United States. It reports overall shipments may be slightly below last year, which was the period July 2017 to July 2018.
It believes shipments to foodservice and retail chains will continue to grow this year.
Potandon Produce of Idaho Falls, Idaho reports excessive rain hit many potato growers, particularly in Wisconsin, and Michigan, while there has been an early snow season in North Dakota. Meanwhile, Colorado, Texas, Idaho and Washington were experiencing good-sized crops.
The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association of Antigo reports the state’s potato shipments may be down 10 to 15 percent, which would mean a total production of just over 2.3 billion pounds — down from about 2.6 billion last year.
In Grand Forks, N.D., Black Gold Farms reduced its acreage slightly this year because the company had too many potatoes last year.
Black Gold Farms grows and ships norland and dark norland potatoes for the early season, red potatoes for mid-season and the sangre variety for late season.
The company is now shipping a few more yellow potatoes.
Mountain King Potato of Monte Vista, CO., is reporting excellent quality and average yields.
Mack Farms of Lake Wales, FL has planted mostly red potatoes and some gold and white varieties. It will begin harvesting in early February, and is the first Florida operation to ship new potatoes to market. The company does not ship potatoes out of storage.
Most South Florida potato growers are expected to have about the same acreage as last year.
Russet potatoes continue to be the variety most widely shipped, but they continue to decline each year with the increasing popularity of red and gold potatoes.