Posts Tagged “feature”
By Emerson
Kennesaw, Georgia — Emerson (NYSE: EMR) announced the release of its GO Real-Time CO2 Tracker. This latest innovation is suitable for produce shippers who manage and monitor carbon dioxide to help extend shelf life of fruit, such as berries, apples, and pears. Managing carbon dioxide is one of the methods used globally by shippers to help ensure the utmost freshness of produce. In addition to monitoring carbon dioxide levels in real-time, this new version of the popular GO Real-Time Tracker also provides valuable features such as temperature, location and light sensing coupled with real-time actionable alerts.
“In the produce industry, reputations are often built on delivering quality, fresh products safely to the consumer,” said Frank Landwehr, vice president and general manager, Cargo Solutions for Emerson. “Whether in a truck or in a sea cargo container, the GO Real-Time CO2 Tracker is another tool our customers can use to help protect their brands when their perishable shipments are in transit.”
The GO Real-Time CO2 Tracker is available now. Customers can continue to leverage the online Oversight dashboard or Oversight mobile app to help monitor shipments during transport of cargo. To download the app or for more information on end-to-end cold chain monitoring solutions, visit Emerson.com/Cargo.
About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE: EMR), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial and residential markets. Our Emerson Automation Solutions business is a leader in helping process and discrete manufacturers automate and optimize production processes through our best-inclass technologies and industry expertise. Our Emerson Commercial & Residential Solutions business develops technologies and services that improve human comfort, safeguard food, protect the environment, enable sustainable food waste disposal and support efficient construction and maintenance of buildings and municipal infrastructure. For more information, visit Emerson.com.
Peruvian grape imports by the U.S. are expected to increase this season, according to a new report from the USDA.
The new forecast has grape exports from Peru for the 2018-19 shipping season show an increase of 7 percent.
From October 2018 to September 2019 Peruvian grape production is predicted to rise 7 percent, totaling 540,000 metric tons, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
“Grape production is recovering after heavy El Niño rains and unstable temperatures in early 2017 delayed harvest, reduced yields, and reduced quality,” the USDA said in the report.
With domestic consumption estimated at 271,000 metric tons, the USDA projects grape exports at 385,000 metric tons in 2018-19, up 7 percent from the previous year.
For the calendar year 2017, the USDA reported the U.S. was the top export market for Peru grape exports, taking 33 percent of the total volume.
Peru’s dry coast and 12 hours of sunlight daily, combined with irrigation, allows Peru to mature its grape crop 55 percent faster than neighboring countries, according to the report.
Grapes are grown primarily in Ica with 41 percent of the production and Piura with 22 percent of the production. The total area under cultivation, is estimated at more than 74,000 acres.
The harvest season starts in late October and continues into in April.
While the red globe variety dominates production — it remains popular in the growing Chinese market. The report notes growers are moving to higher-value varieties to supply other markets such as Crimson seedless, flame seedless, thompson seedless and sugraon.
One acre of grapes in Peru requires an initial investment of approximately $16,000, not counting the cost of land.
The report said about 30 percent of the cost of production is soil preparation and the irrigation system, 25 percent is establishing the trellis, and 14 percent goes toward the plant itself.
At $3,070 per metric ton, prices in the U.S. market were 27 percent higher than the average export price of $2,419 per metric ton in 2017. In the same period, the U.S. market represented 42 percent by value and 33 percent by volume of total Peruvian grape exports.
Here is a trifecta of produce loading opportunities. Granted two of the three will be limited volume (mandarins and broccoli), but Idaho potatoes always have big time shipments.
In another week or so Kishu mandarin loadings will get underway from California’s Orange Cove growing region.
The delicate, hand-picked item has relatively overall light volume and provides partial loads at best.
Kishu mandarins are a golf ball-sized mandarin that are sweet and easy to peel and sold for Ripe to You under the Lil’ Ninja Mandarins label. Harvest begins in mid-November.
“We’re still competing with our retail partner’s inventory of citrus from the Southern Hemisphere,” says Madalyn McCracken of Ripe to You, based in Reedley, CAs.
That said, she adds that the Kishus are a variety sought after by higher-end grocery stores. “We’ve had great feedback on our 1 lb. bag with a new Giro design and we look forward to the consumer’s reaction to it,” she says.
Idaho Potato Shipments
Shipments of Idaho potatoes through early October have been running ahead of a year ago, according to USDA statistics. As of October 6th, truck shipments of Idaho potatoes were 61.9 million pounds, up 9 percent from the same week a year ago.
Season-to-date truck shipments of Idaho potatoes through October 6th totaled 458.7 million pounds, up 14 percent compared with the season.
Rail shipments were also up, with season-to-date movement of 28.5 million pounds, up 6 percent compared with year-ago levels.
Fresh potato loadings are expected to ramp up as the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays approach.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $4700 to Atlanta.
Georgia Broccoli Shipments
While Maine broccoli shipments are finishing, shipper Fresh from the Start is launching its second season in Georgia with broccoli shipments starting in mid-November.
The company dodged the bullet with Hurricane Michael and is expecting good volume this season. Once its Georgia season is finished it will begin shipping out of Florida in January.
Playing the spot market with freight rates on fresh produce is common with owner operators and small fleet owners. However, refrigerated fleets for years have often negotiated seasonal, if not year around rates.
The fleets see advantages to having more predictable produce rates with higher rates in the slower winter months, but lower ones during the peak shipping seasons of spring and summer.
However, record produce rates this past year has changed ways of doing business, not only for the fleets, but the produce shippers. For example, uncertainty surrounding freight rates has resulted in some Idaho grower-shippers of potatoes to shy away from quoting delivered prices for potato price contracts.
Sun-Glo of Idaho Inc., in Sugar City, has chosen not to take on the risk of volatile transportation rates by quoting delivered prices. The company has found trucking companies refusing to quote set rates, because of the uncertainties in trucking. If those fleets are unwilling to take the risk of contract rates, then the grower-shippers are not going to risk giving delivered prices.
Much higher truck rates have occurred, at least in part, by the implementation of electronic logging device (ELD) regulations last year. Higher truck rates is one of the biggest complaints of grower-shippers. Instead, companies such as Sun-Glo are quoting prices for their potatoes, something which they are in control.
Other shippers are doing business in a similar fashion. Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC of Idaho Falls, ID has indicated it may lose some customers this shipping season because Wada no longer is offering a delivered price contract. It has some contracts with trucking companies to haul potatoes, but it is on a month-to-month contract basis. Six month to one year contracts with truckers has become a rarity. Since Wade Farms cannot get seasonal or yearly contracts with trucking companies, it is avoiding offering delivered price contracts to customers.
Wade Farms has even inserted some flexibility clauses into contracts. For example. if there is an extreme shortage of trucks or holiday overages, it is not locked in to the same price.
Shippers have long complained of retail chains driving down prices on the produce they purchase. Potandon Produce LLC of Idaho Falls, ID has pointed out in the current truck rate environments, some retailers are looking to drive down f.o.b. prices to maintain delivered costs.
In a effort to cut shipping costs Potandon say if offers potato buyers a premium Idaho potato, or it can source spuds from 16 other states which may be closer to their customers. The company continues to seek alternative shipping methods to cut costs.
Potandon is still offering customers delivered prices and says it has the advantage of an in-house transportation department which is in constant contact with freight carriers to get the amount of trucks needed.
Six container ships will be replacing existing boats owned by Del Monte Fresh Produce for its East Coast fleet used for delivering produce from Central and South America to the U.S. In other news, the Port of Tampa is now receiving pineapples.
The first ship is estimated to be ready in late 2019, according to a news release.
The vessels were designed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute in Shanghai, China, and are being built at the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute, Guangzhou, China.
Each vessel will have a capacity of 634 40-foot high cube container capacity, according to the release.
Dennis Christou, vice president of marketing for Del Monte, said the new container vessels will increase the company’s tonnage capacity and “speed to market.”
“The new energy efficient vessels are designed to meet the most stringent (International Maritime Organization) emission control regulations coming into effect in 2020,” Christou said.
Christou noted Del Monte was one of the first large-scale banana companies to receive SCS Carbon Neutral Certification for banana operations in Costa Rica.
The new ships will reduce air pollution and fuel consumption.
“These new ships are an extension of our sustainability commitment on the high seas,” he said in the release.
Port Tampa Bay
Port Logistics Refrigerated Services at Port Tampa Bay, FL, recently received its first shipment of pineapples.
Chestnut Hills Farms of Miami was the recipient of the initial arrival, which came from Costa Rica to the cold storage company at the port. Refrigerated containers of the fruit arrived at the cold storage facility several weeks ago. The shipment, loaded at the Port of Moin in Costa Rica, was delivered by the Seacat Line in a new ship, the M/V Juice Express.
“This new routing provides us with excellent access to serve our customers in Florida and throughout the Southeastern United States,” Raul Romero, president and chief operating officer at Chestnut Hill Farms, said in the release. “We expect this will be the first of regular ongoing shipments.”
The new Port Logistics Refrigerated Services on-dock cold storage facility has on-site USDA/Customs and Border Protection inspection and fumigation services. The 130,000-square-foot facility has 102 refrigerated container plugs and a dedicated mobile harbor crane.
In February, the facility made possible the first shipments of bananas in more than 20 years at the port. The shipment, of more than 3,900 pallets of Chiquita-brand bananas, originated from Ecuador.
North American blueberry imports for the 2018-19 season will be good despite volume declining slightly from the record levels of a year ago.
With only a 5 percent decline in volume this season, it will hardly be noticed.
Chile has about 1,300 blueberry growers, primarily found in central and southern Chile. The country has about 100 exporters shipping 100 metric tons or more.
With nearly perfect growing conditions last season, Chilean exporters shipped about 110,351 metric tons of fresh blueberries to all export markets with 64 percent destined for North America, 24 percent to Europe and 12 percent to Asia.
This season,Chilean fresh blueberry exports are forecast near 105,000 metric tons with distribution of the crop to be similar to a year ago.
Chilean blueberry exports started in mid-October. Peak shipments will get underway the last week of November, and continuing through February. The season continues through March.
Organic blueberry exports continue and upward trend. Last season, organic blueberry shipments accounted for 9.5 percent of total fresh exports, or about 10,000 metric tons. About 85 percent of the organic “blues” were exported to the U.S.
Total Chilean blueberry acreage was 38,550 acres in July 2017, of which 17 percent was organic production.
Boat vs. Air Shipments
About 90 percent of Chilean blueberry volume to North America is shipped by sea container, and 10 percent by air. Few airplanes for shipping Chilean blueberries in the future is predicted since there is increasing competition from other exporting countries.
Last season, Chile exported about 40,000 metric tons of frozen blueberries — equal to about 40 percent of fresh volume.
Imports of Chilean fruit are seen as looking good in the new season. Meanwhile, a California shipper plans a big increase in it Sumo citrus loadings.
Among Chilean fruit imports expected to have strong volume destined for the U.S. are blueberries, lemons and citrus.
The Chilean fruit 2017-18 shipping season hit record levels for exports because of near perfect growing conditions. While the 2018-19 shipping season is also expected to be strong, volume is predicted to be down about 5 percent from 2017-18’s 110,000 metric tons. Organic exports are forecast to make up about 10 percent of the total volume.
Chilean blueberries are seen as having strong imports by the U.S. Increases in U.S. imports are being forecast for citrus and lemons. The Chilean navel crop had a small increase, with volume up to 99,000 metric tons over last season’s 84,000 metric tons. Of note is the U.S. imports about 90 percent of that volume.
The easy-peeler category was launched by clementines last May and W. Murcotts in July. Clementine volume was up about 40 percent, to 61,000 metric tons, and the W. Murcott crop saw an increase of around 30 percent to 110,000 metric tons.
Since the U.S. and Chile have opposite seasons, the later has the ability of exporting produce items when the U.S. is either out of season, or at low production.
We’ll soon be having an update on Chile’s biggest volume produce export item, table grapes.
Sumo Citrus Shipments
Suntreat of Lindsay, CA will have larger volume from the west coast this season with its Sumo citrus. Suntreat, which is a division of AC Foods, handles Sumo from Australia between mid-September and mid-October. This is followed by California’s Sumo season which ships product from January into April.
The Sumo, is a large mandarin developed in Japan, and is related to the orange family. The Sumo is an exclusive citrus varietal for the company. AC Foods expects to experience significant growth this year, shipping about 5 million, 5-pound cases.
By Larry Oscar
With the midterm elections just days ahead we have once again been bombarded with political ads and special interest groups touting their pleas for special favoritism.
Within the cloud of all this rhetoric you can count on some gems of stupidity surfacing. I guess it will never end. After all politicians are not very intelligent. Especially those that promise how big government can make our lives better.
Most politicians are not very good at simple math. This is a much bigger problem than most of us realize. The entire universe runs on mathematics, not emotion. For this reason most of the solutions to society’s problems cannot be solved by government handouts or “special programs.”
Although tempting government programs end up being a band aid to a problem that either has no solution or is a symptom of a problem and not the problem itself. Take poverty for example. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson declared a “War on Poverty.” His new big government program was going to eliminate poverty in the United States. It would lift the bottom 15-17 percent of wage earners out of poverty. It was dubbed “The Great Society.”
The big problem is that we have a little math problem here. If you lift the bottom 15-17 percent of wage earners up they are now replaced by the former 18-34 percent who now are the new 15-17 percent in poverty. The GDP bell curve has just shifted to the right and the poverty level gets raised. You will always have a bottom 15-17 percent in poverty. It’s just simple math.
Johnson was not very good at simple math. And what’s amazing is how some of us never learn math. Today we have Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), that figures, proposing a new government $6,000 per year give away to those in poverty.
“It will lift those in poverty into the middle class” she says. Once again we seem to have not learned a simple math lesson. How easy it is to think socialism is the answer to poverty and all of societies problems. These same clowns like Bernie Sanders just don’t get it. You don’t have to be a genius to understand that there are no quick solutions to most of society’s problems. Take over population for example.
Global over population is a real problem today. It is worse than “climate change’. And it is a simple fact that the greater the global human population the greater will be the stress on the global environment. It’s a simple math deduction. However, there is not a single politician that wants to even talk about over population. Why, because this problem does not have a good solution for the politicians can garnish votes. For that reason we avoid many real problems and instead treat the symptoms.
Over the past few weeks we have all seen the human tragedy of the people from Honduras trying to enter the United States. Honduras is a country with a constitution and elected government officials. However, it is a corrupt country with drug cartels and no real dedication to following their constitution. They take their constitution as a sort of suggestion on how things should run rather than the supreme law of the land. This is something the left in our country would like for us to do. In effect, they want us to be more like Honduras. Never mind the fact the people in Honduras consider living in poverty in the United States a real move upward from where they are now.
Living in poverty in the United States is very attractive to people who live in poverty in other countries. Maybe this is something to consider when these politicians want to make our country more like Europe.
If you really want to learn what other people in different parts of the world live like all you have to do is watch some of the house hunting shows on TV about those from the U.S. moving to other countries. It’s an eye opener.
There is no doubt that we can all improve in what we do and how we act toward others. Our government is paid for by those of us working in the private sector. Without a healthy private sector the public sector cannot survive. For this reason alone big government will never produce a higher quality of life that those on the left imagine. Just look at what is happening in Venezuela today.
It is my hope that we never stop questioning our government or holding politicians accountable for their actions, but it is also my hope we insist our politicians practice civility. It is through learning, civility, and reason we improve our society, and not through the left’s raw emotions.
(Larry Oscar is a graduate from the University of Tulsa and holds a degree in electrical engineering. He is retired and lives with his wife on a lake in Oklahoma where he brews his own beer, sails, and is a member of numerous clubs and organizations.)
Florida citrus shipments for the 2018-19 season is forecast at 86.9 million boxes, a 75 percent increase from last year’s Hurricane Irma damaged crop, according to the USDA.
Citrus shipments are still far below Florida’s peak volume of 244 million boxes during the 1997-98 season.
“This citrus production forecast offers a glimmer of hope to Florida’s iconic citrus industry,” said Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, in a statement. “For more than a decade, we’ve battled citrus greening and the industry most recently was dealt a devastating blow last year from Hurricane Irma. This estimated increase in production is the much-anticipated good news that Florida’s growers have hoped for. Much work remains, but the citrus industry is strong and here to stay.”
Florida’s forecast for all oranges is set at 79 million boxes for 2018-19, up an impressive 76 percent from 44.95 million boxes in 2017-18, notes the USDA.
For grapefruit, the USDA forecast Florida shipments at 6.7 million boxes in 2018-19, up 72 percent from 3.88 million boxes from 2017-18. Florida red grapefruit shipments was 5.5 million boxes, up from 3.18 million boxes last season.
Florida tangerine/mandarin shipments for the 2018-19 season is 1.2 million boxes, up from 60 percent from last season.
California and Texas
California growers and shippers also are expecting to ship more volume.
The California navel orange shipments for 2018-19 is 49 million boxes is up 8 percent from last season’s final shipments. The California valencia orange forecast is 9 million boxes, down 5 percent from last season’s final utilization. The Texas all-orange shipping forecast is at 2.4 million boxes, is up 28 percent from last season’s final utilization, the USDA said.
The U.S. 2018-2019 grapefruit shipments are is forecast 33 percent higher than last season’s final utilization. In Texas, expected production of 6.2 million boxes is up 29 percent from a year ago.
The forecast for the 2018-2019 U.S. lemon crop is down 4 percent from last season’s final shipments. California volume forecast is at 20 million boxes is off 6 percent from the 2017-2018 season.
The USDA said the U.S. tangerine and mandarin crop is forecast up 22 percent from last season’s final loadings. California tangerine and mandarin forecast, at 23 million boxes, is up 20 percent from the previous year.
By Wonderful Halos
LOS ANGELES – Wonderful Halos, America’s fastest-selling mandarin brand, prepares to kick off its biggest season ever this November with a $30 million integrated marketing campaign designed to accelerate category growth and keep the brand in its No. 1 leadership position.
The multifaceted campaign features the brand’s popular “Good Choice Kid” television commercials, along with Halos’s biggest digital investment yet, which will substantially increase visibility across all digital platforms. Facebook and Instagram “blasts” will further remind nearly 30 million consumers that sweet, seedless and easy-to-peel Halos are back in stores. The campaign will be amplified by national FSIs, a New York City Times Square digital billboard, PR, and an expanded influencer campaign.
“Each season gets sweeter and sweeter for Wonderful Halos,” said Adam Cooper, vice president, marketing, The Wonderful Company. “Last year was our best selling season ever, with Halos contributing 27 percent of total produce dollar growth. In addition to being recognized as the No. 1 healthy snack brand among both parents and kids, Halos’s multimillion-dollar campaign is designed to drive sales by promoting new everyday snacking occasions to keep the brand top of mind, top of the category and top of the shopping list.”
Halos will build upon the success of last season’s biggest in-store point-of-sale (POS) display program ever, adding a new Halos fruit stand display to its “Grove of Goodness” collection. The high-graphic, vibrant fruit stand is completely merchandisable and brings to life the process of delivering mandarins from tree to table. Halos is also bringing back its popular Grove Tree display. The displays give retailers flexibility to showcase product beyond produce and in less traditional areas of their stores, including the frozen food aisle, deli, pharmacy, and at checkout. Last year’s POS program featured 20,000 displays at retailers who experienced double the sales growth versus retailers without Halos POS displays.
Wonderful Halos are sold in 3-lb and 5-lb bags and 5-lb boxes, and will be back in stores by early November.
About Wonderful® Halos®
Wonderful® Halos® are sweet, seedless and easy-to-peel mandarins filled with “Pure Goodness®.” The kid-sized fruit is available in produce aisles nationwide at grocery, mass and club retailers during California mandarin season (November–May). To discover more about the fun, delicious world of Halos®, visit halosfun.com.
About Wonderful Citrus
Wonderful Citrus is America’s largest integrated grower, shipper and packer of fresh citrus, including clementine/mandarin, navel and Valencia oranges; lemons; limes; grapefruits; and other citrus varieties. Wonderful Citrus owns, cultivates and harvests nearly 60,000 acres of fresh citrus, and ships around the world each year to ensure a year-round supply.
Wonderful Citrus is part of The Wonderful Company, a fast-growing privately held $4 billion company with 9,000 employees worldwide. We’ve made Wonderful® Pistachios America’s fastest-growing snack brand. We’ve turned pomegranates and POM Wonderful® into a worldwide phenomenon. Wonderful® Halos® is the No. 1 mandarin orange in America. FIJI® Water is the No. 1 premium imported bottled water in America. JUSTIN® Vineyards & Winery produces California’s top-selling, high-end Cabernet Sauvignon. And Teleflora® is the world’s leading floral delivery service.
The Wonderful Company has a long-standing commitment to corporate social responsibility, including more than $200 million invested in environmental technologies and sustainability research, $50 million in charitable giving and education initiatives every year, $100 million toward the construction of two charter school campuses in California’s Central Valley, and innovative health and wellness programs, including two new, free primary care clinics for employees and their dependents.