Posts Tagged “feature”
Heavy rains should keep pumpkin shipments lighter than usual around much of the country heading into Halloween (October 31st).
For example, Mike Pirrone Produce Inc., based in Capac, MI expects just 300 loads of pumpkins to be shipped this year This would be down from the 500 loads of pumpkins normally shipped.
West Texas pumpkin shippers have a similar story. If the prediction of 50 percent fewer shipments this season holds, it would be the lowest production in 20 years.
At Lusk Onion Co. of Clovis, N.M., average shipments are expected, but the product is maturing in smaller sizes than usual. The overall crop is being described as pretty average in volume, but the size is a little smaller.
There also have reports of pumpkin shippers in Indiana being particularly hit hard due to excessive spring rains.
Both North Carolina and South Carolina have taken hits in production thanks to Hurricane Joaquin and it’s drenching rains.
It’s difficult getting any current national production, or shipping numbers for pumpkins since about 40 states grow and ship the item, but mostly on a local and regional basis.
Apple shipments from West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania are forecast to increase over 41 million pounds this year across the three states, according to the USDA. Meanwhile, imports of Chilean blueberries continue to increase.
Pennsylvania apple shipments should see a 32-million pound increase over 2014.
Meanwhile, West Virginia apple shipments are expected to increase by 8 million pounds, while Maryland apple shipments are projected to have a 1.6 million-pound hike.
Pennsylvania, which had 493 million pounds of apples in 2014, ranked fourth among 29 major apple-producing states. West Virginia ranked ninth, with 82 million pounds last year.
Chilean Blueberry Imports
Chilean blueberry production will continue to grow during the 2015-16 season, and global exports of fresh blueberries will be in the range of 218 million to 241 million pounds. This means an increase of 7 to 19 percent over the previous season’s exports of 203 million pounds.
North America is by far the largest export market for Chilean blueberries, with 67 percent of Chilean blueberry exports landing in this market during the 2014-15 season. Europe comprised 23 percent of Chile’s fresh blueberry exports and Asia 10 percent.
Chile’s blueberry acreage continues to expand, with about 39,289 acres currently planted. In 2014-15, Chile exported a total of 34.1 million boxes, with over 19 million boxes shipped to North America. In 2015-16, exports to America are projected to exceed 20 million boxes and reach new historic highs.
The first export peak is expected to be similar in timing to 2014, with projected exports of 9-13 million pounds in December.
Texas citrus shipments from the Lower Rio Grande Valley are underway.
Shipping started the first full week of October and will continue until April. While volume is still light, it is increasing and should be “normal” heading into November.
The Lower Rio Grande Valley has about 28,000 acres of citrus trees. With new plantings, over 30,000 of trees or expected in the next few years. These new plantings should result in greater yields, which could mean a 10 percent increase in potential shipments over the next several years. About eight million cartons are expected to be shipped this year.
Broken down, those eight million cartons are comprised of about 75 percent red grapefruit and 25 percent oranges. Last year, Texas shipped about 7.8 million cartons of citrus.
Though some groves are still coming out of production, the Texas citrus industry is gaining acreage.
Two devastating freezes in the 1980s, urbanization, marketing conditions and other factors drastically reduced the number of acres devoted to citrus in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, where grapefruit flourished for decades. But in the past decade, investment in the industry has been on the rise, which has led to some consolidation and increased plantings.
Mexican fruit and vegetable imports at Pharr, Tx, plus South Texas citrus – grossing about $2400 to Chicago.
The Golden Gate Wholesale Produce Market will undergo a major renovation effort that will include a solar installation and other infrastructure, environmental, food safety, traffic and sustainability improvements for the first time since it was built in the 1960s.
Located in South San Francisco, the renovation is the most extensive in the market’s 53-year history and is designed to meet the changing needs of businesses located at the market and customers who shop there. By strengthening the market’s infrastructure and advancing its commitment to sustainability, it plans to create a better experience for everyone who works at or visits the market.
Located across the freeway from San Francisco International Airport, this 742,000-square-foot facility, is the largest and busiest produce terminal in Northern California. The state-of-the-art enhancements are planned over the next year and include new solar/energy efficiency upgrades, cold chain food storage management and worker safety systems, as well as smoother traffic flow within the facility.
Twenty-three independent and family-owned businesses operate at the market, including wholesalers, jobbers, commission merchants, brokers, foodservice distributors, processors and one restaurant. More than 15 million packages move through the market each year.
(While this story doesn’t apply to produce trucking directly, in reality it really does. The PACA system in the U.S. fails to provide protection for produce truckers in the event of a dispute involving problems ranging from claims to rejected loads and unfair deductions from the load. In effect, the trucker has little recourse in a dispute, but to seek remedy through the court system, which can be very expensive, time consuming and not very practical. Currently, the best solution is deliver to reputable produce receivers. It also helps to deal with shippers, truck brokers, logistic companies, etc.
that will back you in an unfair claims dispute. HaulProduce.com for decades has called for PACA to include produce trucking, but the produce industry, which has very close ties with the USDA, which administers the PACA, has strongly opposed it.)
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the Canadian Horticultural Council applaud the commitment from the Liberal Party of Canada and Liberal Agriculture Critic Mark Eyking to establishing a Canadian mechanism comparable to the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act(PACA) in the United States and to restoring Canada’s preferential access to PACA programs.
“CPMA raised this issue when we met with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau last September, where he committed to resolving this critical problem for the produce industry,” CPMA President Ron Lemaire said in a press release. “We are thrilled that he is following through on this commitment and that the Liberal Party recognizes the importance of a strong produce industry that can continue to provide fresh, healthy food for Canadians.”
“Growing and selling fresh fruit and vegetables is risky, which makes this commitment to ensuring strong, equitable payment protection tools, both in Canada and when exporting to our largest market, all the more important,” Anne Fowlie, executive vice president of the CHC, added in the press release. “We are grateful of the Liberal Party’s support of those who bring fresh fruits and vegetables to our tables every day.”
The lack of payment protection in Canada is the number one issue for fresh fruit and vegetable growers and sellers across Canada. The industry has long advocated for a PACA-like trust in Canada. The highly perishable nature of fresh produce makes the industry uniquely vulnerable during bankruptcies, risking financial ruin for those affected.
Produce sellers in the United States have PACA, which provides a deemed trust mechanism that ensures that growers and sellers are paid should a buyer go bankrupt or simply refuse to pay for the product they receive. Canada had been the only country whose exporters were granted the same protections as U.S. companies under PACA.
The U.S. revoked Canada’s special access due to the lack of similar trust protection and the lack of progress in fulfilling the Canada-U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council commitment to establishing a comparable approach in Canada.
Long vulnerable in Canada, the situation became more urgent after the decision last fall made exporting to the U.S. a much riskier enterprise for Canadian companies, who currently send 40 percent of all produce grown in Canada to U.S. customers.
Since Oct. 1, Canadian companies trying to recover unpaid bills have had to post a bond of double the value of their claim to move forward with a formal claim under PACA. Many cannot afford to do so and must simply walk away from what they are owed, a decision several have already had to make.
CHC and CPMA have been asking all parties to commit to resolving this issue in their platforms this election. A limited statutory deemed trust, like the PACA model, is a no-cost solution and the most effective means to resolve the issue. Other options would result in high cost to both sellers and government, while still providing ineffective protection.
The California navel forecast of 86 million 40-pound cartons — up from 76 million last season — is larger than originally predicted. Shipments are just starting out of the San Joaquin Valley. Volume will be increasing as we get latter into October.
Central San Joaquin Valley fruits and vegetables – grossing about $6400 to New York City.
Lemon Shipments
Lemon shipments out of California and Arizona from the desert growing region, which will provide most loadings for the next few months, with volume expected to be off by 15 to 20 percent compared to a year ago. However, volume out of the San Joaquin Valley should be similar to a year ago. Lemons shipments will continue out of the desert until December before moving to the San Joaquin Valley.
Wisconsin Potato Shipments
Wisconsin potato yields are expected to average 440 to 460 hundredweight per acre, which is considered very good. A year ago, the Badger State averaged between 410 and 420 per acre, which also is considered to be good. (add # shipments per week) Harvest continues.
Central Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $1000 to Chicago.
Red River Valley Potato Shipments
90 percent of the Red River Valley crop from North Dakota and Minnesota will be harvested in October. Some potatoes have been going directly into the fresh market, but most are being placed into storage. Average yields and shipments are seen for this season.
Grand Forks, ND red potatoes – grossing about $1750 to Chicago.
Most Florida fall vegetable shipments should be normal, except for sweet corn and green beans, which could see shipping gaps during the start of their seasons.
Keep in mind Florida vegetable shipments in the fall are much lighter than during the more active spring shipping season. Still, what product that is available will see brisk movement in light of the early October losses from rains that pounded South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
Florida sweet corn loadings in the Belle Glade area normally start in mid November, but due to heavy rains that disrupted early fall plantings, most shipments will not start until after Thanksgiving (November 26). Georgia corn shipments, which began shipments in late September, should be finished by mid November.
Meanwhile, Florida bean loadings should get underway the second week of November, with light volume continuing through mid-December. South Florida cucumbers started about a week ago, with bell peppers starting around October 20th, with eggplant getting underway about the third week of November.
“With all the rains, this season started tough and it’s been the toughest one I’ve ever seen,” he said in early October. “So far, we’re not behind on anything. Weather can change, but we are where we want to be. We should have consistent availability if the weather cooperates.”
South Florida vegetables – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
Costa Rica pineapple exports to the U.S. and domestic Florida grapefruit shipments are facing their own problems, but for different reasons.
Adverse weather conditions and unfavorable exchange rates contributed to the decline in Costa Rican pineapple exports the first half of 2015 compared with the previous year. The drop was 15 percent less in volumes of the tropical fruit shipped between January and June, amounting to 933,800 tons.
In June there was severe fl0ooding in Costa Rica and estimated pineapple losses could reach 20 million boxes, with nearly 45,000 acres of fields damaged. Exchange rates have also hit exports over the past year, with the Costa Rican colón rising against the euro and, to a lesser extent, against the US dollar since August 2014.
The U.S. is easily the biggest export market for Costa Rica. However, those exports to American plunged by 19 percent over the period, totalling 473,000 tons.
Florida Grapefruit Shipments
Florida had a hot and relatively wet summer resulting in poorer quality grapefruit as the minimum maturity standards for brix and acid levels were lacking early in the season. This delayed harvest by about two to three weeks.
The Florida grapefruit harvest recently started and shipments are expected to remain strong through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. After the holidays, demand declines. In general, US grapefruit consumption is going down. Older people tend to like grapefruit, but because of changing demographics, the industry is losing the older customer base. Younger people do not prefer the taste of this citrus variety. Consumption is also suffering from bad publicity during the past five years as the fruit is believed to interact with certain medications.
Florida grapefruit shipments – grossing about $2100 to Chicago.
The California pistachio harvest is going full bore and the state accounts for 99 percent of pistachio shipments in the U.S. This year is an off-year for pistachio trees, and may be off even more than usual for this type of year.
A mild California winter failed to provide enough chilling hours, adversely affecting pollination. However, the California drought also is hurting.
California’s lack of water is also impacting yields because the trees form a shell first and during a later stage, the nut fills the shell during a critical time. As a result many trees are only producing shells and the share of blanks has increased significantly. At this point it is difficult to predict total shipments, but the hare of blanks in some orchards are as high as 70 percent.
Between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 California exported 61 percent of its pistachio production. China is the number one market for the US, followed by the European Union. Iran is the US’ main competitor in pistachio production, and the U.S. is at a disadvantage in China because of Iran’s proximity to China.
The New York state apple harvest is in full swing and New York apple shipments should pick up once the harvest is completed in a few weeks.
The Empire state is expecting normal apple shipments and volume this season from the state’s 700 growers.
The Hudson Valley is the largest volume provider in the state. However there also are shipments originating near the western shores of Lake Champlain in the Champlain Valley. Further west in New York, the primary shipping areas for apples are Utica, Ithica, Syracuse and Rochester.
New York is the nation’s second largest apple shipper and is forecast to have 26.2 million cartons this year, or about 13 apples for each of the state’s 19.75 million residents, if those apples stayed in state. However, the state’s apples are shipped from New England to Florida.
The 2015 crop is expected to be slightly smaller than the state’s average over the past five years of 30 million cartons, but produce truckers won’t notice the difference. New York has new apple plantings resulting in new apple varieties such as Honeycrisp – alongside their old New York state standards such as McIntosh and Empire. The new varieties like RubyFrost® and SnapDragon® can only be grown by select New York state growers.
Hudson Valley apples – grossing about $2600 to Atlanta.