Posts Tagged “feature”
Presidential Thanksgiving proclamations and speeches have been popular throughout American history. Within the federal government, the tradition pre-dates the U.S. Constitution adopted in 1789, and was observed by the Continental Congress.
President George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation but that was not officially observed as a concurrent tradition by every president until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving to be observed on Thursday, November 26, 1863.
Before Lincoln, Thanksgiving was generally promoted in government at the state level.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt officially made the holiday the fourth Thursday in November in 1942.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Pacific Trellis Fruit, a year-round grower, shipper, and marketer of premium fresh fruit, will be adding Donut Peaches and Extra Sweet nectarines this coming year to its successful inaugural offering of imported specialty plum varieties to create a full line of premium stone fruit during the Southern Hemisphere Season.
The company is gearing up for the new arrivals from Chile with the Donut Peaches available in mid-December and Nectarines beginning in January.
The company highlights four specialty and premium plum SKUs – Lemon Plums, Extra Sweet, Watermelon and Sugar Plums. Lemon Plums, grown in Chile and South Africa, are yellow-skinned and turn bright red when ripe. Extra Sweet Plums, grown in Chile and South Africa, vary in appearance from bright red to dark red, to red/yellowish skin as well as black. Watermelon Plums, grown in South Africa, have green skin with red flesh, similar in appearance to a watermelon. Sugar Plums, grown in Chile and South Africa, have red to purple skin with golden-yellow flesh. In addition, the Donut Peaches have a tender, juicy, and sweet white flesh, while the Extra Sweet Nectarines display both white and yellow flesh fruit with a combination of sweet and tangy taste.
About Pacific Trellis Fruit
Pacific Trellis Fruit is one of North America’s top year-round growers and importers of premium fresh fruit, including melons, grapes, peaches, plums, nectarines, citrus, and cherries. It partners with growers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Spain, as well as domestic farmers across the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Los Angeles, CA, with sales offices in Fresno, CA, Gloucester, NJ, and Tucson, AZ. Pacific Trellis owns and manages the renowned Dulcinea® brand. Dulcinea® is the pioneer of the PureHeart personal seedless melons as well as the Tuscan Style Cantaloupe, and Pacific Trellis has recently expanded the brand to pack grapes, citrus, cherries, and stone fruit. In 2020, Pacific Trellis fruit became the exclusive marketer and distributor of the KISS line of melons.
Frutura of Reedley, CA, a gobal sales and marketing company has announced agreements to acquire two major produce companies – Giddings Fruit and Sun Belle.
Frutura described the planned acquisition as the most the company has made to date.
Giddings Fruit, headquartered in Santiago, Chile, is a global supplier of organic and conventional berries and cherries.
Sun Belle, based by Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, is a year-round marketer of a full line of conventional and organic berries, sold under the Sun Belle and Green Belle brands.
Frutura says it anticipates a smooth integration as Sun Belle and Giddings have enjoyed a deep, decades-long relationship. The companies have worked closely together on distribution, marketing and logistics, with Sun Belle serving as the exclusive sales agent for Giddings’ berries grown in Mexico.
Founder Janice Honigberg will continue as chief executive officer of Sun Belle and founder Julio Giddings will become chair emeritus of Giddings Fruit. Both will join Frutura’s board of directors.
Mexico accounts for almost 90 percent of the avocado volume exported to the U.S., according to USDA statistics.
According to data from the USDA, total avocado import volumes for 2022-23 (marketing year September through August) increased 14% from 1.01 million metric tons in 2017-18 to 1.265 million metric tons in 2022-23.
Mexico accounted for most U.S. avocado imports, with the volume of Mexican avocados increasing 23% from 881,705 metric tons in 2017-18 to 1.12 million metric tons in 2022-23.
In 2022-23, Mexico’s share of U.S. avocado import volume was 89%, up from 87% in 2017-18.
Peru was the second-largest source, with volumes fluctuating between 71,176 metric tons and 128,301 metric tons over 2018 to 2022, before dropping 39% to 78,296 metric tons in 2022-23.
U.S. imports of Chilean avocado volume declined steadily from 28,158 metric tons in 2017-18 to just 3,877 metric tons in 2022-23, a 50% decrease between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The Dominican Republic saw a small 3% increase in avocado imports between 2021-22 (40,325 metric tons) and 2022-23 (41,381 metric tons).
Colombia’s avocado volume to the U.S. grew from 144 metric tons in 2018 to 18,642 metric tons in 2021-22, before dropping 25% to 13,931 metric tons in 2022-23.
Summer is arriving in the Southern Hemisphere and this means imports of Chilean fruit will be here soon. Average volume, or perhaps slightly below average is seen by observers.
The Chilean Fresh Fruit Association of Redwood City, CA reports over the next several months there will be arrivals of peaches, plums, nectarines, grapes, blueberries and cherries.
Blueberry imports begin in November and continue into mid-March; cherries will arrive in the U.S. from December to February; grapes will be available from December to April or early May; and stone fruit will be here from December to April.
Peaches and nectarines are available in the early part of stone fruit season, and plums during the latter part.
Importer Pacific Trellis of Los Angeles reports a good Chilean stone fruit is expected.
The company expects stone fruit volume to be similar to last year, while blueberry volume will be down. However, a 5% increase in global table grape export volume is seen. About 56% of Chile’s total table grape shipments are exported to the U.S.
Red and green table grapes should be arriving from Chile a little earlier than last year due to a warm winter in the northern Chilean growing areas.
Chilean table grape imports are expected to be similar to last year’s 63.7 million 18-pound boxes.
The cherry committee of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) expected growers to produce 95.4 million 5-kilogram (11-pound) boxes, which is a 15% increase over last season.
The first boat load of Chilean cherries left for the U.S. in early November.
Last year, Chilean growers shipped 3.2 million boxes of cherries to the U.S.
Naturipe Farms of Salinas, CA notes overall acreage of fruit crops in Chile has been declining as growers look at other crops and other markets. The company sees lower volumes in the 2023-24 season as a lot more of the Chilean crop is going to Asia and Europe.
What is the largest citrus fruit?
One might think the Sumo citrus, as its name suggests. Or could it be the pink, white or ruby red grapefruit?
It’s the pummelo. Here are some fast facts about this super-sized fruit.
Pummelos are:
- Originally from Southeast Asia.
- Harvested in Florida from December to April.
- About the size of a cantaloupe, 5 to 10 inches in diameter and 2 to 5 pounds
- Also called pomelo and Chinese grapefruit
- Fairly round and may have a slight point on one end
- Covered in yellow to green skin that’s slightly bumpy, with flesh that ranges from pink to rose and a thick rind
- Tart and sweeter than grapefruit with hardly any bitterness
By Michael Patrick, ALC Corp.
Transportation and analytics go together like peas and carrots. As technology continues on an upward trajectory with the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning, transportation companies will have to continue to adapt their environments to use this technology to their benefit. We currently use basic metrics to help our customers, managers, and brokers be as effective and efficient as possible. We combine our data with multiple data sources to get an overall market picture.
As a third-party transportation company, we use business intelligence and analytics in a multitude of areas. Market trends are used to help us bid spot market freight and rate prediction engines to help forecast rates on customer bids. Executives and managers use data and analytics to conduct customer, carrier, and employee reviews on a quarterly basis.
Customers and carriers benefit from Allen Lund Company conducting business reviews that show them not only trends in the overall marketplace, but also identify areas where they may reduce costs and thoroughly streamline their transportation. We use things like loads, customer spend, weight and pallet analysis, lane and cost analysis to create a great story for our customers and carriers.
One example comes to mind of ALC using data and analytics to help a customer reduce costs within their transportation department. We were asked to help this customer with a market analysis on their lane set. We ran the customers rates and market rates and showed them which areas to reach out to the incumbent carrier in order to adjust their rates to market levels. Some of these rates went up, and some went down. Overall, the customer felt like they not only got better rates, but also better service from their carrier. Win-win for everyone involved.
As technology continues to grow, we will have to stay ahead and evolve quickly in order to keep up with our customer and carrier demands. Allen Lund Company is committed to keeping up with the markets and to keep our customers, carriers, and employees up-to-date on all current market trends. The Business Intelligence team here at ALC will continue to push the envelope on what is possible with analytics.
*****
Michael Patrick is the Director of Business Intelligence and has been with Allen Lund Company since January 2018. He graduated from Winthrop University with a BS in Marketing in 1998 and earned his MBA from The Citadel in 2002.
michael.patrick@allenlund.com
Between January and August, Peruvian blueberry exports reached $343 million in FOB value, registering a 14 percent drop year-on-year. According to Peru’s Exporters Association, the decrease was mostly due to weather factors.
According to the ADEX Data Trade Intelligence System, the United States took a 49 percent share of overall shipments, confirming its position as the top destination market for blueberries.
Between January and August, Peruvian blueberry exports reached $343 million in FOB value, registering a 14 percent drop year-on-year. According to Peru’s Exporters Association, the decrease was mostly due to weather factors.
According to the ADEX Data Trade Intelligence System, the United States took a 49 percent share of overall shipments, confirming its position as the top destination market for blueberries.
However, the U.S. percentage also saw a 23 percent decrease compared to last year’s figures, as Peruvian volumes continue to be hindered by El Niño. In August, Peruvian domestic production fell by 52 percent.
The Netherlands and China complete the top three destinations for Peruvian blueberry exports this season, with a respective 20 percent and 10 percent share of shipments.
Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad continue to lead production. But these growing areas also post major decreases: Piura’s volumes dropped 80 percent, Lambayeque’s by 79 percent and La Libertad is down 50 percent year-on-year.
Agroexports Manager Claudia Solano Oré assures that ADEX already has a strategy to boost the sector, as weather woes continue to stall production.
ADEX will be visiting associate companies to learn more about their challenges, in hopes of providing support.
The Netherlands and China complete the top three destinations for Peruvian blueberry exports this season, with a respective 20 percent and 10 percent share of shipments.
However, the U.S. percentage also saw a 23 percent decrease compared to last year’s figures, as Peruvian volumes continue to be hindered by El Niño. In August, Peruvian domestic production fell by 52 percent.
Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad continue to lead production. But these growing areas also post major decreases: Piura’s volumes dropped 80 percent, Lambayeque’s by 79 percent and La Libertad is down 50 percent year-on-year.
Agroexports Manager Claudia Solano Oré assures that ADEX already has a strategy to boost the sector, as weather woes continue to stall production.
ADEX will be visiting associate companies to learn more about their challenges, in hopes of providing support.
Prima Wawona of Cutler, CA, the largest stone fruit producer in California’s Central Valley, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection recently, hoping to facilitate the sale of the company.
The company pointed the filing at “significant headwinds, including increased costs and weather-related impacts, that have combined to make our existing capital structure unsustainable.”
Reuters reports that the company, owned by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, has about $679 million in debt, and plans to sell its business in bankruptcy, according to bankruptcy court documents.
Prima farms peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots on its 18,000 acres in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
If no buyer emerges, Prima will pivot to a debt restructuring or a liquidation of its business, according to court documents.
The company was formed from a 2019 merger of Gerawan Farming Inc. and Wawona Packing Company. The company had over $300 million in sales revenue in 2022, with 60% of that coming from the sale of peaches, according to court documents.
Maine potato growers and shippers are expecting average shipments for their crop in the 2023-24 season.
Cambridge Farms of Presque Isle, ME experienced average yields during harvest, although it may have a little more volume. The company has
russet, white, red and yellow potatoes.
Green Thumb Farms Inc. of Fryeburg, ME sees its volume being up slightly this year with good quality.
The Maine Farmers Exchange in Presque Isle describes this season’s potatoes as a mixed bags with some operations being up in volume. size and yields, while others are down. Rains and cloudy weather are cited as reasons.
Maine potato loadings got underway with the start of November.
Irving Farms Marketing Inc. of Caribou, ME has added a new storage unit to the 40,000-square-foot packing facility it opened last year. The new refrigerated, humidity-controlled storage facility will hold 55,000 hundredweight units.
The company is moving away from round white potatoes and offering more russets as well as red and yellow potatoes.
Volume and yields should be similar to last year.