Posts Tagged “Florida avocado shipments”
Florida avocado growers are predicting for the new season volume similar are slightly above a year ago as they gear up for the 2024-25 harvest.
The Avocado Administrative Committee of Florida estimate final production totals for the 2023-24 season will total 21,235 metric tons, down 6.6% from the 2022-23 season.
Florida’s avocado season typically runs from June through December, with some available in January, said Peter Leifermann, vice president of sales and marketing for Homestead, Fla.-based Brooks Tropicals.
Brooks Tropicals of Homestead, FL begins harvest this week and expects a good crop.
The offseason has been abnormally dry and hot, but no wind damage has occurred and this should result in excellent quality.
Brooks Tropicals grows about 30 different varieties of tropical avocados in about 1,200 acres of groves.
J&C Tropicals of Doral, FLexpects to start harvesting around the Fourth of July, which would be a normal start. The company also expects great quality for this season.
J&C Tropicals sources green-skin avocados from a number of local farmers and will have Florida avocados until January.
New Limeco of Homestead, FL expects to be shipping avocados through March. It grows several varieties of green-skin avocados in Florida.
Florida growers say they produce a distinctive avocado, with the primary difference between Florida avocados and avocados from California or Mexico is the fat content.
Florida avocados have about 3 grams compared to 4.6 grams of fat for hass avocados.
The size, taste and productivity also are different.
The average Florida avocado weighs over 1 pound per piece and has a milder taste than other avocados.
There was a 23 % drop in Florida avocado shipments during the 2021 season, according the the USDA.
The Sunshine state totaled 1.11 million 25-pound cartons in 20. There was a 39% plunge to 1.83 million cartons in 2019. The decline in volume has corresponded with a dip in Florida avocado bearing acreage.
Florida avocado bearing acreage in 2021 was 4,400 acres, down 4% from 4,600 acres in 2020, off 27% from 6,000 acres in 2019 and 24% off from 5,800 acres from 2018.
Florida avocados are available year-round, but the heaviest volume from the state in 2021 ran from June through December.
The top shipment month for Florida avocados in 2021 was August, when shippers moved 225,200 cartons, or about 20% of the state’s total annual fresh shipments.
In 2021, August was followed in importance by July, which featured 201,600 cartons, or about 18% of annual volume. September shipments were 196,800 cartons, or about 18% of annual volume.
A crop estimate for 2022 has yet to be issued.
Brooks Tropicals LLC of Homestead, FL will see an increase in Florida avocado production because of new grafts bearing fruit.
The company has invested in recent years over $1 million in transitioning some varieties into others based on various production, harvest, and fruit characteristics. Overall, Florida avocado industry acreage has shrunk though, due to economic forces (land value) and devastation brought on by the Laurel Wilt virus.
Brooks is the second-largest importer of tropical avocados and representing about 35% of the Florida industry – combining to make Brooks Tropicals the single largest distributor of tropical avocados in North America.
Southern Florida avocado growers are expected to harvest 900,000 bushels of avocados during the current season, which lasts from March to April of the following year. Peak loadings occur between August and November.
Brooks Tropical of Homestead, FL has the SlimCado, the trademarked name for its hydrocooled green-skin avocados.
Florida avocado shipments are expected to be similar to last season.
The Florida Avocado Administrative Committee of Homestead reports
Some consumers use hass avocados from California or Mexico for guacamole and Florida avocados in their salads.
The committee has states there is room for various versions of the fruit and you don’t just eat one kind of apple. Why eat just one kind of avocado?
Some consumers use hass avocados from California or Mexico for guacamole and Florida avocados in their salads. Florida avocados are larger than the hass variety, and they brown much more slowly, which means dishes can be prepared the night before they’re served.
During the off-peak season in Florida, they’re imported from the Dominican Republic. The East Coast and the South are the biggest U.S. markets for green-skin avocados.
J&C Tropicals in Miami has added a 50-acres to its grove for green-skin avocados. This brings the company’s avocado groves to 200 acres and is planning further expansion.
South Florida avocado shipments started in early June but loadings are expected to be lighter during the early part of the season, with heavier volume to come.
Shipments may be slightly down compared to last year’s big crop.
Brooks Tropicals of Homestead, FL expects the 2020-21 Florida SlimCado Tropical avocado crop to be somewhat smaller than last year’s, with a later true start date due to extremely dry spring weather.
M&M Farms of Miami reports early season volume may be off 20 to 25 percent compared with a year ago because of hot weather earlier this year.
The shipper believes a better crop will be available towards the middle of the season in September and October. Harvest of Florida’s greenskin avocado crop will continue through the end of the year and into the first quarter of 2021. The company typically ships through March.
New Limeco of Princeton, FL started shipping in early June and plans to continue until March or April next year. Volume is expected to be similar to a year ago.
Normal volume of Florida avocado shipments are expected this season following a down year caused primarily by Hurricane Irma.
Florida shippers are expected to load about 800,000 bushels of green-skin avocados between June and April.
Last year’s crop was reduced by about 40 percent as a result of the hurricane.
Brooks Tropicals of Homestead, FL ships about 40 percent of that volume, which has a trademark on the name SlimCado for its green-skin avocados, which are hydrocooled to extend shelf life. The name was selected at least in part because SlimCados are promoted by the company to have less fat and fewer calories than hass avocados.
They are shipped from Florida starting in June and continuing through March. Additionally, they are sourced from the Dominican Republic between October and May.
While the majority of SlimCados are shipped to markets in the South and on the East Coast, more of the fruit is going to markets in the west.
J&C Tropicalsl of Miami gland normal avocado shipments once again. The company reports July and August as two the biggest months for volume, with good volume to continue through December.
J&C Tropicals, which ships the fruit nationally, will start bringing in similar varieties from the Dominican Republic in the fall.
Florida avocados are bigger than hass, weighing on average about 1 pound.
Normal Florida avocado shipments have not been seen since 2017 and optimism abounds 2019 is the year of rebound for this tropical fruit.
Brooks Tropicals Inc. of Homes reports in 2017 it was Hurricane Irma which devastated the Florida avocado crop and 2018 the fruit was still recuperating.
Southern Florida, where avocados are the Miami-Dade area’s second largest crop, has had excellent weather with warm temperatures and adequate rains. The season for Florida avocados typically begins in June and continues until February or March.
M&M Farm Inc. of Miami expects to grow and ship around 800,000 bushels this season. In 2018 due to the previous-year hurricane and declining (laurel wilt) acreage, the entire Florida avocado industry only shipped about 500,00 bushels.
Limeco LLC of Princeton, FL recently launched its avocado season. The company notes the 2018-19 crop was only about 60 percent of normal, due to the after-effects of the 2017 storms.
Unity Groves of Homestead, FL is looking forward to normal avocado shipments this season as their avocado trees have rebound from the adverse effects of Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Thanks to Hurricane Irma there will be a significant drop in Florida avocado shipments this season. As much as 60 percent of the volume may have been lost.
Most shipments will be get underway during the first half of June. Caution is recommended to Florida avocado haulers to be aware of possible wind scarring of the fruit and make sure their receivers are aware of it. However, most shippers are contending fruit quality overall is good.
Brooks Tropicals of Homestead, FL points out avocado trees have shallow roots and were hit hard by the storm.
J&C Tropicals of Miami, FL expects volume to be slashed by roughly 50 percent because of the September storm that ravaged agriculture across the state.
Unity Groves Corp. of Homestead, FL may have lost 50 to 60 percent of its normal crop, with about 25 percent of its avocado trees were toppled by the winds/ The tree will be out of circulation for 2 to 3 years. The company started shipping at the beginning of June and has increased its avocado acreage about 15 percent.
New Limeco of Princeton, FL is just starting to ship with the crop about two weeks behind last season. Apparently demand is so high in South Florida for the first pickings of avocados, that few rarely get out of the county. By mid- to late June there are higher volumes with much wider distribution.
About 10 percent of Florida avocado acreage has been lost to laurel wilt since 2012, with diseased trees being removed and adjacent trees being taken out as well to try and slow the spread of the disease. The vector is the ambrosia beetle. Hurricane Irma likely exacerbated the effects of laurel wilt.
The electronic logging device (ELD) mandate also continues to affect produce companies across the country as some shippers say the requirements have made transportation more complicated and more costly.
Excellent shipping seasons are shaping up on both U.S. Coasts with California melons and with South Florida avocados.
California melon shipments from the San Joaquin Valley are on track for a good shipping season as initial loadings have started in recent days.
While melons are still coming out of the Yuma area, they will be winding down the last week of June as California is cranking up. For example, Westside Produce of Firebaugh, CA will start loading melons from Huron in late June and will be soon shipping cantaloupe and honeydew from both Huron and Firebaugh. This season is beginning later due to rain soaked fields delaying plantings. Although no pest or disease problems due to the wet planting season have been detected, caution is recommended when your truck is being loaded. So watch for quality issues.
Five Crowns Marketing of Brawly, CA begins shipping watermelons and mini watermelons in Mendota and Tracy by the end of June.
Cantaloupes are targeted to start July 1 in Firebaugh and mid-July in Mendota and Patterson, followed by varietal melons and honeydews about 10 days after cantaloupes start.
Good supplies and steady shipments are expected throughout the summer.
Yuma melons – grossing about $5900 to Atlanta.
Florida Avocado Shipments
Florida avocado shipments are looking to be the best in two years.
Brooks Tropicals of Homestead, FL is the state’s largest avocado grower and expects volume will be 20 percent above a year ago. Shipments to markets will be particularly directed at receivers on the East Coast. California ships 80 to 90 percent of the nation’s domestic avocados, so there is a big freight advantage for Florida’s green-skinned varieties.
While the South Florida harvest started in May, early loadings were directly primarily to local markets. However, out of state shipments pick up significantly in June. There also is a trend for more Florida avocado shipments being delivered west of the Mississippi and into Canada.
Heaviest volume is expected after the Fourth of July, with shipments continuing through March.
Florida only shipped about 800,000 bushels during last year’s short season, but observers are hoping to ship nearly 900,000 bushels this year.
South Florida tomatoes, vegetables, melons and avocados – grossing about $3600 to Boston.
A seasonal shift in watermelon shipments is taking place, plus here’s an update on loadings for California grapes, Florida avocados and Western onion shipments.
Watermelon Shipments Shift
Volume watermelon shipments are making a seasonal shift to new production areas. Loadings are now taking place from fields west of Lubbock, TX. Shipping will continue through September. Both Indiana and Delaware should have watermelon shipments moving into good volume this week….Mexican watermelon shipments through Nogales, AZ are expected by mid October.
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia watermelon shipments – grossing about $1100 to New York City.
California Grape Shipments
In the week ending July 30, about 67 million pounds of California grapes were shipped in the U.S., down from 72.7 million pounds in the same week in 2015. The July 30 total, was however, more than the 61.9 million pounds that shipped in 2014. Year-to-date as of July 30, about 1.47 billion pounds of grapes had shipped in the U.S., down from 1.59 billion pounds last year.
San Joaquin Valley grape shipments – grossing about $6200 to New York City.
Florida Avocado Shipments
Florida avocado grower-shippers expect to ship about one-third less fruit compared to previous seasons. Initially, about 1 million bushels of the green-skinned avocados were expected to be moved. However, that estimate was later reduced to about 800,000 bushels. Following an unfavorable growing season, grower-shippers are now eying 600,000-700,000 bushels, about 35 percent smaller than normal. Typically, shippers such as New Limeco LLC in Princeton, FL as well as Unity Groves Corp. and Brooks Tropicals, both based in Homestead, FL, have peak loadings in July, August and September. Most shipments will be finished in December, although very light volume will extend through March.
Onion Shipments
Washington, Idaho and Oregon account for one-third of the nation’s onion shipments. The primary Pacific Northwest shipping locations for storage onions are in the Treasure Valley in western Idaho and eastern Oregon and in the Columbia Basin in Central Washington and North Central Oregon. Three years ago Northwest onion shipments exceeded 32 million hundredweight.
Northwest onion volume is currently very light, but gradually increasing. Much heavier shipments are taking place from southern New Mexico, averaging about 750 truckloads a week. California’s San Joaquin Valley has over 650 truck loads being shipped weekly.
Southern New Mexico onion shipments – grossing about $3100 to Chicago.
From Florida in the East to California in West, to Canada in the North, here’s a look at opportunities for loadings in three different time zones.
Florida Avocado Shipments
South Florida avocado shipments will get underway nearly a month later than normal, beginning with light volumes in late May. Shipments will be light in June before heaviest loadings arrive in early to mid-July. Shipments should hit about 1 million-1.1 million-bushel this season with south Florida green-skinned varieties.
June is expected to bring considerably smaller volume than usual, but shipments are expected to catch up with bigger volume later in the season.
Southern and Central Florida watermelons, vegetables and tomatoes – grossing about $3300 to New York City.
Ontario Asparagus Shipments
Just North of the U.S. border, asparagus loadings are underway from Southern Ontario. An estimated 85 Canadian farmers in the province grow about 3,400 acres of asparagus. Norfolk and Elgin County have the bulk of Ontario’s asparagus farms, but there are others located in Chatham-Kent, Waterloo and in Essex County. The weather has been a little cool, but as soon as it warms up, asparagus grows really fast and volume will take off.
California Apricot Shipments
Last year California apricot loadings hit a record low. Only 35,000 tons were shipped. In a normal year like 2014, shipments totaled 55,500 tons.
Grown mostly in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties, California apricots account for about 98 percent of all apricots produced in the United States. This year’s apricot shipments should top 50,000-tons.
California Fig Shipments
California fig loadings have been underway in light volume from the Coachella Valley. However, with the close of May primary volume will have shifted to the Southern San Joaquin Valley, although it will be mid June before shipments hit stride. Two primary fig shippers are Western Fresh Marketing and Stellar Distributing, both based in Madera, CA, the heart of fig country. About 35 percent of the fig volume goes to the fresh market, with the remainder being dried.
California fig growers produce 100 percent of the dried figs and 98 percent of the fresh figs grown in the United States.