Posts Tagged “Georgia produce shipments”
An early January freeze has hampered harvest and reduced shipments of Southern Georgia greens. Also, here’s an update on Florida citrus shipments.
Georgia Produce Shipments
Greens in Georgia were damaged by freezes the week of January 4th, with temperatures in the Norman Park shipping region hitting the low 20s. By the week of January 11th, shipments had taken a hard hit. One grower/shipper was picking just 2,000 to 4,000 boxes of greens a day, down from the seasonal norm of 8,000 to 10,000. Some operators were affected more than others.
Harvest was taking much longer because instead of picking greens by the bunch, workers were picking leaf by leaf, sorting out undamaged from damaged product. Georgia greens shipments should be back to normal around January 24 – 28.
South Georgia greens and cabbage – grossing about $3000 to New York City.
The cold weather didn’t reach down to Florida, and damage greens there.
Florida Citrus Shipments
Florida orange shipments continue to decline.
On January 12, the USDA forecast midseason and late season orange production declined 5 percent from the December 10th report and fell 2 percent from the previous season.
Grapefruit and tangerine production remained unchanged.
In the newest report, the USDA forecast Florida non-valencia oranges, which include early, midseason, navel and temple varieties, to decline 4 million equivalent cartons to 48 million cartons and valencias to fall 1 million cartons to 55 million cartons.
Navel production remains unchanged at 1.5 million cartons.
On grapefruit, total production is forecast at 15 million cartons and tangerines are forecast at 2.5 million cartons.
Overall, Florida growers are forecast to harvest 121.3 million equivalent cartons of citrus, down from last season’s 124 million cartons and considerably lower than the 169 million carton 2009-13 average.
While about 96 percent of the state’s oranges ship to processed channels, 65 percent of its navels, 63 percent of its tangerines, 40 percent of its grapefruit and about 10 percent of its overall citrus ship fresh.
Florida citrus shipments – grossing about $2300 to Chicago.
I’m in Georgia this week checking out the crops and visiting with shippers to give you a better idea of loading opportunities as we progress into spring. I’m also visiting with some of you at truck stops along the Interstate 75 corridor.
Vidalia sweet onion shipments were not to legally start before April 21st (at least until a Georgia court ruled otherwise and struck it down), which was the date set by the state’s ag commissioner. Colder weather has put the onions behind schedule. Don’t expect good volume before May. While some observers are predicting shipments could be off as much as 25 percent this season, others are taking a wait and see attitude to measure yields.
Overall, you probably won’t be getting loaded in the Southeast without having multiple pick ups. That could mean starting with pick ups in Florida and finishing off the load with additional pick ups in Georgia. The volume is just not there.
Meanwhile, there is light to moderate shipments of various greens from central and southern Georgia. Items ranging from vegetables such as cucumbers and squash are still a month or more away from being harvested.
Georgia has become a major shipper of blueberries with volume increasing each year. Intial loadings of “blues” will start in April, with good volume arriving in early May.
Another big item for Georgia are watermelons. While current loadings are occurring in Florida, where the harvest gradually moves northward, and usually ends by early June. This is about the time George watermelon shipments get underway.
Finally, the Georgia peach bloom in the Fort Valley area is beautiful. Shipping should get underway the last half of May. If weather conditions hold over the next month there could be up to 2.2 million boxes of Georgia peaches shipped this season. However, there is a freeze forecast for Tuesday night, March 25th. It will take a bit to assess any damage.
— Bill Martin