Posts Tagged “Mexican grapes”
Early season imported grapes from South America have been lower, although with the arrival of March volume is improving.
To date, Chilean grapes imported through early March were down 32 percent compared to last year, reports the USDA, with imported Peruvian grapes being down 46 percent compared to the same time a year ago.
A Pro*Act market report dated March 6th notes imported grape supplies from Chile and Peru were increasing and quality was good in early March. A consistent volume of imported grapes is expected through early April, when the transition of Mexican grapes starts crossing the U.S. border in mid-April.
On March 6th the USDA’s Market News Service reported prices for extra large Chilean red seedless grapes at $20 to $24 per carton, up from $16 to $20 per carton the same day a year ago.
The early March market was under downward pressure with increasing volume and prices may decline with ample volume in the near term, according to the report.
A range of retail prices for red seedless grapes in selected U.S. cities, ranged from a low ad price of $1.28 per pound in Detroit to a high of $3.99 per pound in Seattle and New York.
Retail promotions of red seedless grapes were reported by the USDA in 7,637 U.S. stores for the week of March 1st with an average price of $2.48 per pound. That compares 8,186 stores promoting red seedless grapes a year ago at an average price of $3.07 per pound.
Imported Mexican grapes will still be good, but a little less than an year ago. Meanwhile Texas red potato shipments have started.
Green seedless grapes in Mexican have taken biggest hit for the new 2018 season, dropping 30 percent from a total of 4.4 million cases in 2017 to 3.1 million cases this year.
Early green seedless are expected to be down 28 percent to 2.6 million cases. Early green seedless production in 2017 was 3.6 million cases. Red seedless varieties this year will be off 23 percent from 10.1 million cases a year ago. The 2018 estimate is for 7.8 million boxes of red seedless table grapes.
Red seeded, black and other varieties are each expected to be off 15 percent this spring. Red seeded export production this year is estimated to be 584,000 cases. Black grape volume is anticipated to be 1.1 million boxes. Other varieties should total 713,000 boxes.
Mexican grape shipments a year busted all records hitting 16 million cases.
Peak shipments for green seedless would be the third week of May through June.. Peak shipments for red seedless will be similar.
Some good news for produce truckers hauling grapes out of Nogales is there has been a 50 percent increase in inspectors at the Nogales crossing. This is expected to reduce delays at the border.
Mexican vegetables and watermelon crossing at Nogales – grossing about $6800 to New York City.
Texas Red Potato Shipments
by MountainKing Potatoes
HOUSTON, TX – MountainKing Potatoes, one of the world’s largest growers of potato varieties, has started the harvest of its Texas new crop of red potatoes.
Grown in the Rio Grande Valley, south central Texas and the western section of the state’s panhandle, MountainKing’s Texas Reds are harvested fresh daily, pre-cooled and packed to order in specially-marked 5-pound bags.
“Our Texas Reds have been a consistent seller…,” says John Pope, vice president of sales and marketing for MountainKing Potatoes. “All signs point to a very solid harvest this year.”
Pope explains the firm and waxy texture of the Texas Reds help them maintain their shape when boiled. Plus, their high moisture content creates a more flavorful potato salad while their thinner skins make for a brighter, more attractive presentation. The product also is suitable for grilling and mashing.
Besides their great look and taste, MountainKing’s Texas Red Potatoes are packed with 35 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and 16 percent of dietary fiber, a strong selling point for health-conscious shoppers.
Based in Houston, MountainKing grows, packs, markets and distributes fresh potatoes to grocers across the United States. Currently, about one million U.S. households enjoy MountainKing products every week.
Mexican produce crossing the border at Pharr, Tx – grossing about $3800 to Chicago.
The Salinas Valley is shipping alot of mixed vegetables and generally receives most of the attention, however there are veggie loadings taking place just to south in Santa Maria. As with other coastal regions in the state, Santa Maria vegetable shipments got started nearly two weeks earlier than normal.
Items available for hauling range from leaf lettuce to romaine and broccoli, the latter which is shipped from here year around. Just becoming available now is celery. In all, while Santa Maria lacks the volume of Salinas, it still ships over 70 speciality vegetables, baby lettuce and speciality greens all year long.
California Grape Shipments
It also looks like California grape shipments will be early as well. The Coachella Valley should get going within a few days of the Mexican grapes — by early May. Coachella typically ships grapes out of the desert for a month or so. This will be followed by the Arvin District in the Southern San Joaquin Valley.
Cherry Shipments
Intial predictions call for California to ship between 2.5 and 3 million trays of cherries this season. This would be considered a decent sized crop, but certainly not a bumper crop. The early cherry deal in the southern and central San Joaquin Valley of California will have an earlier start than usual this year, by as much as two weeks
While initial shipments are expected the last week of April, peak loadings in the southern SJV are expected between May 5 – 19. Northern valley cherry loadings should occur around May 27 to the middle of June.
For the first time, moderate volume shipments of cherries were expected to be shipped in time for Mother’s Day (May 11th).
The early season cherries from the southern San Joquin Valley are expected to have lighter volume, while more normal shipments are expected from the northern valley areas from the later varieties.
San Joaquin Valley vegetables – grossing about $7800 to New York City.