Posts Tagged “Northwest cherry shipments”
Some Western cherry shipments are finished, but the Northwest cherry crop is coming on….Meanwhile, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware is underway with vegetables.
California cherry shipments are ending up at nearly 9 million, 18-pound boxes, which would exceed the 8.7 million-box-record loadings in 2008. It may very well be California’s best and largest sweet cherry season ever as Washington state’s harvest gets underway. Hollister, CA finished about a week ago.
Last year California finished with 5.1 million boxes after losing about 3 million boxes to rain.
California’s cherry industry has had many disappointments in recent years due to rain or heat. Inadequate winter chill led to poor fruit set in 2014 and a crop of just 2.7 million boxes. And 2005 and 2006 were at 3 million boxes or less.
California shipments averaged 250,000 boxes per day between May 5 and June 4, with a peak of 377,000 boxes on May 23.
About 70 percent of California’s crop was shipped to all regions of the U.S. and 9.4 percent to Canada, 9 percent to South Korea and the balance to Japan, China, Hong Kong and a few others.
Pacific Northwest Cherry Shipments
Pacific Northwest cherry shipments are forecast at 22.7 million boxes with Washington cherry shipments accounting 81 percent of it. The Northwest counts by 22-pound boxes and California by 18-pound boxes.
The Washington harvest began with the Chelan variety at Doebler Orchard near Mattawa on June 6.
It was a limited run for the first cherries, but packing cranked up about June 15 as more orchards started picking.
Yakima Valley apple and pear shipments – grossing about $4500 to Dallas.
Eastern Shore Vegetable Shipments
All packing sheds on the Eastern Shore were running as of yesterday.
Fresh potato shipments are particularly good for Canada this season with reds, russets and yellows being shipped from areas of the Eastern Shore. However, the majority of potatoes are shipped throughout the Northeast when those areas are not producing.
The largest russet grower on the Eastern Shore is Yaros Farms in Lower Northampton County. Dublin Farms in Horntown is one of Virginia’s biggest potato operations. It ships 12 to 15 loads daily from late June through mid-August.
When the southern states stop shipping, loadings are redirected there. Depending on the volume from Canadian potatoes from year to year, the Eastern Shore also distributes into in Canada.
There typically is between 3,000 and 4,000 acres of potatoes grown on the Eastern Shore.
C&E Farms in Cheriton, VA, is one of the largest green bean operations in the nation. C&E Farms also ships green beans from North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida. The company has packing facilities in Cheriton and in Parrish, FL.
Virginia’s three major tomato operations, Lipman Family Farms, Pacific Tomato Growers and Del Monte, will be shipping about equal volumes of round, roma, grape, cherry and heirloom tomatoes from late June through September.
Northwest cherry shipments should kick off in early June, with peak loading taking place in July, although there should be significant supply in August. This means a more traditional shipping season.An official forecast has yet to be issued but a quality full crop of about 20 million boxes is expected by some observers. In 2016 NW cherry shipments totaled 21 million boxes, and a record volume of 23 million boxes were loaded in 2014.
The Northwest had one of the coldest winters in nearly a quarter of a century and this will lead to a later start to the season than a year ago. Cherry picking should start the first week of June, compared with a May 15 start date in 2016. The 2016 season was the earliest ever for Northwest cherries.
The 2017 shipping season should have peak cherry shipments during July, although good volume of fruit is expected in August. The past two season there has been about 200,000 to 500,000 boxes shipped in August. This season around 2 million or more boxes should be shipped in August.
By comparison, California cherry shipments should be around 7 million to 8 million boxes (see last week’s report), meaning little overlap with Northwest cherry shipments.
Most Northwest cherries originate out of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana. However, 95 percent of the production comes from Washington and Oregon.
The later start date means there will be more fruit in July this season, along with good volumes in August. While there will a good amount of fruit available for the Fourth of July holidays, volumes would undoubtedly be lower than last year due to the later season. Last year there were 12 million boxes shipped in June, but this year there will probably be 7 or 8 million boxes shipped during June.
About 30 percent of the NW cherry crop will be exported this season, with a majority of the fruit destined for Canada.
Apricot Shipments
Good, fairly normal apricot shipments are expected this season, getting underway around the third week of June out of Washington.
Washington apples and pears – grossing about $4000 to Dallas.
Mango imports are up significantly this season. Plus, we take a final look at Northwest cherry shipments.
Brazil Mango Imports
The U.S., the National Mango Board (NMB) has released its latest update from Mexico and Brazil as of August 6, 2016 and reports volume arriving into the U.S. is up nearly one million boxes from last year.
Mango volume shipping the first week of August is about 2.6 million boxes. During the same week last year, volume was around 1.7 million boxes. These numbers brought the total mango volume to over 80,5 million boxes arriving mostly at U.S. ports.
The Brazilian mango shipping season runs from July through November, with a projected 8 million boxes forecast.
As of August 6, volume shipped from Brazil was 322,298 boxes for a total of 372,530 thus far this season. This volume is up an approximate 84,242 boxes from last year at the same time.
Mexico Mango Imports
Additionally, the Mexican mango shipping season, which began in January and will run through October, is expected to provide the U.S. with about 66.5 million boxes of mangos.
At this point last year, volume from Mexico was composed of a total of over 64 millions boxes. This number is slightly lower this year, with a total of 63.1 million cartons.
Though the overall volume is lower as of right now, weekly imports are on the rise. During the week of August 6 last year, volume arrived from Mexico was approximately 1.7 million. This year, that number has significantly increased with volume arriving from Mexico on the same week at around 2.6 million boxes.
Cherry Shipments
Northwest cherry growers shipped nearly 21 million pounds of fruit this year. Some are describing the crop as “vintage” and the “best eating” fruit in many years.
Due to the larger sized cherries, forecasters changed their estimates upwards. On June 1, this year’s crop was estimated at 19.6 million boxes, but by August 4th, the last estimate of the season, it had risen to 20. 8 million boxes, thanks not only to bigger sizes but to less drop on some varieties.
by Northwest Cherry Growers
June was a big month for Northwest cherry shipments, and July is looking great as well.
Here in the Northwest we have been graced with mild growing weather the past 10 days. A cool weather system pushed hot weather out of the region on June 7th. Growers are reporting that the mild temperatures (70-75 Fahrenheit) during the day and at night (mid 40’s F) have produced large, firm fruit that is loaded with sugars!
This recent run of cooler temperatures has resulted in later varieties being pushed back – some growers are expecting to harvest their Canadian varieties 4 to 5 days later than they did last year. The Bing Harvest continues at mid-elevation levels throughout Washington, Oregon, Utah and Idaho. Montana is looking at a June 25th start date this year. With plenty of Bings left to harvest in the later districts, the earlier growing regions are starting on Skeena and Lapins June 25th. Significantly, most all of our later growers expect most of their crop in July this year.
Through June 15th the industry has shipped 5,581,665 million 20 lb. equivalent boxes. Included within that total are 453,909 fifteen-pound boxes of Rainiers. This will certainly be one of the largest Junes on record for a variety of statistics, and retailers who took an early lead with strong promotions are sharing stories of correlating records as well.
With cherry shipments at a full but not yet peak rate, displays and circular ads should be geared to pull in the occasional and impulse-cherry buyers who are more likely to repeat-purchase cherries with earlier exposure.
Consumer media efforts accelerated in conjunction with our season, and the initial results are hitting shelves & inboxes around the world. Nielsen research indicates that heralding the start of the cherry season is an impactful boost to consumer awareness, even in today’s headline-saturated and social media-driven world.
The Northwest United States, including British Columbia, is shaping up to be an excellent season for produce haulers to haul cherries.
With a very early start expected for Northwest cherry shipments, the prognosticators expects to ship 20.7 million 20-pound boxes this season. Initial cherry shipments from the Northwest should get underway between May 23 and May 25. A total of 200,000 boxes could be shipped in May alone.
If this estimate holds, Northwest cherry loadings would be 7 percent above last year’s 19.3 million boxes, but short of the record 23.2 million boxes shipped in 2014. Rainier cherry shipments in 2016 are expected to total 1.7 million 15-pound boxes, about the same as last year.
The total Northwest cherry industry has the potential to ship 11 million boxes in June and another 9 million in July. Good volume cherry shipments are expected to start in early June, with significant cherry volume by the week of June 15th. Peak cherry shipments are expected between the middle of June and continue through the middle of July.
Yakima Valley apple shipments – grossing about $6000 to New York City.
B.C. Cherry Shipments
British Columbia cherry shipments will start in early June. Record shipments are predicted this season with 12 million pounds being estimated. This volume would be up from the 10.5 million pounds in 2015. Most British Columbia cherry shipments are destined for markets in Western Canada and the United States.
California Cherry Shipments
California cherry shipments are now in full throttle from the San Joaquin Valley. A good, but not record crop is now being shipped and will continue for another couple of weeks.
San Joaquin Valley produce shipments- grossing about $4400 to Chicago.
Washington cherry shipments, which typically provide some of the better produce rates, should get underway in late May.
The first cherry harvest in the Northwest is expect around May 20-25 — which could possibly be the earliest harvest in 25-years. Washington state provides the bulk of cherry shipments, with lesser volume coming out Oregon and Idaho.
The early start for shipping should ensure heavy volume before traditional pre-Fourth of July deliveries.
The Washington crop is about seven days ahead of last year and 10 days ahead of the five-year average.
Northwest cherry shipments may hit 10 million cartons in June and possibly about the same amount in July. Though no official estimate has been released, overall Northwest 2015 cherry ahipments are expected near 20 million cartons, down from about 23 million cartons a year ago.
However, truck loadings will come on earlier than in 2014. This should result in heavy shipments throughout June leading up to the Independence Day holiday.
The Northwest cherry shipping season is typically about 85 days, and this year the shipping season will be closer to 80 days. The back end of the season in August will have a few less shipping days.
Washington Apple Shipments
Until cherry shipments take off, apples may be your best bet as a lot of product remains to be shipped this season.
Yakima and Wenatchee Valley apples – grossing about $4450 to Orlando.
Here’s a shipping update from various areas across the country, where there should be some loading opportunities. Here’s also a cautionary note about some splitting of Oregon cherries due to recent rains.
California Tomato Shipments
Vine ripe tomato shipments from the Oceanside, CA area have started, with romas to get underway in August. Both types of tomato shipments will continue through November.
Arkansas Tomato Shipments
A lot of tomato shipping areas around the country claim to ship home grown quality tomatoes, but consumers certainly know the difference. This season, there’s certainly an exception. Haul Produce is referring to vine ripe tomatoes from Arkansas. This beautiful, tasty product is currently being shipped from the Hermitage area and will continue through July.
Peach Shipments
New Jersey peach shipments get underway within the next week or so and should yield 30,000 tons to 35,000 tons of fruit from the state’s 5,500 acres of trees. Peach loadings will remain available through most of September.
Northwest Cherry Shipments
A monthly record of 10.3 million boxes of cherries were shipped from the region in June. The volume was more than double the June 2012 tally of 4.7 million boxes — part of that year’s record crop….Rainfall in the last week of June has resulted in some splitting of Oregon cherries, but damage varied by grower. So use caution and pay attention to what is being loaded on your truck. It could save you a claim or rejected load. The amount of damage to cherries is estimated a about 10 percent of the fruit being lost.
Here’s an international glimpse at fresh produce loading opportunities, starting with Canadian vegetables from Quebec, Northwest cherries, and the up coming Mexican tomato shipping season.
Quebec Vegetable Shipments
While HaulProduce.com has reported on Ontario vegetable shipments (see June 25th report), here we go with what’s coming soon out of Quebec.
While there are still a few onions from the past season still being shipped, the new crop of onions will be getting underway in mid July, with cantaloupes to soon follow the third week of July, along with carrots, lettuce and peppers.
Broccoli shipments recently started and will continue into early November.
While Quebec ships vegetables to the upper Midwest and some East Coast markets in the U.S., most of its apples never leave this Canadian province – shipping regionally, if not locally.
Quebec also has a couple of fresh cranberry shippers. They shipped over one million pounds last year, and expect to load even more this fall.
Northwest Cherry Shipments
Northwest cherries, led by Washington state are cranking up shipments. It is estimated the Northwest will load 22 million boxes, which could be the region’s second-largest crop behind 2012’s record shipments of 23 million boxes.
Mexican Tomato Shipments
Looking ahead to the 2014-15 season for Mexican tomato shipments, of which a good percent cross the border into the U.S., shows a slight decline projected by the USDA. Around 2.28 million tons of tomatoes will be shipped this coming season, down from 2.35 million ton from the season that recently ended. Acreage for Mexican fresh tomatoes is projected at 106,000 acres, off from the 111,000 in the 2013-14 season.
However, produce haulers will notice little difference in tomato loadings because Mexican yields are up due to expanded plantings in greenhouses, shade houses, tunnels and other forms of protected measures for growing. Many tomato growing operations are financed or owned by major tomato shippers in the U.S., especially growers from California.
Washington state fruit – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
Even with the recent lower estimates for Northwest cherry shipments, it is still being considered a decent amount of loadings. The best volume should occur through about Aug. 10.
Frost in the Northwest during April and heavy rains at the end of May reduced the initial season estimate of 18 million boxes to 16-17 million boxes.
By the end of June, that estimate was due for another downward adjustment. What was once a 17-million-box crop no longer exists. Shipments are now estimated to be down to as low as 13 to 16 million boxes.”
About 23 million boxes of cherries were shipped from the Northwest last year.
Blueberry loadings are picking up in both Washington state and Oregon….Washington state continues to ship late season apples from the Yakima and Wenachee Valleys.
The Walla Walla district in Washington is shipping onions, with volume increasing in the new season. A similar situation with onions is occurring from the Columbia Basin and Umatilla Basin along the Washington/Oregon border. The state line area also is shipping potatoes in light volume.
In Idaho, potatoes are averaging about 1,750 truckload equivalents a week, although a significant percentage of those spuds are being loaded in rail cars.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $5500 to New York City.
Washington State cherries – about $6700 to New York City.