Posts Tagged “raspberry shipments”
Naturipe Farms, of Salinas, CA, a leading global berry producer, has announced this year’s raspberry crop is breaking company records. Coming from both Baja and Central Mexico, their proprietary conventional and organic varieties will be available in high quantities.
Naturipe Farms anticipates strong volumes of both conventional and organic raspberries through the end of the year. The improvements in acreage and crop quality position Naturipe well to continue this increased growth in the future.
The record volumes are due to two factors: first, Naturipe Farms has seen customer demand for raspberries rising, and as a response, has expanded their acreage in all growing areas. This allows for more berries to be grown, harvested, and distributed. Secondly, Naturipe’s proprietary raspberry varieties are performing exceptionally well this season thanks to a variety of environmental and growing factors.
About Naturipe
Naturipe is a farmer-owned producer and marketer of nutritious, best tasting, premium berries and avocados that has been an industry leader for more than 100 years producing healthy, deliciously fresh, frozen, and value-added products. Because our diverse grower base shares resources, skills, labor, and knowledge, we are better farmers and, in turn, strengthen the local farm community. Our focus on innovation ensures year-round availability of locally grown and Globally Local TM conventional and organic fruit.
Blueberry shipments have definitely hit the big time with increases in plantings on both a domestic and imported basis. Shipments also remain strong for strawberries and raspberries. Here’s a closer look at shipments for domestic and imported berries.
Fresh blueberry loadings are now occurring virtually the year around whether it is from domestic production or from imports involving other countries.
Native to North America, blueberries are in good volume here from April through October. Likewise, with farmers in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasonal swap brings blueberries from South America from November through March.
The U.S. is the world’s largest grower and shipper of berries. In 2014, 667.6 million pounds of blueberries were shipped.
However, the U.S. is also a net importer of fresh and frozen blueberries. Canada supplies nearly 20 percent of fresh product into the U.S., but South America has a very strong U.S. import program.
In 2014, the U.S. imported 234.7 million pounds of fresh blueberries valued at nearly $530.5 million. Over 60 percent of this product came from Chile, which supplies the U.S. market from mid-November through January.
In 2014 the U.S. imported 124.7 million pounds of fresh blackberries.
Mexico supplied nearly all U.S. imported fresh blackberry volumes, representing a four-year annual average market share of 96 percent from 2011 to 2014.
Strawberry Shipments
While the U.S. is the world’s largest strawberry grower and shipper, it is also a big importer. In 2014, the nation imported 355.9 million pounds of fresh strawberries. The majority of all U.S. strawberry imports come from Mexico, with Canada supplying less than one percent.
Mexican strawberries have overlapping shipping seasons with Florida, but typically fresh strawberries from Mexico are only a supplement to the U.S. domestic supply. Most Mexican strawberries being produced and imported to the U.S. are shipped during the winter.
Raspberry Shipments
The U.S. also imports raspberries from October through May, with most imports originating from Mexico, which ships about 96 percent of the total imports.
In 2014, the U.S. imported a total of almost 96.8 million pounds of fresh raspberries from Mexico, Canada and Chile.