Agronometrics Blog

Overview of the apple supply by Jeff Aguigui of Ag Grower Sales, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published in FreshPlaza.com   on April 21, 2021  Supplies of apples are tight right now as import programs are starting up. Volumes (in Kg) of Apples in the US Market Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics . (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here ) At Ag Grower Sales LLC in Wenatchee, WA, Jeff Aguigui notes that demand is largely shifting back to foodservice as restaurants and schools begin reopening again and retail demand lets up slightly. “A few months ago we were doing 85-90 percent retail to now we’re doing 60-40 percent, so mostly foodservice now. We’re going back to our normal business.” Farmers to Families Aguigui says supplies of apples are significantly tighter than last year at this time and pressure on supplies is also coming from programs such as the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program. “That took a lot of prod

The Mexican table grape season serves a special niche right between Chile and California’s seasons. As the first trickles began appearing on shelves, there were wide-ranging concerns as well as excitement about the stability of the market and possible price spikes after a late-season freeze in Chile, it seems like those fears were unfounded. Chile’s volumes have comfortably surpassed last year and, hoping to take advantage of the higher pricing, it seems like a larger percentage of fruit has been sent to the spot market, slashing prices over the last couple of weeks. It’s easy to make these observations after the fact, but maybe John Pandol was onto something when he wrote about this situation at the beginning of March. Grape volumes (KG) by origin | Conventional Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics . (Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here ) So it seems like the fortunes of Mexican producers will not be made based on the wild pricing the industr

Overview of the peruvian grapes in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published in FreshFruitPortal.com   on April 14, 2021  Peruvian exports reached a little under US$7.4 billion in the first two months of 2021, a year-on-year growth of 4 percent that was driven largely by grapes, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru ( Mincetur ) In February, shipments totaled over $3.5 billion, an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the same month in 2020. Non-traditional shipments also grew 15.3 percent in February, reaching over $1.1 billion. "I would like to highlight the performance of non-traditional exports, as they increased for the seventh consecutive month. This news clearly shows the importance of the national exports despite the Covid-19 pandemic," Claudia Cornejo, Head of Mincetur said. Grapes, whose season ends between March and April, grew 48 percent in February and 28 percent in the first two months of 2021. Volumes (K

Overview of the blackberry and raspberry supply in the U.S. market by Nathan Rutledge of Berry Fresh and Lori Boym of Sun Belle, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published in FreshPlaza.com   on April 15, 2021    Blackberry supplies are tight and creating a high market. “The cool weather has held the crop back pretty decently,” says Nathan Rutledge sales director-East Coast of Berry Fresh LLC based in Long Beach, CA, who notes supplies are coming from Central Mexico. This year more volume is anticipated from that region but current volumes are not matching historical levels. “We’ve anticipated that they’re about 1.5 weeks-2 weeks behind,” Rutledge says.   As for the remaining Mexican and Coachella, CA crop, Matoian says that won’t start until about May 10-12. That’s when grape production will begin on green and black seedless with Flames starting May 18-20, all of which is later than normal.   Volumes (in Kg) of blackberries in the US Market Source: USDA Marke

Overview of the California Grapes in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics.   Original published in Andnowuknow.com on April 15, 2021 DELANO, CA - We have gone from zero to sixty in terms of temperature in Sacramento. Despite my dread surrounding the inevitable 100-degree weather, I find solace in knowing that warmer days mean California grapes will be hitting shelves before we know it. Jasmine Vineyards is one supplier preparing for the push, and I recently got the scoop on some of its market insights. Jon Zaninovich, President, Jasmine Vineyards Jon Zaninovich, President, Jasmine VineyardsJon Zaninovich, President, Jasmine Vineyards“Between now and June, we'll start to see imports waning while California grapes start to become available,” said Jon Zaninovich, President. “The California Table Grape Commission will be promoting California-grown table grapes across a variety of media channels, and Jasmine Vineyards will continue our outreach to consumers via

Overview of the Mexican Grapes in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published in FreshPlaza.com   on April 13, 2021    Mexican grape production has begun out of Jalisco, Mexico. George Matoian of Fresh Farms in Kingsburg, CA says it started its grape harvest approximately two weeks ago with all the major varieties of green seedless along with Cotton Candy grapes. “We’ll also have red seedless grapes available in future years,” he says. Production in the Jalisco region has started as per the usual timing. “That region is a very temperate climate zone. Like with grapes grown in Peru, you can sway the harvest period to any month you want. We wanted the crop to come off in April,” says Matoian.   As for the remaining Mexican and Coachella, CA crop, Matoian says that won’t start until about May 10-12. That’s when grape production will begin on green and black seedless with Flames starting May 18-20, all of which is later than normal.   Origin (Volume in K

The International Blueberry Organization (IBO), in collaboration with Agronometrics is currently in the midst of developing the 2021 State of the Blueberry Industry Report. An overview of the global blueberry industry, offering invaluable information on trends and new developments taking place in this rapidly evolving category. This will be the third iteration of the publication that Agronometrics has been invited to collaborate on, bringing with it many innovations that will help explain how producing regions are evolving to feed global demand for this highly sought after berry. Free Access One of the most important updates to the report will be that it is being made freely available as a print-ready PDF. As co-authors of the report, we couldn't be happier to work with the IBO on this project. Our hope is that building these insights on a global scale will offer a level of transparency that few industries enjoy. We clearly believe in the value of information and its abiliti

Overview of the peruvian limes in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published in FreshPlaza.com   on April 12, 2021  Peruvian lime exports have registered a notable increase in the first quarter of 2021. According to Fernando Cilloniz Benavides, the president of the Inform@cción consulting firm, between January and March Peru exported 7,263,967 kilos of limes abroad, a volume that is 33.5% higher than in the same period of last year. 5,878,559 kilos (80.9% of the total) corresponded to Tahiti limes and 1,385,408 kilos (19.1%) to Sutil limes. Cilloniz also said that, in this period, Tahiti lime exports grew by 42.5% over the same period of last year. In January, the country export 1,958,458 kilos. In the same month of last year, they exported 1,323,341 kilos. In February, the country shipped 1,799,408 kilos, a higher volume than the 1,410,205 kilos exported in February 2020. In March, Peru exported 2,120,693 kilos of Tahiti lime, a significantly h

Overview of mandarins from Southern Hemisphere in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published in FreshFruitPortal.com   on April 07, 2021  The start of the mandarin season for the Southern Hemisphere is showing good prospects in the North American market. Several factors are coming together to form this anticipation such as higher demand, good prices and experience in handling the pandemic. Though fewer arrivals are expected at the beginning of the season, the pace of shipments should not be underestimated. Higher demand in the U.S. Since the beginning of the pandemic restrictions in March of last year, the demand for mandarins grew seven to eight percent on average in value (five to 10 percent depending on the week) compared to 2019. So far this year, demand growth compared to 2020 is lower, but still positive with a 3.2 percent increase in dollar value and 1.7 percent rise in volume (approx. Jan. 2021 versus Jan. 2020). Regarding consumer