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Apples in Charts: Honeycrisp, the queen of the U.S. market

Apples are a high-volume fruit commodity which growers need to produce very efficiently in order to be profitable, and the U.S. is no exception to this rule.

Apples from numerous origins are sold in the U.S. market, which is supplied principally by fruit from Washington State, as can be seen in the chart below.

Average historic arrival volumes of apples in the U.S. market, by origin


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can
view this chart with live updates here)
Average historic apple prices in the U.S. market have oscillated between around US$1.00 and US$1.75 per kilo over the last decade.

Historic weekly prices (USD/KG) of apples in the U.S. market


(Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can
view this chart with live updates here)
But in the panorama of apples in the U.S., there is one variety that has stood out from the others – Honeycrisp. This queen of the U.S. apple market has great growth potential and excellent prospects…
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Grapes in charts: U.S. market has seen flat volumes and falling prices

I will start this article with the million-dollar question - is it sustainable for table grape growers to send fruit to a market which over the last decade has seen flat pricing despite constantly rising production costs?

There are five origins which have dominated the U.S. market over the last decade, in terms of volumes, which are Central California, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Southern California. Central California is the leading origin, with a relatively stable supply over the years, as can be observed below.

Historic table grape arrival volumes in the U.S., by origin


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can
view this chart with live updates here)
I wanted to show the following chart to illustrate the similarity between the different seasons in terms of grape volumes in the U.S. The volumes seem to be fairly flat over time (except for Central California in 2018), and of the same seasonality.

Historic table grape weekly arrival volumes in the U.S., by ori…
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Blueberries in Charts: Mexico sends record volumes to U.S. market

With the California blueberry season now underway, current forecasts are pointing to a significant year-on-year increase in harvests. This, along with a delay in the Mexican season, has led to relatively concentrated volumes and resulted in total arrival volumes in the U.S. at a five-year high in April, as you can see in the chart below.

Historic monthly arrival volumes of blueberries in the U.S.


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can
view this chart with live updates here)
The U.S. blueberry market has been growing significantly every year, amid increasing demand and global exports. One of the production countries that has seen the biggest increase is Mexico.

Meanwhile, per-kilo prices in week 17 were US$7.90, the lowest in five years, and US$0.20 lower on average the same date last year.

Historic blueberry prices in the U.S. market (USD per kilogram)


(Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can
view this chart with live updat…
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Bananas in Charts: U.S. market supplies hit five-year low

Over the last few months, numerous weather-related issues have affected banana production in Central and South America.

The El Niño phenomenon has led to droughts, high temperatures, and heavy rains, among other issues, mainly in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

In this In Charts article, we will look at how banana volumes have behaved in the U.S., both historically and over the last few weeks of this year.

In the following chart you can see that current volumes in the market at a five-year low.

Historic volumes of bananas in the U.S. market


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can
view this chart with live updates here)
Most banana supplies in the U.S. come from Central and South America and the Caribbean, with Guatemala the country that has historically shipped the greatest volume to the market, followed by Costa Rica.

In the chart below you can get a sense of the historic volumes from the different origins over the last nine years.

Arrival…
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Kiwifruit in Charts: With stocks at five-year high, how will prices fare for Chile?

The kiwifruit in a berry that originates in a large area of China, but especially in the Yangtze River Valley. Introduced into New Zealand in 1904, it has since been cultivated in numerous countries around the world. It was given the name ‘kiwi’ in New Zealand, possibly due to the similarity with the small, flightless bird native to the country. The fruit arrived in Chile in the 1980s, helping growers to diversify their offerings and improve profits.

Today the situation is quite different, and in this In Charts article we will look at what could be in store for the Chilean campaign in the U.S. market, and how it could compare to last year.

As we can see in the chart below, kiwifruit volumes in the U.S. in March 2019 were the highest in five years, which caused a slight price drop over the last few weeks.

Historic volume of kiwifruit (KG) in U.S. market


Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics. (Agronometrics users can
view this chart with live updates here)
According to the Chilea…
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Clementines in Charts - It's almost ClemenTime for Chile

Clementines are among the author’s favorite Spring fruits because they check all the boxes: a goldilocks size (not too large, not too small), easy to carry, easier to peel -its segments pull out with more ease than Legos- all whilst providing a very pleasing sweet flavor without the high acidity that often accompanies citrus. And as a bonus: because it's a hybrid, if cultivated properly it grows with no seeds. The name Clementine comes from the 19th century French missionary named Marie-Clément Rodierem, who is believed to be the first origin for this hybrid citrus while working at an orphanage in Algeria.

Today, and when we give a bird’s eye view at shipments to-and-within the US Market, we observe how Clementines experience a two-peaks-two valleys type of landscape in any given year.

Clementines, Non-Organic, Monthly Shipments for previous 4 years


(Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics)
[Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here]
Whatismore, April is one …
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Blueberries in Charts - Prices enter their jumpy phase

April is here and for our readers in the United States that means Filing Tax season (and its accompanying stress) is almost over. Which can only mean one thing for Blueberries: their price rollercoaster is entering the jumpier part of its ride… Let’s explore what has been happening first with prices, and then with shipments in the past 10 weeks so as to better understand what could very well follow soon:

Blueberries, Non Organic, Daily Prices by KG


(Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics)
[Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here]
First, we’ve observed a price jump of more than double, just within the second-half of March. A jump that is typical around this time of the year.

The price spike is attributed to sudden drops in shipments during the past 10 weeks as the Chilean and Peruvian shipments are on the tailend of their exports season, as was described in detail by a recent Fresh Fruit article: Chilean blueberries fetched lower prices in 2018-19 amid increas…
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Grapes in Charts - Mexico helps makes America grape again

A rapid glance at the chart below illustrates how U.S. shipments for table grapes - of all varieties - are essentially made up by five origins: Chile, Mexico, Peru, and California (Central + Southern). Each of which essentially drives the bulk of supply during their respective seasons.

Grapes, Non-Organic, Historic Weekly Shipments


(Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics)
[Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here]
A dive into 2018 data reveals that Chile was the top foreign supplier of grapes to the U.S., accounting for roughly 64.6% of total import volume. In second place we see Mexico with 25.2%, followed distantly in third by Peru at 9.3%.

Today, we find ourselves at a point where Chile’s season is going to significantly wind down, and Mexico’s harvests will soon start hitting the markets. The issue is how significant will this time gap be?

Additionally, when we listen to what is being said about volumes, we see the discussion takes an even more interesting …
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Avocados in Charts: Market jumps US$5 in one week on California shortfall

Avocados are always uniquely interesting. Fun-fact: the name comes ahuacatl from Mexico’s indigenous Nahuatl language chiefly spoken by the Aztecs and it means testicle, an allusion to the seed’s shape.

When it comes to avocados and unlike Mexico’s pretty consistent year-round season, our typical California harvesting season ranges from approximately February through September.

However, a closer look at California’s shipments for the past few weeks highlights how 2019 has been somewhat of an outlier when compared to the previous four years. From the start of this year up to the present week, we have seen California shipments add up to only 7% of the volume for that same time period back in 2018.

Origin: California, Avocado, Non Organic, Historic Weekly Volumes

ZOOM IN: First 10 weeks


(Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics)
[Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here]
Origin: California, Avocado, Non Organic, Historic Weekly Volumes

BIG PICTURE: 2015 to 2019


(Sou…
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