National Retail Report - Dec. 14

As per usual, I note the USDA's National Retail report. The report notes much of the promotion activity was imported produce, including blueberries, pineapples and avocados. And sweet potatoes were big. From the report:


Advertised Prices for Fruits & Vegetables at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets
12/08 to 12/201, 2
Ads focus on Holidays and entertaining.
Holiday ads were in full swing this week as retailers promoted a huge variety of items throughout the store. The main focus of the majority of ads was meat with several different types of roasts being featured for Christmas dinner. Holiday baking staples commanded a large portion of ad space this week with some ads featuring entire sections devoted to these
types of items. In addition, holiday entertaining items such as party trays, specialty cheeses, candies, wines, and catering options were highlighted. Non-food holiday items were also featured widely and included an array of general merchandise and decorative items.
Poinsettias, mini Christmas trees and floral bouquets and centerpieces were among the most prevalent. Overall, this week, there were more fruit than vegetable ads. The top 5 featured items were: blueberries, grape tomatoes, avocados, pineapple, and Clementines. As was the case last week, the majority of these were imported products. Often alongside blueberries, many retailers featured other imported berries such as blackberries and raspberries. A variety of domestic and imported citrus items continue to be featured widely. Navel oranges, when combining per each and per pound ad activity, were the second most featured commodity overall. Vegetable ads showed only a very slight increase in total this week. The most notable increase in activity was seen on sweet potatoes which more than doubled.

Fruits as Percentage of Total Fruit Ads December 14, 2007
Cantaloupe 2%
Cherries 9%
Lemons 0%
Limes 1%
Grapefruit, red 9%
Mangoes 4%
Nectarines 1%
Grapes, green/red 0%
Clementines 10%
Strawberries 2%
Pineapple 10%
Peaches 1%
Pears, Bartlett 6%
Oranges, navel 7%
Strawberries, organic 0%
Apples, red delicious 10%
Avocadoes, hass 10%
Bananas 1%
Bananas, organic 1%
Blueberries 16%


Vegetables as Percentage of Total Vegetable Ads December 14, 2007
Cucumbers 6%
Lettuce, iceberg 2%
Celery 4%
Corn 0%
Lettuce, romaine 2%
Mushrooms, white 4%
Onions, yellow 5%
Onions, sweet 5%
Peppers, bell green 4%
Peppers, bell red 4%
Potatoes, russet 4%
Squash, zucchini 4%
Sweet Potatoes 6%
Tomatoes on the vine 4%
Carrots, baby organic 4%
Beans, round green 6%
Broccoli 3%
Broccoli, organic 2%
Cabbage 1%
Carrots, baby 8%
Tomatoes, grape 11%
Tomatoes 1%
Tomatoes, organic 0%
Asparagus 7%
Tomatoes, grape organic 1%

Farm bill passes - UPDATE

Update: here is the link to the manager's amendment from the office of Sen. Tom Harkin. I uploaded to the discussion group because it is a PDF file that won't work as a google doc. Anyway, I noticed a amendment about clementines by Feinstein.....



With last minute changes to the "manager's amendment" finished, the Senate passed the farm bill, 79 to 14. Still don't know exactly what is in the manager's amendment. Now the farm bill is in the hands of the conference and ultimately, President Bush. Conner is up at 3:30 to give his take.

Senate Farm Bill Includes Unprecedented Support for Fruits and Vegetables

United Fresh Produce Association commends the U.S. Senate for passing the Food, Energy & Security Act of 2007, the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill, which includes unprecedented advances in funding and policy priorities for the fruit and vegetable industry.

“Today’s action by the U.S. Senate represents another victory in recognizing the importance of specialty crops in national farm policy,” said United Fresh Senior Vice President of Public Policy Robert Guenther. “This Farm Bill will bolster the competitive standing of our industry in today’s global marketplace, and help launch the next generation of children on a lifetime of healthier eating. We strongly encourage quick action by Congress to appoint a conference committee so differences between the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill can be worked out in an efficient and fair manner,” Guenther said.

United Fresh, serving as the secretariat, has helped spearhead the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 specialty crop organizations which was instrumental in generating Congressional support to advance produce industry priorities. The Alliance and United Fresh have worked closely with Senate Majority Leader Reid (R-NV) and his leadership team, Senate Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY), Agriculture Committee Chairman Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Chambliss (R-GA), and key allies including Senators Stabenow (D-MI), Conrad (D-ND) and Crapo (R-ID) who have been outstanding advocates on behalf of the nation’s specialty crop producers.

Fruit and Vegetable Industry Priorities Included in the Senate Farm Bill

Expansion of the USDA Fruit & Vegetable Snack Program to more than 4.5 million schoolchildren across all 50 states. This program will be a cornerstone of public health efforts to help children develop a life-long healthier lifestyle through consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Expansion of Specialty Crop Competitiveness projects focused on regional and local priorities for specialty crop producers. These projects have been successful in improving food safety, investing in infrastructure, enhancing market opportunities and supporting research aimed at specific industry needs.

Investment in prevention and mitigation protocols to combat invasive plant pests and diseases, which cost the economy millions of dollars per year and threaten the future of many fruit and vegetable commodities.

Enhanced critical trade assistance and market promotion tools that will grow international markets for specialty crops.

Significant new investment in research to improve the safety, quality, affordability and access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

New poll question - Yes, we need a national promotion order for fresh produce

Last week's poll question drew slightly more votes "against" NAFTA than "for" it, relative to the impact on the U.S. fresh produce industry. Check out the results here, for that poll and all previous Fresh Talk poll questions.

As for this week, the Fresh Talk polls asks if the industry would benefit from a national promotion order for fresh produce. I have already voted and cast my vote in the affirmative. Aside from the fact that the "Fruits and Veggies - More Matters" campaign encompasses both fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. it is underfunded. With no mandatory assessment, consumer messaging about fresh produce is woefully inadequate.

True, fresh produce tends to generate favorable press coverage organically owing to its health benefits. But where is the industry directed, attention-grabbing messaging to consumers?

The dilution of industry efforts - even within a commodity category - is remarkable. Why should California, Mexico or Chile run their own separate promotions of hass avocados, for example, as opposed to a unified generic promotion?

Wouldn't buyers prefer dealing with one promotion department rather than several?.

The answer is undoubtedly linked to control of the message, decisions with mandatory assessment dollars and pride in a particular growing region. That reality for avocado promotion is not going away, and in fact, one source tells me the regional promotion focus for avocados may increase in the future.

This, of course, is not unique to the avocado industry.

Promotions for potatoes, onions, apples, grapefruit and countless other fresh commodities argue for the fruit of a particular region or state.

Perhaps that is why so many in the industry have rejected the idea of a mandatory assessment to fund generic promotions of fresh fruits and vegetables. How can you unify marketers of dozens of commodities when there is no unity within a commodity?

Despite — or because of — the history of fragmentation of efforts, I think the industry may benefit from a national promotion order for fresh produce. A promotion order - collecting from both domestically grown and imported produce - would undoubtedly give the industry more clout at the USDA and in the consumer marketplace.

Given the fact that the Produce for Better Health Foundation promotes the “all forms count” message, a fresh-focused effort would not necessarily be redundant. Perhaps the promotion order could specify that mandatory assessments be used for fresh “More Matters” promotions exclusively by the Produce for Better Health Foundation. An even more attractive alternative would be a new “fresh-first" oriented message.

While processed fruit and vegetable marketers pressure to elbow their way into the USDA fruit and vegetable snack program, the industry needs a well funded promotion arm that will make the case for fresh and fresh alone.

The self-interest of the industry to promote fresh produce needs to come to the forefront. In same way Whole Foods has marketed organic produce over what it considers its pedestrian competition, fresh asparagus must count for more than canned asparagus. Fresh pears must count more than canned pears. If consumers don’t believe that, the bloom of off the rose of fresh produce.

Friday business for the Senate

Looks like the manager's amendment is first up....Update from the office of Sen. Tom Harkin:

Friday, December 14, 2007

The Senate will convene at 10am.

· No morning business.

· The Senate immediately will resume consideration of the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419).

· Cloture has been invoked on the Harkin-Chambliss-Baucus-Grassley amendment in the nature of a substitute (#3500)

· The following amendments are pending to H.R. 2419:

· Harkin-Chambliss-Baucus-Grassley amendment in the nature of a substitute (#3500)

o Cornyn amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500 to prevent duplicative payments for agricultural disaster assistance already covered by the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund (#3687)

o Coburn amendment to Harkin-Chambliss #3500 to ensure the priority of the farm bill remains farmers by eliminating wasteful Department of Agriculture spending on casinos, golf courses, junkets, cheese centers, and aging barns (#3807, as modified)

o Salazar amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for the production of all cellulosic biofuels (#3616)

o McConnell amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500 to promote the nutritional health of school children, with an offset (#3821)

o Roberts amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to modify a provision relating to regulations (#3549)

o Domenici amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to reduce our nation's dependency on foreign oil by investing in clean, renewable, and alternative energy resources (#3614)

o Gregg amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude discharges of indebtedness on principal residences from gross income, and for other purposes (#3674)

o Gregg amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to provide nearly $1,000,000,000 in critical home heating assistance to low-income families and senior citizens for the 2007-2008 winter season, and reduce the Federal deficit by eliminating wasteful farm subsidies (#3822)

§ Sanders second-degree amendment to Gregg amendment #3822, to provide for payments under subsections (a) through (e) of section 2604 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, and restore supplemental agricultural disaster assistance from the Agriculture Disaster Relief Trust Fund (#3826)

o Grassley-Kohl amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to provide for the review of agricultural mergers and acquisition by the Department of Justice, and for other purposes (#3823)

o Stevens amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to make commercial fishermen eligible for certain operating loans (#3569)

o Bond amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to amend title 7, United States Code, to include provisions relating to rulemaking (#3771)

o Harkin-Murkowski amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to improve nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold in schools (#3639)

· Upon disposition of H.R. 2419, the Senate will proceed to consideration of the FHA Modernization Act of 2007 (S. 2338).

· The only amendments in order to the bill are the following:

o Dodd-Shelby amendment relating to a moratorium

o Coburn amendment relating to reverse mortgages

· There will be up to 60 minutes, equally divided, for debate on the Coburn amendment, and 30 minutes, equally divided, for general debate on the bill.

· Upon the use or yielding back of this time, the Senate will proceed to disposition of all amendments and passage of S. 2338, as amended if amended.

During Thursday’s Session

Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419)

The motion to invoke cloture on the Harkin-Chambliss-Baucus-Grassley amendment in the nature of a substitute (#3500) was agreed to by a roll call vote of 78-12.

Dorgan-Grassley amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to strengthen payment limitations and direct the savings to increase funding for certain programs (#3695, as modified), was withdrawn by unanimous consent after it failed to achieve 60 votes, as required by unanimous consent, following a roll call vote of 56-43.

Klobuchar amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to improve the adjusted gross income limitation and use the savings to provide additional funding for certain programs and reduce the Federal deficit (#3810), was withdrawn by unanimous consent after it failed to achieve 60 votes, as required by unanimous consent, following a roll call vote of 48-47.

Tester-Grassley amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to modify the provisions relating to unlawful practices under the Packers and Stockyards Act (#3666), was withdrawn by unanimous consent after it failed to achieve 60 votes, as required by unanimous consent, following a roll call vote of 40-55.

Brown-Sununu amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500 to increase funding for critical Farm Bill programs and improve crop insurance (#3819), was withdrawn by unanimous consent after it failed to achieve 60 votes, as required by unanimous consent, following a roll call vote of 32-63.

Craig amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to prohibit the involuntary acquisition of farmland and grazing land by Federal, State, and local governments for parks, open space, or similar purposes (#3640), was withdrawn by unanimous consent after it failed to achieve 60 votes, as required by unanimous consent, following a roll call vote of 37-58.

Coburn amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500 to limit the distribution to deceased individuals, and estates of those individuals, of certain agricultural payments (#3530, as modified), was agreed to by unanimous consent.

Harkin-Chambliss amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to promote legal certainty, enhance competition, and reduce systemic risk in markets for futures and over-the-counter derivatives, and for other purposes (#3851), was agreed to by voice vote.

Schumer amendment to the Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to improve crop insurance and use resulting savings to increase funding for certain conservation programs (#3720) was withdrawn by unanimous consent.

Harkin-Kennedy-Gregg amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, relative to public safety officers (#3830) was withdrawn by unanimous consent.

· Harkin second-degree amendment to Harkin-Kennedy-Gregg amendment #3830, relative to public safety officers (#3844), fell when the Harkin-Kennedy-Gregg amendment (#3830) was withdrawn.

· Wyden amendment to Harkin-Chambliss substitute #3500, to modify a provision relating to bioenergy crop transition assistance (#3736) was withdrawn by unanimous consent.

Mexican exporters to military: Get out of the way

Mexican exporters are voicing concern that government checkpoints are compromising their shipments of fresh produce from Sinaloa. Here is a Dec. 7 USDA FAS attache report from Mexico City. The report summarizes/translates news stories published in Mexico.

From the report:


According to Mexican exporters, the lack of training or established guidelines for inspections at military checkpoints on Mexican highways is generating losses of more than U.S. $50 million. Trucks sending produce from the state of Sinaloa have to go through three military checkpoints before they reach the border. At one checkpoint near Culiacan, produce has been stuck for more than 16 hours in the open, which seriously affects cold chain preservation. As a solution, exporters are willing to pay fees in order to have more professional, product-friendly inspection points. (Source: Excelsior, 12/03/2007)