Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Ag Prices up

From the USDA:

The preliminary All Farm Products Index of Prices Received by Farmers in May, at 150 percent, based on 1990-92=100, increased 5 points (3.4 percent) from April. The Crop Index is up 4 points (2.4 percent) and the Livestock Index increased 5 points (3.9 percent). Producers received higher prices for hogs, cattle, onions, and broilers and lower prices for eggs, lettuce, wheat, and broccoli. In addition to prices, the overall index is also affected by the seasonal change based on a 3-year average mix of commodities producers sell. Increased monthly marketings of cantaloups, grapes, sweet corn, and wheat offset decreased marketings of cattle, milk, corn, and apples.

The preliminary All Farm Products Index is up 14 points (10 percent) from May 2007. The Food Commodities Index, at 147, increased 5 points (3.5 percent) from last month and increased 11 points (8.1 percent) from May 2007.


Prices Paid Index Up 3 Points

The May Index of Prices Paid for Commodities and Services, Interest, Taxes, and Farm Wage Rates (PPITW) is 184 percent of the 1990-92 average. The index is up 3 points (1.7 percent) from April and 23 points (14 percent) above May 2007. Higher prices in May for diesel fuel, mixed fertilizers, feeder cattle, and potash & phosphate more than offset lower prices for feed
concentrates, feed supplements, tractors, and feed grains.

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Banana RIP?

So warns this article from The Scientist, a story that recounts the last 100 years of commercial marketing of the banana. From the story by Dan Koeppel:

The banana we eat today is not the one your grandparents ate. That one - known as the Gros Michel - was, by all accounts, bigger, tastier, and hardier than the variety we know and love, which is called the Cavendish. The unavailability of the Gros Michel is easily explained: it is virtually extinct.

Introduced to our hemisphere in the late 19th century, the Gros Michel was almost immediately hit by a blight that wiped it out by 1960. The Cavendish was adopted at the last minute by the big banana companies - Chiquita and Dole - because it was resistant to that blight, a fungus known as Panama disease. For the past fifty years, all has been quiet in the banana world. Until now.


Panama disease - or Fusarium wilt of banana - is back, and the Cavendish does not appear to be safe from this new strain, which appeared two decades ago in Malaysia, spread slowly at first, but is now moving at a geometrically quicker pace. There is no cure, and nearly every banana scientist says that though Panama disease has yet to hit the banana crops of Latin America, which feed our hemisphere, the question is not if this will happen, but when. Even worse, the malady has the potential to spread to dozens of other banana varieties, including African bananas, the primary source of nutrition for millions of people.

Crop disease is only half the problem. The other part is denial. One of the most recent places Panama disease struck was Australia. Three years ago, when I was researching my book on bananas, growers down under were bragging that they'd found a way to control the disease, which first appeared in 1997 near the Northern Territory town of Darwin. "We have developed a rapid and accurate DNA-based diagnostic test...used in the detection and management of outbreaks," asserted a brochure issued by the country's Cooperative Research Centre for Plant Protection.





TK: Koeppel suggests that banana companies are unwisely downplaying the risk of Panama disease in Central and South America and notes that the next banana variety with wilt resistance will come from a biotech lab.


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Aldi goes green

This TV news story from New York tells of Aldi's "green" engineering on its new stores. With hard discounters like Aldi officially on board, the sustainability/green movement doesn't have much farther to go, does it? There is surely no marketing advantage in being green when everyone is else is too, but one hopes that doesn't stop the innovation and transformation.

By the way, I'm changing the way I'm doing "Tk headlines." Rather than post all the headlines to the blog, I'm keeping a running tally of linked headlines in a Google document. Still look for "Tk headlines" on the right side of the blog and follow the link for headlines that have caught my eye.

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National Retail Report - May 30

Local produce begins to make waves, says the May 30 National Retail Report from USDA. I'll update the promotion trends charts at the bottom of the blog a little later. From the summary:


Ads Centered on Local Summer Produce
With Memorial Day weekend marking the “official” beginning of summer, retailers have settled into promoting fresh summer produce that is locally grown when available. There were ads for such items as, Arizona red potatoes, Texas cabbage, Michigan asparagus, and southern grown peaches. Other advertised specials included “10 for $10” promotions for a wide variety of produce items including, mangoes, navel oranges, sweet onions, zucchini, peppers, and beans. Overall, there was little change in fresh produce ad activity compared to last week. However, fruits were up 13% and vegetables down 10%. The top five featured items were cherries, peaches, sweet onions, grapes and cantaloupes. The most notable increases were seen on grapes, broccoli, romaine lettuce, and zucchini. There was a significant decrease in ads for corn, red peppers, and seedless watermelon. Berries continue to be advertised heavily this week. New crop grapes from Mexico and Southern California were prominently featured in ads. Items appearing in ads that are not reported here include, apricots, broccoli crowns, greenhouse grown cucumbers, and yellow squash.

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Friday, May 30, 2008

United Leadership Class

From the United Fresh Produce Association:

Each year, 12 new candidates are selected to take part in the United Fresh Produce Industry Leadership Program, a year-long program that teaches leadership skills to future industry leaders. Over the upcoming program year, these class members will participate in a number of trips focused on the core goals of the program: leadership development; business relationships; government and public affairs; and media and public communications. Throughout the program, the class also will take part in customized field and facility tours, train with expert educators, and meet with key industry leaders and innovators. The program begins in June with the first trip to Central/Northern California, followed by trips to Washington, DC/Wilmington, DE, Southern Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2009 United Fresh convention.



Following are the members of the 14th Produce Industry Leadership Class:




Katy Blowers is a Marketing Specialist for Church Brothers Produce Company in Salinas, CA. Born and raised in the Salinas Valley, Katy has grown up as part of the agricultural community. After graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, she joined the US Foodservice procurement office, beginning her immersion in the produce industry. Now at Church Brothers, she helped to establish CB Logistics, the transportation entity for Church Brothers, then moved on to the marketing department. Her role as Marketing Specialist encompasses promotions, communications, public relations, event coordinating and community outreach. Additionally, she plays an active role in the development and and promotion of the new Disney Garden line.

Ricardo Crisantes is the General Manager of Cris-P Produce Company, based in Nogales, Arizona. Cris-P Produce markets and distributes organic fruits and vegetables from Mexico. Ricardo is responsible for all aspects of the business for Cris-P Produce, including sales & marketing, grower relations and operations. He oversaw the introduction and development of “Organic Tomato-on-the-Vine,” one of the most successful lines for the company. Prior to joining Cris-P Produce, he was a National Sales Representative for Albert’s Organics. He attended the University of Southern California, earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for Greenhouse Produce Company of Vero Beach, Florida.


Maile Shanahan Geis is the Marketing Director for the Buy California Marketing Agreement (BCMA), the entity that administers the “California Grown” consumer education campaign. In her role, she oversees the marketing and promotional activities of the statewide campaign, including public relations outreach, advertising programs, retail and foodservice merchandising, and industry communications. Prior to joining the BCMA, she served as marketing manager for Apio, Inc., a leader in the fresh-cut vegetable category. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University , San Luis Obispo, with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and a concentration in marketing.

John Gurrisi is the Director of Total Quality, Global Fresh Produce for Darden Restaurants Inc. His responsibilities encompass every aspect of fresh produce safety for over 1700 restaurants including well known brands such as Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 and Capital Grille. Additionally, he serves as an active member on the United Fresh Food Safety and Technology Council, and currently holds a position as Conference Vice-Chair and Executive Board for the Conference for Food Protection. He is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist and he has Bachelors in Biology from California State University in Chico, CA.





Robert (Bob) Kirch is the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for Caito Foods. He joined Caito Foods in 1995 after holding several positions with Kraft Foods. Bob has worked with many aspects of the business including merchandising, procurement, marketing, and business development. In his current role, his primary responsibilities include the development, design, operation, and improvement of ongoing systems that create and deliver products and services. Caito Foods, founded in 1965, is a leading wholesale produce distributor based in Indianapolis , Indiana.



Amy B. Kunugi is the General Manager of Southern Colorado Farms located in Center, CO. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in plant science. After college, she served in the U. S. Peace Corps for three years in Guatemala and Bolivia teaching vegetable production using appropriate technologies in rural communities. In her current role at Southern Colorado Farms, she is responsible for the production of lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, cabbage and several other commodities on 3,800 center-pivot irrigated acres, which 1,600 acres are certified organic. She has served on the Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association Board, the local VALE board, and the accountability committee for San Luis Valley CSU Extension.


Justin Parnagian is a third generation Principal of Fowler Packing Co. based in Fresno, California. Fowler Packing is a grower, packer and shipper of stone fruit, table grapes and clementines. Justin attended UC Davis and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics. Growing up in the business, he has held numerous positions within the company, from the field to plant operations; he found the right “fit” in the sales department. As sales manager, he is responsible for all aspects relating to the marketing and sales for the company. He also serves on the Boards of the California Grape and Tree Fruit League as well as the California Tree Fruit Agreement.


Todd Penza is a Salesman at Pinto Brothers Inc., located on the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market. He represents the third generation to join the family-owned fruit and vegetable wholesale distribution business and the forth generation with A. Penza Trucking Inc. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Villanova University and spent a year with a volunteer program in Chicago before joining the business. He is responsible for sales to a variety of customers, buyers and brokers that enter the market daily and he oversees operations to ensure that the customer orders are delivered properly. He also coaches high school football and lacrosse at Archmere Academy.



Mark Shaw began his produce career with Markon Inc. in 1985 by learning the business from the ground up as a Quality Control Inspector. He traveled between Salinas, California to Yuma, Arizona for two years, before he shifted to the office as a Buying Coordinator. From 1988 through 2002, he worked as a Produce Buyer responsible for purchasing both commodity and value added products. During this period he started taking more operations responsibilities, where he is now responsible for all aspects of Markon’s buying office and inspection staff.



Tammy Sparkman is a Produce Buyer for Sam's Club. She has extensive retail experience, and began her career in produce when she joined Sam’s in 2000 as a replenishment associate. She has been promoted several times from Assistant Buyer in Floral, Assistant Buyer in Produce, and now currently Produce Buyer 2. She has direct responsibility for the following commodities in all U.S. locations: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, apples, pears and cherries. In 2007, she was selected as one of Produce Business’s “Forty under Forty” and has attended multiple management courses which include Walton Institute, Dale Carnegie, Leadership Foundations, Global Food Safety Initiatives and Sustainability Training.




Brian Thure is the Vice President of Processing and Distribution Operations for River Ranch Fresh Foods. He oversees plant production, operations engineering, distribution and logistics, operations accounting and purchasing. His first position at River Ranch started in 1997 as a Sales Analyst, after two years of playing offensive line for the Washington Redskins. He rejoined River Ranch in 2003 full time after a four year term of coaching college football for the University of Colorado and University of Idaho. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting.



Mike Wise joined the Horton Fruit Company, Louisville, KY in 2002 as a Management Executive. His position supervises all the changing dynamics of procurement and enhancing vendor rel
ations, managing production costs for specific commodities, growing existing customer sales and new business development with a focus on value-added merchandising. Prior to working at Horton Fruit, he held various positions at Chiquita Brands Int’l. in Cincinnati, OH, where he started his produce career 14 years ago in the transportation services and sales services group, which led to a position of Business Development Manager. He has a bachelors degree in accounting from Wilmington College of Ohio and coaches youth sports year-round.













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PACA fee increases - final rule

From the May 30 Federal Register, a final rule about PACA fee increases. Follow the link for comments about the rule.

Amendments to Rules of Practice Regulations Under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) To Increase Reparation Complaint Filing and Handling Fees

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
Summary: The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is amending the Rules of Practice under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) to increase from $60 to $100 the fee for filing an informal complaint;
and to increase from $300 to $500 the fee for handling a formal complaint.

DATES: Effective Date: June 30, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Koller, Director, Dispute Resolution Section, 202-720-1442.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under authority of Section 15 of the PACA (7 U.S.C. 499o). The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA or Act) establishes a code of fair trade practices covering the marketing of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables in interstate and foreign commerce. The PACA protects growers, shippers, distributors, and retailers dealing in those commodities by prohibiting unfair anf fraudulent trade practices. In this way, the law fosters an efficient nationwide distribution system for fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, benefiting the whole marketing chain from farmer to consumer. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administers and enforces the PACA.
The PACA program is financed by license and user fees and has an annual operating budget of approximately $10 million. Currently, annual expenses exceed revenue by $3 million, a disparity that is projected to increase each year by another 3 to 5 percent. Greater than half oft he program's expenditures are payroll and related expenses, followed at a distant second by the cost of maintaining office space through rent, communications, and utility expenses. The PACA license and complaint filing fees have remained unchanged since 1995, in part due to a one-time Congressional appropriation of $30.45 million deposited into the
PACA reserve fund on October 1, 2000.
One of the most important functions of the Act is to require that PACA licensees fulfill their contractual obligations, and the Act provides a forum, before the Secretary, where firms that buy and sell fruits and vegetables can settle commercial disputes outside of the civil court system and recover damages for losses they have suffered. These cases are called ``reparation cases.'' In 1995, Section 6 of the PACA (7 U.S.C. 499f) was amended to require a $60 filing fee for filing an informal reparation complaint and a $300 handling fee for filing a formal reparation complaint with USDA under the PACA. Section 6 of the PACA also authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to alter the filing and handling fees by rulemaking. During its January 2007 meeting, the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee (Committee) recommended to the Secretary that the fee for filing an informal reparation complaint be increased to $100, and the handling fee for filing a formal reparation complaint be increased to $500. The Secretary accepted the Committee's recommendation. This final rule implements the recommendation by increasing from $60 to $100 the fee for filing an informal reparation complaint; and increasing from $300 to $500 the fee for handling a formal reparation complaint.
PACA Rules of Practice applicable to reparation complaint proceedings inform the industry of USDA's procedures and requirements for the handling of informal and formal complaints under the Act (7 CFR
part 47). Section 47.3(a) of the current Rules of Practice (7 CFR 47.3(a)) requires that a $60 filing fee accompany any written correspondence and related documents pertaining to the transaction(s)
involved in the dispute before AMS can process and open an informal reparation complaint on behalf of the complainant. When an informal reparation complaint is filed, AMS makes every effort to assist the parties in reaching a settlement of their dispute while gathering documents as part of its investigation. Mediation
services are also offered to the parties throughout the informal handling of the complaint. If an informal settlement cannot be reached, however, the complainant is given the opportunity to file a formal reparation complaint. Section 47.6(c) of the current Rules of Practice (7 CFR 47.6(c)) requires that a complainant filing a formal reparation complaint pay a $300 handling fee to AMS to initiate formal complaint proceedings. Under formal complaint procedures, USDA's Judicial Officer issues a binding decision in the case. In Fiscal Year 2007, there were 1575 informal reparation complaints and 347 formal reparation complaints filed with AMS under the PACA. Over 91 percent of the informal complaints filed under the Act were resolved informally within 4 months. These complaints involved produce transactions valued at over $18.4 million. USDA issued formal decision and orders in 347 cases involving award amounts totaling approximately $5.8 million. The largest award issued by USDA in Fiscal Year 2007 ordered payment of over $257,000 to a fruit and vegetable dealer.
In Fiscal Year 2006, AMS received 1483 informal reparation complaints of which 92 percent were resolved informally within a 4- month timeframe. In Fiscal Year 2006, informal settlements exceeded $18.7 million. There were 300 formal reparation complaints filed under the Act that year. AMS does not expect this final rule to raise a significant amount of revenue for the PACA program (estimated at $144,000 annually), but
by increasing the fees for filing informal and formal reparationcomplaints, AMS believes that the burden for financing the PACA program will be shifted more towards those who benefit directly from using PACA
program services.


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Thursday, May 29, 2008

Comice pears - earlier than usual

From a news release from Oregon State University:

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. – Consumers could be able to bite into fresh, sweet Comice and Bosc pears earlier than usual if pear handlers implement new ripening techniques tested by a researcher at Oregon State University.
Horticulturalist David Sugar has found that by briefly storing Comice pears at cool temperatures and applying ethylene gas to them, they could land in supermarkets by early September instead of the usual early October. With an even simpler version of that ripening treatment, Bosc pears could also be in shoppers' carts in early September instead of two weeks later, Sugar added.

"For consumers, under ideal conditions, this means that at their Labor Day picnics, they could be eating fruit salads made with flavorful Bosc and juicy, buttery Comice pears," said Sugar, who conducted the research in the orchard and lab at OSU's Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point.
“For producers, this would extend their marketing season and hopefully allow them to bring in more revenue,” he added.
Sugar said he focused on Comice and Bosc varieties because they make up the majority of the pears grown in southern Oregon's Rogue Valley. The valley is home to retailer Harry & David, which has built its business on selling gift baskets of mouthwatering, crème de la crème Comice pears marketed under the name Royal Riviera.
Pears, which are Oregon's state fruit, are finicky when it comes to ripening. They can get gritty when they ripen on the tree, so the custom has been to pick them when they're mature, then coax them into ripening through chilling and, in the case of Anjou pears, exposure to ethylene gas. With Comice pears, the traditional approach has been to pick them once they reach a specified firmness that tells the grower that the pears are mature. Then they're stored for at least 30 days at 31 degrees, and no ethylene gas is used.
Bosc pears, characterized by brown skin and firmer flesh, also are stored at 31 degrees, but only for roughly 15 days. They are not exposed to ethylene gas either. During this period both varieties develop the capacity to internally make ethylene gas, the hormone that fruits and vegetables produce to stimulate their own ripening. Pears don't produce it unless they're chilled after harvest or exposed to an external source of ethylene. Once they've developed the capacity to produce their own ethylene, Comice and Bosc pears need five to seven days at room temperature to fully ripen.
After two years of experiments, Sugar has developed new procedures to accelerate the ripening process with the help of ethylene gas. In his tests, he picked Comice pears after they reached the accepted firmness on the tree and put them in a room with ethylene gas for two days. Next, he stored them at 50 degrees and found that they needed only two days at that temperature to develop the capacity to ripen. They still needed the customary five to seven days at room temperature after that to actually ripen.
The bottom line: Comice pears don't need to be held in storage for a month before being shipped to grocery stores; only four days.
Sugar tested several other temperatures and periods of exposure to ethylene gas to create different ripening scenarios for Comice pears. None accelerated the ripening process as fast. For example, when the pears were exposed to one day of ethylene gas, then stored at 31 degrees, they needed 17 days at that temperature to develop the capacity to ripen.
Bosc pears behaved differently. He found that they didn't need to be placed in cold storage; they only needed to be exposed to ethylene gas for one day to develop the capacity to ripen.
In addition to studying how to get pears to market sooner, Sugar has been looking at how to keep Comice pears on the market longer. He tested a clear, plastic bag called LifeSpan that extends the storage life of pears by allowing them to absorb the oxygen and increase the carbon dioxide around them. Developed by an Australian company, the bags can add one to two weeks to the life of Comice pears while still maintaining high quality, Sugar said.
The bags are a low-cost option for packing houses, which line shipping boxes with them and then seal the bags. Traditionally, some packing houses have built airtight, controlled-atmosphere rooms and purchased machinery to generate a low-oxygen atmosphere to store pears. "But this bag has been widely adopted for a poor man's controlled atmosphere because you don't have to have an infrastructure, just a bag," Sugar said.
By using the bags and Sugar's new postharvest ripening method, Comice pears grown in the Northern Hemisphere could be on the market for up to six months instead of four to five months, he said. If packing houses in the Southern Hemisphere do the same, Comice pears would be available all year, he said, instead of being unavailable from February to early March and August to late September.

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Mango demand growing

Here is the link to today's USDA ERS Fruit and Tree Nut Outlook report. From the report, about mangoes:

The demand for mangoes in the United States continues to grow. Thanks to industry marketing programs, there is greater awareness now for this tropical fruit than 20 years back when U.S. consumers ate only an estimated a half a pound of mango per person each year. Now, annual per capita consumption is estimated at over two pounds per person, with heavy reliance on foreign imports (fig. 6). While more traditional American consumers are beginning to know this fruit, the growing immigrant populations from Latin America and Asia remain the foundation for the growth in demand for mangoes in the U.S. market. Nearly all the mangoes we buy here come from Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala, and Haiti (table 8). Mango imports in the United States continue to follow an upward path, increasing an average of 4 percent annually since 2000. In 2007, imports set a new record high at 651 million pounds, although the annual import growth was a bit sluggish at only about 1 percent. With the exception of Peru, imports last year rose from most of the leading suppliers. The most notable increase, however, was from India—a long-time leader in world mango production but for many years has been banned from sending mangoes to the United States due to phytosanitary reasons. Shipments from India in 2007 rose from 44,525 pounds the previous year to 396,413 pounds. Shipments from Mexico, which account for the bulk of U.S. imports, only rose 2 percent last year compared with a 14-percent increase in 2006. Shipments from Ecuador remained relatively unchanged from the previous year while declines were reported from Peru (down 13 percent) and Haiti (down (18 percent). Poor weather hampered supplies from South America whereas phytosanitary issues held back imports from Haiti. Imports of Haitian mangoes into the United States were blocked beginning in July 2007 after fruit flies were discovered in shipments back in late June. Pending results of USDA’s review of Haiti’s treatment and packaging procedures for mango exports, certification of all of the country’s mango exporting companies will remain suspended and no imports from that country will be allowed into the United States. As of first-quarter 2008, mango imports totaled 157 million pounds, up 43 percent from the same time last year, driving down mango prices. Import volume through March 2008 was up from all supplying nations. This is in contrast to last year’s first quarter when weather-reduced supplies in important mango exporting countries
in South America and harvest delays in Mexico’s early-season crop created a tight market which led to very strong early-season prices. More than half of first-quarter 2008 imports were from Peru, whose shipments were 54 percent higher than during the same time last year. Supplies from Mexico—the United States’ primary supplier of mangoes—increased 24 percent. A good growing season for Mexico’s 2008 mango crop is anticipated to provide large, good quality supplies of the fruit that will make its way here at more affordable prices relative to last year. As the summer approaches, Mexican supplies arriving in the United States are
increasing as other production regions of the country get their harvest underway. Mexico offers several varieties of mangoes that come in season in different times throughout the year. In general, though, supplies from Mexico are expected to reach peak levels for the season around June and July. Around late-March, f.o.b. shipping-point prices for Mexican Ataulfo mangoes crossing through Texas ranged from $5.00-$6.50 per 1-layer carton (12s), compared with $7.00 per carton the same time last year. Around the same time, prices for Mexican Haden and Tommy Atkins ranged from $2.75-$3.50 per 1 layer carton (12s), compared with $5.00- $7.00 per carton last year. By mid-May, f.o.b. prices for Mexican Ataulfo mangoes have remained below last year and have come down from earlier in the year, ranging from $3.50-$4.00 per 1-layer carton (12s). At the retail end, U.S. consumers in April and May were paying an average of $0.94 for a mango fruit, down from over $1.00 earlier in the year, based on the new retail price series reported by AMS beginning in October 2007.

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Voluntary recall announced

Just sliding across my inbox, from the FDA:

FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Supreme Cuts Announces Voluntary Recall of Small Sample of Off The Cob Fresh Kernel Corn

Contact:
Lucy Rosen
(516) 222-0236

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Mahwah, NJ, May 27, 2008 – As a precautionary measure, Supreme Cuts LLC has announced that it is voluntarily recalling 87 cases of Off the Cob Fresh Kernel Corn in 12 oz bags. The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail and elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may experience only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women.
The recalled product comes in a 12 oz clear plastic bag marked with a "best if used by" date of May 26, 2008 and lot # 5343. Off the Cob Fresh Kernel Corn with other lot numbers and "best if used by" dates are not affected. Package instructions call for cooking this raw corn product. While thorough cooking would be an effective control of Listeria monocytogenes contamination, consumers are urged to dispose of the product to avoid risks of undercooking or contamination of other foods. Other Supreme Cuts products also are not affected.
The recalled product was distributed to a small number of stores in New Jersey and Massachusetts.No illnesses have been reported to date. All retail outlets carrying the product have been notified, and the bags affected by the recall are believed to have been removed from store shelves.
The potential for contamination was discovered when the company, during its standard company testing procedures, found a sample containing a very small amount of Listeria monocytogenes. [Production of Off the Cob Fresh Cut Corn has been suspended while Supreme Cuts investigates the source of the problem.
No other products from Supreme Cuts are involved in the recall. Supreme Cuts packages each of its products on separate production lines, so no other products are affected. Supreme Cuts is committed to rigorous product testing and food safety, and has a strong history as a premier processor and distributor of high quality pre-cut vegetables.
Any consumers who may still have "Off the Cob" with a "best if used by" date of May 26 should dispose of the product.
Consumers with questions can contact Lucy Rosen at 516-222-0236.

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Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade: Still bullish

Fed by a weak dollar, U.S. agricultural exports continue to set records. Here is the May 29 report on the outlook for U.S. agricultural trade. From the summary:


Fiscal 2008 agricultural exports are forecast at $108.5 billion, up $7.5 billion from February’s forecast and $26.6 billion above 2007. Grains and animal products account for two-thirds of the revision, with increases for all other groups except cotton. Higher unit values for wheat, feed grains, and rice plus a 2-million ton increase for corn and other feeds raise grain and feeds $2.6 billion. Animal products are raised $2.5 billion, with nearly half the increase is due to dairy products as unit values remain high and volumes increase. Oilseeds and products rise about $1.8 billion. Slower-than-expected South American exports have extended the season for U.S. soybean shipments longer than expected. Horticultural products account for $800 million of the increase aided by ample supplies, strong demand, and a weak dollar.

Fiscal 2008 agricultural imports are forecast at a record $78.5 billion, up $2 billion from February and $8.5 billion above 2007. Oilseeds, grains and products account for almost half the year over year increase, boosted by higher unit values and volumes. Grain and feed values are forecast up $700 million from February. Horticultural product imports are forecast to fall slightly from February, as a result of lower imports of fresh fruits and vegetables. Nevertheless, horticultural products are still $2.4 billion above 2007. Sugar and tropical products, including coffee, cocoa, and rubber, are forecast up $500 million from February, with coffee accounting for most of the increase due to higher unit values.

TK: The overall balance of agricultural trade is forecast at a $30 billion surplus for fiscal year 2008, up from just $4.6 billion in the black in 2006. Here are some big picture numbers on the fruit and vegetable trade:

* Combined fresh fruit and vegetable exports are forecast at $5.3 billion in fiscal 2008, up from $4.77 billion in fiscal year 2007.
* Fresh vegetable imports are projected at $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2008, up from $4.165 billion in fiscal 2007.
* Fresh fruit imports for fiscal year 2008 are projected at $5.6 billion, compared with $5.4 billion in fiscal year 2007.

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Wal-Mart pushes back on food costs - goes local

I had an email into Wal-Mart about the question of fuel costs and local buying. Here is a link from CNN that speaks to the retailer's efforts in buying local to squash costs, among other strategies. From the story:

Go locovore. Wal-Mart has been going green, but not entirely for the reasons you might think. By sourcing more produce locally - it now sells Wisconsin-grown yellow corn in 56 stores in or near Wisconsin - it is able to cut shipping costs. "We are looking at how to reduce the number of miles our suppliers' trucks travel," says Kohn. Marc Turner, whose Bushwick Potato Co. supplies Wal-Mart stores in the Northeast, says the cost of shipping one truck of spuds from his farm in Maine to local Wal-Mart stores costs less than $1,000, compared with several thousand dollars for a big rig from Idaho. Last year his shipments to Wal-Mart grew 13%.

In fact, it's the small suppliers that are feeling the pain from Wal-Mart's pushback the most. Bushwick has seen its costs rise 10% over the past year, but has passed only half that amount on to Wal-Mart and its other retailers. For consumers who are having a hard time paying $3.80 for a gallon of milk, however, without those measures that sticker shock would be a lot worse.

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GAO Report - Port Security

Here is the link to the May 27 GAO report titled "U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has Enhanced Its Partnership with Import Trade Sectors, but Challenges Remain in Verifying Security Practices"

From the GAO Highlights page:

Why GAO Did This Study
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for ensuring the security of cargo containers shipped into the United States. To strike a balance between security and commerce, CBP oversees the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or C-TPAT program. As part of this program, CBP aims to secure the supply chain—the flow of goods from manufacturers to retailers—through partnerships with international trade companies. Member companies agree to allow CBP to validate their security practices and, in exchange, they are awarded benefits, such as reduced scrutiny of their cargo. In 2005, GAO reviewed the C-TPAT program and noted operational challenges. For this report, GAO was asked to assess the progress CBP has made since 2005 in (1) improving its benefit award policies for C-TPAT members, (2) addressing challenges in validating members’ security practices, and (3) addressing management and staffing challenges. To perform this work, GAO analyzed a nonprobability sample of completed validations; reviewed annual, human capital, and strategic plans; and held discussions with CBP officials.

What GAO Recommends
GAO is recommending that CBP improve its electronic validation instrument, improve the validation process, enhance its records management system, and establish performance measures for improving supply chain security. CBP concurred with each of the recommendations.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Obesity plateau?

The rate of childhood obesity may have plateaued, says this article citing research from the Journal of the American Medical Association. From the Bloomberg report:

About 32 percent of children ages 2 to 19 were at risk for being overweight or obese from 2003 to 2006, little changed from 1999, according to data in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association. Of those, 16 percent were overweight or obese and 11 percent were considered the heaviest kids.

TK: Health advocates are worried that this story - offering only a modest hope that obesity has hit its peak - could even so decrease the will to come up with a comprehensive and effective public policy to combat obesity in kids.

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Miracle fruit - NYT

Here is the link to a story from The New York Times about the miracle fruit that rewires taste buds. The story notes the fruit is available by special order from Baldor Specialty Foods and S. Katzman Produce. From the story:

The miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum, is native to West Africa and has been known to Westerners since the 18th century. The cause of the reaction is a protein called miraculin, which binds with the taste buds and acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids, according to a scientist who has studied the fruit, Linda Bartoshuk at the University of Florida’s Center for Smell and Taste. Dr. Bartoshuk said she did not know of any dangers associated with eating miracle fruit.

During the 1970s, a ruling by the Food and Drug Administration dashed hopes that an extract of miraculin could be sold as a sugar substitute. In the absence of any plausible commercial application, the miracle fruit has acquired a bit of a cult following.

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Truck Rate Report - May 27

With $5 per gallon diesel in California, the truck outlook isn't getting any easiler. From the USDA truck rate report:


A shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: tomatoes, melons and grapes from
Nogales, Arizona, grapes from Coachella Valley California, onions from Imperial Valley California, citrus and strawberries from South District California, onions from Vidalia District, Georgia, sweet potatoes from Eastern North Carolina, onions from the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas and San Antonio-Winter Garden-Laredo District Texas, citrus, avocados, watermelon and mixed vegetables from Mexico Crossings Through Texas, and watermelons from South Texas. A slight shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: peppers, corn and mixed vegetables from Imperial & Coachella Valley California, carrots from Kern District California, lettuce, mixed vegetables, strawberries and raspberries from Salinas-Watsonville California, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots and cherries from San Joaquin Valley California, mixed vegetables and strawberries from Santa Maria, potatoes from San Luis Valley Colorado and Central Wisconsin, tomatoes from Central and South Florida, melons and potatoes from Florida, cabbage and mixed vegetables from South Georgia, and sweet potatoes from Louisiana and Mississippi. FIRST REPORT was issued for mixed vegetables from South Georgia. LAST REPORT was issued for onionsfrom the Lower Rio Grande Valley. All other districts reported an adequatev supply of trucks.



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Deal shopping

I visited with Steve Lutz of the Perishables Group earlier today about consumer behavior in a scenario of rising prices. He pointed out that fresh produce isn't necessarily in a position of strength; consumers already tend to think fresh fruit and vegetable prices are on the high side. In that context, this story from The Houston Chronicle speaks to how retailers are positioning themselves for the value choice:

It's vital for grocers to "show customers they're on their side," said Kit Yarrow, professor of business and psychology at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. "Consumers want to feel like they can trust that their grocer is doing everything they can to help them."

Among retailers, grocery stores have some of the most loyal customers. But now that fuel costs are taking a bigger chunk than ever out of people's income — at the pump and in their light bills — those bonds are in jeopardy of breaking.

"Consumers hate to switch grocery stores and tend to be very loyal, but all that's up for grabs right now, and every smart grocer knows that," Yarrow said.

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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Argentina citrus semi annual 2008

All give and no take - that's Argentina's citrus trade outlook for 2008. Here is the link to the semi-annual report on Argentina citrus from the USDA FAS. No mention of the status of the quest by Argentina lemon exporters who are seeking access to the U.S. market. From the report summary:

Citrus production for calendar year (CY) 2008 will decrease nearly 21 percent to 2.47 million metric tons (MT) due to a frost in July 2007. High international prices are favoring exports over domestic consumption and processing, so exports are expected to fall only slightly. Imports continue to remain low as in previous years, with only seasonal purchases of grapefruit.


On trade....

CY 2008 citrus exports are forecast to decrease slightly relative to CY 2007 in all categories due to lower production. Despite the lower production, the packing houses will do their best to take advantage of the high international prices at expense of the processing sector and domestic consumption. Due to quality constraints, more fruit will be sent to the Russian Federation and other markets that accept a third quality standard.


TK: Another USDA FAS report on the Canadian agricultural situation covers possible changes to that country's origin labeling law, in addition to notes about ongoing WTO talks.

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WTO: New life?

The all but forgotten WTO trade talks are making some credible news this week. A link from the World Trade Organization.

WTO agriculture negotiations resumed on Monday 26 May 2008 with a new round of talks on the latest revised draft “modalities” circulated a week earlier. In this meeting of the full membership, the talks’ chairperson, Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand, said a smaller group of 37 delegations representing all coalitions and major players would continue to negotiate during the week as members try to narrow their differences further.

In the next meeting of the full membership, on Friday 3O May, they would decide whether to continue into the week of 2 June, he said.

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Poll verdict

The Fresh Talk poll question last week:

What message should be the main driver for increasing produce consumption?



The results:

Health - good for you
4 (25%)
Taste - appeal of the senses
6 (37%)
Convenience - making it an easy choice
6 (37%)


Votes so far: 16
Poll closed



TK: Why didn't "health - good for you" make a stronger showing in the poll? I wonder if it is because consumers already know or assume that fruits and vegetables are good for you. Selling taste or freshness, to me, is fraught with peril - can marketers or retailers actually deliver on the promise of unique taste or uncommon freshness? Convenience, to me, is a more straightforward sell - look at how we have made it easier for you, the consumer to take home (healthful and good tasting) produce.

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Climate change - 10 to 14 days longer growing season

Not all the impacts from climate change are negative, including the assertion that growing seasons in temperate climates are now 10 to 14 days longer than 20 years ago. The USDA press release below succinctly describes - including a few observations about horticultural crops - the results of a comprehensive study on climate change and agriculture. From the release:

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) today released "Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3 (SAP 4.3): The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States." The CCSP integrates the federal research efforts of 13 agencies on climate and global change. Today's report is one of the most extensive examinations of climate impacts on U.S. ecosystems. USDA is the lead agency for this report and coordinated its production as part of its commitment to CCSP.

"The report issued today provides practical information that will help land owners and resource managers make better decisions to address the risks of climate change," said Agriculture Chief Economist Joe Glauber.

The report was written by 38 authors from the universities, national laboratories, non-governmental organizations, and federal service. The report underwent expert peer review by 14 scientists through a Federal Advisory Committee formed by the USDA. The National Center for Atmospheric Research also coordinated in the production of the report. It is posted on the CCSP Web site at:

http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-3/default.php .

The report finds that climate change is already affecting U.S. water resources, agriculture, land resources, and biodiversity, and will continue to do so. Specific findings include:

Grain and oilseed crops will mature more rapidly, but increasing temperatures will increase the risk of crop failures, particularly if precipitation decreases or becomes more variable.

Higher temperatures will negatively affect livestock. Warmer winters will reduce mortality but this will be more than offset by greater mortality in hotter summers. Hotter temperatures will also result in reduced productivity of livestock and dairy animals.

Forests in the interior West, the Southwest, and Alaska are already being affected by climate change with increases in the size and frequency of forest fires, insect outbreaks and tree mortality. These changes are expected to continue.

Much of the United States has experienced higher precipitation and streamflow, with decreased drought severity and duration, over the 20th century. The West and Southwest, however, are notable exceptions, and increased drought conditions have occurred in these regions.

Weeds grow more rapidly under elevated atmospheric CO2. Under projections reported in the assessment, weeds migrate northward and are less sensitive to herbicide applications.

There is a trend toward reduced mountain snowpack and earlier spring snowmelt runoff in the Western United States.

Horticultural crops (such as tomato, onion, and fruit) are more sensitive to climate change than grains and oilseed crops.

Young forests on fertile soils will achieve higher productivity from elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nitrogen deposition and warmer temperatures will increase productivity in other types of forests where water is available.

Invasion by exotic grass species into arid lands will result from climate change, causing an increased fire frequency. Rivers and riparian systems in arid lands will be negatively impacted.

A continuation of the trend toward increased water use efficiency could help mitigate the impacts of climate change on water resources.

The growing season has increased by 10 to 14 days over the last 19 years across the temperate latitudes. Species' distributions have also shifted.

The rapid rates of warming in the Arctic observed in recent decades, and projected for at least the next century, are dramatically reducing the snow and ice covers that provide denning and foraging habitat for polar bears.

USDA agencies are responding to the risks of climate change. For example, the Forest Service is incorporating climate change risks into National Forest Management Plans and is providing guidance to forest managers on how to respond and adapt to climate change. The Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Services Agency are encouraging actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration through conservation programs. USDA's Risk Management Agency has prepared tools to manage drought risks and is conducting an assessment of the risks of climate change on the crop insurance program.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.usda.gov/oce/global_change/

http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-3/default.php

http://www.sap43.ucar.edu/ .

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Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day: 1968 and 2008

The Los Angeles Times has reprinted an editorial from 1968 about the Memorial Day observance. Here is the link to that edit. My dad, who was an Air Force pilot, sent home tapes from Viet Nam, and here is one excerpt from 1968 that tells a little about the struggle from his perspective. From The Los Angeles Times edit:

In 1868, three years after the end of the bloodiest and most traumatic conflict in the nation's history, the commander of the Grand Army of the Republic ordered that the graves of the late Union dead be suitably decorated on May 30 as a mark of remembrance for the sacrifices they had made.

Thus began the custom of Memorial Day. In time it evolved as a commemoration for the dead of all the nation's wars, and is today observed in nearly all states throughout the land.

Few holidays, secular or religious, remain static in observance. The respectful simplicity of the early Memorial days has grown into a time of speechmaking and parades, of brief paid vacations for most Americans, of an opportunity for picnicking or beach-going or whatever, punctuated at public gatherings perhaps by a single minute of silent tribute to the nation's war dead.

We note these obvious facts, removed as they are from the purpose for which this day was first proclaimed, not in any spirit of sanctimonious condemnation.

The personal grief felt by many thousands whose relatives and friends fell in time of war does not require any special day for expression. For millions of other Americans the deaths of their countrymen on foreign fields is something of an abstraction, not inviting of sustained, mournful introspection. Tacitly, we all accept this.

But a Memorial Day commemorated in the midst of a war is particularly deserving of more than pro forma observance.

The last few weeks in Vietnam have witnessed the highest death tolls for Americans since our initial involvement in the conflict began seven years ago. The President speaks somberly, and no doubt accurately, of planned accelerated efforts by the enemy to inflict further civilian and military casualties and widening damage on the allied cause, in hopes of creating political and psychological pressures that will gain at the conference table what is unattainable for him on the battlefield.

At the Paris talks, the facile predictions of foreign and domestic critics of U.S. policy, who proclaimed for so long that if only the right American concessions were made the Communists would show themselves to be reasonable fellows willing to work for an honorable compromise, have thus far proven erroneous.

Instead we are once again face to face with an obdurate opponent who has proved himself ready to sacrifice the lives of combatants and innocents alike to realize his odious goals.

We do not know how much longer the struggle in Vietnam will go on, or how it might end. All that seems predictable, if we can use the past as a guide, is that future Memorial Days will, sadly, serve to commemorate many who have yet to give up their lives in their country's service.

We would suggest that the best remembrance, the greatest tribute, we can pay those who have died in their nation's wars, and those fated to do so, is not simply to institutionalize their sacrifice on one day out of the year. Rather it is to live our own lives as citizens of this Republic, and conduct our affairs as a power in the world, according to the higher goals in whose name these sacrifices are made.

That would be tribute indeed, and surely little enough to ask.

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Saturday, May 24, 2008

School nutrition: unfunded mandate

A revealing look at the economics of school lunches from the Asheville Citizen Times, and the vise that local districts are in trying to deliver healthy food with extreme cost constraints. From the story:

Unfunded mandates have long been a bane of local governments. Some genius at the federal or state level comes up with requirements for a program administered by a layer of government below the one he or she is working at, but doesn’t bother to appropriate funds to carry out the requirements.

School lunch programs in North Carolina are facing a doozy of an unfunded mandate. In fact, the programs appear to be turning into faith-based programs, somehow expected to feed children nutritious meals with a complete lack of funding in North Carolina’s $20 billion-plus budget.
To back up a bit, North Carolina is among the 16 states in the nation that do not provide child nutrition program funding. Programs are expected to be self-sufficient revenue producers.
Health-conscious moves
To back up even further, it wasn’t long ago when some of that revenue was reliably produced by the sales of sugar-laden drinks or vending machine fodder with little or no nutritional value. As the nationwide obesity epidemic began to impact the middle-school set, North Carolina sensibly developed new nutrition guidelines. Those guidelines say no more than 10 percent of calories can come from saturated fate, that no more than 20 to 35 percent of calories can come from fat, that no items can be fried and that four vegetables or fruits, along with one whole-grain product, must be offered daily. The sodas and snacks that once generated revenue (and potential health issues) are to be replaced with items like frozen yogurt.
Those are smart choices that we applaud.
But the wrinkle in the plan is probably already obvious to anyone shopping on a budget: Healthier and fresher have a tendency to be costlier.
And a number of factors seem to be converging to create a sort of perfect-storm crisis for nutrition programs.
Economic turmoil and tight budgets at home may mean more children may soon be relying on that school lunch as perhaps their best — or even only — meal of the day.
Impact of energy costs
Soaring energy costs mean food is more expensive to grow and to deliver. The case of produce it cost $2 to deliver not long ago now carries a $4.50 delivery fee. On top of that, the costs of milk for child nutrition programs has doubled, the costs of grains are following suit and — well, everything seems to be going up, including labor costs for nutrition programs.
We bring up those costs because, as we’ve noted, the school programs are expected to be self-supporting. That is noteworthy because when a state wage increase is mandated, that increase applies to nutrition workers. Only, because of the nature of the program, that, too, is an unfunded mandate.
School programs do receive some taxpayer funds.
School cafeterias do receive a reimbursement from the U.S. government. Depending on the numbers of students who receive reduced-price or free lunches, the federal government will pay up to about $2.50 per student.
That falls short of a full reimbursement for systems such as Asheville City Schools, where a meal costs $3.24 to produce.
Seeking more funds
To fill the gap and comply with the new nutrition guidelines, which are slated to kick in for elementary schools, the state Department of Public Instruction and the School Nutrition Association of North Carolina requested $20 million for the coming school year from the General Assembly. The budget contains $0.
A similar request last year met a similar fate, and implementation of the guidelines was put off a year. The same scenario could play out this year.
Feeding our schoolchildren healthy meals isn’t just another budget can to be kicked down the road. Failure to do so can bring immediate problems with distracted or hyperactive students in the short run and sow the seeds of health problems like diabetes and obesity in the long run.
In a budget running at $21 billion-plus, there should be $20 million to be found under the couch cushions. If the state wants to implement its nutrition plan, and it should, it shouldn’t be passing the burden down to folks at the local level.
Lawmakers should find the money for school nutrition, pronto.
This is one unfunded mandate no North Carolinian should tolerate.



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