While I have been gone

While I saw pineapples, mini vegetables, cassava, lava flows, three toed sloths, iguanas, greenhouse cucumbers and much more here in Costa Rica, I´ve missed a good bit of world and produce industry news. Here is an attempt to catch up, if a little bit at a time..

Empty shelves at largest local food bank Coverage continues from all corners of the country over the plight of food banks...


Government to limit planned crackdown on illegal immigrants From The Washington Post.. did it relax the rules enough..
However, a revised final rule to be published today in the Federal Register would limit its application to contracts worth $100,000 or more, instead of $3,000, and require employers to check the eligibility only of workers on those contracts, instead of all their workers. The changes would apply to solicitations or awards made after Jan. 15, and exempt workers who have already received security clearances, contracts for commercial, off-the-shelf items, and contracts lasting less than 120 days.

Improve school lunches with locally grown food
Change is difficult, in part, because of the structure of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Created over 60 years ago, this program serves in excess of 30 million meals each school day. All schools participating in the NSLP must follow certain nutritional guidelines and offer free or reduced price meals for low-income children. In return, these schools are provided with subsidies and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commodity foods. These foods include millions of pounds of animal products such as pork, beef and cheese. Fruits and vegetables make up less than 5% of the allotments.


Supply local food to mainstream consumers From the UK.. Can local food really survive the recession...

An industry wide initiative designed to expand local food from its current 1.5% to 10% market share within 10 years by exploiting the mainstream sector was launched in London yesterday, Thursday, 13 November.
The initiative was born following recommendations made in ‘Supplying Local Food to Mainstream Customers’, an 80 page report completed by Henry Brown, of Westley Consulting and Cumbrian farmer and local food hub pioneer, John Geldard. The document examines in detail local food’s economic, environmental and social benefits to its respective communities together with demand from multiple retailers and foodservice operators.After extensive research, the authors concluded that despite the economic downturn, retailers and foodservice businesses have continued to express strong interest in local which they claim is driven by consumers who are becoming increasingly discerning in the provenance and ethics of their food.

Aldi´s fit facts
Limited-assortment discount grocer Aldi will include guideline daily amounts on its Fit & Active private-label line of better-for-you products by January. GDA values, or “Fit Facts,” will be noted on the bottom right-hand corner of each Fit & Active package.

Study a step toward sustainability, disease free crops
A five-year study that could help increase disease resistance, stress tolerance and plant yields is under way at Purdue University.
According to a press release issued by EurekAlert, the $4 million project uses a new technique called "mutant-assisted gene identification and characterization," or MAGIC, to identify potentially useful gene combinations in crop species.
"If we can understand these genes better, we could engineer plants to be immune to most diseases," said principal investigator Guri Johal, an associate professor of botany and plant pathology.

Foreclosures rise
Nationwide, foreclosures were filed on 279,561 properties last month, a 5 percent increase from the previous month and a 25 percent increase from October 2007.

Wal Mart third quarter profit up 10 percent
Walmart has been one of the few bright spots in a dismal retailing world, as Americans have switched to cheaper stores and focused on necessities. The trend has only intensified since the financial meltdown in September, with Circuit City Stores Inc. filing for bankruptcy protection this week and rival Best Buy Co. saying "seismic" changes in consumer behavior have created "the most difficult climate" the company has ever seen.

Wal Mart cash pile mounts as it curbs expansion


Fresh and Easy reigns in expansion plans
Tim Mason, chief executive of Fresh & Easy, yesterday performed his biggest U-turn since taking the helm at Tesco's fledging US business in 2006 with the announcement that it will not now open 200 stores by February, writes Elizabeth Rigby.
Mr Mason, who hinted in June that Tesco was preparing to expand beyond the West Coast, has been forced to scale down his ambition dramatically in the light of the US consumer downturn and will now open half that amount of stores by the deadline.

OECD predicts global recession
The world's developed countries, hard hit by the financial crisis, have probably tipped into a recession that will last at least through the first half of 2009, according to projections issued Thursday.

20 reasons why the U.S. consumer is capitulating. Roubini says
Today’s news about October retail sales (-2.8% relative to the previous month and now down in real terms for five months in a row) confirm what this forum has been arguing for a while, i.e. that the U.S. has entered its most severe consumer-led recession in decades. At this rate of free fall in consumption real GDP growth could be a whopping 5% negative or even worse in Q4 of 2008. And this is not a temporary phenomenon as almost all of the fundamentals driving consumption are heading south on a persistent and structural basis. Consider the many severe negative factors affecting consumption. One can count at least 20 separate or complementary causes that will sharply reduce consumption in the next several years:

Higher water prices doom Escondido farmers
As the state deals with a water shortage crisis, local farmers are faced with tough decisions. Reduce their useage to take advantage of a 15 % discounted rate, give up the discount or give up the farm. During a meeting with the San Diego County Farm Bureau, growers were told higher water rates are in their future.
The 15 % discount, will be phased out by 2013 as the State of California grapples with a severe water shortage. "I don't think there's any going back," said Michael Hurley, an environmental consultant for the Farm Bureau told the North County Times.
More than 500 farmers attended the Ag Water Summit at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. "They are trying to get rid of agriculture in California," said Rosalie Caso, who owns a 20-acre avocado grove in Fallbrook. Water rates could go up by 50 per cent in the next 5 years. A man leaving the meeting said: "We're finished."

National Retail Report Nov. 14

From the USDA National Retail Report of Nov. 14.


This week retailers reminded consumers of Thanksgiving’s approach by prominently displaying turkey ads and offerings of complete holiday meals. In addition, ingredients for traditional side dishes and baking items were also featured often on front page ads. Front page fresh produce ads were limited; the items most often noted there were apples and navel oranges. Overall this week, fresh produce ad activity was down about 7% with fruits down nearly 2% and vegetables down over 10%. The top 5 featured items were: grapes, pears, tomatoes OTV, asparagus, and apples. The most notable changes included: cabbage, sweet onions, and tomatoes OTV (all more than double the activity ompared to last week); cucumbers (nearly half the number of ads from last week); and zucchini (less than 1/3 the amount of total ads compared to last week). Seasonal items not reported regularly were featured often in the produce section this week. These included satsumas, tangerines, pomegranates, and chestnuts. A few retailers even began potted poinsettia features.

Truck rate summary - Nov. 12

Winding up a great week in Costa Rica and thought I would post summaries of the usual USDA reports found on Fresh Talk. Looks like truck rates were variable this week, with some lower quotes but more areas showing increases. Here is the weekly truck rate summary from the USDA..


A shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: onions from Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon. A slight shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: potatoes from Upper Valley, Twin Falls-Burley District Idaho and for potatoes and onions from Columbia Basin Washington. A slight surplus of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: onions from North and East Points Colorado, potatoes from San Luis Valley Colorado, sweet potatoes from Louisiana and Mississippi. A surplus of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: mixed vegetables from Central & South Florida, tomatoes from Central Florida, tomatoes from West District, mixed vegetables from South Georgia, citrus, avocados and mixed fruits and vegetables from Mexico Crossings Through Texas. All other districts reported an adequate supply of trucks.