Citrus

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Sun Pacific expands Cuties® volumes, introduces Vintage Sweet™

Expanding the Cuties® line, introducing new Vintage Sweet™ heirloom navel oranges and capturing significant kiwi market share with Mighties™ are some of the major successes of which Sun Pacific is proud.

Expanding the Cuties® line, introducing new Vintage Sweet™ heirloom navel oranges and capturing significant kiwi market share with Mighties™ are some of the major successes of which Sun Pacific is proud.

In a press release, Sun Pacific said it continues its dedication to “providing exceptional added value to retailers through branded fruit meeting consumer demand for exceptional quality produce. And the 2015-2016 produce season is no exception, with great things in store for all three brands,” it said.

More Cuties shipping nationwide this autumn and winter

To meet high consumer demand for Sun Pacific’s sweet-as-candy, seedless mandarins, retailers will see millions more cases of Cuties shipping nationwide this season. “We are dedicated to bringing our retailers the supply they want to meet consumer demand for Cuties, while also maintaining our exceptional quality standards,” said Bob DiPiazza, Sun Pacific CEO.

The increased amount of Cuties available this season is due to several factors. Many of Sun Pacific’s mandarin groves, as well as the groves of some of its supporting growers, are maturing and producing more fruit. Also, there are more grower partners in the Sun Pacific family, producing mandarins at a level that meets or exceeds Cuties high-quality standards for juicy, sweet mandarins.

“Cuties is America’s favourite fruit brand and continues to hold consumers’ perception of the highest quality mandarins among all brands,” said Victoria Nuevo-Celeste, vice president of marketing at Sun Pacific. “That’s why Cuties continues to be the fastest-selling mandarin in the US.”

New Vintage Sweets Heirloom Navel Oranges

Debuting from Sun Pacific this year are Vintage Sweets heirloom navel oranges. Harvested from Sun Pacific’s old line navel orange groves, the brix levels of these oranges are individually tested for high sugar content.

“Consumers are looking for produce that provides superior quality and flavour for an exceptional eating experience – and they are willing to pay a premium price for it. That is exactly what Vintage Sweets provide,” DiPiazza said. “Our selection process for these navel oranges combines sensory aspects like touching, feeling and smelling the fruit, with the science of testing of sugar levels to ensure just the right characteristics for that juicy, sweet perfection.”  

Vintage Sweets are available in bulk, as well as 3-pound Giro bags and 6-count shrink wrapped trays.

Mighties captures 78% of branded kiwi market and drives category growth

Since Mighties Kiwi were introduced to retailers in autumn 2014, they have significantly helped increase kiwi’s overall category growth. Last year the brand comprised 40% of all US kiwi sales and contributed to the 13.4 per cent growth of overall kiwi sales in the US.

Sun Pacific’s proprietary ripening process ensures that the fruit arrives at grocery stores “ripe and ready” and takes the guesswork out of gauging when the fruit is ready to eat. Helping consumers understand how to eat the fruit and providing it at the perfect ripeness is part of Sun Pacific’s commitment to educating consumers so that even more people will enjoy this super nutritious fruit.

“Mighties provide a superior and consistent experience,” Nuevo-Celeste said. “When a consumer buys Mighties, they know they are getting fruit that is ready to simply cut, scoop out with a spoon, and eat. It’s simple, it tastes great and it’s packed with nutrients – making Mighties mighty appealing to consumers.” Mighties are available in 1 lb, 2 lb, 3 lb and 4 lb clamshell packs, and are verified non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project, an increasingly sought-after trait for consumers.

About Sun Pacific

Founded in 1969, Sun Pacific® is a leading grower, packer, and shipper of fruit with more than 70 million boxes of fresh fruit sold each year. Headquartered in Pasadena, CA, it is the largest kiwifruit and navel orange grower/shipper in North America, the second largest producer of tomatoes in California, and renowned for exceptional quality Air Chief label table grapes.

source: Sun Pacific

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Spain’s juice industry cranks up with new citrus harvest

The EU is the principal market for Spanish fruit juice exports in general, taking almost 80% of the total volume, with France alone taking a third of Spain’s exported juice, followed by the UK with nearly 15%.

The staggered citrus harvest is underway in Spain and along with it the production of juices, which accounts for the majority of the fruit collected.

Asozumos, the Spanish association of juice manufacturers, says preliminary estimates suggest the harvest will net about 6 million tons, down 22% on previous seasons due to weather conditions including particularly high temperatures over summer.

Approximately 30% of the fruit is destined for fresh consumption and the rest for juice, it said in a press release.

Spain is the largest producer of orange juice in the European Union, with its orange juice exports last year worth about €260 million.

The EU is the principal market for Spanish fruit juice exports in general, taking almost 80% of the total volume, with France alone taking a third of Spain’s exported juice, followed by the UK with nearly 15%.

Asozumos said the Spanish citrus harvest generally takes place between October and May, depending on the weather, as a prelude to a subsequent process of selection, extraction, pasteurisation and packaging of the juice.

Valencia is Spain’s leading producer of citrus fruit, including oranges, tangerines, grapefruit and lemons, and represents 65% of the total volume, followed by the regions of Murcia and Andalusia with 21.8% and 7.2% respectively, Asozumos said.

Spain’s main citrus growing regions (naranjas=oranges, pomelos=grapefruit, limones=lemons)

“Orange juice retains the physical, chemical, organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of the fruit from which it comes and, by law, contains no added sugar,” it said.

 

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Increase in citrus sales in UK

'Easy peelers' (such as tangerines, clementines and satsumas) account for more than half of all citrus fruit sold in UK supermarkets, Kantar Worldpanel data shows.

‘Easy peelers’ (such as tangerines, clementines and satsumas) account for more than half of all citrus fruit sold in UK supermarkets, Kantar Worldpanel data shows.

For the 52 weeks to October 11, oranges were the next most popular citrus fruit, with just under 27% of sales, followed by lemons with 11.3% and grapefruit with 6.5%.

Total citrus sales over this period reached nearly 384,000 tons, which was up 4% on 52 weeks to October 12 last year, and the spend inched up 0.3% to £726.5 million (€1b).

While there was 5.1% growth in the volume of easy peelers sold, the spend was down 0.4%, and for oranges both the volume and value sold were down, by 2.1% and 6.8% respectively.

UK shoppers increased their spend on the other citrus types, however. Lemon sales were up 13% in volume and 14% in value.

The highest growth, though off the smallest base, was for lemon+lime sales, which rose just over 37% in both volume and value.

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US to allow import of citrus from all parts of Peru

APHIS (the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection) has announced it s amending fruit and vegetable regulations to allow citrus fruit from any part of Peru to be imported into the continental United States, but with conditions.

APHIS (the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection) has announced it s amending fruit and vegetable regulations to allow citrus fruit from any part of Peru to be imported into the continental United States, but with conditions.

A fruit fly management program must be in place, including the use of bait spray applications, registration of places of production and citrus fruit shipments must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, APHIS said in a recent bulletin.

Under current regulations, the importation of citrus fruit to the US is allowed from five approved citrus-producing zones in Peru, subject to a systems approach.

“However, based on the findings of a pest list and commodity import evaluation document, we have determined that this systems approach also mitigates the plant pest risk associated with citrus fruit produced in all other areas of Peru,” APHIS said. “This action will allow the importation of citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the continental United States.”

This final rule will be effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and will be available as of today (Monday, September 14) at:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0005

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Tough time for Israeli citrus market, says USDA

The Israeli citrus market's export value has been negatively affected by external shocks and unfavorable weather, reports the USDA.

External shocks and adverse weather have rocked the export market for Israeli citrus, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture.

The Israeli shekel has strengthened about 10% against the Euro in the last year, making Israeli citrus exports less profitable in the EU, a market to which two-thirds of its citrus exports go.

The Russian financial crisis is also hurting Israeli citrus exports. The rapid depreciation of the ruble against the shekel has brought trade to a standstill since February. And exports to Japan have also taken a hit due to economic slowdown there.

Israel is consequently increasing its exports to long distance markets, mainly South Korea, the US, and Canada, the USDA said. “However, these markets remain small with the US and the Canadian markets capturing 3-4% of the total Israeli citrus exports.”

Meanwhile, in January, about 6,000 ha. of citrus were damaged due to hail storms and winds estimated to have caused overall damage worth NIS 70 million ($17.7 mil) to Israeli agriculture, affecting thousands of acres of avocado and citrus crops and some row crops in the south. The citrus damage would have been worse if not for the protective nets used in groves. “Despite the weather disturbances, export quantity was not affected significantly and this is mainly to a good crop and that made up for the weather,” the USDA said.

Screenshot 2015-06-18 at 10.24.39.png

Israel’s best seller in citrus is the Orri mandarin, an easy-peeler which accounted for about 40% of Israeli citrus exports (64,478 tons) in the 2014/15 marketing year and mainly goes to the EU and. “Orri is still profitable, but it’s just less profitable per unit than it could be and this is due to the weakened Euro,” the USDA said.

“Orange exports in MY 2014/15 have declined marginally compared to the previous two years because of strong domestic demand (see table).  The decrease in grapefruit exports in MY 2014/15 is mainly due to the fact that about 1,100 ha of red grapefruit (star ruby and Rio-red varieties) were uprooted in the last 3 years due to low profitability,” it said.

Source: “External Shocks and Weather Conditions Challenging Citrus Revenues” a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report by the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) 

Image: “Lemon Orchard in the Galilee by David Shankbone” by David Shankbone (attribution required) – own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
 

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Africans tour Philadelphia Port as new season fruit arrives

Holt and African Delegation - Edited

On the eve of the start of the African fruit season, in which perishable summer commodities originated on the continent begin to arrive on shores in the US, a delegation from several African nations has visited the Port of Philadelphia.

Holt Logistics Corp said that as part of their historic visit and participation in the African Business Roundtable at the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, dignitaries from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, and Tanzania toured facilities at Gloucester Marine Terminal to learn about the numerous quality initiatives and processes utilised by the company. 

Additionally, the delegation discussed potential expansion of trade partnerships that will come as a result of the proposed African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) currently before the US congress, Holt said in a press release dated June 15.

The first vessel of the 2015 South Africa fruit season arrived this morning at the Gloucester Marine Terminal. The Lapponian Reefer, a specialised refrigerated cargo ship discharged approximately 3,600 pallets of fresh oranges from the Western Cape of South Africa. The cargo arrived under the strict guidance of 360 Quality, an international shipping association dedicated to ensuring quality and safety in supply chain management for perishable fruits and vegetables, it also said.

“This visit of the delegation of West African leaders is timely in many ways,” said Peter Inskeep, general manager of the Gloucester Marine Terminal. “The beginning of the Summer Citrus season has created a heightened interest and awareness in developing nations of the value of fast, dedicated and direct transport of food products. We are also eager to share best practices in food handling and production with these potentially very important trade partners in support of AGOA, which will greatly increase commodities traffic between our two continents. Holt Logistics Corp is foundational terminal operator member of the 360 Quality Initiative, and we look forward to sharing a framework that can be transposed onto the many high quality food products that reach the North American Market through the Delaware River Ports.”

Holt and African Delegation - Edited (1).jpg

In the photo: (left to right): Sander Daniel, Global Marketing, Holt Logistics Corp; The Honorable Thulisile Mathula Nkosi, Consul General, Republic of South Africa; Florizelle B. Liser, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa; His Excellency Joseph Henry Smith, Ambassador, The Republic of Ghana; Leo A. Holt, president, Holt Logistics Corp; His Excellency Daouda Diabate, Ambassador, The Republic of Cote d’Ivoire; His Excellency Limbiye E. Kadangha Bariki, Ambassador, The Republic of Togo; Her Excellency Lily Munanka, Ambassador, Republic of Tanzania; and His Excellency Api Assoumatine, Togolese Ambassador to Ghana.

source: Holt Logistics Corp

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CVVP claims research shows Tango essentially derived from Nadorcott

citpic

The Club de Variedades Vegetales Protegidas (Protected Vegetal Varieties Club – CVVP) claims new research shows the ‘Tang Gold’ variety (also known as ‘Tango’) is essentially derived from the ‘Nadorcott’ mandarin.

In a press release, the Valencia-based club said this is the thesis supported in a report by the Institute for Plant Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMCP), a centre it said is funded by the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

The CVVP said the institute had used new, highly precise technology – the massive sequencing technique – to compare the genomes of the ‘Tang Gold’ and ‘Nadorcott’.

“It can be concluded from the results of the mentioned study that ‘Tang Gold’ and ‘Nadorcot’ are identical in 99.9999997% of the varied positions analysed,” it said.

According to the CVVP, this means there are no significant differences between the genomes ‘Tang Gold’ and ‘Nadorcot’.

“The conclusions of this scientific report corroborate the theory supported by the Club de Variedades Vegetales in that “‘Tang Gold’ is a variety without enough differences with ‘Nadorcott’ or, it essentially derives from ‘Nadorcott’.

“This is the reason why this institution states that ‘it will take the necessary steps to defend its members’ rights against those infringing the legal protection the ‘Nadorcott’ variety has,’” the CVVP said in its press release.

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US proposes accepting citrus from throughout Peru

Citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru could be imported into the continental United States under a change proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS).

Citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru could be imported into the continental United States under a change proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS).

Citrus imports are already allowed to the US from five approved citrus-producing zones in Peru subject to a ‘systems approach’. APHIS has determined this approach also mitigates the plant pest risk associated with citrus fruit produced in all other areas of Peru.

Currently, the regulations allow the import of fresh grapefruit, lime, mandarin, orange, tangerine or hybrids, sweet orange, and tangelo from the five approved citrus-producing zones in Peru.

The proposed rule would allow the import of these fruits from the entire country of Peru into the continental United States – excluding Hawaii and the U.S. Territories – under the same conditions currently in place.

APHIS said the change is expected to increase the area in Peru approved to produce citrus for export to the United States to about 1,500 hectares over 3 years. “Additional volumes of citrus expected to be shipped to the United States are 5,000 metric tons (MT) in the first year that the rule is in effect, 6,500 MT in the second year, and 8,000 MT in the third year. These quantities are equivalent to less than 1 percent of annual U.S. citrus production or U.S. citrus imports,” it said.

The comments period is open until June 30.

Find out more here.

 

 

 

 

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Debate next week over blood orange & other fresh produce package labelling

Differing views between Italy, the US and Spain on terms used for labelling citrus fruit packages are among topics to be discussed at a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) meeting in Geneva next week.

Differing views between the US, Spain and Italy on terms used for labelling citrus fruit packages are among topics to be discussed at a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) meeting in Geneva next week.

The US has advised it is “deeply concerned” that proposed changes could mean its quality inspectors are asked “to validate species, varieties and/or their hybrids – something they are not trained or equipped to do.”

In regard to the labelling of packages containing a mixture of citrus fruit of different species, a working group has proposed  the name of the variety or variety group – for example: “Navels”, “Valencias”, “Sanguinelli”, “Tarocco”, etc. – be required.

Among its comments on proposed changes, Spain said it would prefer to label the name of the variety as under the current standard but could accept the name of the variety group for oranges as an option. Spain proposes adding more examples “to make it clear that there are two options of marking: variety or variety group.” It proposed the following label options: “Navelina” or “Navels”, “Valencia delta seedless” or “Valencias”, “Sanguinelli” or “Blood oranges”, “Tarocco” or ”Blood oranges”, etc.

Meanwhile among its comments, Italy said the indication “Blood oranges” as a variety group could create a misunderstanding. “Please note that for us “Tarocco” and “Sanguinello” are variety groups,” it said.

The discussion about changes is part of a plan to make labelling of citrus fruit packages unambiguous and easy to follow. This would involve changes the UNECE Standard for Citrus Fruit. The issue is on the agenda for the sixty-third session of the Specialized Section on Standardization of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables (GE.1) to be held April 21-24.

Also up for consideration are a draft Standard for Lambs Lettuce and an explanatory brochure and Standard for Persimmons.

And among other revisions to UNECE standards to be discussed are:

  • Apples: relating to the structure of the List of Varieties taking into consideration the correspondence received from the delegation of the Netherlands and WAPA;
  • Garlic: the Spanish delegation will make proposals on revising the Standard for Garlic to reflect the results of the OECD work on an explanatory brochure for this product;
  • Watermelons: the Specialized Section will continue its work on revising the Standard for Watermelons;
  • Early and ware potatoes: the Hungarian delegation is expected to provide information supporting its proposals for revising the standard;
  • Tomatoes: delegations will revisit the 2014 post-session text of the tomatoes standard to decide whether to delete “cherry tomatoes” from the commercial types listed in the “Definition of produce” section;
  • Leeks: the Specialized Section may wish to review the Standard for Leeks to take into account the OECD work on an explanatory brochure for this product.

Separately, the delegations of France, Hungary and Poland have requested a discussion on how marking or labelling provisions of the standards could support traceability, and a working group will report on food waste related to the use of standards.

The agenda also says that the Specialized Section will discuss its future work and whether the following standards, last amended in 2010, need to be reviewed in 2016: anonas, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocados, beans, berry fruit, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, ceps, cherries, cucumbers, courgettes, kiwifruit, peaches and nectarines, peas, ribbed celery, rhubarb, root and tubercle vegetables, strawberries, and table grapes.

Documents for the meeting are available online here: http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=38235#/
Blood Orange image by Eric Hill from Boston, MA, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

 

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Southern Africa’s citrus growers urged to stay cool in tricky market

citrus

Southern Africa’s citrus growers are entering a season that has “difficult” written all over it, according to Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa,

in his newsletter for this week, he said Southern Africa’s volumes available for export continue to grow but amid a context of markets still under recessionary pressure, geopolitical decisions leading to uncertain market conditions, and protection of domestic producers becoming a priority.

“Responsible decision making will mean keeping unwanted or oversupplied fruit out of the market (sell domestically or processed),” Chadwick said.

In one of his newsletters last month, he had explained why the Southern African citrus industry had asked officials to suspend the issue of phytosanitary certificates for fruit to be exported to Spain, amid concerns over how tests for citrus black spot (CBS) are carried out there.

Russian importers looking to secure fruit at lower prices

In his latest newsletter, Chadwick said there had been reports from Russia of “a lot of Egyptian oranges of substandard quality available, selling at very low prices”, a situation that would continue to the end of May. With the weak ruble resulting in food inflation of 16-17%, buyers are seeking to source fruit at lower prices and growers need to be careful, he said.

The Middle East: seller beware

Chadwick said care is also needed in the Middle East. Strict payment conditions should be imposed and growers need to ensure they fully understand the terms and conditions their export agents are negotiating as “at the end of the day the grower bears the losses resulting from a poor deal,” he said.

Export volume estimates for 2015

Chadwick also reported that the forecast is for this year’s packed for export volume to be 113.1 million 15kg cartons, down 2.2% on last year.

  • Oranges: valencia down 3.5% to 49.1 million cartons; navels down 3.5% to 25.1 million cartons. These decreases mainly due to hail in Senwes and Western Cape growing regions
  • Lemons: up 2.9% to 13.6 million
  • Grapefruit: down 2% to 15.3 million cartons. Exporters have said this estimate could be revised further downward as the season unfolds and quality specifications become clearer
  • Soft citrus exports: steady at 10 million cartons
  • Satsuma: to increase 2% to 1.8 million cartons
  • Mandarins: to rise 4% to 5.3 million cartons
  • Clementines: down 5%

Read the newsletter here.