FOWLER, CA - Stonefruit prices have been higher than average in California, but with good volume in a season in which some growers are experiencing a below average harvest, Simonian Fruit Company is ready to capitalize. 

Simonian

UNITED STATES - China, the largest foreign grower of apples, could soon have access to the U.S. produce market if recent actions by the USDA are any indication of what is to come. According to The Hill the USDA proposed last Thursday to lift the restrictions on apple imports from China despite the existence of 21 pest varieties that could pose a risk to U.S. domestic crops.

“We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh apples (Malus pumila) from China into the continental United States,” read the USDA report. “All apples from China would also be required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that all conditions for the importation of the apples have been met and that the consignment of apples has been inspected and found free of quarantine pests. This action would allow for the importation of apples from China into the continental United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.”

If this proposed change goes into effect, could increased supply lead to a drop in apple prices? While each situation is of course unique, anytime there is a vast increase for the supply of a good, there is the risk of a decrease in price. It is certainly a situation which growers and retailers will want to monitor closely.

For those interested in having their voices heard the USDA is accepting comments from the public for a 60 day period on their website.

LIMA, PERU – From January through May of this year, exports of fresh blueberries from Peru totaled $5.3 million, which is an increase of 428.4% over last year.

This percentage is based on numbers from the Peruvian Agricultural Producers Guild Association (AGAP).  Andina, a Peruvian news source, reports that exports from January through May last year totaled $1 million.  This means that the exports this year quintupled both in value and in weight.

This is a very good sign because Peruvian blueberry exports for 2013 were at $17.4 million, which was significantly over the approximately $1 million in exports for 2012.

Aside from the huge increases in blueberries, other products have been increasing in the Peruvian export market from January through May as well.  Andina reports that watermelons are up 121%, strawberries up 147%, melons up 151%, figs up 151% and passion fruit up 64%.

Peru's total fruit export achieved a growth of 51.6%, up from $374 million to $567 million, according to numbers from AGAP.

In recent months, fresh grapes from Peru have seen a 78.8% increase, avocados increased 48.3% and mangos increased 26.8% over 2013.

DELTA, BC – Heinz Wehner, a member of Village Farms Board of Directors, is retiring.  He has served in this role since 1998 and is a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee.

Before this role, Mr. Wehner served in several management positions with Chemagro Corporation and Mobay Corporation, both subsidiaries of Bayer A.G. in Germany, according to Wehner’s company profile.  Prior to Village Farms, his most recent position was President of the Agricultural, Animal Health and Consumer Products Division of Bayer Corporation.

In a press release, Village Farms thanked Mr. Wehner for his guidance and contributions to the development and growth of Village Farms over the past 18 years.

In another new development for Village Farms, the company has closed its previously announced $5.2 million acquisition of Maxim Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maxim Power Corp., according to a press release.

The new name of the acquired company will be VF Clean Energy, Inc., and the facility will continue generating power under a long term preexisting agreement with BC Hydro.  Its focus will be to improve the sustainability profile of Village Farm’s greenhouse operations.

Good luck on the retirement, Mr. Wehner, and congrats Village Farm on the completion of your acquisition!

Village Farms 

SINGAPORE - Better known for its electronics engineers and high tech devices, Panasonic is proving that it can be a capable farmer as well. Panasonic is looking to expand its produce factories into Singapore following its success in Japan. The new plant, which in a former life was used to attach electronic parts to substrate, will grow a variety of vegetables and is expected to provide important fresh produce to local schools. Panasonic is looking to expand its produce factories into Singapore, following its success in Japan.

This experiment in agriculture began when Panasonic converted one of its Fukushima factory buildings into a state-of-the art produce laboratory after its digital camera assembly line had been damaged during the Great East Japan Earthquake. Now where it used to assemble memory cards and digital cameras, Panasonic grows lettuce, according to a press release.

Takayoshi Tanizawa, a Panasonic veteran who transitioned 3 years ago from making massage chairs to growing produce, laughs looking back on the unexpected occupational change.

“Massage chairs are difficult. One person may say it feels good while the other may say the complete opposite," Mr. Tanizawa said. "Plants don't complain. They're so obedient and good," he told the Wall Street Journal.

If the Singapore experiment succeeds, Panasonic plans to begin selling its production system for vegetables to businesses in other countries throughout Southeast Asia. According to the Global Post, it would be targeting almost $1 billion in sales in such an event.

Panasonic also developed a self-regulating greenhouse for growing spinach, which it then turns around sells to agricultural corporations looking to expand.

Not bad at all for a camera manufacturer.

Congratulations on the new factory Panasonic! 

ORLANDO, FL - It's no industry secret that the Starboard Value hedge fund thinks that Darden Restaurant's Board of Directors has failed their shareholders over the past year, but having been ignored so far by Darden executives, it's amping up its criticisms with a recent stock acquisition. Starboard has increased its stake in Darden stock to 7.1%, a 0.9% increase from its stake in the restaurant giant since last May.

Starboard hopes that this increased stock will translate into an increased say in the way Darden does business going forward, especially in light of Darden's announcement that it will sell its Red Lobster chain for $2.1 billion, a move which some analysts have been highly critical of.

“The value destruction relative to the true value of Red Lobster inside of Darden was likely well over $1 billion – approximately in line with the $1 billion in market value that Darden’s stock has lost relative to peers. This marks a truly disastrous end to Darden’s ownership of its first iconic brand,” Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith said.

Analysts at the Motley Fool looked a bit deeper into the wisdom of this sale in a recent article. After factoring in expenses, Darden should walk away with $1.6 billion from the sale, $1 billion of which it plans to use to pay down its outstanding debts. This move should reduce Darden's interest payment expenses by $12 million annually. The remaining funds will be used to buy back shares of Darden stock so as to make ongoing dividend payments more manageable.

Is this the right course of action however? Motley Fool analyst Jon Quast isn't so sure. Even if Red Lobster wasn't meeting investor expectations, Quast points out that as a result of the sale, Darden will be depriving itself of $100 million in annual revenue, all in the name of reducing interest payments by $12 million per year and executing a buyback/dividend plan that won't generate new revenue for the business. He questions if perhaps the money might be better spent expanding Darden's Yard House chain of restaurants, which boast $8.5 million in sales per unit and 20.1% sales growth during 2013.

The decisions made over the coming months will have a big effect on the future profitability of Darden, and Starboard is committed to having a say-so in this process. It's been pressuring Darden for months to replace its current Board members with a slate of Starboard's own candidates. So far, Darden has remained committed to its board members, but if this latest stock acquisition is any indication of what is to come, Starboard is not willing to take no for an answer.

Darden Restaurants

Rich Macleod, Vice President of the Pallet Division at TransFresh, and Dr. Jeff Brecht, Director of the UF Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences Research Center for Food Distribution & Retailing, join AndNowUKnow to discuss some of the shelf-life innovations at the university. 

The university has expended a lot of effort on research into predicting the shelf-life of products.  By using the temperature history of a product through the supply chain, scientists have discovered a way to predict the remaining shelf life of the product.

Sonya L Stahl, Lab Technician at the University of Florida, gave AndNowUKnow a look into her research into shelf-life. Her research focuses on tomatoes and the way in which air gets in and out to discover how bacteria could make its way into tomatoes.

UC Davis and the University of Florida, under the Specialty Crops Initiative, are able to produce research that compliments each other.  Their real field research allows the trade to evaluate its processes on a scientific basis to deliver the highest quality food to consumers. 

MONTEREY, CA – With this year’s PMA Foodservice Expo around the corner, more than 300 produce and floral industry professionals will participate in the annual PMA Foundation 5K Race for Talent.

The race will benefit PMA Foundation efforts to attract talent into the industry and provide development opportunities for young professionals.  On the PMA Foundation website, it states, “Each year runners, sponsors and sideline supporters make this race a huge success. Proceeds provide crucial support for the development and execution of the PMA Foundation’s mission to attract, develop and retain talent for the global produce industry.” 

Taylor Farms will participate this year as a team.  “This is such a fun event and a great way to kick off the weekend for PMA.  Each year we have great team participation and already have 20 people signed up!” says Lauren Hattersley, Taylor Farms Sales & Marketing Representative.  “What I love about the 5K is the fact that it doesn’t matter if you are running or walking, it’s about getting out and setting a personal goal for yourself and finishing the race with the support of your team behind you.  Watch out for Team Taylor!”

Aside from supporting the industry’s talent development challenges, runners will compete for Top 3 Overall Male and Females, Best Team Attire, Best Team Spirit and Largest Team to Register.  The PMA Foundation website also states, “This race features a performance t-shirt, race bag full of goodies, continental breakfast with coffee, and a guaranteed fun time by all.”

The race will begin at 6:30 AM on July 26 with an aerobic warm-up starting at 6:00 AM.

Registration for the race and PMA Foodservice Conference is still open on www.pmafoundation.com. For a full schedule of the conference's activities, click here.

PMA

SPAIN - While the Spanish economy has taken a hit over the past several years, consumers and retailers are beginning to see signs of growth. With things on the uptick, produce merchandisers are noticing new trends among Spanish consumers and retailers, ones which the industry would be wise to pay attention to.

Any retailer will tell you that presentation is key to healthy produce sales and this is no different in Spain. Phil Gruszka, of Gruszka Consulting, noted that large display formats are becoming increasingly popular among Spanish consumers. In order to draw attention to on-sale items, they are allocating more space in stores. The total merchandising area is regularly set and is changed out for items on sale as promotions change.

Prepackaged and value added fresh fruits are very popular with Spanish consumers. Many feature health related claims, one of the biggest right now being ones about anti-oxidant properties. Cartoon characters are also becoming increasingly popular on prepackaged fruits, as retailers try to market more produce to younger children. Also popular are 'Grab and Go' fruit cups which consumers appreciate for their portability, and can be found in many stores in large, well stocked displays.

As for prepackaged vegetables, value added varieties which can be easily incorporated into sautes, soups, and stir frys are currently very popular.

In addition to prepacked varieties, bulk produce is also widely available in Spanish supermarkets. In order to streamline the checkout process, many retailers have set up a system whereby bulk produce is weighed and tagged with a scanable price ticket long before the customer gets to the register. With no scales at the registers, lines move faster and grocers operate more efficiently. To this same end, the Hypermarket chain of grocery stores installed a set of self-checkout lines for customers to make use of.

Outside of the produce department, Gruszka noted that different cheese varieties can be found scattered throughout Spanish supermarkets depending on its intended use. Rather than a centralized aisle, Deli cheeses, shredded varieties, and artisan selects are located near the products they would be commonly paired with in dishes. For both cheeses and meat products, country of origin is front and center in the product's merchandizing scheme.

For more on Cheese, Meat, and Seafood merchandising trends in Spain stay tuned to ANUK's sister publication, DeliMarketTV for part 2 of this story.

WASHINGTON, DC - American Food Distributors Inc., a Colorado-based company, has posted a $260,000 surety bond with the USDA to obtain a PACA license and operate in the produce industry.

Under the regulations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), the company was required to post a bond following its prior involvement in bankruptcy, according to a press release.

The USDA will hold the bond for three years to provide assurance to the industry that the company will be able to pay for produce purchased and to conduct business according to PACA rules.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 4,600 claims filed under PACA involving more than $87 million. Any PACA licensee looking to employ someone who has previously failed to pay a reparation award, or has been subject to a USDA disciplinary action, must post a USDA-approved surety bond.

Agricultural Marketing Service