LOS ANGELES, CA - It may be a new year, but we are still very much in the winter season here on the West Coast. Shoppers this week may be pleasantly surprised, though, as Southern California’s retail shelves are sporting an array of fresh, summertime fruit in various categories. The fare hailed from Chile, traveling for 12 days on the bulk vessel, Ice River, until it arrived at the Port of Los Angeles on January 9. According to a press release from the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA), this is Chile's first shipment of the season, unloading 4,500 pallets of fresh grapes, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, and blueberries.
“Demos, digital coupons, kids cooking classes, and social media contests are just some of the programs we’re currently running with retailers big and small,” said Karen Brux, Managing Director of the CFFA. “We’re also further supporting retail sales through our consumer campaign, which includes extensive social media promotions, as well as our new ‘Super Fruit Bowl’ campaign that’s currently running with ESPN.”
Cherries, blueberries, grapes, and stonefruit (peaches, plums, and nectarines) are now in market, with merchandising support available to retailers through the U.S. and Canada.
SSA Marine Terminal Manager, Kevin Nielsen, and Office Administrator Lacey Patalano received the Ice River vessel, and will continue to receive weekly Chilean fresh fruit vessels now through April. Steve Hattendorf, Western Region Merchandiser for the CFFA, greeted the first West Coast vessel of the 2019-2020 Chilean winter fruit season and toured the 14-acre facility in San Pedro, California.
Through January 6, Chile had exported the following volumes to the U.S.:
- Cherries 4,386 tons
- Blueberries 30,194 tons
- Grapes: 17,067 tons
- Nectarines: 5,114 tons
- Peaches: 5,419 tons
- Plums: 2,276 tons
Information on specific fruits, as well as recipes and promotional material, can be found here. As new harvests continue to come to fruition, keep clicking back to AndNowUKnow.
