Gourmet Trading’s blueberries come from U.S. and four South American countries
Gourmet Trading Co. in Los Angeles, founded in 1982 as an importer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables, specializes in two products — asparagus and blueberries — which it supplies year-round by sourcing both domestically and internationally.
In the berry category, “we do blueberries out of Chile, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay” in addition to domestic production and some production out of Canada, said Chloé Varennes, marketing manager.
Giumarra International Berry Division offers blueberries and blackberries year-round
The Giumarra International Berry Division of the Los Angeles-based Giumarra Cos. is “a year-round berry company focusing primarily on blueberries and blackberries, with smaller volumes of strawberries and raspberries in certain windows as well,” Tom Richardson, vice president of global development, said in an interview with The Produce News Sept. 3.
The Perishable Specialist says clients are reporting blueberry import increases for the coming season
Frank A. Ramos is co-owner with his wife, Ana, of Miami-based The Perishable Specialist Inc., a licensed customs brokerage company. It is a leading brokerage firm specializing in fresh fruits and vegetables.
“Our clients are reporting increases for the upcoming season,” said Ramos. “There is excitement from the Peruvians regarding their blueberry program. And organic blueberries from Argentina are making a big buzz among our clients.”
Southern port pilot program a success and moving forward as a regular program
Last season, for the first time in five or six decades, fresh fruit was permitted to arrive into the United States from South America and Central America under a pilot program.
Previously, standards were not at the level they are today: there was a lack of refrigeration and there were different import protocols in place to ensure pests and diseases that could damage domestic crops did not enter the U.S.
Haun Packing cites normal crop, good quality and increased volume
“We’re bringing some in and shipping some out,” Herb Haun, vice president of Haun Packing, said on Sept. 3 of his family’s Weiser, ID-based operation’s 2014 onion season.
“We started packing on August 14, which is about normal for us,” Haun said. “And then onions themselves are also very normal this year — good quality, and our volume will be up from last year. But it’s still early, and we don’t really know how things will turn out until we get all the onions into storage.”
J.C. Watson heralds excellent size and quality in 2014
Harvest of the 2014 crop of Spanish Sweets kicked off on Aug. 11 for J.C. Watson in Parma, ID, and company President Jon Watson said volume is up and quality is excellent.
“We had an unusually hot summer, but with our drip irrigation 100 percent in place we grew a very nice crop,” he said. “It is the best crop I’ve ever had, in fact.”
Watson said the onions came on “a little early, which benefits putting them into storage,” and he added, “We picked a good year to have large-size bulbs.”
Certified Onions testing, services a benefit to organization members
This year, members of Certified Onions will test approximately 75 percent of onions produced in the Treasure Valley. “We have 25 members,” said President Kay Riley, who is also general manager of Snake River Produce Co. in Nyssa, OR. Roughly 15,000 acres of onion-producing land is held by the organization’s membership.
Certified Onions Inc. is a nonprofit organization. Members voluntarily undergo stringent testing for off-label pesticide use and maximum residue levels. Third-party auditing is performed at both the field and shed levels.
‘Phenomenal quality for early onions’ at Owyhee Produce
First loads of new-crop direct-seeded Spanish Sweets started shipping Aug. 4 for Owyhee Produce in Nyssa, OR, and company General Manager Shay Myers said the onions have developed well with a good profile.
“The wild card at this time,” he said Sept. 4, “is when and how many will go into storage.”
Myers said the Aug. 4 start is not the earliest for Owyhee, but it was about a week early for direct-seeded.
“We are seeing phenomenal quality for early onions,” he said. “We have a good size profile and skin quality. It’s really as good as we’ve ever had.”
Fort Boise Produce seeing good size and quality with early onions
New-crop Spanish Sweet onions started shipping from Fort Boise Produce in Parma, ID, in the first week of August, earlier than most years, and Sales Manager Ashley Robertson said on Sept. 2 both quality and size were looking good.
“We’re confident about our size this year,” Robertson said of onions going out the door and those that would be coming into storage as harvest proceeds.
Snake River Produce ushers in new season with good quality, high hopes
Early indications showed Snake River Produce’s 2014 Spanish Sweet crop to be of a smaller size profile, but in early September Tiffany Cruickshank, transportation manager and sales/marketing assistant of the Nyssa, OR, operation, told The Produce News that the onions were of excellent quality.
“Compared to last year at this point, we are seeing smaller size but much better quality,” Cruickshank said.