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Marketscope — Vegetable f.o.b.s as of July 6
This information, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, shows week-by-week shipments and f.o.b.s for commodities from shipments for the fresh market.
U.S. fresh fruit exports rise in May
U.S. fresh fruit exports rose by nearly 10% in May compared with a year ago, offsetting an equal decline in fresh vegetable exports. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that U.S. fresh fruit exports in May totaled $367 million, up 9.9% compared with the same month a year ago.
Lakeside Organic Gardens debuts organic fioretto
Lakeside Organic Gardens, Watsonville, Calif., has a unique new product, organic fioretto. Fioretto, also known as flowering cauliflower and caulilini, means “little flower” in Italian, according to a news release. The natural hybrid is in the brassica family and was developed by a Japanese seed company in 2014.
Industry looks for changes to direct payment program
Specialty crop growers have only received a small portion of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, and panelists on a United Fresh LIVE! session on federal coronavirus relief programs said the direct payment program for growers is targeted for changes by industry lobbyists.
Seasonal produce items enjoy strong start to season
The peaks and valleys of fresh produce sales growth amid COVID-19 appear to have leveled off, with three straight weeks of gains in the high teens.
Dollar sales of fresh produce the week ending May 17 were 16% higher than the same period in 2019, according to IRI. Sales increases during the previous two weeks were 17.1% and 17.2%, respectively. Vegetables continue to outperform fruit by a large margin — 21.6% growth versus 11.2% growth for the week ending May 17.
