Opinion
Looking at the month-to-month news items that resonated with readers this year, today I will review the top stories in February.
More and more communities with few to no grocery stores are looking to require that small-box retailers such as dollar stores carry some fresh foods.
In previous posts in this space, I have reviewed top news items for each month on The Packer’s website. Find the rewind on traffic for January, February, and March.
We have been reviewing The Packer’s most-viewed stories throughout the year, and you can find links to all of the previous posts on this topic here.
With this post, we are halfway through the year in reviewing some of the top fruit and vegetable news, both for The Packer and for the consumer press.
The saying goes that when March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb.
I wanted to gather some vital statistics on blueberries, and this space is a good way to illustrate trends in fresh blueberry imports, along with other stats of interest on the still-rising fruit.
Look at a visual comparison of U.S. grape imports in 2019, 2010 and 2000, and then the long-term import trends for international suppliers.
Here are some charts that speak to the volume of U.S. fruit and nut exports to China over the past five years.
It was ugly. It was all at once curious, sad, remarkable, shocking and sobering.
You probably saw the news that field hearings to consider protection measures for U.S. produce against fruit and vegetable imports have been postponed.
A peek at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s daily market news highlight page usually doesn’t reveal too much.
About a week ago, the tidal wave that is the coronavirus began to upend the lives of every American.
Consumers who want a strong immune system are looking to fresh produce.
What is the annual consumer “spend” on fresh produce? That number, organized by age, income, education level, race, and more is available from the Consumer Expenditures data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It’s time to take a break from the recent coronavirus theme dominating the news lately. I think that’s probably all right — I suspect even welcomed at this point.
Hours-of-service regulations for truckers are attracting attention again, with some dead set against any relaxation in the rules and others fighting to give truckers more flexibility.
What have been the “hottest” fresh produce items in the past 25 years?
With about 63 million Twitter followers, President Trump can’t be denied the opportunity to share his interpretation of reality.
Late orders are not uncommon, so a manager has to anticipate this and ensure a little extra “safety stock” is on hand to maintain business.
We received excellent responses to our Packer 125 industry survey, and today I am going to reveal industry thoughts on a forward-looking question from that online poll.
The last time we reviewed industry answers to The Packer’s 125 survey, we asked a broad question about industry innovations and evolution in the next 25 years.
The last time we reviewed industry answers to The Packer’s 125 survey, we asked a broad question about industry innovations and evolution in the next 25 years.
Here is a quick look at some exports numbers in the July-June period for the last handful of years.
The following two charts tell the relative stories of U.S. fruit and vegetables exports and imports.
The living isn’t so easy during the summertime for U.S. and backyard tomato marketers.
Take a look at U.S. exports of fruit to China over the past five years or so.
Avocados are kind of a big deal. We all knew that, of course, but take a peek at the chart below and you will see it in visual terms.
Thanksgiving can catch produce managers off guard, especially after a relatively slow six weeks or so leading up to the holiday.