Keeping Growers Informed Oranges Lemons Sunkist Specialties

Keeping Growers Informed April 11, 2013

Oranges Domestic Navel orange sales were up over the past two weeks with strengthening pricing as competitive items begin to decline. Pricing and volume for exports were steady on both regular and Late Navels being shipped over the past two weeks. Eating quality continues to be excellent, fruit is at peak flavor and grade ratio remains very good with most lots around the 70% Sunkist grade vs. 30% choice. Organic Navels are moving steadily with late navels expected to carry into June. Flavor is excellent for our Cara Cara Navels, moving steadily in both domestic and export markets with firm pricing. Supplies will continue to be available through most of April; maybe into early May. Fruit has a larger size structure than regular navels, in the 72/56/88 or 72/88/56 size range. Both Districts 1 (D1) and District 2 (D2) have started some export volumes of Valencias.

Lemons As temperatures warm up nationwide, domestic Lemon demand is rising to traditional levels through the Labor Day weekend. Forecasters announced sunny days and 70+ degree weather in New York City during April. Total bookings are up over last year’s averages. Lack of rainfall in D2 is starting to hold back picks, as growers push for size. As for the Specialty Lemons, sales staff is working through the increased supplies of Organic, Meyer, Seedless and Zebra™ (pink variegated). Quality is good and sizing is mostly medium.

Sunkist Specialties: Pummelos and Sweeties are finished for the season. But sales and movement for our Sunkist Smiles® mandarins (W. Murcotts) are strong in both domestic and export markets. Expect prices to continue to firm as changes to the overall industry weekly volumes continue to decline. Fruit quality remains very good, along with flavor and color. Fruit quality on our Minneolas is holding very well, with both domestic and export sales moving steadily. Sales were up last week with sizes heavy to MED, followed by MAM and LGE. We expect to have supplies of this variety through most, if not all, of April. Sunkist Pixie mandarin sales are up over last week, heavy to SMLs. The flavor is good on this 100% seedless fruit. Demand is increasing for our Sunkist Gold Nugget variety mandarins, with sales up over the previous week’s totals. Promotional volumes are available with an excellent fruit quality – brix readings are running 13.3-14.7.

Grapefruit D3 Rio Red Grapefruit has very good fruit quality with great color and flavor. Movement was up over the previous week. Supplies will be mostly 36s and larger going forward, with limited 40s and smaller. Sales of California Star Ruby grapefruit are underway with fruit from D1 and D2. Sizes will peak heavier to 36/40/48s in D2 while D1 is projected to peak 32/27/36s. Early fruit quality shows a nice looking product with excellent interior color, and an external blush that will only get better each week going forward. The season for Texas Rio Stars is coming to a close with only a week or two to go.

Sustainable Carton Manufacturing Highlighted in Case Study Partnering with foodservice customer PRO*ACT, Sunkist recently released a case study on its sustainable carton manufacturing with Fruit Grower’s Supply (FGS) as part of the Greener Fields Together National Farm Program. The case study is the first in a series with programs on sustainable agricultural practices.

The study, accessible on the Sunkist website, http://www.sunkist.com/about/sustainability.aspx, highlights FGS’ commitment to sustainable business practices to help reduce the company’s environmental impacts and make packaging more desirable for environmentally conscious customers. It touts the sustainable materials the company sources for its cartons, resource conservation efforts, recycling programs and the Sustainable Forest Initiative® (SFI®) certifications that FGS has received for its forestland and carton manufacturing plant.

Sunkist Moros and Cara Caras Receive an A+ in Canadian Classroom A recent article about Sunkist citrus and Moro (blood) oranges in the Toronto Star, http://www.thestar.com/life/2013/01/11/blood_oranges_eat_them_to_beat_the_winter_blues.html, prompted a special education teacher at the Morning Glory Public School in Mount Albert, Ontario to try Moro oranges for the first time and share them with her 25 students.

In a letter she sent to Sunkist, the teacher describes how much her students enjoyed the oranges, “we really liked the taste and color. It was a good cure to beat the winter blues!”

The students were inspired by the taste, color and appeal of California sunshine and created fun, creative posters about Sunkist Moros. In her letter, the teacher shared the fresh citrus was such a hit that she plans to repeat the activity with Cara Caras in the future.

Consumers Share Excitement for Cara Caras in the Power Orange® Challenge Video Contest The Power Orange Challenge video contest inspired sweet creativity from consumers! The contest, which challenged consumers to share what dazzles them about Cara Cara oranges, brought in many fun, creative video entries that are available for viewing on Sunkist’s website, http://www.sunkist.com/power-orange-challenge/view-entries.aspx. Judging is underway to determine the $5,000 grand prize and second place winners, who will be announced on April 15.

Growers – mark your calendars . . . and plan to attend the 2013 Regional Grower Meetings. These small-scale meetings, held in various parts of Sunkist Country, are designed to encourage direct dialogue between growers and shippers with Sunkist’s top management and Board Chairman Mark Gillette. Formal invitations to the 10am sessions will be mailed soon. Dates and locations are: June 19 – Riverside Marriott Hotel June 25 – Museum of Ventura County June 27 – Exeter Veterans Memorial Building

Other Dates ~ On the Bulletin Board: (complete details in Newslink 3-28-13) Apr. 16 – Spring Citrus Meeting – 9am to noon – Tulare County Agricultural Building, Tulare Apr. 22 – Fuller Rose Beetle Workshop – 9am to noon – UC Lindcove Research & Extension Center Apr. 25 – Postharvest Research Seminar – 8am to noon – Exeter Veterans Memorial Building

USDA Proclaims April as Invasive Plant Pest & Disease Awareness Month The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) throughout the month of April will take measures to educate the public about how invasive species can enter the U.S. and spread, and how the general public can take simple, specific actions to leave these hungry pests behind. Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) is high on the list of the threatening species listed at the USDA’s website – www.HungryPests.com and a graphic of the ACP feeding on a citrus plant accompanied the announcement.

Ventura County Takes Action Against Non-Compliant Grower When a commercial citrus property falls within an ACP Treatment Zone, the grower of that property is asked to treat for the pest with established ACP treatment protocols. The county agricultural commissioner has the legal authority to declare an untreated property a public nuisance and order abatement of such nuisance. If the property owner still refuses to conduct the treatment on his/her own, the Agricultural Commissioner can serve a warrant and hire a Pest Control Operator to conduct the application. The Commissioner can then bill the property owner for costs of abatement and enforcement and can place a lien on the property, which is subject to auction if the bill goes unpaid. The first abatement enforcement action against a non-compliant grower in the Ventura County ACP treatment zone took place March 25 in Fillmore. As it stands, the bill Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales will present the landowner will cost much more than if the owner had conducted the treatment on his own. There were no new ACP finds involving commercial citrus in Ventura County during the month of March.

CCPDPC to Meet in Santa Paula April 17 Members of the California Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee will meet at 10am April 17 at Limoneira, 1141 Cummings Road, Santa Paula, CA. Budgeting is a high priority. At its last meeting the board members agreed to a change in treatment areas in residential zones. As a result, the state crews will treat residential properties in urban settings only if they are within 1.5 miles of a commercial grove.

Treatment Alternatives Approved for Use in Tulare County’s ACP-Restricted Areas The pyrethroids previously recommended for use to move bulk citrus from the Restricted Areas in Tulare County cannot be used during the citrus bloom period. CDFA has approved spinetoram (Delegate®) and methomyl (Lannate®) as alternatives if fruit needs to be harvested during bloom. For additional information, contact Bob Wagner, the Tulare County ACP Coordinator at 559-730-1200, or by email at [email protected].

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