January 27, 2017 VARIETAL UPDATE ORANGES Recent storms have posed some disruption to supply, but shippers have done a fantastic job of harvesting between storms to minimize the impact of weather. Navels are at peak season flavor and color, with excellent quality. Organic Navels are also shipping with good sizing, an 88/72/56 peak. Cara Cara Navel oranges are also available with sizes currently peaking at 88/72/113/56. Strong demand for 72s and larger are leaving room for promotional opportunities on 88/113 Sunkist grade fruit. Choice grade availability is also providing opportunities for promotion. Organic Cara Caras are available in limited supply. Blood oranges are now in full production with a beautiful internal blush. A good range of sizing is available, peaking at 113/88/138. Organic blood oranges are available in small volumes. LEMONS Lemon demand continues strong, with continued strong numbers against previous years. Sunkist is currently shipping lemons from all districts. Due to the recent weather, we expect demand to exceed supply on small size lemons. Specialty lemons are also increasing in demand, experiencing significant growth in the past 5 years of Organics, Seedless, Meyers and Zebra® (pink variegated) lemons. All are available now, with sporadic supplies of Zebra lemons. LIMES Sunkist is shipping limes along with our lemons in Ventura County, CA and Lancaster County, PA. In addition, we are delivering full trucks to customers directly from Mexico and Sunkist Persian and Key limes are also available to load in McAllen, TX. MANDARINS & TANGERINES Sunkist Smiles® Mandarin supplies have been tight with the recent rain activity. Size peaking at 24/21/28 followed by 32. Fruit has full color and is eating fantastic. Organic Mandarins are being harvested but supplies have also been tight due to the weather. Size structure is running smaller this season, peaking on a 40/44-36 split. TANGELOS Desert Minneola Tangelos are wrapping up and Northern Minneolas have started with sizes peaking on 100/125/150-80 split. Color is very good and this fruit is eating great with an optimum sugar to acid ratio. Organic Minneolas are also available, with Southern wrapping up and Northern starting with peak sizes of 100/80/125 Sunkist grade. GRAPEFRUIT Texas Grapefruit is packing with very good volumes of 40s and smaller. Florida Grapefruit is at peak demand, with limited supplies available as the harvest comes to a close at the end of February. PUMMELOS Pummelo supplies have been limited due to the weather, but demand has been strong ahead of the Lunar New Year. SPECIAL BULLETINS SUNKIST GROWERS PLANNING VISIT TO AUSTRALIA Sunkist is offering an opportunity to visit the Mildura citrus production region in Australia to tour and visit with key Australian Citrus growers. Among those we are planning to visit are Greg and Susan Chislett, the founders of the Chislett and M7 Navel orange, as well as two to three working citrus groves, Mildura Fruit Company, Seven Fields Citrus, Auscitrus (the Australian Citrus Industry Budwood & Seed Scheme) and the Dareton Research Station. Tentative schedule would call to depart LAX Friday April 21, 2017 to arrive in Mildura on Sunday, April 23rd. The group would tour Monday the 24th, Tuesday, the 25th, and Wednesday the 26th. Depart for home or your next destination on Thursday the 27th. Timing of the trip coincides with the start of the Australian Navel season. Transportation and overnight accommodations are your responsibility, but Sunkist will help coordinate airline, hotel arrangements and ground transportation. Capacity is limited, therefore, if you are interested in exploring this unique opportunity, please contact Jim Sebesta at 559 562-8401 or via email at [email protected]. KOREA AND CHINA EXPORT MARKETS – REQUIRED TREATMENTS FROM CCQC Significant rainfall in most growing regions has made it difficult for growers to make copper applications in compliance with the Korea and China protocols. We are sending updated information on required treatments that will maintain compliance with the Korea and China protocols. Korea (Septoria Spot) The second copper application for control of Septoria Spot is due by Feb. 4. Since rainfall has made it difficult for growers to make airblast applications of copper for Septoria Spot control, growers can still make the Feb. 4 deadline if growers make an aerial application of Quadris Top® (azoxystrobin/difenoconazole). UC Riverside’s Jim Adaskaveg suggests the application be made by helicopter and that the pilots make the application at the slowest possible speed with the greatest amount of water possible. These factors will improve efficacy. There are MRLs for Quadris Top® in most major export markets. Additionally, CCQC recommends that packinghouses and growers monitor groves for ice marks and submit samples to the NAVEK lab to screen for Septoria Spot infections. China (Phytophthora) Given the climatic conditions this season, the deadline for the second copper application for Navel and Valencia oranges in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California will be on Feb. 4. The deadline for the first application of copper for early-season Valencia oranges grown in the desert region (Imperial County and Eastern Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) is Feb. 21. Due to the frequency and volume of rainfall in the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California many growers have not been able get equipment into groves to make copper applications, so a significant amount of navel and Valencia orange acreage may not meet the China protocol deadlines. APHIS has agreed to provide packers and growers additional options to comply with the protocol and still qualify shipments for export to China if certain additional conditions are met. Valencia Oranges Imperial County and Eastern Riverside and San Bernardino Counties (Expected harvest dates – Feb through April) Copper applications must be made by Feb. 21. There is likely to be sufficient time to make applications in this region, so no additional options are required at this time. San Joaquin Valley and Southern California (Expected harvest dates – May through September) Packers should evaluate groves to determine when they are likely to be harvested. Growers would need to make a second copper application only if rain is expected within 2 months of the expected harvest date. This approach can be justified, because brown rot infections, including latent infections, would be realized within two months of the last rainfall, so all infected fruit would have fallen from the tree before harvest. Other measures in the China protocol must still be followed, such as skirt pruning, harvesting fruit above 20 inches and monitoring groves for disease one week prior to harvest at recommended threshold values for Tulare (0 diseased fruit/A) and other citrus-producing counties (<5 diseased fruit/A). Navel Oranges San Joaquin Valley and Southern California Growers that are unable to make applications by the Feb. 4 deadline have the option to delay copper applications until Feb. 18. However, if the copper application is delayed, exporting fruit to China from that grove must be delayed for 30 days from the date of the copper application. Growers and packers that choose this option should monitor groves prior to harvest to assess the efficacy of the copper treatment and to avoid export of fruit from groves that exceed the Phytophthora threshold of Tulare (0 diseased fruit/A) and other citrus-producing counties (<5 diseased fruit/A). A 30-day delay in harvesting would allow infections to develop and fall from the tree prior to harvest. All other measures in the China protocol must be followed. SALES & MARKETING UPDATE HONG KONG SUPERMARKET CHAIN PROMOTES SUNKIST CITRUS WITH BRANDED MERCHANDISING Sunkist branded “shelf talkers” will be posted at retail point-of-purchase displays in 323 Wellcome stores in Hong Kong this season to provide shoppers with information about seasonal citrus varieties. The bilingual text promotes the nutritional information of Pummelo in English and Chinese. The shelf talker is one in a series of 10 different varieties featured including: pummelos, Sunkist Smiles® mandarins, Seedless, Zebra® and Meyer lemons. Minneola tangelos, Gold Nugget variety mandarins, Ojai Pixie tangerines, blood oranges and Cara Cara Navel oranges. CONSUMER NUTRITION SITE PROMOTES CITRUS AND SKIN HEALTH Bonnie Taub-Dix, one of Sunkist’s registered dietician contacts, recently published an article on “Eat This, Not That” about foods that can help keep your skin healthy during the winter and included citrus research that Sunkist shared with her. Taub-Dix is quoted in the piece saying, “Citrus fruits help provide Vitamin C, which promotes collagen formation and slows the effects of free radicals, helping to maintain firm and youthful skin,” says Taub-Dix. “Pink grapefruits also provide lycopene, an antioxidant that helps skin stay resilient and smooth.” Read the piece online here. “Eat This, Not That” has over 327 thousand unique visitors per month. COSTCO MAGAZINE FEATURES SUNKIST® LEMONS The January issue of Costco’s consumer magazine, Costco Connection, included a feature on the versatility of Sunkist lemons. The piece emphasized the nutritional benefits of lemons along with a variety of culinary and household uses. “When life gives you lemons, sure you can make lemonade but there is so much more you can do with this zesty fruit. From dressings to desserts to pastries and potions, you’ll want to have this fruit on hand year-round,” writer Laura Bode states. Sunkist branding was included in the piece, along with our recipe for Classic Lemon Bars with a Poppy Seed Crust. Read the piece online here. Costco Connection is distributed to 26.9 million Costco members. MINNEOLA TANGELOS HIGHLIGHTED IN TORONTO NEWSPAPER The Toronto Star recently included an educational column about Minneola tangelos in their food section. The piece emphasizes the nutrition benefits of the variety and also delves into culinary uses, including a Sunkist recipe for Chicken with Minneola Salsa.