Its not just wine, beef, milk and fruit that are enjoying booming exports. It’s tomato paste too. Through March the US exported 2.2 million tons of paste compared to 1.95 million tons this time last year.That’s nearly a 13% increase, all from California. It’s not just the world warming to ketchup. Mexico is big importer for their salsa. Processors are paying $70.50 a ton – up $1.10 from last year.
Cherry crop in May is good quality but a limited supply say industry sources.One Tulare County grower reported a very short crop says Ag Commissioner Marylin Kinoshita. Cherries are the first of the tree crops that get harvested.
Kinoshita reports that some 700 young almond trees just planted northeast of Visalia were stolen,carted off in a midnight raid recently. Almonds and almond trees are increasingly valuable these days.
The ag commissioner says stone fruit growers are looking forward to a nice crop of peaches,plums and nectarines this year with small sizes heading increasingly to Mexico. “There is a strong market right now” says Kinoshita with about 30% of the fruit fumigated using criteria approved by Mexico.We like to think that Mexico sends plenty of produce our way but it works the other way around as well.
Almond Production Higher: The initial subjective forecast for the 2013 California almond production is 2.00 billion pounds. This is 6 percent above last year’s production of 1.89 billion pounds. Yield, forecasted at 2,470 lbs/acre, is up 3 percent from the 2012 yield of 2,390 lbs/acre. Forecasted bearing acreage for 2013 is 810 thousand.
Here is music to the ears for both livestock owners and ethanol producers. USAD’s latest estimate calls for a record of 359 million metric ton corn harvest for 2013, up 31 percent from 2012’s drought impacted harvest of 274 million tons. Average corn price ($/bushel) in 2013/14 is projected at $4.30-5.10, down from $6.70-7.10 in 2012/13. Of course it all depends on the weather. Last year’s drought appears to be over in the Midwest but things could change.