California Fruit and Vegetable

Tag: CA Prune Board

  • CA Prune Board Addresses Non-Tariff Barriers for Nuts & Dried Fruit

    As the world leader in prune exports, the California Prune Board is preemptively addressing issues that affect the trade of dried fruits and nuts with a three-year project focused on preserving the use of sulfuryl fluoride. With the support of the Foreign Agriculture Services arm of USDA, the California Prune Board (CPB) has secured funding to lead a Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program titled “Preserving sulfuryl fluoride for dried fruit exports to the European Union.”

    “This project hits on all the major non-tariff barriers,” says Gary Obenauf, CPB Production Research Coordinator and lead on the TASC project. “Exports of nuts and dried fruits require reliable measures that ensure consumers around the world are receiving a safe product and this project is paramount in gathering the information needed, enabling California Prunes and other commodities to retain and expand export markets.”

    While the project specifically investigates the voids in residue data associated with the use of sulfuryl fluoride for treating U.S. dried fruit and tree nuts, the research ultimately addresses the stringent criteria to limit emissions for continued and optimal sulfuryl fluoride use in all export markets for a variety of commodities. The study is being conducted by top experts in their fields from Stanford, Yale, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), University of California, and DFA of California.

    “Global trade interest in eliminating greenhouse gas emissions is growing, and we’re getting asked about sulfuryl fluoride use in several markets,” stated Spencer Walse, a research chemist for ARS. “This project provides an opportunity to continue sulfuryl fluoride use globally and preserves the quality of products while maintaining food safety and security. If we don’t protect the use of sulfuryl fluoride, the ability to export to various countries, including the EU, diminishes.”

    With new use patterns that need to be reflected globally, efficacy data is generated for market access into new export opportunities. Many countries, including India and Australia, require residue data to accompany the efficacy data to ensure consumer safety.

    “We studied methyl bromide decades ago and found the use patterns didn’t apply, so we had to adapt for sulfuryl fluoride,” added Obenauf. “This project allows us to update regulatory use patterns which have evolved since we started this work.”

    Phytosanitary techniques are vital to the export industry. The benefits of updating regulatory information through this research and gaining data on sulfuryl fluoride scrubbing extend far past the dried fruit and nut industries and will allow continued use of the gas globally.

    California is the world’s largest producer of prunes providing approximately 40 percent of the world’s supply and over 90 percent of the U.S. supply. Today, there are more than 40,000 bearing acres of California Prune orchards concentrated in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.

  • CA Prune Board Sees High-Quality Fruit in Short Crop Year

    The California Prune harvest wrapped up on schedule this year and growers have worked through the challenges of wildfires and market disruptions caused by the pandemic to harvest premium quality fruit consisting of an optimum range of sizes,setting up excellent opportunities to market the sweet, larger prunes for which California is famous. With early industry projections of a short crop, growers and handlers can now estimate production of 45,000 metric tons (50,000 short tons) of California Prunes, a decrease of 37% from the previous year.  Combined with the carry-in from 2019, handlers should have sufficient supply for the new selling season.

    As markets globally adjust to a “new normal” the California Prune industry remains focused on maintaining balance of supply and demand and reliably delivering the premium fruit that the world expects. Prune growers in California play an essential role in producing a premium product that offers health benefits, great taste, versatility, and shelf stability, all vital to what consumers desire in the current environment.

    Data reported to growers and handlers at the recent conclusion of the 2019 crop year (July 31, 2020) underscored consumer desire for California’s best-in-class prunes, as shipments to export markets jumped 17% and domestic shipments improved by 12%, as compared to the previous year.

    “While the pandemic has fueled consumers’ focus on healthy foods, the California Prune industry regularly promotes the nutritional profile and invests in nutrition research that elevates the health benefits of prunes,” said Donn Zea, Executive Director of the California Prune Board. “We are grateful that so many consumers have chosen California Prunes during this time. We plan on doing everything we can to earn and keep their trust.”

    California is the largest producer of prunes, producing about 40 percent of the world’s supply, bringing quality prunes to market from 40,000 acres concentrated in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.

    ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA PRUNE BOARD

    Created in 1952, The California Prune Board aims to amplify the premium positioning and top-of-mind awareness of California Prunes through advertising, public relations, promotion, nutrition research, production research, and issues management. The California Prune Board represents approximately 800 prune growers and 28 prune, juice, and ingredient handlers under the authority of the California Secretary of Food and Agriculture.