The Washington Conference
RPE’s Craig Fields (second from right) and Mackenzie Hammond (center) last week joined hundreds of produce industry peers and pivotal policymakers whose decisions about food safety, nutrition policy, immigration and the Farm Bill will directly affect the fresh food and vegetable industry.
Craig, vice president of business development-emerging channels; and Mackenzie, national sales account manager, participated in The Washington Conference, an annual event organized by the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA).
The 3-day event in Washington D.C. united fruit and vegetable industry participants in all stages of their career — executives, aspiring leaders and newcomers — to make their voices heard about a wide range of policy and regulatory issues impacting our industry.
The Washington Conference for Mackenzie and Craig got underway with Produce Industry Bootcamp, where they received tips about making their congressional meetings both memorable and impactful.
The Day 2 March on Capitol Hill was an opportunity to deliver a powerful message to help shape decisions made in Washington that directly impact agriculture. They as well as other attendees engaged in strategic, face-to-face dialogue with members of Congress, their staff and top regulatory officials.
On the final day, RPE’s delegation met with Columbian and Mexican agriculture ambassadors.
The IFPA was created in 2021 with the merge of United Fresh and the Produce Marketing Association (PMA). Mackenzie (2018) and Craig (2020) are graduates of the United Fresh Produce Industry Leadership Program.
Potato Market Update
Russet potato demand remains steady to a little slower than average; business typically slows down during October. There seems to be quite a bit of downward pressure on pricing on the larger sizes; this will stabilize when growers are undercover.
It is the perfect time to promote red potatoes. Contact your RPE sales representative today, for promotional ideas.
All major yellow potato shipping areas are up and running reporting average yields with normal to slightly above average pricing. Not much is changing with this variety, and we see higher demand for Yellows than Reds throughout the country.
White potatoes in the Northeast have started to ship, taking care of all needs in the Northeast and the Southeast. Pricing remains remarkably steady.
Fingerling potato demand remand remains strong, Still very limited in availability in all growing areas. Pricing remains strong due to the reduced availability.
Onion Market
Overall, demand for onions has remained steady but has come off a little as we head into October. The larger-sized profile onions (Super Colossal and Colossal) are still tight and may remain tight for the rest of the season. Medium and jumbo-sized onions are in good supply for all three colors.
The quality of new crop onions in the Columbia Basin and Eastern Oregon / Idaho remains excellent.
Fresh Produce Absolute Dollar Gains
In August 2022, fresh fruit added $119 million in sales and vegetables added $120 million when compages to August 2021. Gains were achieved in many different ways. Potatoes, onion, cherries, peaches and nectarines each had inflation of 20% of more compared with the average price per pound in August 2021. Berries, tomatoes and bananas had inflation well below the rate for total food and beverages and demand remained strong.
