April 3, 2018
Anderson Exports is a Dried Fruit & Nut Agency in Northern California. We specialize in sourcing the best ingredients from California and the rest of the world.
Sweetened Dried Cranberry Update
With a small crop here in the US, rising demand, and a pending industry volume regulation, we are seeing higher prices and escalating shortages for sliced sweetened dried cranberries (SDCs). As suppliers work to align production and sales, lead-times are increasing substantially. One processor turned away 85 full loads last week. Today, the industry is fully committed through June and nearly every single supplier is off the market. We have seen offers as high as $2.25 / lb., though it is unclear if any business is sticking at this price.
These conditions are expected to intensify in the future, causing prices to rise over the near-term. We also see further upside in prices over the long-term due to the proposed volume regulation for SDCs. We expect the 5% reduction on this year’s crop to pass. We also expect the volume regulation next year to pass, although we believe the percentage reduction to be lowered from 25% to the 15-20% range.
Due to these factors, the availability of material problem will worsen over the coming months. We have never seen such few offers in the market. Buyers with sticker shock should recall that just a few years ago, the price of SDCs was over $2.00 / lb. We see plenty of runway for SDC prices to go higher and/or remain strong. We strongly recommend forward booking sooner rather than later as we see prices only going higher from here and availability becoming even more problematic.
California Raisin Update
Many California packers are completely sold out of Traditional Thompson Selects. The shortages are due to the environmental damage from the 2 rains experienced during this past Fall’s harvest. The severity of the damage is so bad that for California processors are seeing some 30% of all Field Run Product is being rejected at the door, i.e. the USDA is outright rejecting 30+% of the product coming into our processors from the field due to quality concerns.
This means that many suppliers and processors actually have very little to almost no saleable quality traditional thompsons due to such a large portion of the crop being damaged by these rains. From this damaged crop, processors will try to recondition as much as they can, but this process can take up to 2-3 times as long as traditional processing and almost always produces a lower quality raisin product.
We have sold loads from this years crop from all of our suppliers. All have had mixed results due to this fall's rains. We have had customers reporting rot concerns from high moisture levels in the reconditioned product on medium and jumbo Flames, but not on traditional selects. That said though, we have had customers report that traditional selects, if they do not have rot issues from reconditioning or were not reconditioned, have far more sand and grit than on average.
We have been recommending all season our customers go with DOV this year as we believe those raisins dried on the vine will have escaped the sand, grit, and possible rot issues we are seeing across the industry in California on traditional thompson raisins caused by the two rains that fell during the traditional thompson ground drying process.
We have seen many large buyers switch much of their traditional thompson orders to DOV this year.
It can be hard for our overseas customers to appreciate the damage that has been done to this crop this year in California, but regardless of how our buyer's feel, raisins still come from nature and nature determines what we can produce and export and what we can't. So, moving forward, we have a few solutions and thoughts.
California Raisins Thoughts
We have been switching raisins from traditional thompsons, to DOV, which as discussed above, many of our largest customers have already done without issue.
We know there are some traditional thompsons still available on the market. We also know that several large customers how have been looking to book large forward contracts have had trouble receiving offers for contracts this size. The most we have been offered for Thompson Selects is hand to mouth, at best. Those who are offering, we are afraid will run into the same issues we have faced so far this year in regards to Rot, Sand, and Grit.
Of course, we do not want to have these discussions with our customers at any point, but as we have laid out above, this year is an exceptionally difficult one due to the weather issues and resulting damage. We look forward to working together to find the best possible solution for you and your customers moving forward. We will do whatever we can to ensure we deliver QUALITY product only.
Walnut Update
California Kernel pricing has generally softened over the last few weeks. With most inshell orders for the year shipped, Kernel production is in high gear. We are seeing good quality nuts from the Linden area and the northern growing regions in California. Due to the large number of 100+ degree F weather this past summer (39 days of 100+ temps) we are seeing much more kernel being cracked on average than previous years as suppliers look to the cracking process (laser sorting etc) to ensure delivery of quality shelled product. We are well-positioned to offer on kernel and welcome your inquiries.
Upcoming Visits to Asia
Also, something to think about in the coming months. Erik and I are planning to make a trip to Asia to visit our clients and to expand our reach in the region. We will be discussing this year and next year moving forward with our buyers as we look to maintain and grow our relationships through one of the most difficult years for California Raisins in recent memory.
Our trip will travel through Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, and London. We are shooting for end of April or May. Please let us know if you have any interest in meeting.
Brazil Sugar
Global sugar prices softened in recent weeks on abundant supply. Brazil’s bumper crop is adding to the global surplus in sugar. Brazil is poised to achieve a record sugar crop of 40.2mm tons due to favorable weather, stable planted acreage and lower use of cane for ethanol. Exports are expected to exceed 29.6mm tons, up 1.1mm tons from last year.
We offer ICUMSA 45 Sugar by the vessel on a spot (MOQ: 100,000mt) or forward contract basis including long-term contracts of 300,000mt / month x 12 months. Payment by SBLC, BG, or DLC from global top 50 bank. Product is SGS-inspected end-to-end at buyer’s request.
Brazil Soybeans
The Brazil soybean crop continues to progress well. Currently, approximately 65% of the soy crop is harvested. Yields are reported to be strong and weather has been favorable. We supply GMO and Non-GMO certified Soybean meal from Brazil. MOQ: 100,000+ tons. Payment by SBLC, BG, or DLC from global top 50 bank.
Rice
We also offer a wide range of rice products including: Gaba Jasmine, Thai Fragrant, Thai Hommali, Thai Black, Thai White, Thai Red, and Thai Parboiled Rices. Payment by SBLC or BG.
Crab Cakes
Our crab cakes are premium Maryland-style made with real Maryland crabmeat. The classic crab cake is precooked and has a 21-day shelf life when thawed. Our classic crab cakes are ideal for price-conscious customers seeking quality quick-to-prepare meals. The classic cake can be ordered in 4 packages: 80 ct bulk, which is great for full service seafood operations, and 2, 6, and 12 packs, which are available for frozen food sections.
Lobster, Salmon, and Crawfish Cakes
We also offer lobster, salmon, and crawfish cakes. Maine Lobster is the #1 ingredient in the lobster cake, while Alaskan salmon is the #1 ingredient in the salmon cake. The cakes are precooked so your customer needs only to heat and eat.
Hand-Scooped Crab Cakes
We are pleased to offer 100% real Maryland Crabmeat, Maine Lobster, Shrimp, and Wild Salmon. All processing occurs in the USA with strong food safety oversight.
Crab Stuffing
Our premium stuffing creates unique, high-quality items such as stuffed salmon or flounder, and crab-stuffed appetizers like crab-stuffed Portobello caps. The stuffing also can be used to create your own homemade crab cakes.
Canned Tuna
We are well-positioned to offer canned skipjack tuna in 170 gram cans in 53’ FCL (30 pallets) or 20’ FCL (11 pallets) on a CIF basis.
Shrimp
We also offer frozen shrimp of the highest quality and welcome your inquiries.