LoBue Citrus has announced in a press release the establishment of partnerships with growers in Chile and South Africa to import lemons, navel oranges and mandarins into the US market.
The programme is expected to start in late June and run through October, with fruit arriving at two US ports: Long Beach, California, and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.
According to the group, this is the third consecutive year that LoBue has brought imported fruit into the Port of Long Beach, and the first year it has offered Chilean and South African imports through the Port of Philadelphia.
Rick Osterhues, vice-president of sales and marketing for LoBue, expects supplies to be stable throughout the season.
“With our emphasis on customer service, an expanded import program that provided multiple shipping locations was a priority,” noted Mr Osterhues.
“Volatile fuel costs dictate a pronounced need for competitive shipping locations that help our customers manage transportation costs.”
Loading will be available at both ports, with Chilean fruit also available at LoBue’s Lindsay, California, packhouse.
The citrus will be packed into 15kg cartons.
Sizing is expected to be comparable or slightly smaller than last year’s crop, with most fruit in the medium-to-large size range (counts 88 to 56, with smaller quantities of 48s).
