Exports brighten trade figures at L.A. seaport

The Port of Los Angeles had its biggest month ever for exports in November and the total was also high enough to drive the nation's busiest cargo container port past its record for goods shipped overseas in a year.

The Los Angeles port moved 195,878 containers containing exports in November, an increase of more than 15% over the same month a year earlier. That gave the port an 11-month total of more than 1.93 million cargo export containers, breaking the old mark of 1.84 million export containers recorded during the 12 months of 2010.

Imports through the Port of Los Angeles rose 6.2% in November compared with a year earlier. Overall, through the first 11 months of the year, cargo moving through the port was up less than 1% compared with a year ago.

Preliminary figures from the neighboring Port of Long Beach showed a 15.6% decline in imports in November, compared with the same month last year. Exports there were down 22.2% in November, compared with a year earlier.

Through the first 11 months of the year, overall cargo movement through Long Beach, the nation's second busiest container port, was down 3.5% compared with 2010. One reason for the decline was the loss of business from Hyundai, which moved its cargo terminal to the Port of Los Angeles last year.

ALSO:

Protesters block some West Coast port traffic

Business leaders join L.A.'s  Asia trade mission

Los Angeles wants a bigger slice of perishables market

-- Ronald D. White

Photo: Trains move cargo to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation's busiest seaport complex. Credit: Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times

California wine exports heading toward a record year

 California's international wine exports are booming and on pace to set a record in 2011.

According to the Wine Institute, a San Francisco trade group, the value of exports shipped in the first 10 months of the year already equal last year's record of $1.14 billion. This year's exports are 23% greater than their value at the same time last year, said Linsey Gallagher, the Wine Institute's director of international marketing.

The strong push in 2011 is part of a developing trend.

"California wines for the last couple of years have come into their own, offering quality, diversity and value, Gallagher said.

This year's surge is benefiting from a weak dollar, which adds to the value of California vintages, she said. A bottle that might have cost the equivalent of $10 a few years ago now sells for $7 to $8.

While the bulk California wine bottles go to Europe, the growth in sales to China have been increasing at a rapid pace. Exports to China, which account for about 5% of the total, increased 35% compared with the same 10-month period in 2010, the Wine Institute reported.

California's full-bodied red wines are particularly popular in China, Gallagher said, because their "fruit-forward, bold" taste matches well with often spicy Chinese cuisine.

U.S. wine sales in China are benefiting from a strong economy and a growing middle class that is buying more luxury items, such as automobiles and wine, she said. At the same time, European consumption of California wines remains strong despite the continuing economic crisis.

Related:

Robert Lawrence Balzer dies at 99: LA Times wine writer 

Eat like a Mediterranean but how? 

Alice Waters brings Chez Panisse experience to Beijing

-- Marc Lifsher

Photo: Zinfandel grapes growing in the Napa Valley at October harvest. Credit: Lisa Baertlein / Reuters

Agribusiness giant Cargill to lay off 2,000 employees

Agribusiness giant Cargill Inc., among the largest private companies in the country, plans to lay off 2,000 employees around the world as it deals with a "continued weak global economy," executives said.

The Minnesota-based firm -– whose dealings include livestock, grain, processed food ingredients and more -– said the cuts amount to about 1.5% of its workforce of 138,000 employees.

The layoffs, Cargill said, would largely take place over the next six months and would include severance and outplacement support for affected workers.

The move is also "part of an overall effort to reduce expenses and simplify work processes," said the company, which added that the cuts came after recommendations from various business units.

"As economic conditions change, so must we," said Mike Fernandez, vice president in charge of Cargill corporate affairs.

Cargill has facilities and operations around the world, including in California cities such as Fullerton, San Bernardino, Stockton and Los Angeles.

Last week, payroll company ADP said private-sector companies in the U.S. added 206,000 new employees last month -– nearly 100,000 more than in October. But the national unemployment rate is still high at 8.6%.

RELATED:

Nokia to cut 3,500 jobs by 2012 in latest round of layoffs

BlackBerry maker RIM to cut about 2,000 jobs, shuffle executives

93% of workers who lost jobs in recession suffered lifestyle changes

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: A man gathers bags of cocoa beans at the Cargill factory in San Pedro, Ivory Coast. Credit: Luc Gnago / Reuters

Fresno dairy raw milk products recalled by state

California food safety regulators have placed a recall and quarantine order on raw milk products from a Fresno dairy, Organic Pastures.

All milk products except cheese aged a minimum of 60 days must be pulled from retail stores, and consumers are urged to dispose of any remaining products in their homes, said the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The quarantine order came after state health authorities identified a cluster of five children infected between August and October with the same strain of the bacteria E. coli 0157:H7 in Contra Costa, Kings, Sacramento and San Diego counties. An investigation revealed that the only common factor was the drinking of raw milk from Organic Pastures.

State milk and dairy food inspectors have begun a full check of the Organic Pastures facilities.

Organic Pastures marketing manager Kaleigh Lutz said that the dairy's own testing has been negative for presence of pathogens. The family-owned company is working with Food and Agriculture to resolve the investigation. Organic Pasture's organic beef, raw cheese and organic pastured eggs are not affected by the recall.

Symptoms of E.coli infection include abdominal cramps and diarrhea, which is often bloody, officials said. Most people recover within a week, but some victims need to be hospitalized.

Related:

Disagreement over what's in that glass of raw milk 

Raw milk crackdown went too far, defense attorney says 

Food borne pathogens carry devastating long-term effects

-- Marc Lifsher

Photo: A cow whose milk has not been subject to a California recall is being milked for fans of nonpasteurized milk. Credit: Ted S. Warren / Associated Press

Biofuels, wind power show gains, but hurdles remain

Biofuels and wind power are having the biggest new impact in American power generation, according to a report released today by the U.S. Energy Department. Consumption of biofuels has risen 16-fold since 2000 and wind power use has seen an eight-fold increase during the same period.

Among renewable energy sources, only solar power is rising faster, the Energy Department said. But solar and photo-voltaic power are still the smallest contributors to the nation's energy needs, accounting for just 1% of the renewable total.

Hydroelectric power remains the biggest resource, at 31% of all renewable energy produced in the U.S., but it is not a growing resource. Wood is next, at 25%, followed by biofuels (23%), wind (11%), waste (6%), and geothermal (3%). Altogether, renewables account for 8% of U.S. energy production.

The Energy Department said that improved technology was part of the reason for the growth in electricity generation from wind power, which rose from about 6 billion kilowatt-hours in 2000 to about 95 billion kilowatt-hours in 2010. But the Energy Department also cited the importance of financial incentives in the form of federal production tax credits and grants.

The American Wind Energy Assn. is lobbying Congress to extend the tax measures amid partisan political wrangling over the issue, fearing the industry's ability to thrive without them.

Biofuels have made a huge splash recently. Earlier this month, Continental Airlines Flight 1403 made history when it landed at Chicago's O'Hare airport as the nation's first biofuel-powered revenue generating passenger flight. Alaska Airlines this week launched a round of 75 flights it said would be powered by biofuels.

But the biggest hurdle for renewables is cost. For 11 days of biofuel-powered flights, Alaska Airlines purchased 28,000 gallons of biofuel for a whopping $476,000. That works out to about $17 a gallon or about six times more than what it would have paid for regular jet fuel.

RELATED:

New geothermal maps show vast energy resource

U.S. launches probe in China solar panels

California has one in four of U.S. solar jobs

--Ronald D. White

Photo: Turbines line the hillside at First Wind's power project in Sheffield, Vt., which is ready to generate power after an eight-year planning and building process. Photo credit: Toby Talbot/AP

Consumer Confidential: Medicare rates, peanut butter prices

Here's your I'll-take-you-there Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- Good news for seniors: Premiums for Medicare Part B coverage for physician and outpatient services will increase less than projected next year. Also, the deductible will actually decrease. Premiums will go up $3.50, to $99.90 per month for 2012. The Medicare Trustees report had previously projected an increase of $10.20, to $106.60 for 2012. Premiums have not increased for retirees since 2009. The premium for new retirees in 2011 was $115.40; this group of retirees will now pay the standard premium of $99.90 per month, for a reduction of $15.50 in their monthly premium. And the Medicare Part B deductible decreased by $22, from $162 last year to $140 for 2012.

-- Your PB&J is about to get pricier. Sharp increases in peanut butter prices have begun going into effect after one of the worst peanut harvests in decades. Kraft is raising prices for its Planters brand peanut butter by 40%, while ConAgra has instituted increases of more than 20% for its Peter Pan brand. J.M. Smucker, which makes Jif, is introducing price hikes of about 30%. Consumers, meanwhile, are already seeing these increases reflected at grocery stores. Americans spend almost $800 million on peanut butter and consume an average of more than 6 pounds of peanut products each year, according to the National Peanut Board, a farmer-funded research group.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Medicare rates won't go up as much as expected. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

 

California farmers call Colorado cantaloupe sickness 'isolated'

Federal regulators' pinpointing of a deadly listeria food poisoning to a single packing shed in Colorado provides evidence that the outbreak was an isolated case of poor sanitation practices, according to California's biggest trade group for fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration linked the bad cantaloupes to Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo. Water had been allowed to accumulate, providing an ideal environment for the bacteria to grow and spread, the FDA said.

"The recent, tragic outbreak of listeria associated exclusively with a single cataloupe packing facility in Colorado should not have happened," said Tom Nassif, chief executive of the Western Growers Assn. in Irvine. "We are confident that California and Arizona cantaloupe producers have the controls and preventive pactices in place to ensure the safety of over 45 million cases of canaloupes, 85% of the total U.S. volume, grown in this region."

Nassif said that Western Grower farmers in the two states follow stringent food-safety rules in all phases of production, harvest and packing.

The FDA investigation revealed that the Colorado packing shed was difficult to clean. Workers there did not "pre-cool" the fruit to remove field heat before it went to cold storage. Bacteria could have grown in the condensation that formed on the melons.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the contaminated cantaloupes made 123 people sick in 26 states, killed 25 people and caused a miscarriage in one pregnant woman.

Related:

Listeria: FDA IDs potential factors in cantaloupe outbreak

Tainted cantaloupes: How long will listeria outbreak continue

Listeria-related romaine lettuce recall unrelated to cantaloupes

-- Marc Lifsher and Eryn Brown

Photo: Late season-cantaloupes being harvested near Firebaugh, Calif. Credit: Gosia Wuzniaka / Associated Press

California winemakers hail South Korean trade agreement

California grape growers and vintners are excited about ratification by Congress of a free-trade agreement with South Korea.

The treaty calls for the immediate removal of a 15% Korean tariff on California wine and 45% import duty on grape juice concentrate. Korean excise, value-added and other taxes on California wines also will be lowered, making the products more attractive and affordable to Korean consumers.

California accounts for 90% of all U.S. wine exports to South Korea, which totaled 500,000 cases worth $11.2 million last year.

Korea has a significant wine-drinking culture, with import consumption growing 177% in the last decade, said Robert P. "Bobby" Koch, president of the Wine Institute, a trade group based in San Francisco.

California long had been the second biggest exporter of wine to Korea, behind France. However, Chile surpassed the Golden State in 2005 after the South American nation signed a trade agreement with Korea that sharply lowered import duties. The European Union signed its own treaty with Korea, which became effective on July 1, boosting the likelihood of increased wine sales.

The U.S. action Wednesday is expected to make California wines more competitive in the growing Korean market.

Related:

Redwoods versus red wine

Farm brings every muscat imaginable

New law bans self-service alcohol sales

-- Marc Lifsher

Photo: Foley Winery in Santa Ynez Valley. Credit: David Langford / Associated Press

Climate change could shrink chocolate production: report

Scientists say climate change will eventually claim many victims -– including, according to a new report, chocolate.

As temperatures increase and weather trends change, the main growing regions for cocoa could shrink drastically, according to new research from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.

Ghana and the Ivory Coast –- which produce more than half of the global cocoa supply –- could take a major hit by 2050.

Currently, the optimal locations to grow the crop are about 330 feet to 820 feet above sea level, with temperatures of about 72 degrees Fahrenheit to 77 degrees. That range will soar to 1,500 feet to 1,640 feet in four decades to compensate for hotter weather.

Cocoa production, which reached about $9 billion from 2008 to 2009 and accounts for 7.5% of the Ivory Coast’s gross domestic product and 3.4% of Ghana’s, could be in for a heavy slide.

Peter Gleick, a MacArthur fellow and chief executive of the Pacific Institute, bemoaned the potential decline of the sweet treat last week in an open letter to climate change skeptics in Forbes.

Many farmers will need to find alternative crops such as cashews and cotton. But researchers pointed out that as temperatures phase out some fields, others could become prime growing spots.

“Climate change brings not only bad news but also a lot of potential opportunities,” according to the report. “The winners will be those who are prepared for change and know how to adapt.”

Fluctuating weather in the United States alone has already wreaked havoc with harvests for peanuts, wine grapes, pumpkins and coffee beans.

RELATED:

Coffee gets cheaper as Smucker slashes prices 6%

Peanut butter prices about to soar amid poor harvest

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Coffee gets cheaper as Smucker slashes prices 6

Peanut butter prices about to soar amid poor harvest

The PB&J: Classic. Comforting. And, with peanut prices skyrocketing, soon to be more costly.

After searingly hot weather devastated the summer crop of Runner peanuts, the variety mostly used to make peanut butter, raw peanuts that cost about $450 a ton in 2010 now cost $1,150 a ton, according to USDA figures.

The crunch will affect the 90% of U.S. households that consume peanut butter — Americans eat about 1.5 million pounds of peanut products annually. The industry, according to the National Peanut Board, contributes more than $4 billion to the domestic economy each year.

High prices are expected to trickle down to consumers soon. J.M. Smucker Co.’s Jif will boost wholesale prices 30% this fall, according to the Wall Street Journal. Unilever’s Skippy brand will see a 35% increase while ConAgra Foods Inc.’s Peter Pan label will jump nearly 25%.

But peanuts weren't the only crop facing a difficult harvest — unpredictable weather has recently complicated the growing seasons for pumpkins and coffee beans.  Coffee roasters only recently began scaling back price hikes instituted over the past year.

And restaurants such as Lucifers Pizza in Los Feliz, which serves a popular Roast Pumpkin & Prosciutto pie, said they’ve struggled to find a constant source of high-quality pumpkin. Some have resorted to using butternut squash as an occasional backup and say they worry about accommodating Halloween demand. 

RELATED:

Coffee gets cheaper as Smucker slashes prices 6%

Wine industry optimistic despite economy, low supply, study finds

— Tiffany Hsu

Photo: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Strong North American trade numbers in July

In some encouraging news about the nation's economy, the value of surface transportation trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico was 18.1% higher in July, at $72.4 billion, compared with the same month a year earlier, the U.S. Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics announced Tuesday.

The July figure represented a 40.4% increase from July 2009. Imports in July were up 60.7% compared with July 2001 and exports were up 100.8% over the same period.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics said that surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, and foreign trade zones. The vast majority of trade among the three nations moves by land, at 85.2%. Another 10.8% moves by sea and just 4.1% moves by air. The numbers do not add up to 100% because of rounding.

Surface trade between the U.S. and Canada in July amounted to $42.5 billion. The comparable figure for trade between the U.S. and Mexico was $29.9 billion.

RELATED:

Panel throws out part of clean truck program

A long range alliance for labor

Consumer confidence remains weak 

-- Ronald D. White

Graphic: The chart tracks trade data over the 11-month periods between August 2010 and July 2011 and August 2009 and July 2010. Credit: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.