West Mexico vegetables meet with weak markets
Distributors in Nogales, Ariz., anticipate good quality and ample supplies of vegetables such as squash, bell peppers and cucumbers, this season.
All they lack are strong markets.
Coachella, Calif.-based Prime Time International has been shipping green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers and mini peppers out of west Mexico for a couple of months, said Mike Aiton, director of marketing.
Aiton said Feb. 9 that he would characterize the past two months as "disappointing."
"The growing conditions have been ideal, the availability of product has been huge, and consequently, markets have been very depressed," he said. And not just on peppers.
"It's been a great year for quality, availability and promotions," Aiton said. "But the pricing has been very challenging."
There was so much product and the weather was so perfect that production peaked earlier than usual and probably will end earlier, he said.
As the deal begins to wind down around the first of March, he said, "markets likely will react accordingly."
"I would project higher prices for the month of March through the conclusion of the Culiacan season - into at least April," Aiton said.
A brutal winter in many parts of the U.S. probably slowed down sales, as well, Aiton said.
For the past two years, peppers have been "decent moneymakers," so growers doubled down on planting them.
"That got us to the position we are in right now," he said. "It's a very difficult time."
The good news is that Prime Time's field-grown and protected environment peppers are of excellent quality with good sizing, Aiton said.
"We've had very few arrival problems."
Thomas Produce Sales Inc., a Rio Rico-based broker, was putting a lot of emphasis on its in-and-out cold storage business this season, since regular business has been "horrible," said Chuck Thomas, owner and president.
"I haven't seen anything like this in many years," Thomas said. "Everyone I talk to says it's probably one of the worst seasons they've ever seen here."
Fresh Farms in Rio Rico, Ariz., will have a wide range of items, including soft squash, such as zucchini, yellow and gray, and hard squash such as acorn, butternut and spaghetti as well as green beans, fresh pickles, green and colored bell peppers and eggplant, said Jerry Havel, director of sales and marketing.
The company is "doing big business" with American and English cucumbers as well, he said.
Shipments of field-grown cucumbers started in September.
"All season long, the quality has been good," Havel said.
But so far, the markets have not been kind to the growers this year.
"We're hoping for better markets this spring," he said. "It's a supply-and-demand business, and there's been a little bit too much national supply and not enough demand."
Greenhouse-grown English cucumbers started in December, and American slicers are also available from greenhouses now, he said.
"We sell a lot of both of them," he said. "Stores carry both."
Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group was marketing a number of items out of west Mexico through Nogales-based Divemex, said Aaron Quon, executive director, greenhouse category.
"Volumes in March and April will ramp up as we are producing in full swing in both Etzatlan and Culiacan," he said.
"There will be lots of opportunities to promote Divemex conventional and organic bell peppers, mini sweet peppers and long English cucumbers late winter and early spring."
Nogales-based Big Chuy Distributing Co. Inc. was shipping hard squash - acorn, spaghetti and butternut - out of Sonora, said Jesus ("Chuy") Lopez Jr., sales manager.
"The quality has been good, but the markets have been down a little," he said.
Production is a little higher than past years, which might be keeping prices low, he said.
Volume at Big Chuy should be about the same as last year, Lopez said.
Thomas attributed the tough markets to oversupplies caused by a "perfect storm" of events, including good growing weather and plenty of water.
In the case of squash, a white fly infestation and virus in the Sonora growing area hurt quality early in the season, and that was followed by an oversupply.
"There were a lot of early quality problems, then a glut of product after that," he said.
At one point, squash was selling for $2 a box, he said, but arrivals were poor.
Meanwhile, weather in Florida and Georgia was ideal, resulting in good supplies from some U.S. growers, as well.
Late January winds of up to 50 mph in Florida might have an impact on quality out of the Sunshine State, he said, and that could help bolster prices.
To make matters worse for Nogales distributors, an increasing number of Mexican growers have been contracting directly with U.S. wholesalers and retailers, he said.
"The whole ball game changed very drastically over the last several years," Thomas said.
In-and-out or cold storage business has been the saving grace for Thomas Produce, he said.
The company built a 15,000-square-foot addition of racked storage space a couple of years ago and handles oranges, lemons, grapefruit, watermelon, bell peppers, some eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, hard squash and other items.
"We stay pretty busy with that," he said.
