Business may be slow for some companies on the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto as the new year gets underway, but suppliers are optimistic about the coming months, and some already are seeing an uptick in sales.
Canadian Fruit & Produce Co. Ltd. seems to be doing well with all its commodities.
“We are going strong with cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelons,” said Angelo Alberga, vice president of sales and general manager. “Our citrus program is doing extremely well, and our entire vegetable line is super strong.”
Cantaloupes and honeydews have been scarce at times this winter because of weather challenges and tight market conditions.
“The vegetable and citrus deals have picked up a lot of the void from the cantaloupes and honeydews,” he said.
A brighter future is in store for melons in the coming months, Alberga said.
Winter melon sources include Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala, and vegetables are coming from Mexico.
“Vegetables from Mexico are outstanding,” he said.
That program includes green, red and yellow bell peppers, eggplant, and green, yellow and gray zucchini.
“We have fantastic quality and ample supplies,” he said.
As winter fades and spring comes on, J.E. Russell will move from the desert back to California for a many of its leafy greens and vegetables, and from offshore or Mexico to California for certain items, said Hutch Morton, senior vice president.
“Spring is always an exciting time for us at Russell, as our strawberry business takes flight with the return to California,” Morton said. “While we work well through the Florida and Mexico winter strawberry season, our customers are always excited with the return to California fruit.”
The company represents Foxy brand strawberries and has a strong blueberry program on the U.S. East Coast and watermelons from Florida, he said.
“We have enjoyed marketing berries from North Bay Produce this winter, which has been a new relationship for us,” he said. “We have also done some offshore grapes with Star Produce, which has been a nice complement to our category.”
J.E. Russell also sources mushroom and cucumbers locally.
“We have a very nice Living Lettuce package from a Star Produce greenhouse in Alberta,” Morton said.
Slower sales coming out of the holidays is not unusual, said Michael Fallico, vice president at F.G. Lister & Co. Ltd.
The company in late January was focusing on conventional and organic California citrus and clementines and on conventional and organic vegetables from Yuma, Ariz., and the California desert.
Conventional items also include pineapples, honeydew melons, cantaloupe, pomegranates from Israel, “amazing” red and green grapes from Peru and conventional and organic apples from Washington.
The company also distributes the popular Ontario-grown Red Prince apples that start harvesting in October and ship from storage as late as June.
Gambles Ontario Produce ships a number of products out of storage at this time of year, including potatoes, carrots, onions, apples and pears, said Tom Kioussis, vice president of sales, marketing and category management.
“We also have hothouse products available, such as peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes,” he said.
As Easter approaches, the company will see gains in demand for root crops for cooking, such as potatoes, carrots, onions, beets and parsnips, he said.
Other vegetable items include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and green beans.
The company is a full-service produce distributor that heavily supports local growers from all districts across Canada, including Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, Kioussis said.
“We also have a very robust import sourcing program coordinating shipments from across the globe, from South Africa, South America, Europe and Asia,” he said.
Toronto suppliers say foodservice business seems to be building up again after a significant drop as restaurants closed or reduced hours during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brussels sprouts, lettuce, celery and green onions are just some of a full line of products available from Ippolito Produce Ltd. on the Ontario Food Terminal, said Troy Bacchus, vice president.
Overall quality has been good this season, he said, with product coming mostly from growing areas in Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and Mexico.
Restaurants, banquet halls and other foodservice operations have been beefing up their orders over the past few seasons, said Alberga of Canadian Fruit & Produce Co.
“Foodservice business has picked up quite a bit,” he said. “I’d say we’re almost back to normal.”
Some restaurants found it difficult to secure ample labor immediately after the pandemic, he said, but many employees now have gone back to work.
“Restaurants are jammed,” Alberga said, adding that reservations are a must at many locations.
The foodservice program at F.G. Lister also is doing well, Fallico said.
Shredded lettuce, coleslaw and chopped romaine lettuce are some popular foodservice items.
“During the pandemic, all foodservice took a hit, but it did come back up,” he said.
Business still hits higher levels at certain times of the year, but it does not yet have the consistency that it had during pre-pandemic times, he said.
