Importers optimistic about quality of west Mexico spring crop after slow start

Cool weather put the brakes on most of western Mexico’s spring crop, delaying the start a bit, but importers say that what the crop may lack in early volume and timeliness will be made up for in quality.

“We look to see production picking up as we go into the Easter holiday,” said Chris Ciruli, partner in Ciruli Bros. LLC, Rio Rico, Ariz. “There is going to be plenty of good, promotable product for Easter.”

West Mexico had a very cold winter with overcast days and low temperatures into late February, he said.

But that all changed in early March; as days got longer, temperatures began to rise and production moved north, back to Sonora for new plantings of zucchini, bell peppers, cucumbers, honeydew and cantaloupe.

“Spring is coming,” Ciruli said. “We’re very optimistic.”

Jose Luis Obregon, president of Rio Rico-based IPR Fresh, echoed that optimism.

“The cold weather we had during January and February really delayed a lot of the products that we were going to be bringing in,” he said. “However, with the weather changing, we will have promotable volumes of organic and conventional colored bell peppers through mid-June.”

Size and quality should be good on the company’s red, yellow and orange bell peppers, he said.

There is a bright side, despite the cold weather and slow start, said Michael Dupuis, public relations manager for Divine Flavor LLC, Nogales, Ariz.

“The great news is that the plants are in very good condition,” he said. “From here on out throughout west Mexico, we’re looking at some very good quality product across the board, with bell peppers, mini peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.”
The slow start could prove to be beneficial later in the year when production transitions to central Mexico.

“There won’t be too much of a gap,” Dupuis said. “We’ll be able to transition very well from our west Mexico production to Central Mexico and Baja California in May or early June.”

This year lacked the high and low temperature fluctuations that often occur during the growing season, said Edgar Duarte, sales manager for Rich River Produce LLC in Rio Rico.

“It’s been just normal cold and cool weather, which has reduced a lot of the plant production,” he said.

Duarte expected volume to be “quite a bit short,” but he said dollarwise, sales should be similar to last year because of higher prices.

The company’s product line includes several varieties of chili peppers, tomatillos, eggplant, cucumbers, roma tomatoes and bell peppers.

Rio Rico-based MAS Melons & Grapes is heading into its spring deal with seedless watermelons, table grapes and honeydew melons, said salesman Mikee Suarez.

“We’re eying about an April 15 start to our seedless watermelon deal from the north,” he said. “The rest of the items come after that.”

The company tries to start as close to April 1 as possible, he said. “There was a lot of weather this winter, so plantings were thrown off.”

He expected to be pleased with the condition of this year’s crops.

“Qualitywise, everything is looking good,” Suarez said.

Importers say that labor seems to be adequate on both sides of the border, but inflation will result in higher prices.

“We’re at a much different place than we were in 2022,” Ciruli said. “Our warehouses are fully staffed, and we were able to add some more people on the floor this year.”

But he said 20% increases in minimum wages in Arizona and Mexico will have to be added to the cost of the company’s products.

Conditions were similar at Nogales-based Earth Blend LLC.

“Our costs have gone up, and we haven’t really seen that on our fob sales prices, unfortunately,” said Steve Spence, director of sales. “We need to bump up the prices a little more to help the growers out.”

Produce isn’t something that can sit in a warehouse for any length of time, he said. “We’ve got to move it. It has a shelf life.”

Costs have increased significantly for IPR Fresh, Obregon said.

“Our raw materials, cartons, packing materials, fertilizers, everything has been increasing dramatically over the last couple of years,” he said. “The grower is getting squeezed.”

Also, the exchange rate has not been favorable for growers, he said.

The Mexican peso is very strong compared to the U.S. dollar, Obregon said, so exporting product into the U.S. is not as profitable as it was in the past.

“We are constantly trying to push the prices to reflect the new reality of the cost, but it takes time for that to reach an equilibrium,” he said.