The following news briefs were compiled by Managing Editor Fred Wilkinson on March 10-11 at Expo ANTAD in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Driscoll’s
Driscoll’s, Watsonville, Calif., is increasing its berry acreage in Mexico, said Gloria Vasquez, international saleswoman.
While more than 90% of strawberries (grown in the Zamora region) are exported largely to the U.S., the fruit sells well in cities in Mexico, Vasquez said.
Organic berries had shown gains in recent years, but the weak economy has cooled them a bit, she said.
Driscoll’s Mexico production also includes raspberries (grown in Jalisco) and blueberries and blackberries (grown in Zamora), she said.
Hurst’s Berry Farm
Although Hurst’s Berry Farm Inc. representatives have been attending Expo ANTAD for years, 2010 marked the Sheridan, Ore.-based company’s debut as an exhibitor, said owner Mark Hurst.
The company produces berries in Mexico’s Jalisco, Michoacan and Colima states, Hurst said.
While a lot of Hurst’s berries are shipped north to the U.S., some also supply markets in Mexico, Hurst said.
Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee
Onion shippers in the Idaho-Eastern Oregon region have been doing their part to help fill a supply gap in Mexico, said Trevor Frahm, export committee member of the Parma-based Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee.
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The Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion season will wrap up a little earlier than normal, due in part to increased exports to Mexico this season, he said.
Idaho Potato Commission
There’s a hungry market for Idaho potatoes south of the border that’s left underfed because of regulatory roadblocks, said Seth Pemsler, vice president for retail and international sales for the Eagle-based Idaho Potato Commission.
Idaho fresh potato marketers are working to expand the area to which they can ship potatoes to Mexico, which currently limits fresh shipments to within 26 kilometers of the U.S.-Mexico border, Pemsler said.
Concerns over potato cyst nematode are to blame for the limited range for U.S. exports, he said.
Russets are gaining popularity among Mexican consumers, Pemsler said.
Ixtapa Fresh
Mexico City-based Ixtapa Fresh has rolled out its Frucitos line of vending machines for selling fresh-cut fruit and vegetable snacks at schools and other vending venues.
Products offered include pomegranate arils, pineapple, jicama, coconut, honeydew or pepino melon, papaya, mango, baby carrots and whole bananas, said Janet Rodriguez, saleswoman.
The snacks come in sealed plastic trays, and spice packets to add zest also are included.
Monteblanco
Toluca, Mexico-based Monteblanco offers sliced and whole mushrooms throughout Mexico to retail and foodservice customers and to some retail customers in the U.S.
Monteblanco ships 500-gram and 1-kilogram overwrapped trays of whole and sliced white-button variety and sliced portabellas to retailers in Texas such as San Antonio-based H-E-B, said Jose Gomez, salesman.
The company shipped mushrooms to California retailers until recently, he said.
Other varieties cultivated at production operations in Toluca, Saltillo, Queretaro and Guadalajara include crimini and oyster, Gomez said.
Monteblanco has four distribution centers in Mexico and one in Houston.
Mr. Lucky
Guanajuato, Mexico-based grower-shipper Mr. Lucky recently introduced sliced celery and whole lettuce products.
Bagged fresh-cut celery in four- and eight-pack sizes are sold at club stores such as Sam’s Club and Costco nationwide in Mexico, said Roberto Ocejo, salesman.
Mr. Lucky also is marketing whole heads of oak leaf and frisee lettuce packed in clamshells.
The products are grown in the Guanajuato region, Ocejo said.
Nichols Farms
California pistachios have faced challenges in Mexico because of a 20% duty and the soft economy, said Milt Castro, sales manager for Nichols Farms, Hanford, Calif.
A smaller crop and related higher prices have made pistachios a tougher sale in Mexico, and the economy has been soft for the past year or two as it has in the U.S., Castro said.
The company markets nuts under the Nichols Farms brand and has sold the product at Mexican retail venues such as Soriana stores, he said.
Northwest Cherries
Despite challenges posed by a 20% duty and exchange rates, U.S. cherries enjoyed 80% growth in exports to Mexico for the 2008-09 season, said Teresa Baggarley, international program manager for Yakima, Wash.-based Northwest Cherries.
Shipments to Mexico weighed in at 120,000 20-pound box equivalents, and Baggarley said adding sweetheart cherries to the export mix has opened the shipping window to 74 days.
Bings represent the bulk of cherry exports, she said, with rainiers in the lineup as well.
Promotional efforts include retail sampling and wrap ads on buses in Mexico City last season, she said.
Produce Marketing Association
Newark, Del.-based Produce Marketing Association is expanding the E-ssentials retail training program in Mexico, said Nancy Tucker, vice president of global business development.
The series of eight courses details best handling practices for the 20 most popular fruits and vegetables.
The program is offered in four formats: online, workbooks, in-person instruction and on DVD, Tucker said.
PMA also plans a Fresh Connex event in Guadalajara on May 20, she said.
Fresh Connex aims to help build relationships through the supply chain and craft sales models among suppliers, brokers and buyers, Tucker said.
Taylor Farms
Taylor Farms recently began selling its Great Value line of bagged salads at Wal-Mart stores in Mexico, said Elda Soto, saleswoman for Taylor Farms in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Caesar, Italian and European varieties make up the Great Value line currently, Soto said.
From its Guanajuato production operation, Taylor Farms also supplies five varieties of salad kits to H-E-B, Soriana, and Costco stores in Mexico, she said.
The kits are BLT, Chicken Caesar, Buffalo Chicken, Santa Fe Chicken and Country Style Chef.
Taylor Farms also supplies about 400 Subway restaurants throughout Mexico with shredded lettuce from its Guanajuato facility, Soto said.
Washington Apple Commission
The Wenatchee-based Washington Apple Commission is celebrating the Mexican government’s recent decision to end a 47% anti-dumping tariff that was slapped on U.S. apples back in the 1990s, said Todd Fryhover, president of the commission.
He said it was too early to estimate if the volume of apples shipped to Mexico would post gains this season.
The U.S.’s southern neighbor imported about 10 million boxes of Washington apples in 2009, Fryhover said, out of total of 35 million boxes exported to more than 60 countries.
While red and golden delicious varieties have long been shipped to Mexico, other varieties — including granny smith and Cameo — are increasingly finding favor, he said, adding that, “Mexico is a fantastic gala market.”
Zespri
Kiwifruit shipments to Mexico saw volumes rise 40% during the 2009 season, said Matthew Clark, Latin America regional manager for Tauranga, New Zealand-based Zespri Kiwifruit.
Larger fruit — size 22 — is preferred, he said, as is green over gold.
In-store sampling and ads on television and radio have paid off as well, Clark said.