MEXICO - With the onslaught of rain in weeks prior, many growers across the industry have taken up unique strategies to keep production across all commodities on course. While my strategy would be frantically singing “Rain, Rain, Go Away,” the team at Fresh Farms is employing a much more sensible approach to ensuring bell peppers reach retail and foodservice providers.

I chatted with Alan Voll, Sales, with Fresh Farms to find out more about the grower’s bell pepper program coming out of Mexico.

“Currently, we have green peppers coming out of Sinaloa, with the rest of bell peppers getting underway now. We’re a little late getting started due to all the rain we had six weeks ago,” Alan told me. “It’s been unseasonably cool from Sonora to Sinaloa, and the rain combined with this cold weather is causing us to pivot away from production shortfalls.”

While Alan disclosed that volumes are slightly off from years prior, quality is good despite the inclement weather. In fact, the cold has helped improve the quality of Fresh Farms’ bell peppers since it meant a dry period with no rain.

“We need warmer weather to get our volume up. In a nutshell, production isn’t going to come up until warm weather rolls in. I’m hoping for high 80s,” Alan said, before giving me the lowdown on the state of the market. “Demand exceeds supply for the last week. This week was the first time we saw a flex in the marketplace, in addition to a slight increase in volume. This, combined with the softening in market pricing, makes for a good market for growers.”

As Fresh Farms and other growers keep their eyes on the skies in hopes of warmer weather, AndNowUKnow will continue to do the same in our latest market updates.

Fresh Farms