Pacific International Marketing Discusses Current Celery Market; Dave and Wils Johnson Talk Pricing, Availability, and More
SALINAS, CA - Pacific International Marketing is in the middle of its California season, staying in step with summer to bring its high-quality celery to retail shelves. Wils Johnson, General Manager, and Dave Johnson, President and Sales Executive, are two vegetable experts steering the ship, sharing steady weekly numbers and volume slightly higher than last season.
“Pacific has experienced single-digit FOBs through most of the season due to high yields and mild weather,” Wils began. “We are currently growing, harvesting, and packing in the Salinas Valley and our Santa Maria growing regions. The crops have shown good quality across the board, and we are forecasted to remain steady through October before ramping up for our Thanksgiving pull.”
The grower has had promotional volumes since the start of its Salinas and Santa Maria season, and expects this to continue over the next couple of months. While California went through an extended heat wave during June, Pacific celery acres were fortunately left largely unaffected.
As Dave and Wils both explained, the company has still faced some obstacles in terms of pricing for this season.
“The open celery market has been below our expectations, with prices trending in the $7.50 to $8.50 range. With other production areas around the nation ramping up, in addition to the elevated freight market and strong California yields, we expect this trend to remain through the summer,” Dave continued. “Our contracts and strong relationships with customers have supported our efforts to maximize the bottom line despite these challenges.”
At retail, club stores, and foodservice, Pacific offers a wide array of pack styles for the buy-side to take advantage of. Foodservice customers specifically can benefit from the supplier’s field-fresh celery stick program, which can be adjusted to fit all needs. Along with hearts and stalks, Pacific’s retail and club store customers can find value in its 1 lb and 2.5 lb celery stick SKUs.
As ANUK continues to see market trends shift, keep clicking back for the latest.
