Grupo Molina’s new Jalisco project launch a success
Grupo Molina’s new Jalisco project launch a success
HERMOSILLO, SONORA — For the first time ever, in mid-April the first fresh grapes were shipped from Jalisco.
As The Produce News reported April 17, the fruit came from a new vineyard and packing facility created by Grupo Molina, which is based here.
In a late-April meeting here at corporate headquarters, Jerry Havel, director of sales and marketing for Fresh Farms LLC, said that the young vineyard will produce about 250,000 cartons of grapes next season.
Owned by Grupo Molina, Fresh Farms is a Nogales company that markets Molina’s Mexican grapes and vegetables.
Jalisco is a Mexican state on the south-central portion of Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Molina’s Jalisco table grape production is 900 miles south of Guaymas, Sonora. Until now, Guaymas has been the Mexico’s southernmost significant fresh grape production area.
Havel said the Jalisco vineyard can be cultivated to have late-March production in the future. In March 2018, Jalisco vines will make Molina — and Mexico — a three-month shipper of fresh grapes. Until now, the vast majority of Mexico’s production has been in a fast May-June deal.
Molina has expanded its California presence by buying a vineyard near Delano, CA. The fruit, which adds volume to another Molina California grape operation, will be sold by Visalia Produce Sales in Kingsburg, CA. Owned by Group Molina, Visalia is a sister company of Fresh Farms. Visalia Produce markets Molina’s grape interests and California produce sourced from other growers. The California deal will run for Molina from July into mid-December.
Javier Molina, Molina’s director of operations, said he is excited about extending the family’s grape operations to have production from late March until mid-December.
A natural question for Molina, then was, “What about extending production to the earlier part of the calendar, and compete with Chile and Peru in December, January and February?”
Molina appeared shocked by the suggestion. Then he noted that, in the near term, Grupo Molina planned to focus on Jalisco for early production. In two years, the firm will initiate new plans and financing to expand beyond the 1,250 acres the Molinas are developing in Jalisco over the next three years.
As these plans settle, Molina acknowledged that the firm might then consider a move toward even earlier Mexican production.
In three years Jalisco expects to ship 1 million boxes of grapes per year from Jalisco.
