For HLB Specialties, a tropical produce supplier based in Pompano Beach, FL, weather during the first two months of the year has presented challenges for its core item of papayas.

Homero Levy de Barros, president of HLB Specialties, said his company ships both the large and small papaya varieties, which it sources from Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala.

He said two recent hurricanes in Hawaii have wiped out up to 50 percent of the papaya production on that island state.

HLB Specialties distributes both small and large papayas from Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala.“It’s a situation where one person’s misfortune is another’s benefit,” said de Barros. “With the situation in Hawaii, we are seeing a lot more demand on the West Coast for our small papayas from Brazil. The market has been up to $30 a box lately for Hawaiian papayas, which is about $10 higher than normal.”

But in the Midwest and on the East Coast, where large papayas are preferred, abundant snowfall and record-setting cold temperatures have severely limited demand for tropical fruits, including papayas.

“We don’t expect to see any change for at least two weeks,” de Barros told The Produce News Feb. 24. “When the weather is that cold, people don’t shop as much, and tropical produce especially is not top of mind for consumers. Currently, large papayas to the East Coast are selling for about $14-15 for a 32-pound box, when normally for this time of year the price is about $5 higher. We won’t see recovery until the weather improves. And this puts a lot of pressure on our growers, because they are sitting on a lot of product that can’t be moved right now.”

Compounding the concern he has is the severe drought that Brazil is currently experiencing.

“We are in the rainy season in Brazil and it has not rained at all, and that is affecting all agriculture, including papayas,” he said. “It’s an unprecedented drought situation in Brazil right now, and water rationing is expected to occur. We are fortunate that our grower, Caliman, has its own 100-hectare lake it uses to irrigate the papayas, but they are under pressure to divert some of that water to benefit other agriculture.”

Still, de Barros is confident that the situation will improve and consumers will once again be able to enjoy the high-quality papayas they have come to expect from HLB.

“We have a good supply of large papayas from Mexico and Guatemala, as well as a good supply of small papayas from Brazil, so we will be able to supply the market when the weather improves and consumption returns to normal.”