Stevco finds success with Coachella & Mexican grapes
Stevco finds success with Coachella & Mexican grapes
For Stevco, which is based in Los Angeles, but has offices in the grape growing regions, selling both Mexican and Coachella Valley table grapes works very well for its customers.
“We have customers that want fruit out of California and we have others that are not as concerned about the country of origin,” said David Clyde, president of the firm.
Stevco sells about 500,000 cartons of Coachella Valley grapes in the May/June time period and about 1.5 million cartons of Mexican grapes. He said the combination allows the firm to cover the needs of its customers. Selling both “works very well for us and works for our customers,” he said.
He said the California grapes usually command a little bit of a premium but the price is very close, which he believes is warranted because the grapes are very similar. He said Mexico produces a very nice piece of fruit. Stevco has been representing grapes from both regions for 15 years and he said while you occasionally hear rumblings from Coachella Valley about the Mexican production, the two areas have survived side by side. “Coachella just does not have enough grapes to supply everyone,” he added.
Coachella Valley’s production has been around the six-million carton level for many years while Mexico produces in the neighborhood of 16 million to 18 million cartons during its spring growing season. The vast majority of those are sent to the U.S. market, though some are consumed domestically and also some are sold to other regions of the world.
Stevco offers its customers both California and Mexican grapes in a variety of containers including clamshells, bags and different box styles. Because of warm winter and spring weather in both regions, the grapes are early this year. Stevco will have grapes to sell by May 5 and expects to stay in Coachealla and Mexico until sometime around mid-July. At that point, the diversified shipper will transition to its crops in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. “Things will be pretty much the same at Stevco,” Clyde said. “There is nothing new here. Status quo.”
