U.S. tomato shippers look for quick return to normalcy
U.S. tomato shippers look for quick return to normalcy
As the June 16 issue of The Produce News was going to press, the Salmonella situation relating to tomatoes was still very unsettled, but growers, shippers, wholesalers and retailers were optimistic that normalcy would soon return to the marketplace.
Gary Margolis, president of Gem Tomato & Vegetable Sales Inc. in Boca Raton, FL, was reached at his Arkansas facility June 11 as his firm was about to begin nationwide shipping of this year's tomato crop.
"There is a lot of uncertainty in the market right now," Mr. Margolis said. "We are just not sure what is going to happen. We have a beautiful crop and there was a lot of interest before this tomato thing happened, which never should have happened. It was a non-issue from the start; it was not a newsworthy event and the media did an awful job covering it."
Mr. Margolis said that local buyers were taking the few Arkansas tomatoes currently available and he was hopeful that when volume starts to hit in the next 10 days, his regular customers would be in the marketplace.
He said that early indications are that both retailers and foodservice operators around the country that had pulled tomatoes from their shelves and menus were poised to start stocking again.
John Sikina, senior sales manager for Procacci Bros. Sales Corp., which is based in Philadelphia and is one of the larger wholesalers of tomatoes in the country, agreed that customers were starting to come back. "Today is a difficult day to judge what the market is going to do," he said June 11. "I can tell you the f.o.b. price is holding."
As far as the wholesale price is concerned, Mr. Sikina said there is not a lot of movement because buyers and sellers were busy getting the proper paperwork for the tomatoes that were already in the pipeline. He said that over the weekend of June 7-8, many of Procacci's customers pulled tomatoes off the shelves and put them in the back room to await clearance from the Food & Drug Administration regarding their point of origin.
Mr. Sikina said that most of those tomatoes came from Florida regions that had been cleared as acceptable shipping points, but buyers wanted the documentation affirming that.
"We've spent all day chasing down those papers," he said. "But I think most customers are going to start stocking again, and then we will have to see what the consumer does."
Mike Yuro, head buyer for KV Mart, an independent Los Angeles-based chain of about two dozen stores, said that the market price on Florida tomatoes actually jumped on June 11. He said that with Mexican tomatoes out of the market due to lack of buyer demand, Florida shippers with product were able to get a bit of a premium.
KV Mart pulled the Mexican tomatoes that it was carrying off the shelves on June 10, and Mr. Yuro quickly ordered a load of Florida tomatoes. He said June 11 that when the chain starts restocking the shelves -- as early as later that day -- it would be with the Florida product. (By June 11, Florida and most other U.S.-producing states had been cleared, deemed not to be the likely source of the contamination.)
"The FDA is supposed to make an announcement later today," he said June 11. "If it is favorable, we'll put tomatoes back in the stores."
The longtime Southern California retailer said that the chain did have a big drop in tomato sales over the weekend, as many consumers shunned the publicized product.
For some U.S. growers, the timing of the situation was fortunate.
Tom Deardorff, president of Deardorff Family Farms in Oxnard, CA, wished no ill will on his colleagues in the tomato industry, but he said that the start of his California deal was still about two weeks away. "There are a few tomatoes coming out of Imperial [County] right now, but California has very little and won't for a couple of more weeks," he said. "So this has not impacted us yet -- but it may."
Mr. Deardorff said that early indications, measured by pre-orders, are that most people expect the situation to be behind them by the start of his deal in late June. He said that the company would emphasize the California origin of its tomatoes when it starts to ship, "but you have to be careful about that. We do not want to play one area against another. It will be more of an educational effort to let consumers know where the tomatoes are coming from."
The Deardorff family has long been in the tomato business, and this third- generation president of the company said that before the Salmonella news, tomatoes had a very rosy outlook for this year.
"We have had a number of good years in a row, and demand has been up," Mr. Deardorff said. "Things were looking very good for this season. We'll have to wait and see how this affects it."
One shipper, who understandably is not so optimistic, is T.J. Bauer, director of sales for L&M Cos. Inc.'s Nogales, AZ, division.
With Mexico being one of the few areas that had not yet been cleared by the FDA and the rumored source of the Salmonella contamination, the market for Mexican tomatoes had largely dried up. Buyers throughout the country were heeding the FDA warning and staying away from tomatoes shipped from south of the border.
As a director of the Nogales-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, Mr. Bauer was receiving twice-daily updates from the FDA, but as of June 11 no resolution had been proposed for Mexico's quandary.
Mr. Bauer said that growers, shippers and distributors of Mexican tomatoes would like that region to be treated like the United States. "In the U.S., the FDA has cleared states that were not in production when the problems arose," he said. "We'd like the same consideration in Mexico."
Mr. Bauer said that Mexico is made up of many states that are geographically diverse, and the country should not be treated as a single unit.
He said that tomato producers in Baja California had not yet shipped, but were on the verge of production as this situation arose. Shippers from that area obviously are not suspect and they are separated from other tomato- producing regions by a body of water and hundreds of miles. As of June 11, FDA had not made a determination about any area of Mexico.
Mr. Bauer said that the effect on Mexican tomatoes was significant. Shipments coming through Nogales probably would have lasted for another month if this situation had not arisen, he said.
There was a minor effect on other Mexican crops currently being shipped, as it was difficult to make sales without tomatoes serving as the anchor for most mixed loads, he noted.
Gary Margolis, president of Gem Tomato & Vegetable Sales Inc. in Boca Raton, FL, was reached at his Arkansas facility June 11 as his firm was about to begin nationwide shipping of this year's tomato crop.
"There is a lot of uncertainty in the market right now," Mr. Margolis said. "We are just not sure what is going to happen. We have a beautiful crop and there was a lot of interest before this tomato thing happened, which never should have happened. It was a non-issue from the start; it was not a newsworthy event and the media did an awful job covering it."
Mr. Margolis said that local buyers were taking the few Arkansas tomatoes currently available and he was hopeful that when volume starts to hit in the next 10 days, his regular customers would be in the marketplace.
He said that early indications are that both retailers and foodservice operators around the country that had pulled tomatoes from their shelves and menus were poised to start stocking again.
John Sikina, senior sales manager for Procacci Bros. Sales Corp., which is based in Philadelphia and is one of the larger wholesalers of tomatoes in the country, agreed that customers were starting to come back. "Today is a difficult day to judge what the market is going to do," he said June 11. "I can tell you the f.o.b. price is holding."
As far as the wholesale price is concerned, Mr. Sikina said there is not a lot of movement because buyers and sellers were busy getting the proper paperwork for the tomatoes that were already in the pipeline. He said that over the weekend of June 7-8, many of Procacci's customers pulled tomatoes off the shelves and put them in the back room to await clearance from the Food & Drug Administration regarding their point of origin.
Mr. Sikina said that most of those tomatoes came from Florida regions that had been cleared as acceptable shipping points, but buyers wanted the documentation affirming that.
"We've spent all day chasing down those papers," he said. "But I think most customers are going to start stocking again, and then we will have to see what the consumer does."
Mike Yuro, head buyer for KV Mart, an independent Los Angeles-based chain of about two dozen stores, said that the market price on Florida tomatoes actually jumped on June 11. He said that with Mexican tomatoes out of the market due to lack of buyer demand, Florida shippers with product were able to get a bit of a premium.
KV Mart pulled the Mexican tomatoes that it was carrying off the shelves on June 10, and Mr. Yuro quickly ordered a load of Florida tomatoes. He said June 11 that when the chain starts restocking the shelves -- as early as later that day -- it would be with the Florida product. (By June 11, Florida and most other U.S.-producing states had been cleared, deemed not to be the likely source of the contamination.)
"The FDA is supposed to make an announcement later today," he said June 11. "If it is favorable, we'll put tomatoes back in the stores."
The longtime Southern California retailer said that the chain did have a big drop in tomato sales over the weekend, as many consumers shunned the publicized product.
For some U.S. growers, the timing of the situation was fortunate.
Tom Deardorff, president of Deardorff Family Farms in Oxnard, CA, wished no ill will on his colleagues in the tomato industry, but he said that the start of his California deal was still about two weeks away. "There are a few tomatoes coming out of Imperial [County] right now, but California has very little and won't for a couple of more weeks," he said. "So this has not impacted us yet -- but it may."
Mr. Deardorff said that early indications, measured by pre-orders, are that most people expect the situation to be behind them by the start of his deal in late June. He said that the company would emphasize the California origin of its tomatoes when it starts to ship, "but you have to be careful about that. We do not want to play one area against another. It will be more of an educational effort to let consumers know where the tomatoes are coming from."
The Deardorff family has long been in the tomato business, and this third- generation president of the company said that before the Salmonella news, tomatoes had a very rosy outlook for this year.
"We have had a number of good years in a row, and demand has been up," Mr. Deardorff said. "Things were looking very good for this season. We'll have to wait and see how this affects it."
One shipper, who understandably is not so optimistic, is T.J. Bauer, director of sales for L&M Cos. Inc.'s Nogales, AZ, division.
With Mexico being one of the few areas that had not yet been cleared by the FDA and the rumored source of the Salmonella contamination, the market for Mexican tomatoes had largely dried up. Buyers throughout the country were heeding the FDA warning and staying away from tomatoes shipped from south of the border.
As a director of the Nogales-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, Mr. Bauer was receiving twice-daily updates from the FDA, but as of June 11 no resolution had been proposed for Mexico's quandary.
Mr. Bauer said that growers, shippers and distributors of Mexican tomatoes would like that region to be treated like the United States. "In the U.S., the FDA has cleared states that were not in production when the problems arose," he said. "We'd like the same consideration in Mexico."
Mr. Bauer said that Mexico is made up of many states that are geographically diverse, and the country should not be treated as a single unit.
He said that tomato producers in Baja California had not yet shipped, but were on the verge of production as this situation arose. Shippers from that area obviously are not suspect and they are separated from other tomato- producing regions by a body of water and hundreds of miles. As of June 11, FDA had not made a determination about any area of Mexico.
Mr. Bauer said that the effect on Mexican tomatoes was significant. Shipments coming through Nogales probably would have lasted for another month if this situation had not arisen, he said.
There was a minor effect on other Mexican crops currently being shipped, as it was difficult to make sales without tomatoes serving as the anchor for most mixed loads, he noted.
