Aguacateros Integrados becoming strong player in Mexican avocados
Aguacateros Integrados becoming strong player in Mexican avocados
Aguacateros Integrados de Michoacan, an avocado growing, packing and marketing organization headquartered in Michoacan, Mexico, produces some 10 million pounds of avocados a year in "certified orchards," according to a written company profile. Of that amount, 15 percent is sold in the national market in Mexico and 80 percent is exported to the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Central America.
Jorge Hernandez, a partner in the company who heads international operations from McAllen, TX, told The Produce News that Aguacateros Integrados has been "making all the certifications needed" for exporting the fruit to various countries as well as to meet the specific requirements of certain markets or customers within those countries.
Among the agencies for which Aguacateros Integrados has met certification, according to the company profile, are the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Eurepgap, the Mexican Department of Agriculture (SAGARPA), and the HACCP standards of SENASICA, the Mexican agency that oversees food safety. The company is also certified to use ASERCA's "Mex-Best" seal.
According to the company profile, the orchards are certified also under programs of USDA and APHIS, including the Work Plan for the Exportation of Hass Avocados from Mexico to the United States of America, and also under the SAGARPA-SENASICA good agricultural practices program.
Aguacateros Integrados is an affiliate of APEAM, the Association of Exporting Producers & Packers of Avocados of Michoacan, as well as several other trade groups. The company is also registered under the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's anti-bioterrorism program.
Regarding its organic products, Aguacateros Integrados is certified to USDA organic food production standards, according to the profile.
Aguacateros Integrados was founded two-and-a-half years ago, but its founders have some 30 years of experience in Hass avocado production, said Mr. Hernandez, who has been involved with the firm for about a year-and-a- half.
"We have been growing ever since we opened," he said. "We tried to build a company that would be top-of-the-line ever since we have started, and we have kept on with that same ideal."
The focus is on meeting the requirements of a wide range of certifications, he said, "because we think that the quality that goes with all of these certifications is something very important for us and for our clients."
Most of the partners in the company are involved in avocado production, Mr. Hernandez said. "So we grow our avocados," which makes it "easier for us to assure our quality" from the orchard through to the packinghouse and into the distribution channel.
The company also packs avocados from outside growers, he said. Aguacateros Integrados packs its fruit under either of two house brands: "Cosmos" and "NutriAvo." "We also do other people's brands," including co- packing for other avocado marketers, he said.
The company's U.S. exports are shipped throughout the country from New York to California, according to Mr. Hernandez. The fruit enters the United States primarily through McAllen. At present, Aguacateros Integrados does not have a warehouse in McAllen.
"We don't need it yet because we have been sending [the shipments] directly to our clients," most of who have their own warehouses in McAllen, he said. In other cases, in-and-out service in another warehouse is available to transload the product from the Mexican truck onto a U.S. truck that will make delivery at the customer's distribution warehouses in distant markets.
"The purpose of me being here [in McAllen]," said Mr. Hernandez, is to provide customer service and support to clients, "to let them know that we are here, to check our product and to see if they want another shipment soon. Another purpose of my being here is to broaden our sales and see if we can get new clients."
The company does direct business with retailers, and "we have been doing a lot of wholesalers and distributors," he said.
Aguacateros Integrados has been growing steadily but is not eager to grow too rapidly, he said. "What we are trying to do is to grow, even if it is at a slower pace, but with a very firm foundation. We are looking for clients, not just for one sale. We are looking for long-term business relationships."
Mr. Hernandez stated that the company pays attention to details in order to assure that the business relationship with clients "will last a long time." It does no one any good "if you just show up and sell a load and then never show up again," he said. Nor does it work to sell a load of product and then not get paid. "So we do these things with some caution, and we do it for security on our side and also on our clients' side."
Among the company's strengths, as listed in the written profile, are year- round availability of fruit, "optimal land-climactic conditions" for avocado cultivation, better yields and lower production costs per acre than "our main competitors," no phytosanitary problems found after cutting and sampling more than 30 million pieces of fruit, and participation in promotional campaigns to increase U.S. consumption of Mexican avocados.
One thing Aguacateros Integrados is doing new this season is offering avocados packed in net or mesh bags, Mr. Hernandez said. "We have been doing that for a couple of months now."
Jorge Hernandez, a partner in the company who heads international operations from McAllen, TX, told The Produce News that Aguacateros Integrados has been "making all the certifications needed" for exporting the fruit to various countries as well as to meet the specific requirements of certain markets or customers within those countries.
Among the agencies for which Aguacateros Integrados has met certification, according to the company profile, are the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Eurepgap, the Mexican Department of Agriculture (SAGARPA), and the HACCP standards of SENASICA, the Mexican agency that oversees food safety. The company is also certified to use ASERCA's "Mex-Best" seal.
According to the company profile, the orchards are certified also under programs of USDA and APHIS, including the Work Plan for the Exportation of Hass Avocados from Mexico to the United States of America, and also under the SAGARPA-SENASICA good agricultural practices program.
Aguacateros Integrados is an affiliate of APEAM, the Association of Exporting Producers & Packers of Avocados of Michoacan, as well as several other trade groups. The company is also registered under the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's anti-bioterrorism program.
Regarding its organic products, Aguacateros Integrados is certified to USDA organic food production standards, according to the profile.
Aguacateros Integrados was founded two-and-a-half years ago, but its founders have some 30 years of experience in Hass avocado production, said Mr. Hernandez, who has been involved with the firm for about a year-and-a- half.
"We have been growing ever since we opened," he said. "We tried to build a company that would be top-of-the-line ever since we have started, and we have kept on with that same ideal."
The focus is on meeting the requirements of a wide range of certifications, he said, "because we think that the quality that goes with all of these certifications is something very important for us and for our clients."
Most of the partners in the company are involved in avocado production, Mr. Hernandez said. "So we grow our avocados," which makes it "easier for us to assure our quality" from the orchard through to the packinghouse and into the distribution channel.
The company also packs avocados from outside growers, he said. Aguacateros Integrados packs its fruit under either of two house brands: "Cosmos" and "NutriAvo." "We also do other people's brands," including co- packing for other avocado marketers, he said.
The company's U.S. exports are shipped throughout the country from New York to California, according to Mr. Hernandez. The fruit enters the United States primarily through McAllen. At present, Aguacateros Integrados does not have a warehouse in McAllen.
"We don't need it yet because we have been sending [the shipments] directly to our clients," most of who have their own warehouses in McAllen, he said. In other cases, in-and-out service in another warehouse is available to transload the product from the Mexican truck onto a U.S. truck that will make delivery at the customer's distribution warehouses in distant markets.
"The purpose of me being here [in McAllen]," said Mr. Hernandez, is to provide customer service and support to clients, "to let them know that we are here, to check our product and to see if they want another shipment soon. Another purpose of my being here is to broaden our sales and see if we can get new clients."
The company does direct business with retailers, and "we have been doing a lot of wholesalers and distributors," he said.
Aguacateros Integrados has been growing steadily but is not eager to grow too rapidly, he said. "What we are trying to do is to grow, even if it is at a slower pace, but with a very firm foundation. We are looking for clients, not just for one sale. We are looking for long-term business relationships."
Mr. Hernandez stated that the company pays attention to details in order to assure that the business relationship with clients "will last a long time." It does no one any good "if you just show up and sell a load and then never show up again," he said. Nor does it work to sell a load of product and then not get paid. "So we do these things with some caution, and we do it for security on our side and also on our clients' side."
Among the company's strengths, as listed in the written profile, are year- round availability of fruit, "optimal land-climactic conditions" for avocado cultivation, better yields and lower production costs per acre than "our main competitors," no phytosanitary problems found after cutting and sampling more than 30 million pieces of fruit, and participation in promotional campaigns to increase U.S. consumption of Mexican avocados.
One thing Aguacateros Integrados is doing new this season is offering avocados packed in net or mesh bags, Mr. Hernandez said. "We have been doing that for a couple of months now."
