“Gone are the days of seasonal produce in Mexico,” said Alan Aguirre Camou of Divine Flavor. “Newer areas of Central Mexico are emerging, and we have established a network of growers who are aligned with our vision to prioritize growing flavorful produce and help complement our year-round offerings to our customers.”
Throughout the years, Mexico has established itself as playing a vital role in the produce industry, being a significant supplier of hot house veg to North American retail markets during the cooler parts of the year when Canadian production is limited.
In 2023, more than 88 percent of Mexico’s production was exported to the United States, representing a total value of more than $8.5 billion. This was an increase of 7 percent from 2022, and more than 13 percent from 2021, according to USDA trade numbers.
There has been a variety of contributing factors why Mexican imports have been steadily increasing year after year. For example, Mexico has taken great strides to adopt U.S. food safety rules and industry requirements, but additionally, the recent emergence of greenhouse technology throughout central Mexico in the Guanajuato and Queretaro regions, along with various areas of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Baja California, are demonstrating to be key growing regions to filling in the gaps of when Western Mexico starts and finishes.
“Traditionally, Mexico would have its strongest volumes during the months of December to May on veg, but that’s not the case anymore as growers are investing more in greenhouse production and growing areas that thrive during the summer months,” said Aguirre Camou. “Now is a good time to get into Mexico and discover the value it will bring U.S. retail.”
Divine Flavor, whose roots were established in Sonora with principal grower, Grupo Alta, also has growing operations in West Mexico throughout the Sinaloan region with Bell pepper, tomato, and cucumber production.
Throughout the years, Divine Flavor’s grower allies in Sinaloa — Hortifresh and Viva Orgánica — have expanded production outside the traditional timeframe from November to May by setting up shop in other areas of Mexico, which are ideal growing regions during the summer.
Aguirre Camou said Hortifresh, Viva Orgánica and Grupo Alta, along with other key grower partners, are seizing the opportunity to continue investing in new opportunities in Mexico or expanding upon the success of their current foundations.
A recent example would be Grupo Alta’s Don Mario vineyard in Jalisco, a grape project seven years in the making that produced around 2 million boxes of premium table grapes this past season.
For Grupo Alta, discovering a newer growing region and being able to adapt to its growing environment has proven fruitful, and currently it services a strategic window for Divine Flavor when the Chilean imports are on their last days, and just before Sonora starts.
“One of our biggest advantages as a company is that we are vertically integrated with our growers,” said Aguirre Camou. “Being able to work this way with our current farms and potential grower partners significantly helps leverage the way we do business, whether it relates to exploring new growing ventures, forecasting projections, planning specific pack styles, or having the best compliance programs related to food safety, social responsibility, sustainability and our pillar requirements. It’s a business model that we’ve fully integrated into our company culture.”
For companies like Divine Flavor, Mexico is increasingly becoming a viable year-round source for fresh produce, offering consistent availability to meet customer demand.
Divine Flavor is currently growing hot house Bell peppers and tomatoes in Jalisco and Nayarit, in addition to their organic specialty items like Magnifico grape tomatoes, sweet mini peppers, cucumbers, and various tomato varieties coming from Baja, Mexico area.
The company anticipates the start of production in West Mexico to begin in November, which is typical for when the region begins.
