Grape exports are key for Fresh Farms
Grape exports are key for Fresh Farms
RIO RICO, AZ — As Jerry Havel prepared to leave for the early February Fruit Logistica trade show in Berlin, it was appropriate to discuss Fresh Farms’ export program. Havel is the director of sales and marketing for Fresh Farms, which is located in Rio Rico. In the enormous Berlin produce show, Fresh Farms was to participate in the Mexico pavilion. Havel’s primary goal at the show was to build export sales to Europe. But he also planned to peruse new packaging and other such trade developments.
“Exports are really critically important” to his firm, he said. Mexican table grapes have been exported since Fresh Farms was founded eight years ago, and remain the company’s key export item. He said the Molina family, which owns The Molina Group in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, will ship 2.5 million cartons of grapes in 2014. The grapes were to bloom around Feb. 20 — after The Produce News deadline for this story — so Havel said it was too early to know much about the spring crop. This grape harvest is expected to start in May and may run as late as the first week of July.
Mexican grape shippers enter the export markets when the Chilean grape deal winds down in the spring, Havel said. Farm Fresh particularly exports Perlette, Prime seedless, Sugraone, Red Flame, the Unknown black seedless and Summer Royal. “We also export a lot of Red Globes. They are popular in the Far East,” Havel said.
Far East markets for Fresh Farms include Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia, New Zealand and India. Vietnam is a new Asian market for the firm this year.
To reach such a wide area and so many customers, “we basically use export companies in California,” Havel said. “They handle shipping, logistics and customers and we invoice them.” He paused and then added, “It’s nice to get paid.” Having export companies take the overseas payment responsibility is a secure step.
Exports account for about 15 percent to 20 percent of the firm’s grape sales.
This spring Fresh Farms will also be handling a wide range of vegetables.
These include zucchini, yellow and grey squash, the hard squash varieties, as well as English and slicing cucumber, eggplant, green beans, pickles and green bell peppers. The vegetables will run into May for Fresh Farms.
“We will have a very big watermelon program starting April 1,” he added. This watermelon deal is expected to run through the third week of June.
