Bruce Klein, director of marketing for Maurice A. Auerbach, now located in its new facility in Secaucus, NJ, told The Produce News that looking at new items to potentially add to the company’s already extensive line of specialty produce simply makes sense.

“A line such as ours has its own synergy,” said Mr. Klein. “It just makes sense to continue with the line that we have established over the years and that is very solid today. We look for items that make sense and compliment that synergy.”

Spring means asparagus season at Maurice A. Auerbach, but Mr. Klein said that this year the market has been high.

“This is because there are less growers producing today,” he explained. “I don’t see this changing in the future. We are getting some product out of Peru now, but there is not a lot available. Producers and shippers take advantage of the high markets because they know they can get the higher prices. Prices are also up on asparagus from California, and even New Jersey.

Bruce Klein and Josh Auerbach of Maurice A. Auerbach.“The same applies to peeled garlic this year,” Mr. Klein continued. “Last year China did not have a large garlic crop, and they’re still today shipping some older product. Freight costs are also contributing to the higher prices. If China has a large crop this year prices should level off, but if they don’t we’ll likely see higher prices into the future.”

Mr. Klein explained that the United States does not have the ability to supply the domestic demand for peeled garlic. U.S. growers, the majority of which are in California, cut back on production several years ago when China was aggressively selling garlic to the United States at considerably lower prices than U.S. growers could produce it. Now, with the market tight and the demand higher, California growers are trying to build their crops up once again. That, however, does not happen overnight.

“It takes two years to produce a new crop of garlic,” said Mr. Klein. “A seed crop takes one season — or one year — to produce. Those seeds are used to produce the commercial crop the following season. If California producers put seed crops in last year, they may have increases this year. We just have to wait to see how this plays out.”

Maurice A. Auerbach is a third-generation family-owned business that started distributing garlic during World War II. In the 1970s, it expanded its product line to include some of the finest produce available, sourced from around the world. Today the company continues to specialize in garlic, as well as shallots and other difficult to find specialty items, including tropical, oriental and organic produce.

The company relocated to its new high-tech, cutting-edge facility in the fall of 2011. The 60,000-square-foot facility has 45,000 square feet of refrigeration, with a totally unbroken cold chain.

The company also took advantage of constructing the new facility to enhance its sustainability program. It is also highly secure, “like getting into Fort Knox,” Mr. Klein mentioned.

The company also has a successful organic program.

“Certain accounts continue to do very well with organics,” said Mr. Klein. “As we look at new items to potentially bring into our line, we also look at them in their organic option as well as in conventional product.”