With the multi-colored pepper crops transitioning from one district to the next during the fall season, supplies are generally tight and demand good during the Thanksgiving to Christmas time frame. That is especially going to be the case this year as a series of September-October storms created multiple challenges in Baja California, which is the main production area at this time of year. “Not only did the storms damage the crops in the ground but there was significant damage to the infrastructure,” said Mike Aiton, marketing manager for Prime Time Sales LLC in Coachella, CA.

He said Prime Time is doing what it can to take care of its customers for its peppers, tomatoes and other crops but there is no getting around the short supply situation. He said November and December are typically a time of fairly high prices for the colored peppers, but this year will be much more challenging. “Baja serves as a bridge between our California deals and the peppers coming from mainland Mexico,” he said. “This year the bridge is under repair.”

Prime Time’s newly acquired packinghouse in Somis, CA.Aiton said the costly repairs are under way and he anticipates that by the spring deal volume from Baja California should return to more normal levels. Speaking on the last day of October, Aiton said supplies of all the Bell-type peppers should remain very tight through the month of November. By early December green Bells will be coming through Nogales, AZ, and by early January a normal supply of the colored Bells and mini peppers will also be flowing through the Nogales port of entry.

In the meantime, Prime Time announced an operational change that will give it greater control over its distribution of product from coastal California next year. The firm recently acquired an 80,000-square-foot packinghouse and distribution facility in Somis, CA, which is just east of Oxnard in Ventura County.

Prime Time previously leased a facility but announced that this purchase will allow for future diversification and expansion. “We reached a point where we needed to expand our operations and take control of our own destiny in this important region,” Mike Way, managing member at Prime Time, said in a press release. “This purchase enables us to expand not only our packing and shipping operations, but also to develop a line of services for other produce industry companies including handling, cooling, consolidation and cross docking.”

The facility sits on 16 acres and was previously a tomato packing operation, owned by Gargiulo Inc. in Naples, FL. An extensive remodel campaign is now under way. It includes converting the packing operations to be compatible with peppers, installation of new bagging equipment, converting to a forced-air cooling system and installing new storage racking to increase capacity.

Carl Sam Maggio and Mark Nickerson, founders and principle owners in the company, will preside over the transition ensuring a first class facility that is fully compliant with all current requirements. In addition, Prime Time announced the appointment of Morgan Fragoso to the position of shipping/cooler manager at the new facility. Fragoso held a similar position for a dozen years with Cal-Sun in Oxnard prior to joining Prime Time.

Aiton said that while the firm’s operations will be enhanced, it will be a seamless transition for customers. “It’s a big change for us and a sign of our growth but for our customers instead of turning left, they will be turning right to get to our facility,” he quipped.