Prime Time shifting to Nogales deal
Prime Time shifting to Nogales deal
With the change in seasons comes a change in production regions as Prime Time International, headquartered in Coachella, CA, begins to source some of its signature green and colored pepper crop from West Mexico through its Nogales office and warehouse.
Marketing Manager Mike Aiton told The Produce News on Nov. 17 that mainland Mexico — the West Mexico growing region in Sinaloa — would be a major source of supply for the firm from late November into April. “We are going to start with green peppers next week (week of Nov. 24) which is a bit early and that will be followed by the elongated red peppers and mini peppers around Dec. 1.”
Though the timing might be a couple of days early this year, Aiton said the general concept is following a well-worn path that helps the company keep its customers in peppers throughout the year. The firm also has greenhouse production in the Coachella area where it grows colored peppers throughout the winter. The Mexican acreage, however, allows for greater volumes. While the firm does have some field-grown peppers in Mexico most are grown under some type of protective greenhouse-like conditions. In the past couple of decades Mexico’s production has largely shifted to a protective environment to allow for a longer season and steadier production. Aiton said the shadehouses help relieve bug pressure and offer protection against inclement weather.
The shift this year couldn’t come fast enough as summer storms in Baja California severely limited Prime Time’s production from that region during this fall season. “We have only had about 5 percent of our normal production from there,” said Aiton, stating that while the lack of production has led to very good markets, it has also prevented the company from giving its customers the peppers they need.
“We are moving into the Nogales deal with a very hungry market,” he said.
The carton price on the mini peppers, which were in very short supply throughout November, are through the roof. “We are getting $50 a carton for mini peppers,” said Aiton. “You hate to charge that much but it’s the market. We have very few to sell.”
He predicted that for at least the first couple of weeks in December, the market will remain fairly strong. He said volume will increase significantly but the holiday demand also will see a bump. After the first year, the longtime produce industry veteran said he expects supply and demand to return to a more normal level. “Our volume [from Mexico] will peak in the February-March time frame and we should still be shipping from Nogales into the first part of April.”
