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Bayshore’s Mike Ryan anticipating good fruit from Chile

Thanks to a good growing season in Chile, Miami-based Bayshore Produce is expecting excellent crops of good-quality Chilean stone fruit and grapes for the upcoming season.

peach-blossomA peach blossom in Quillota, Chile, at full bloom stage. Miami-based Bayshore Produce is expecting excellent crops of good-quality Chilean peaches, plum, nectarines and grapes for the upcoming season. (Photo courtesy of Bayshore Produce)

“We anticipate better quality and larger-sized stone fruit compared to last year,” when a freeze in Chile hurt exports of many Chilean items, Mike Ryan Jr., business development manager at Bayshore’s Tampa, FL, division, told The Produce News. “We expect the first shipments of peaches, plums and nectarines to come in just before Christmas,” which would be fairly normal timing.

Grapes will be coming in shortly after that, as usual. “We may see some grapes trickle in at the beginning of the year, but the big volume will come in late January or early February,” said Ryan. Again, that scenario would be in line with normal timing.

Bayshore Produce was founded about five years ago by Rosann Cabrera as both an importer and exporter of high-quality produce, specializing in imported grapes, apples and stone fruits, primarily from Chile, which come into the United States through the port of Miami. The company also exports to a number of countries in the Caribbean.

 

The company entered the California grape deal for the first time this past summer when it partnered with two established California grape growers in Delano to co-pack the grapes under the brand name “Grapes in the Sun.”

That label will make its first appearance on boxes of Chilean grapes this season. Until this season, Bayshore imported Chilean grapes under the labels from a number of high-quality growers. Bayshore will continue that practice this season, but in addition will be importing grapes under its new “Grapes in the Sun” label.

“We’re going to pack green seedless, red seedless and red seeded grapes in Chile in our own label,” Ryan announced with pride. He said it was a bit too early to talk specifically about the company’s overall volume of Chilean grapes, but he did say that the “second half of the season should see better volume than the first half,” due in part to some water issues.

Generally speaking, however, Ryan was eagerly looking forward to a good season. “With no freeze in Chile this year like there was last year,” he stated, “we’re expecting better quality, larger fruit and better prices for the consumer.”

 

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