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Fresh Farms encourages June promotions of Mexican table grapes

June is the month for North American retailers to focus on promoting Mexican table grapes, noted Jerry Havel, the director of sales and marketing for Fresh Farms.

The company’s sales and distribution center is in Rio Rico, AZ. Fresh Farms is owned by Mexico’s Molina family, which is one of the country’s largest-volume grape growers.

Havel said that 80 percent of Mexico’s grapes are shipped in June. Thus, making it the prime time for retail promotions.

J-Havel Jerry Havel, the director of sales and marketing for Fresh Farms, in his office in Rio Rico, AZ.In a March 31 interview, Havel indicated that Fresh Farms would begin its green grape deal from Mexico about May 6. “A few days later we’ll begin shipping blacks and reds. This is a good promotable crop in all three colors.

“We anticipate that we will have normal supplies of red and black and, if anything is short, it could be green grapes,” he said.

He explained that light chilling hours in the growing season might have set the green varieties “a little lighter.” Still, he emphasized that he is expecting “a very good season.”

Fresh Farms “gives some advance promotions for certain retailers,” Havel said. “We are open to promotional from (more) retailers to move the crop to retail chain stores. The month of June will be the ideal time for promotions for all three varieties.”

Fresh Farms will be offering its grapes in a full range of clamshells and pouch bags are also available to customers.

Havel noted that the earliest green grape varieties will involve Prime as well as Perlettes. Primes “are larger than Perlettes and have a flavor that people really like. It is an alternative to Perlette.”

Another popular green grape, Sugraone, will come onto the market at the end of May.

Flame Seedless, a red grape, will be available through May and into June.

Havel said Fresh Farms will also be shipping a limited volume of the red seedless Sweet Celebration variety.

The black seedless Summer Royal will come on the market about May 8. In early June the black variety Black Unknown will be harvested.     

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