Catania Worldwide and Stellar Distributing set to provide their own figs year-round
Catania Worldwide and Stellar Distributing set to provide their own figs year-round
In early April, The Produce News reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service authorized the importation of Mexican figs into the United States, effective March 30, 2015. The final requirement for importing to the United States was to certify the irradiation facility, which was done in late April.
Stellar Distributing’s Brian Lapin, Kurt Cappeluti, Connie Gil, Nick Cappeluti and Michael Simmons celebrated the arrival of their first shipment of Mexican figs from Catania Worldwide’s own fields in Mexico.
The first Mexican figs to be imported into the U.S. for many decades landed in Madera, CA, on Monday, May 11. Stellar Distributing received the shipment from Catania Worldwide’s facilities in Mexico.
Catania Worldwide owns Stellar Distributing Inc., which is based in Madera, CA, and is a major grower, packer and shipper of California figs. Paul Catania, president of Catania Worldwide in Toronto, said the addition of Mexican figs as completely complementary and a great way to increase the promotion and consumption of fresh figs.
This places Catania and Stellar in the unique position to be fully vertically integrated to supply fresh figs to U.S. markets throughout the year.
Catania has been working with Mexican fig growers for four years, but shipped the first Mexican figs into the United States from his own 150 acres in the state of Sonora. May is the end of the growing season for the region, which will start again in late October, when Stellar Distributing will be wrapping up its California fig season.