Record freezes devastate Guatemalan vegetables
Record freezes devastate Guatemalan vegetables
GUATEMALA CITY -- Those sleeping in Guatemala City on Thanksgiving night needed a couple of extra blankets. Even at a mile-plus above sea level, the need for heating homes is so rare that most homes do not have heating systems.
Solutions for staying warm escaped most of Guatemala's vegetable-producing highlands during a cold front that ran on three record-breaking cold nights Nov. 22-24. The Guatemala City newspaper Prensa Libre reported Nov. 26 that the country experienced $6 million in vegetable crop losses on the night of Nov. 22 alone as a result of the freeze.
Antonio Maldonado, owner of Agroexportadores San Lucas, personally owns two farms. One, San Geronimo near Antigua, is at 4,400 feet of elevation and escaped major damage. He said that Antigua has not seen a freeze for 20 years. Mr. Maldonado's other farm, surrounding his San Lucas packinghouse not far from Guatemala City and located at 6,200 feet of elevation, saw 28 degrees and the complete destruction of baby vegetables, snap beans and sno peas. Fortunately for Mr. Maldonado, this farm represented only 10 percent of his total production. He said that about 75 percent of Guatemala's total highlands vegetable production was destroyed by the cold weather. The earliest harvest of replanted vegetables will be available by the New Year holiday.
"By early January, our production will be normal again," Mr. Maldonado said. We will aim for the Chinese New Year in the third week of January."
Broccoli and brussels sprouts in Guatemala's highlands survived the cold, and the coldest temperatures were in Quetzaltenango, where temperatures dropped to 20 degrees.
He noted that the melon business in Zacapa, Guatemala, on the lowlands toward the Caribbean coast, was slowed a bit by the cold weather, but was unharmed by the cold front.
Mr. Maldonado said that fruit and vegetable production on Guatemala's Pacific coastal lowlands was also unharmed.
"The cold front was not expected, especially in November," he said. "It's a time when the rainy season is over and we expect good crops. From November to May, we sent our best crops to the U.S. Unfortunately, this happened."
Two positive factors for Guatemala's vegetable exporters are that they were able to enjoy strong sales and markets before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Mr. Maldonado said that his big push of "Baby Fresh" brand vegetables was in the United States by Friday, Nov. 17, in time to give U.S. food retailers distribution for the holiday shopping.
Also tempering the sting of the freeze is the fact that "usually after Thanksgiving, the trend in the market slows for a week or two. That gives us time to replant."
In Guatemala, the demand for surviving French beans, sno peas, zucchini and other squash was very high after the freeze, Mr. Maldonado said. The freeze will "make prices extremely high for the next four or five weeks."
His own operation "will work with what we've got. We will supply the best we can to our customers. People in the produce industry understand that unfortunate things happen."
Mr. Maldonado noted that in addition to large volumes of produce exports to the United States and Europe, Guatemala also provides 80 percent of the vegetables consumed in Central America. Prices for all consumers will rise dramatically, he said. "Beans and tomatoes will be sky high. Beans are what people [primarily] eat in Guatemala."
He added, "This is the best time of the year for the best production. And it's the best time in the U.S.A. for good prices and demand because of the holidays. But in agriculture, there is always gambling. This time it was with cold fronts. In Guatemala, we have no crop insurance or government aid. This is a big individual loss for all the farmers in Guatemala. For their families and the economy, it is a huge loss."
Mr. Maldonado said that other Guatemalan vegetable exporters that depend on the European and U.K. markets will, of course, also face reduced supplies. He said that this is the beginning of Guatemala's European market window, when African production is down. African production rises again in March.
Solutions for staying warm escaped most of Guatemala's vegetable-producing highlands during a cold front that ran on three record-breaking cold nights Nov. 22-24. The Guatemala City newspaper Prensa Libre reported Nov. 26 that the country experienced $6 million in vegetable crop losses on the night of Nov. 22 alone as a result of the freeze.
Antonio Maldonado, owner of Agroexportadores San Lucas, personally owns two farms. One, San Geronimo near Antigua, is at 4,400 feet of elevation and escaped major damage. He said that Antigua has not seen a freeze for 20 years. Mr. Maldonado's other farm, surrounding his San Lucas packinghouse not far from Guatemala City and located at 6,200 feet of elevation, saw 28 degrees and the complete destruction of baby vegetables, snap beans and sno peas. Fortunately for Mr. Maldonado, this farm represented only 10 percent of his total production. He said that about 75 percent of Guatemala's total highlands vegetable production was destroyed by the cold weather. The earliest harvest of replanted vegetables will be available by the New Year holiday.
"By early January, our production will be normal again," Mr. Maldonado said. We will aim for the Chinese New Year in the third week of January."
Broccoli and brussels sprouts in Guatemala's highlands survived the cold, and the coldest temperatures were in Quetzaltenango, where temperatures dropped to 20 degrees.
He noted that the melon business in Zacapa, Guatemala, on the lowlands toward the Caribbean coast, was slowed a bit by the cold weather, but was unharmed by the cold front.
Mr. Maldonado said that fruit and vegetable production on Guatemala's Pacific coastal lowlands was also unharmed.
"The cold front was not expected, especially in November," he said. "It's a time when the rainy season is over and we expect good crops. From November to May, we sent our best crops to the U.S. Unfortunately, this happened."
Two positive factors for Guatemala's vegetable exporters are that they were able to enjoy strong sales and markets before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Mr. Maldonado said that his big push of "Baby Fresh" brand vegetables was in the United States by Friday, Nov. 17, in time to give U.S. food retailers distribution for the holiday shopping.
Also tempering the sting of the freeze is the fact that "usually after Thanksgiving, the trend in the market slows for a week or two. That gives us time to replant."
In Guatemala, the demand for surviving French beans, sno peas, zucchini and other squash was very high after the freeze, Mr. Maldonado said. The freeze will "make prices extremely high for the next four or five weeks."
His own operation "will work with what we've got. We will supply the best we can to our customers. People in the produce industry understand that unfortunate things happen."
Mr. Maldonado noted that in addition to large volumes of produce exports to the United States and Europe, Guatemala also provides 80 percent of the vegetables consumed in Central America. Prices for all consumers will rise dramatically, he said. "Beans and tomatoes will be sky high. Beans are what people [primarily] eat in Guatemala."
He added, "This is the best time of the year for the best production. And it's the best time in the U.S.A. for good prices and demand because of the holidays. But in agriculture, there is always gambling. This time it was with cold fronts. In Guatemala, we have no crop insurance or government aid. This is a big individual loss for all the farmers in Guatemala. For their families and the economy, it is a huge loss."
Mr. Maldonado said that other Guatemalan vegetable exporters that depend on the European and U.K. markets will, of course, also face reduced supplies. He said that this is the beginning of Guatemala's European market window, when African production is down. African production rises again in March.
