Weather a factor, but Prime Time moving quality produce
Weather a factor, but Prime Time moving quality produce
Prime Time International, headquartered in Coachella, CA, is more than halfway through its 2016 Nogales produce season. Director of Marketing Mike Aiton said the company maintains a year-round office in Nogales to service its customers.
Colored peppers comprise 80 percent of the company’s manifest. “In addition to peppers we also market cucumbers, round, roma and grape tomatoes,” Aiton told The Produce News.
Mike AitonThe company continues to expand its footprint in Mexico. “We are farming more hectares there than ever before,” Aiton said. “Based on our results, this year we will make a determination as to next steps.”
Looking at the current season, Aiton said, “Weather was a huge factor — rains and cool temperatures have played a role in keeping volume lower than anticipated and prices higher than expected.”
Despite the situation, he said overall quality has been fine. “There have been flareups of problems normally associated with the Mexico season, but the packed product has been excellent,” he noted. “It is probably safe to say that sizing was down one notch due to weather-related issues.”
He expects higher pricing to offset reduced yields. “February is normally a peak production month with season low prices. This was not really the case in 2016,” he commented.
The company markets produce under its Prime Time label throughout North America.
