Bernardi: Weather woes create challenging year
Bernardi: Weather woes create challenging year
Weather issues in Mexico, as well as Florida, have led to short supplies, higher prices and a very challenging situation. But that also means the value of a broker with multiple sourcing options is very much on display.
At least that is the view of Joe Bernardi, president of Bernardi & Associates, which has offices throughout the country.
The company has offices in Nogales, AZ, Turlock and San Diego in California and in south Texas, Florida and North Carolina.
“We are able to supply our customers from one place or another 52 weeks of the year,” he said.
The longtime tomato specialist said Florida has been hit hard by rain for several months that has left a huge supply gap. The rains in Florida, which have reached way beyond normal, are being attributed to the El Nino situation in the Pacific Ocean.
While those oceanic and atmospheric conditions have not yet delivered the precipitation punch expected in Southern California, south Florida has already received more than its fair share. By the end of January, rain totals for the previous three months were many times greater than normal.
Bernardi said that Hurricane Patricia in October and periods of both rain and cold since then have cut deep into the supplies of Mexican tomatoes and vegetables this winter.
“It has been very difficult to find supplies, but that is the value we offer by having offices all over the country,” he said.
Bernardi went on to predict that supplies will continue to remain tight through February and March, stating that it might be April before there is a return to a more normal supply pattern. Of course, Mother Nature is going to have a lot to do with that mathematical equation.
In the meantime, Bernardi said his firm continues to operate under the same business model that has been successful for years.
One of the main tenants of that model is to help its employees climb the company ladder. Joining the sales desk in Nogales over the past year has been Andres Alcantar and Jose Suarez. Both men worked in the firm’s quality control department for a decade before being promoted to the sales desk. “We’ve always been proud of promoting from within,” Bernardi said.
He said that philosophy allows younger employees to grow with the company and it gives Bernardi sales people with vast product knowledge.
