Sonora a key part of Mexican deal
Sonora a key part of Mexican deal
Although the heaviest volume of produce crossing from Mexico into the United States through Nogales, AZ, comes during the winter and early spring primarily out of the state of Sinaloa, the Nogales deal kicks off in earnest in October and November with melons and assorted vegetables from the state of Sonora, which borders Arizona.
Sonora fall production "is a big deal for the Mexico season because it is the start of what we look at as the fall-winter deal," said Allison Moore, communications director for the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, based in Nogales, AZ. Following the Sinaloa season, the same items are again available from Sonora in the spring - in addition to spring grapes.
Even throughout the summer, some items continue to come up to Nogales from various parts of Mexico. Mangos, for example, "continue into August and part of September," Ms. Moore noted. "But Sonora starts our vegetable and melon deal, so it is the way for us to start off the season and get customers thinking" about sourcing Mexican produce out of Nogales for fall, winter and spring.
"It is always good to have a nice, strong opening for the Sonora deal," she said.
"Sonora is important for a lot of people because it helps them expand their season," Ms. Moore said. "It is not just a blip on the radar screen. It is really a complement to a full season."
"We actually have quite a few growers in Sonora," Gonzalo Avila, vice president and general manager of Malena Produce Inc. in Nogales, said Oct. 8. "We have already started up with Italian and yellow squash from the Hermosillo area, and that runs into December. Next week, we are going to start with cucumbers, eggplant and Persian pickles," also from Hermosillo, with green bell peppers starting the following week and open-field red bells around Nov. 10-15.
The company expected to start receiving shadehouse cucumbers in mid- October from growers in the Obregon area and other parts of southern Sonora. Other items would start in December and for Malena, the Sonora deal is not just a fall and spring deal, but one that will continue straight through the winter, weather permitting, he said.
"In our fall program, we have seedless and seeded watermelons lined up, and we also have hard-shell squash" from the state of Sonora as well as Sinaloa, said Brent Harrison, president of the Al Harrison Co. in Nogales, AZ. "Our watermelons will start October 10, and we expect those to go for approximately 45 days" out of Sonora, he said. Also out of Sonora, "we will have ... acorn, spaghetti, butternut and banana squash. I expect those will all start about the first week of November."
Sonora is important to the Nogales deal, Mr. Harrison said. "It kicks off our season. It contributes quite a bit to Nogales. We see an array of products coming from Sonora - zucchini, honeydews, hard shell, watermelon, cucumbers, things like that. So all of that is contributing to what we need in Nogales" in order to put together loads for customers.
"I think our customer base loves to see Sonora in [production] because they can start earlier and extend their season," he added.
According to Mr. Harrison, there is "a decrease in acreage" in Sonora this year. "I would say up to 25 percent for total acreage." He attributes the decline to higher costs of growing and a "slowed-down economy," which has led to a reduction in "the amount of funds sent to Mexico for growing the crops."
In general, the fall deal in Sonora has been growing over the years, but that does not seem to be the case this year, largely because "the financing is not going to be there for a lot of people," he said.
"One thing I have seen in Sonora in the last few years is that [growers] have become very resourceful," he added. "They are doing anything and everything they can to make a good crop and make it profitable" by increasing yields, such as growing in shadehouses and using drip irrigation.
At Fresh Farms in Nogales, "we do Italian squash, yellow squash and grey squash" as well as cucumbers, pickles, honeydew melons, watermelons and hard squash out of Sonora, said Marco Serrano, a salesman with the company. All those items except the watermelon and hard squash had already started by Oct. 8.
"Quality is outstanding," he said, although "movement is pretty slow right now" because the season was just getting started and many customers were still loading out of other areas.
Mr. Serrano concurred that overall acreage for the Sonora fall deal was down this year. However, as a company, "we increased our acreage this year," he said. Unlike many Nogales distributors, Fresh Farms is not heavy to the winter deal out of Sinaloa. "Sonora is at least 70 percent of our deal," counting both fall and spring programs, including a sizable spring grape program, he said. "We do have a little bit out of Sinaloa, but we are heavy out of Sonora."
Bill Spence, sales manager of Sandia Distributing Inc. in Nogales, AZ, said that he expects to begin bringing hard shell squash out of Caborca, Sonora, around Oct. 25. It will consist of Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, Kabocha and Banana squash, he said.
"Right now, we are also doing some honeydews, which just started here about four days ago," he said Oct. 7. "That is out of Caborca also." Watermelons out of Caborca had also started.
Soon, "we will shift over to Hermosillo" for some Spaghetti and Butternut squash, mini-watermelons and seedless watermelons," and then to Guaymas, Sonora, for seedless watermelons and regular watermelons. "That will keep us busy through October and November," he said. "Then we will start with our southern crop" out of Sinaloa.
Mr. Spence said that he was "really pleased" so far with the quality of products coming from Caborca. The honeydews had "good size, heavy to 4s and 5s," with "very good sugar" at around 11-12 percent. "Our hard shell hasn't started, but it looks good," he said.
Acreage is "definitely" down overall in Sonora, he said. For Sandia, that means the company will not have its usual zucchini and yellow straight neck squash from Sonora and won't start those items "until November out of the Sinaloa deal."
Sonora is important to the company's programs, he said. "It is a beginning. You have expenses on a year-round basis," and without Sonora, "your season tends to be short - about five months." With Sonora production starting out the season early in the fall and taking the deal later into the spring, "it makes your season seven or eight months," he said.
Sonora fall production "is a big deal for the Mexico season because it is the start of what we look at as the fall-winter deal," said Allison Moore, communications director for the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, based in Nogales, AZ. Following the Sinaloa season, the same items are again available from Sonora in the spring - in addition to spring grapes.
Even throughout the summer, some items continue to come up to Nogales from various parts of Mexico. Mangos, for example, "continue into August and part of September," Ms. Moore noted. "But Sonora starts our vegetable and melon deal, so it is the way for us to start off the season and get customers thinking" about sourcing Mexican produce out of Nogales for fall, winter and spring.
"It is always good to have a nice, strong opening for the Sonora deal," she said.
"Sonora is important for a lot of people because it helps them expand their season," Ms. Moore said. "It is not just a blip on the radar screen. It is really a complement to a full season."
"We actually have quite a few growers in Sonora," Gonzalo Avila, vice president and general manager of Malena Produce Inc. in Nogales, said Oct. 8. "We have already started up with Italian and yellow squash from the Hermosillo area, and that runs into December. Next week, we are going to start with cucumbers, eggplant and Persian pickles," also from Hermosillo, with green bell peppers starting the following week and open-field red bells around Nov. 10-15.
The company expected to start receiving shadehouse cucumbers in mid- October from growers in the Obregon area and other parts of southern Sonora. Other items would start in December and for Malena, the Sonora deal is not just a fall and spring deal, but one that will continue straight through the winter, weather permitting, he said.
"In our fall program, we have seedless and seeded watermelons lined up, and we also have hard-shell squash" from the state of Sonora as well as Sinaloa, said Brent Harrison, president of the Al Harrison Co. in Nogales, AZ. "Our watermelons will start October 10, and we expect those to go for approximately 45 days" out of Sonora, he said. Also out of Sonora, "we will have ... acorn, spaghetti, butternut and banana squash. I expect those will all start about the first week of November."
Sonora is important to the Nogales deal, Mr. Harrison said. "It kicks off our season. It contributes quite a bit to Nogales. We see an array of products coming from Sonora - zucchini, honeydews, hard shell, watermelon, cucumbers, things like that. So all of that is contributing to what we need in Nogales" in order to put together loads for customers.
"I think our customer base loves to see Sonora in [production] because they can start earlier and extend their season," he added.
According to Mr. Harrison, there is "a decrease in acreage" in Sonora this year. "I would say up to 25 percent for total acreage." He attributes the decline to higher costs of growing and a "slowed-down economy," which has led to a reduction in "the amount of funds sent to Mexico for growing the crops."
In general, the fall deal in Sonora has been growing over the years, but that does not seem to be the case this year, largely because "the financing is not going to be there for a lot of people," he said.
"One thing I have seen in Sonora in the last few years is that [growers] have become very resourceful," he added. "They are doing anything and everything they can to make a good crop and make it profitable" by increasing yields, such as growing in shadehouses and using drip irrigation.
At Fresh Farms in Nogales, "we do Italian squash, yellow squash and grey squash" as well as cucumbers, pickles, honeydew melons, watermelons and hard squash out of Sonora, said Marco Serrano, a salesman with the company. All those items except the watermelon and hard squash had already started by Oct. 8.
"Quality is outstanding," he said, although "movement is pretty slow right now" because the season was just getting started and many customers were still loading out of other areas.
Mr. Serrano concurred that overall acreage for the Sonora fall deal was down this year. However, as a company, "we increased our acreage this year," he said. Unlike many Nogales distributors, Fresh Farms is not heavy to the winter deal out of Sinaloa. "Sonora is at least 70 percent of our deal," counting both fall and spring programs, including a sizable spring grape program, he said. "We do have a little bit out of Sinaloa, but we are heavy out of Sonora."
Bill Spence, sales manager of Sandia Distributing Inc. in Nogales, AZ, said that he expects to begin bringing hard shell squash out of Caborca, Sonora, around Oct. 25. It will consist of Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, Kabocha and Banana squash, he said.
"Right now, we are also doing some honeydews, which just started here about four days ago," he said Oct. 7. "That is out of Caborca also." Watermelons out of Caborca had also started.
Soon, "we will shift over to Hermosillo" for some Spaghetti and Butternut squash, mini-watermelons and seedless watermelons," and then to Guaymas, Sonora, for seedless watermelons and regular watermelons. "That will keep us busy through October and November," he said. "Then we will start with our southern crop" out of Sinaloa.
Mr. Spence said that he was "really pleased" so far with the quality of products coming from Caborca. The honeydews had "good size, heavy to 4s and 5s," with "very good sugar" at around 11-12 percent. "Our hard shell hasn't started, but it looks good," he said.
Acreage is "definitely" down overall in Sonora, he said. For Sandia, that means the company will not have its usual zucchini and yellow straight neck squash from Sonora and won't start those items "until November out of the Sinaloa deal."
Sonora is important to the company's programs, he said. "It is a beginning. You have expenses on a year-round basis," and without Sonora, "your season tends to be short - about five months." With Sonora production starting out the season early in the fall and taking the deal later into the spring, "it makes your season seven or eight months," he said.
