Central American exports damaged by Hurricane Stan
Central American exports damaged by Hurricane Stan
In addition to killing more than 1,000 Guatemalans, Hurricane Stan inflicted a great deal of damage to the country's produce exports when it hit Oct. 4-5, according to Martin Maldonado, a native Guatemalan and an importer for Team Produce International Inc. in Miami.
Mr. Maldonado told The Produce News Oct. 11 that up to 80 percent of the blackberries, baby vegetables, sno peas and snap beans will be affected by the storm. Virtually all exports of these fresh products were halted the week of Oct. 10. Some resumption would begin around Oct. 21, he said. Guatemala suffered damage to coffee, wheat and sugar cane crops, as well.
"Countrywide, rain was a factor" in causing damage, Mr. Maldonado said. The major factor of destruction, of course, was the accumulation of rain that made these huge mudslides and the rivers overflow.
He said that there was damage all over the country, but it was worst in the northwest corner of Guatemala near the Mexican border. There, little towns were totally wiped out and under six or eight feet of mud. Also, there was a lot of destruction of infrastructure, [including] roads and bridges. This has limited the access of everyone to help assist people and take them what they need.
It also makes it very difficult for produce exporters to go to their plantation or ship from their packing plants to the Guatemala City airport, he added.
Guatemala will ship again and will start with the lesser percentages in 10 to 14 days, Mr. Maldonado said Oct. 11. As of yesterday, the skies were pretty much clear and there was a lot of sunshine [which is] important to whatever was planted and to salvage that.
Guatemalan produce imports will absolutely be absent this week and early next. He said it will be two or three weeks for the berries to arrive at least in good quality. There is always salvageable fruit and that will be worked and sent, but to reach quality will take a while.
Mr. Maldonado expects Guatemalan melons, which are grown toward the east coast of the country, to have fared better in part because there is no contest in the durability of a cantaloupe vs. a blackberry.
Mr. Maldonado said that Honduras was not hit too hard. El Salvador was, but in the produce industry, theyre not a big ag player anyway.
Industry consultant Mario Pfaeffle of Marketing & Agricultural Services in Miami said, Guatemala was hit pretty hard. Honduras not so hard, and Nicaragua is the least hurt of the three countries. Guatemala was the worst. Honduras may have some delays in shipping, but it wasnt that bad.
Mr. Pfaeffle said that Costa Rica will have problems with plantains because of Hurricane Stan rains, which drowned plantain roots with 48 hours of standing water. In such conditions, roots cant breathe and the plant will die. Guatemalan plantain exports will also be hurt. As a result, plantain prices will start to go up.
David Guzi, vice president of Central American Produce in Pompano Beach, FL, said Oct. 12, Obviously both Guatemala and Honduras had heavy amounts of rain. Especially Guatemala on the Pacific side, and the same in Honduras. This will affect the melon season. How much of an effect is still unknown. I suggest it will be a later deal by a week to 10 days. As far as anything else, its hard to say now. It depends if it stops raining and when they start planting.
The first planting in Guatemala began in early September, but a very small amount is in the ground, said Mr. Guzi. There could be problems, yes, he continued. I wont definitively know [the extent of damage] until a month from now. If it continues to rain, there will be a problem. If the sun comes out, things will just be a little late.
Mr. Maldonado said that beyond Guatemalan produce, Team Produce is importing asparagus from Peru and Argentina in October, as well as a sno pea and sugar snap program from Peru.
In the next few weeks, well have a green-skin avocado program out of Peru, he said. These will keep us on our feet until Guatemala is going again.
He said that Team Produce imports Guatemalan sno peas all year, as well as blackberries, which the company imports primarily from Mexico and Chile. Our french beans and baby vegetables are 100 percent from Guatemala, year-round.
Mr. Maldonado told The Produce News Oct. 11 that up to 80 percent of the blackberries, baby vegetables, sno peas and snap beans will be affected by the storm. Virtually all exports of these fresh products were halted the week of Oct. 10. Some resumption would begin around Oct. 21, he said. Guatemala suffered damage to coffee, wheat and sugar cane crops, as well.
"Countrywide, rain was a factor" in causing damage, Mr. Maldonado said. The major factor of destruction, of course, was the accumulation of rain that made these huge mudslides and the rivers overflow.
He said that there was damage all over the country, but it was worst in the northwest corner of Guatemala near the Mexican border. There, little towns were totally wiped out and under six or eight feet of mud. Also, there was a lot of destruction of infrastructure, [including] roads and bridges. This has limited the access of everyone to help assist people and take them what they need.
It also makes it very difficult for produce exporters to go to their plantation or ship from their packing plants to the Guatemala City airport, he added.
Guatemala will ship again and will start with the lesser percentages in 10 to 14 days, Mr. Maldonado said Oct. 11. As of yesterday, the skies were pretty much clear and there was a lot of sunshine [which is] important to whatever was planted and to salvage that.
Guatemalan produce imports will absolutely be absent this week and early next. He said it will be two or three weeks for the berries to arrive at least in good quality. There is always salvageable fruit and that will be worked and sent, but to reach quality will take a while.
Mr. Maldonado expects Guatemalan melons, which are grown toward the east coast of the country, to have fared better in part because there is no contest in the durability of a cantaloupe vs. a blackberry.
Mr. Maldonado said that Honduras was not hit too hard. El Salvador was, but in the produce industry, theyre not a big ag player anyway.
Industry consultant Mario Pfaeffle of Marketing & Agricultural Services in Miami said, Guatemala was hit pretty hard. Honduras not so hard, and Nicaragua is the least hurt of the three countries. Guatemala was the worst. Honduras may have some delays in shipping, but it wasnt that bad.
Mr. Pfaeffle said that Costa Rica will have problems with plantains because of Hurricane Stan rains, which drowned plantain roots with 48 hours of standing water. In such conditions, roots cant breathe and the plant will die. Guatemalan plantain exports will also be hurt. As a result, plantain prices will start to go up.
David Guzi, vice president of Central American Produce in Pompano Beach, FL, said Oct. 12, Obviously both Guatemala and Honduras had heavy amounts of rain. Especially Guatemala on the Pacific side, and the same in Honduras. This will affect the melon season. How much of an effect is still unknown. I suggest it will be a later deal by a week to 10 days. As far as anything else, its hard to say now. It depends if it stops raining and when they start planting.
The first planting in Guatemala began in early September, but a very small amount is in the ground, said Mr. Guzi. There could be problems, yes, he continued. I wont definitively know [the extent of damage] until a month from now. If it continues to rain, there will be a problem. If the sun comes out, things will just be a little late.
Mr. Maldonado said that beyond Guatemalan produce, Team Produce is importing asparagus from Peru and Argentina in October, as well as a sno pea and sugar snap program from Peru.
In the next few weeks, well have a green-skin avocado program out of Peru, he said. These will keep us on our feet until Guatemala is going again.
He said that Team Produce imports Guatemalan sno peas all year, as well as blackberries, which the company imports primarily from Mexico and Chile. Our french beans and baby vegetables are 100 percent from Guatemala, year-round.
