Seeded Produce gets off to fast start with Nogales season

Things got off to a fast start this fall at Seeded Produce for product coming out of Mexico, but company President Omar Losolla was confident the market would turn in his favor soon.

“It was a wild start to the season,” said Losolla. “The weather in Mexico was perfect for growing, and with the local deals still going there was a lot of product on the market. In fact, volume on all of our items has been blockbuster. We went from zero to 100 [mph] in one week and had volume right off the bat, competing with the local deals.”

Losolla said northern Mexico received very little rain in August and September, and the lack of water delayed planting in Sonora and Sinaloa. When product started coming on in earnest, it was competing with the tail end of the local deals across the country, resulting in an oversupply situation.

As a point of comparison, he said a year ago it was not as hot and there was a lot of rain, which limited production on Seeded’s main items. “It was 10 degrees cooler last year, and the local deals ended earlier so we saw better pricing.”

Speaking with The Produce News in early November, Losolla and his team were preparing for the Thanksgiving pull and a return to some orderly market conditions.

“We’re getting some good demand and prices on green beans ahead of Thanksgiving, and we’ll see how other commodities react,” he said. “Every year is different in this business, and you just have to be ready to react.”

Aside from green beans in early November, Seeded was expecting the start of its winter squash later in the month followed by hot peppers, eggplant, green Bells and cukes. Also in the mix are Seeded’s melon crops, including its prized Hami melons, watermelons, honeydews and cantaloupes.

While the markets may be volatile at times, Losolla said Seeded is fortunate to have good retail and foodservice partners, “so we don’t always have to hustle on the spot market. We’re just hoping for things to turn around soon so we can get better FOBs for our growers.”

Compounding the challenges, he said, was the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Mexican peso. He said the weak dollar was “devastating” to Mexican growers.

“Right now, it is about 16 pesos per dollar, while in the past it was 19-22 pesos,” he said. “We sell in dollars here, so higher pesos is better for growers. But the expectation is that it won’t go any lower and may even get a little better.”

One of the bright spots for this season at Seeded is the aforementioned Golden Hami melon, which Losolla said was seeing excellent quality and strong demand. The Hami deal, now in its second season, kicks off in early November and runs into mid-December, before picking up again in the spring.

“The weather has been very good for the Hami, producing melons with good size, good sugar and good netting,” he said. “Our spring Hami season will start in early April, and we’ll produce a little more this year based on the strong demand we received. But we’ll take it slow, step-by-step and adjust each year to see how much growth we’ll have.”

Another development for Seeded this year is an updated location, as the company moved to new office space in August just down the road from its former building.

“It’s a better, cozier space with a better layout that will enable us to be more comfortable and efficient,” said Losolla.