Inflationary pressures, ongoing COVID-19 worries, labor shortages and supply chain issues continue to dominate business discussions. How should produce companies react to these concerns when designing marketing plans or launching new products?

When foodservice operations shut down in the spring of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, supermarkets experienced a big jump in sales with fresh produce a favored item among consumers. Are the numbers still up? Are other factors such as inflation and labor causing issues?

With diversified production in a handful of Eastern Seaboard states and year-round supplies of some of its core commodities, vegetable-centric Parker Farms of Oak Grove, VA, is built to withstand the pressure of fluctuating markets.

With more than 4,000 hectares of avocados across three ranches in the premium growing regions of Peru, Oxnard, CA-based Mission Produce has an enhanced supply chain to meet the strong demand during the summer months, according to Patrick Cortes, senior director of business development and foodservice.

Calavo Growers Inc. is anticipating a significant increase in the number of avocados it handles from Peru this summer as its source has seen a jump in production.

“All of our Peru supplies come from one ranch in Viru, Peru,” said Rob Wedin, executive vice president of sales for Calavo Grown. “Our 2022 Peru program represents a 75 percent increase over 2021.”

The supplies of organic avocados have been dwindling as heavy demand and high prices caused growers in both Mexico and California to pick that fruit at a faster clip as their season progressed. Though conventional fruit has also experienced very high FOB prices, the gap between conventional and organic has steadily increased.

Just now, reinforcements are beginning to arrive as avocados from Peru have joined the mix. There is great expectation that Peru will play a very significant and increasingly important role in the summer marketing of organic avocados in the United States.