There looks to be a greater amount of some imported specialty citrus this year. “Weather issues in the Southern hemisphere countries like Chile were more prominent last year and this year they’re having a better growing season,” says Michael Giordano of Consalo Family Farms®.
The team from Consalo Family Farms.
For Consalo Family Farms, one variety they are moving steadily right now is Minneolas, a late-summer variety that comes from Peru. They supply the citrus fruit from mid-July until the end of September. They also ship Cara Cara oranges that they import from Chile and South Africa. That season starts at the end of June or the beginning of July and goes until the beginning of October. “The Cara Caras this season have grown for us. We’ve done a couple of smaller orders of Cara Caras in years past but this year we’re seeing a bit more demand in the market,” says Giordano, adding that Cara Caras are just coming off peak supplies.
While there’s more fruit available, there is more of a focus on smaller fruit that tends to find a home in bagged programs. “There have been some weather issues in South Africa that have slowed things down a bit,” says Giordano. “There are still large-sized fruit in the stores but the majority coming are 72s and 88s.”
More interest in specialty citrus
Meeting the greater amount of fruit is also growing demand for specialty citrus and altogether, that’s making for a fairly stable market. “You have mandarins and navels 52 weeks a year so they look forward to trying something else,” he says. “The more we can teach consumers about the world of citrus, the more they’ll be willing to try it. However, it’s also that as demand grows, making sure the supply is growing also.”
While there’s more fruit available, there is more of a focus on smaller fruit that tends to find a home in bagged programs.
All of this is leaving pricing this season very similar to last year at this time. “You see the market stabilize this time every year. Demand has pushed prices up a little bit but there are so many factors in the market--the economy, etc. That can kind of stabilize the market between specialty citrus and stable citrus items,” says Giordano.
For more information:
Chelsea Consalo
Consalo Family Farms
Tel: +1 (856) 839-0264
[email protected]
www.consalofamilyfarms.com