Kumquat availability seems to be good right now
“Supplies of kumquat seem okay. Citrus in general had a really good year this year so we haven’t run into too many issues in supplies,” says Jeremy Taylor of DNO Produce Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. DNO is a Midwest processor and repacker and Taylor notes that most of the kumquat business he works with is part of the national school foodservice program. “So I don’t have a ton of kumquat volume right now because with the weather, the schools in my area are closed so I haven’t been bringing a lot of product in,” he says. (Large parts of both the United States and Canada have been under extreme cold temperatures as a Polar Vortex sweeps across the country.) “But overall I’d say supplies seem good,” he says.
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Demand rising for kumquats?
Taylor does say he’s going through more kumquats than he did the previous year. “It’s a unique fun item—they’re small, bite-sized that you don’t have to peel. So it’s getting quite a bit of a movement and I am seeing more demand,” he says, noting that domestically, kumquats are grown in California.
Meanwhile pricing is pushing up somewhat on the fruit. “Right now I’m paying $48/case. I’ve seen them for $55. Even a month ago, I was saying $38/case so the price is jumping up there a little bit,” he says. He also notes that pricing is higher than last year at this time when kumquats were available for $31-$32/case.
For more information:
Jeremy Taylor
DNO Produce Inc.
Tel: +1 (614) 231-3601
jtaylor@dnoproduce.com
https://www.dnoinc.com/