"It gives me a lot of joy when I'm driving through growing regions to see Florida growers are planting new grapefruit orchards."
Melanie Sallin Ressler of IMG Enterprises, Inc.
So says Melanie Sallin Ressler, co-CEO of IMG Enterprises, Inc. in Vero Beach, Florida, of the state's grapefruit industry, one that has long undergone its challenges with HLB citrus greening disease, which severely affected the state's production.
However, Ressler isn't just seeing other growers across the state put in new plantings. IMG has been planting grapefruit trees for the past 10 years and sees the state's production through optimistic eyes as it moves away from those challenging days and into new ones where better agricultural practices grow its prized possession: the Florida grapefruit.
Just earlier this month, IMG was working on planting its Ruby Red grapefruit in a new format: under protective screens fully covering the orchard to keep out the Asian citrus psyllid, the insect that spreads HLB. "Throughout the last 10 years, we've really modified our production practices. This has led us to adopt more sustainable farming, such as increasing soil organic matter and building up beneficial soil micro-organisms. It's shifting the focus from the tree canopy to the tree roots and the soil to create the healthiest home possible for the trees to grow in," she says.
Florida finished its grapefruit season approximately a month ago.
Five years out
These recent plantings will start producing fruit in the next three years, though they will likely be a juicing crop at that time. The first commercial fresh fruit market crop will likely come on in five years.
This comes at a time when IMG is just coming off finishing its Florida grapefruit season approximately a month ago. "It's a shorter season now. We used to ship Florida citrus well into May, and now we typically wrap up in April," says Ressler.
This season saw stronger demand than usual, given Texas' more limited supplies following last year's freeze, and it also saw stronger pricing. "Although there will be a recovery in Texas grapefruit availability this coming season, we do not expect volumes to achieve pre-freeze levels, "she says.
The team from IMG.
And while those aspects of the business were strong, of course, logistics issues challenged the movement of grapefruit exports. "Logistics were a very big challenge for the Asian markets. It was almost crippling," says Ressler. "We saw a big reduction to Asia, primarily because of the length of time it was taking to get to Tokyo, for example."
Exporting to Europe and Asia
However, European logistics issues proved more manageable given the shorter transit time, more direct routes, and seemingly fewer disruptions. The already streamlined distribution system was better prepared to absorb the complicated logistics situation piled onto the season.
And whatever export markets can be maintained are truly worth it. "In Europe, a carton of Florida grapefruit sells on the wholesale market for three times the cost of a Spanish grapefruit. That's a testament to the taste and quality. It has become a niche market because of that price differential. But there is a market, and it's a very good one," says Ressler.
IMG's new plantings.
However, there are some learnings IMG is taking from the recent logistics issues that it will apply to the upcoming grapefruit season, which begins again in mid-October. "The learnings are diversification of channels--we use multiple vessel lines and ports to try and reduce the impact of port congestion and delays. We plan for more lead time in all aspects of the business," she says. "The inventory management theory five years ago was just-in-time, and now we're tending to carry more inventory. It's shifted the way we do business. The biggest piece is planning for the lead time."
For more information:
Caraline Jones
IMG Citrus
Tel: +1 (352) 429-6955
[email protected]
www.imgcitrus.com