US supplier and importer of organic fruit, Awe Sum Organics is looking forward to the start of the Peruvian import season. Awe Sum Organic blueberries are arriving this week and Awe Sum Organic seedless grapes will be begin arriving in early December.
The weather in Peru has made for very challenging growing conditions. In northern Peru very heavy rain from March through May affected the quantity of bunches of the grapes for this season, and this was followed by unusually warm weather. This has made it challenging for growers of conventional grapes and more so for organic growers who fight diseases only with organically approved methods and materials.
“There are continuing challenges for our organic grape growers in Northern Peru from mildew and disease. We expect less volumes and, in some cases, smaller bunches, but this is the same for conventional growers,” said David Posner, President of Awe Sum Organics. “We are hoping that our harvest period will be free of rain.”
David is expecting the first arrivals in week 49, it will be limited volumes from Awe Sum’s earliest farm followed by bigger volumes starting weeks later.
“We should have good volumes of our green and red seedless varieties beginning in the second half of December and we expect demand in general to be very good as the Californian season will finish early. We will continue with our Peruvian supply through April and then we will transition to organic grapes from Sonora, Mexico starting in May to give a continual supply."
Blueberries
Peruvian blueberries have also been affected by the unusual weather and the season is off to a very late start with very limited volumes, which to date are down by around 50% compared to last year at this time.
“Production in both northern and southern Peru has been affected and delayed,” said David. “We will have our first arrivals this week, we receive them in bulk and pack according to our customer’s requirements. The volumes will be very short, we saw this coming and didn’t set up contracts, but will of course look after our regular customers.”
David said prices are higher because of the low volumes, but quality is looking very good and sizes are average. Growers need a higher price just to get by due to the limited volume, but the net result will still be less returns for them this year.
“Demand will be good this season due to the smaller volumes, and demand is good in general for blueberries which have become a staple that people want all year round.”
Kiwifruit and more!
Awe Sum Organics are also a big and year-round supplier of organic kiwifruit, they have been supplying organic kiwifruit from California for over 40 years and New Zealand kiwifruit from Zespri for around 20 years. The New Zealand Organic Green and Gold kiwifruit is just coming to an end and then Awe Sum’s supply of Organic Green and Gold will come from Italy, and with Green from California and GreeceI'll be arriving on Monday afternoon, leaving Friday afternoon all starting at the beginning of November. Awe Sum has organic kiwifruit for 52 weeks of the year.
Last year the company introduced organic avocados into the range, David said they moving this forward at a measured and gradually pace and will continue to build on the volumes. ”We are also preparing to launch organic bananas into our range. We have a totally Awe Sum and very high-quality grower in Ecuador who grows and exports large volumes of organic bananas that will be Fair Trade Certified.”
For more information:
Awe Sum Organics
Tel: (831) 462-2244
Email: [email protected]