traordinarily dry conditions this year, which have had an impact on many sectors, Stellard Distributing, an international produce supplier of fruits such as kiwis, apricots, pomegranates and figs based in Madera, has not been affected. Its fig ranches, located in the California desert, are supplied with water from the Colorado River, as well as its own ground level wells in Madera; consequently, “we have been perfectly fine throughout this drought and definitely sympathise with those that are not in our situation,” says Brian Lapin, of Stellard Distributing.Regarding the fig season prospects, Brian says that they are fantastic, with larger production volumes than last year and a campaign likely to start about two weeks earlier. California’s total fig production will be larger as well and Stellar Distributing’s volumes will represent around 50% of it.
To put it into perspective, the company’s newest and fully exclusive fig, the tiger fig, is expected to reach a production of about 150,000 ½ trays compared to the 60,000 obtained last year. “This is obviously an estimation, but we definitely see the potential for a larger crop by a large margin,” says Brian.
In terms of prices, they are also expected to be a little higher than last year, mainly due to the situation of the economy, with aspects such as growing fuel and labour costs taking a toll. In any case, Stellard Distributing’s range of figs, with varieties such as the Black Mission, Brown Turkey, Calymirna and Kadota, will continue to be distributed all over North America in the company’s wide range of packaging formats, including ½ trays, regular trays, baskets and all sorts of different clamshell containers.
Regarding its future prospects, Brian Lapin says that the biggest threat for the company is itself. “As long as we stay on top of our customers and make sure we keep them informed on transition periods from various seasons and varieties, we should have a great season. There are only a few fig competitors that we have and they are also good at what they do, but if we work hard and make sure we take care of our business, we think we can really thrive this coming season.”
