Organic banana supply from Mexico is ramping up for the season. “Right now, we get our supplies for year-round programs and contract business out of Mexico and supply is moderate,” says Jose M. Roggiero of Florida-based Freshway Produce LLC. “The big season should come up probably in about a month. And while supply will start increasing consistently over the next few weeks, volumes will be tight coming from Mexico until September because of cold temperatures in February affecting current yields.”
While it sources bananas from Mexico year round, specifically from Tecoman and Colima, Freshway also turns to Ecuador for organic bananas in the fall.
Demand also increasing
Roggiero sees demand growing for organic bananas, which it supplies to the West Coast. Freshway is also hoping to target the Midwest in the future. “Better prices are stimulating consumers to be willing to pay a bit extra for organic product,” he says. “It’s a growing demand.”
Also helping demand is Freshway’s participating in the Produce Marketing Association’s Eat Brighter program, in which the packs of bananas contain PLU stickers and bands with barcodes and come complete with Sesame Street characters such as Elmo and Cookie Monster. The program is to help encourage children to eat fruits and vegetables.
Meanwhile, while demand is growing, prices will likely drop somewhat in the summer as they tend to do, Roggiero describes pricing as stable and similar to this time last year.
