“After the December holidays, we lead right into the Chinese New Year which this year is on February 5th,” says Chris Sarantis with Montreal-based Canadawide. “Going from Hanukkah to Christmas to Chinese New Year positively impacts the demand for citrus. For any of the holidays, people eat a lot of citrus and demand for new varieties is through the roof.” As a result, Canadawide carries a wide selection of citrus items this time of year. Clementines with leaves used to be a niche item, but now they are widely available. Even oranges with leaves are becoming increasingly popular. “Consumers connect citrus with leaves to a fresh and natural product as it is not treated with ethylene,” says Canadawide’s George Pitsikoulis.
Stem and leaf citrus from Spain
The company imports its stem and leaf citrus items from Spain. “That’s the only country Canada is allowed to import this type of product from,” mentioned Pitsikoulis. “It’s all about protecting the local trees and Spain went through all the different protocols to meet Canada’s requirements.”
New varieties have rejuvenated the grape segment
Another category that sees a lot of demand this time of year is grapes. “The grape market was in a stagnant state a few years back, but new varieties have really rejuvenated the segment,” shared Pitsikoulis. “California has taken on a leading position in developing higher yielding varieties with a nice flavor profile. As a result, older varieties that used to dominate the market - like Thompson and Flame – are virtually all gone.” California leads the way, but North America’s import markets like Chile and Peru are now also growing these new varieties. Within the green grape segment, Sugraone, Sweet Globe, Arra 15 and Autumn King are taking over. In the red segment, Jack’s Salute, Sweet Celebration, Timco and Allison are up and coming. Some of these new varieties yield 2,000 boxes/acre where Thompson didn’t yield more than 900 boxes/acre. “Most importantly, these new varieties have a very nice flavor profile.”
This year, California had a long grape season and as a result, South America started shipping late. There is plenty of fruit available in the market which offers retailers great opportunities to promote fruit and entice customers to buy more. The Asian market, used to buy the varieties like Red Globe because of its tremendous size and full color. “However, new varieties like Sweet Celebration and Jack’s Salute have become popular among Asians and are a nice alternative,” said Sarantis.
Chinese New Year promotions
In the week of January 27, retailers will heavily focus on promotions for the Chinese New Year’s Festival. Vancouver and Toronto hold the largest concentrations of Chinese people in Canada. However, the market is also growing in Montreal. “We just see more Vietnamese and Cambodians here due to the French language, but they also celebrate Chinese New Year.”
Fruit Logistica Berlin
Next month, Canadawide will be attending Fruit Logistica in Berlin. “This show gives us an opportunity to see many suppliers from different corners of the globe in one location. It’s so valuable, because nothing will ever match a face-to-face discussion,” Sarantis finished.
