Demand is exceeding supply of mainly Costa Rican and some Mexican pineapples. At around $10.00 to $11.00 per case, prices are about a dollar higher than usual. “We’ve seen the same shortage in Mexico because they’ve raised their prices as well,” said Sandy Gatanio of Ayco Farms. Although they anticipated heavier volume at this time of year, which would bring prices down, that might not happen until July. “We haven’t been able to get the production levels up to cover the demand.”
Gatanio said they didn’t expect to have higher pricing at this time of year and his sources are indicating there will be a dramatic decrease in production in some of the regions of Costa Rica by August.
“That’s concerning,” said Gatanio. “There will be some supply in certain regions in Costa Rica and certain regions will be very limited. It’ll cause some scarcity in the market resulting in higher prices.” Current growing regions include San Carlos and Sarapiqui. Lack of supply has dictated that new sources be found. Gatanio says they’re looking into two new growers in Los Chiles, close to the Nicaraguan border, in order to cover commitment to retail accounts.
A combination of weather and insect concerns is likely to blame for the shortage. Costa Rican pineapples were plagued by an insect infestation and as well as rains throughout the year that caused a gap in production, explained Gatanio. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock has had to introduce stricter sanitary controls on the exports of pineapples due to increased interception of U.S.-bound shipments because of the discovery of insects.
“I think Mexico is seeing the same kinds of issues as far as weather in some of the pineapple regions,” said Gatanio, “and that’s why they’ve raised their prices.”
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Sandy Gatanio
Ayco Farms