“Supply of corn has been outstanding,” says Brian Faulkner of Delta, BC-based BCfresh. “It was slow to start in terms of how it matured. But once it got going and the weather turned and we had some good opportunities for irrigation, it really caught up on any amount that could have been behind. The crop profile is really great and the flavour is very sweet and delicious. The supply has been not endless but it’s certainly been meeting our sales requirements at this point in time.”
“June-uary”
The slower start is partly attributed to the unique weather patterns the province has experienced including a cold late spring/early summer. “And while that did delay some plantings and affect some crops’ germination, the effect on corn was less because corn is quite robust,” Faulkner says. “Some other crops may have been stalled but corn has certainly picked up the pace and caught up to typical harvest dates. And we’re within about a week of where we’re expected to be.”
And while sales were off slightly in July for BC Fresh, those sales have shifted into August. “We’re probably behind a week to 10 days in July,” he says. “But once we hit August, we’re actually ahead of where we’d like to be in terms of sales.” Faulkner hopes to continue, as it’s done in the past, to carry corn through to Canadian Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile pricing has relatively matched previous years. “There’s been a bit of pressure with some of the independent growers looking to move higher volumes. Maybe their supply was flushing a bit more. But it’s generally been okay,” he says.
For more information:
Brian Faulkner
BCfresh
Tel: 1-604.952.3232
brian@bcfresh.ca
www.bcfresh.ca