More volume in U.S. from imported sugar snaps
“We anticipate decent supplies of sugar snaps for the next three or four weeks,” says Sandy Gatanio of Ayco Farms in Pompano Beach, Fl. “May is always an iffy month due to weather conditions in Guatemala. If it starts raining hard and we get a rainy season early, it’ll bring the supply down and make the prices go up. But if it stays warm and sunny, supplies will continue to come on.” Gatanio notes that the Sugar Daddy variety, which are a deep dark green stringless snap with little defects and is preferred by processors and retailers, will wrap up at the end of April though.
More players
Supplies of the vegetable have been coming in continuously since November at roughly the same volume as last year—though now Mexican imports are starting to provide some competition. “So April and May are always weak times for the market when pricing drops because there’s a rise in volume,” says Gatanio. After that, the Peru market begins to pick up usually around late June, even early July.
Meanwhile demand for sugar snap peas also tends to be equally steady. “It’s doing well in the retail and club store business because they do the big packs,” says Gatanio. “Consumers have really gotten used to having a sugar snap as a staple in kids lunch boxes, like carrots. The little snack packs, value-added packages that retailers are doing these days have great movement.”
Looking ahead
With new regions supplying product, that’s put more sugar snaps in the system and prices have fallen off somewhat. “Median pricing for a sugar snap should be in the $12-$16 range—last week and this week we saw it slip to an $8-$10 FOB range and that’s a little lower than expected on sugar snaps,” says Gatanio. “It’ll be another couple of weeks before we see the market start to turn around.”
For more information:
Sandy Gatanio
Ayco Farms
Ph: +1 (954) 788-6800 x123
sandy.gatanio@aycofarms.com
www.aycofarms.com