“On fresh garlic, the market is in oversupply right now,” says Kian Fattahi with Global Farms Enterprises Inc. based in Los Angeles, Ca. “There’s quite a bit of Chinese garlic in the market. There’s some Argentine garlic as well even though they didn’t have the best crop this year. Every season there’s some demand for Argentinean garlic but the demand is quite less this year.” Domestically he also adds that California garlic is also available and that Mexico will also start shipping soon.
“What we have in stock from California still looks good and those customers who want California garlic won’t have to switch over to Argentinean garlic,” Fattahi notes.
More volume this year
Overall in volume, Fattahi does note that the market has come down. “The year before, garlic had been really short. But on fresh garlic this year, there’s 20 to 30 percent more garlic available,” he says.
Meanwhile the organic market is seeing a slightly different picture. “We’re seeing less garlic,” Sarah Barber of Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo, a Pescadero, Ca.-based company says. “There are a little bit less. We had more garlic at this time last year and supplies now seem to be a bit tighter.”
On organic garlic, Argentina has wrapped up while Mexico is coming on now with varieties including the purple Baja garlic.
Purple Baja organic garlic in supply from Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo.
Price differential
Pricing of course has been affected—particularly with a lessened demand for conventional Argentinean garlic. “The prices are still lower than we’ve historically ever seen coming from Argentina because the market on Chinese garlic is so cheap,” says Fattahi. “California garlic is in good shape too. I think that’s also contributing to why the prices on the Argentine are so cheap.”
In fact, Fattahi feels like there’s been a slow downward push on garlic pricing. “It goes back to why the prices on Chinese garlic are so low,” he says. A few years ago, when China was shorter supply of garlic, marketers and sellers sourced garlic out of the U.S., Mexico and Argentina to make up for the now shorter in supply but more expensive Chinese garlic. “Now I feel like there’s too much garlic competing for too few customers on the non-Chinese stuff,” says Fattahi. He estimates that Chinese and Argentinean garlic for example are about 30 percent cheaper than last year. “But California prices have been more or less stable,” he says. “I think that’s been because those who grow it know the cost and you really can’t sell it for lower than that.”
Organic pricing up
Organic garlic is heading in the opposite direction though. “Pricing is up about 10 percent,” says Barber. “That’s more recent. We’ve had stable garlic pricing all year but it’s bumped up to about 10 percent between last month and this month.” Though as the purple comes on and Mexican white garlic will also begin in June, Barber anticipates prices could drop back down by that 10 percent.
Looking ahead, Fattahi believes as the market transitions to including Mexican garlic, it’s looking at a potentially ample supply. “It may be more than we can handle,” he says, noting it will start shipping purple garlic out of Mexico next month and then another variety the month after that. “I don’t see the market changing much from where it is,” he says.
For more information:
Kian Fattahi
Global Farms Enterprises
Tel: +1 (323) 415 6000
info@global-farms.com
www.global-farms.com
Sarah Barber
Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo
Tel: +1 (650) 827-6201
sarahb@delcabo.com
www.JacobsFarm.com www.DelCabo.com