“We are loading our first vessels to North America on October 30, 2017 with expected arrival to port on November 15,” says Gary Tozzo with MOR USA. “My understanding is the fruit has nice size this year and the quality is excellent.” Tozzo anticipates that pricing will remain the same as in years past. “We’re trying to keep it pretty consistent,” he says. “It doesn’t tend to fluctuate.”
The variety MOR brings in is the Triumph, more popularly known as SharonFruit. “Other varieties include the Fuyu, the Hachiya and the Rojo Brillante from Spain,” he says. “That one is not a big player in the United States. It is in Europe and Canada but to get into the U.S., it needs to be cold-treated and that treatment affects the quality which in turn affects the marketability of the fruit.”
Consistent demand
From a demand perspective, the Sharon fruit is pretty consistent Tozzo adds. “We have our customers for them and once we get in, we get in our place and we have decent movement from late November through Christmas and into the New Year,” says Tozzo.
As a category of fruit, persimmons overall is one that seems to be holding steady where it’s at. “There’s not a lot of marketing towards the end consumer for persimmons at the moment. The Asian markets know this fruit well and we see good movement there. Traditional retailers carry our fruit typically in the specialty section,” he says.
MOR USA’s line includes a 2.2 kilo tray, a 2 lb. basket, and a 900gr Chinese gift box, which are tried-and-true packaging options. “We have tried other packaging options but these seem to be the standbys,” he says.
For more information:
Gary Tozzo
MOR USA
Tel: (+1) 610-268-2260
gary@morusagroup.com