The pineapple market has been experiencing a high level of movement recently. Demand is reasonable but suppliers have noted that recent retail promotions have been heavy, which has caused the market to be hotter than usual.
"Supplies have been good out of both Mexico and Costa Rica," said Jesse Garcia of LA Produce Distributors. "We have seen a lot of aggressive promotions by the retailers in the last few weeks which has resulted in brisk movement in the market. The market has been cleaning up and prices are in the $10.00 - $12.00 range. When the chain stores run these strong ad campaigns, the movement noticeably increases and absorbs all of the production."
Sizing steady, quality good
Pineapple supplies have been firm as the growing regions are not experiencing any issues. Quality has also been good in the past few weeks, while suppliers say sizing has been variable, but for the most part close to the average.
"Demand has been good and supplies have been pretty steady," Garcia observed. "Sizing has been back and forth. Some weeks ago, there was an abundance of larger sized fruit, and then it turned around and we were seeing more smaller sizes. Sometimes, it also depends on what the retailers are pushing in terms of size category. It's been fluctuating every week but for the most part, there has not been an ongoing excess of any particular size category."
Costa Rica supplies soon to take off
While both Mexico and Costa Rica are supplying the market at this stage, only Costa Rica remains a year round supplier to the US market. Mexico does have the ability to produce all year, however they tend to pull out of the market at times when there is an excess of supply coming from Costa Rica, flooding the market and sending prices down. Garcia said that this period will be coming shortly as the natural floration period commences in Costa Rica.
"Costa Rica is getting into their annual floration period soon," he explained. "This is typically the time when prices get cheap and Mexico pulls out. It's the main reason why pineapples from Mexico are a seasonal deal. During this floration period, pineapple production significantly increases and Costa Rica floods the market with an abundance of supply that lasts for several months."
For more information:
Jesse Garcia
LA Produce Distributors
Tel: +1 (562) 448-5555