The Mexican lychee season will be starting at the end of April or early May. "Our program starts in the south in the states of Veracruz and Oaxaca," says Jose Roggiero with Freshway Produce. From there, it will move up north, all the way to Sinaloa. It's a short season that will last eight weeks at most. Together, the growing regions in Mexico will provide supply until the first or second week of July, weather permitting. While the projection is for volumes to increase compared to last year, the crop is at the mercy of Mother Nature. "Lychees are very sensitive to high heat and if it gets too hot, the fruit starts to ripen fast. It will ripen at a higher pace than it can be taken off the trees," said Roggiero.
Nevertheless, the outlook for the season is favorable up until now. This past winter, the trees received the cold temperatures they need and as a result, bloom and flowering have been good. "We are seeing a good fruit set," he commented.
© Freshway Produce
Consumer packs
Freshway is excited for the upcoming season, bringing fruit to a growing customer base. "Although the fruit is popular with all demographics, it is a novelty item among the younger population. They tend to really enjoy them." Roggiero feels the presentation at store level plays an important role in consumption of lychees as they are an impulse buy. Therefore, the company has been specializing in consumer packs. "We offer lychees in different sizes of clamshells and have the ability to pack to customer needs." All packaging options contain a QR code as well as information on the back of the clamshell to educate consumers about this exotic fruit variety and how to eat it. In addition to lychees, Freshway Produce also offers consumer packs for their longan and rambutan programs.
© Freshway Produce
Competition with China
From Mexico, the fruit crosses the border in Pharr, TX and is distributed across the U.S. and into Canada. "The transit time is about two days, or three at most." This is a lot shorter than transit times from China, offering lychees during the same window. For proximity reasons, China mainly ships to the U.S. West Coast, but in view of tariffs, it is unknown how much volume will make it into the U.S. this season. Mexican lychees have the benefit of being free of tariffs.
This is the third year Freshway is offering a lychee program out of Mexico and volumes have gradually increased in the past few seasons. "We are expecting a strong program this year and are working with a select group of growers who have all the food safety and social responsibility certifications," Roggiero finished.
For more information:
Jose Roggiero
Freshway Produce, Inc.
[email protected]
www.freshwayusa.com
