Rambutan supply is steady with fruit coming from two regions right now–Guatemala and Mexico, both of which have more volume this season. "At the beginning of the season, Mexican fruit is more greenish and not the red-red color. As time goes by, they are more red, and the red fruit is sweeter than green," says Elena Kong of Love April, adding that it is key that the fruit is packed by good packing houses to avoid quality issues down the road. After all, rambutan has a shelf life of about a week and does not keep in storage.
The peak season for imported rambutan is July-September. "Some regions can supply until December, but after October, the price is very high because only certain people can do it," Kong says.
As for the air-flown fruit from Guatemala, which is red from the start of the season, production started there two to three weeks earlier than Mexico. That said, fruit arriving from Mexico via Texas is very close to Guatemala's timing.
Rambutan consumption growing
Once historically thought of as a product appealing to mostly Asian consumers, today with non-ethnic retailers such as Costco and Trader Joe's selling rambutan, it is increasingly appealing to more consumers. "There are also so many distributors and importers bringing in rambutan now that it's more than just the Asian population eating it which is a good thing," says Kong.
As for pricing, it is very strong right now. "The price will then drop because there's more quantity–however the market is bad right now," Kong says, adding that while the fruit's popularity continues to grow, in challenging economic times, consumers often turn to staple fruit such as apples and bananas. "We are expecting a better price by the end of June. While five or six years ago, people paid high prices for rambutan, now price matters."
In fact, this season Kong says rambutan pricing is quite sensitive. While some customers prefer Mexican fruit, others are drawn to it given there won't be an additional 10 percent duty on product as there would be on Guatemalan product.
Sharing container space with rambutan is another increasingly popular exotic item, mangosteen, which has also seen good demand and supply, even with higher pricing.
For more information:
Elena Kong
Love April
Tel: +1 (626) 344-7090
[email protected]
https://www.loveapril.net/