Supplies of Brussels sprouts from Mexico are looking fairly consistent.
“We start bringing them in January from Mexico and then towards the spring, we transition back up to Salinas, Ca. and Santa Maria, Ca.,” says Steve Neale of Neale, S. J., Co. Limited. in Toronto, Canada. “They started pretty much on time this year from Mexico. There wasn’t much of a gap transitioning down to Mexico from Salinas and we haven’t had any quality issues.”
While sprouts are largely coming in from Mexico this year, what Neale hasn’t seen are countries such as Belgium shipping in sprouts. “In the past, when the Brussels sprouts market went from $30FOB to $40FOB, sometimes sprouts came in from Belgium,” he says. “It depends largely on what’s happening out of Mexico and California and this year I haven’t seen any Belgian sprouts.”
Very good demand
What is consistently happening is strong demand for the vegetable. “Demand has probably picked up in the last four to five years on a regular basis. There’s more hype about it being a super food and it’s become more of a regular staple so demand for them is always good,” says Neale. “And before Easter as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas, demand gets a bit more active because it’s a bigger holiday item. It’s become a bigger holiday item even in the past few years.”
That said, for now, pricing seems to be as per usual. “FOB seems to range between $20-$30. It can dip below that at times,” he says. “It always jumps a little bit closer to holidays. This year for Easter, it’s between $30-$35.”
For more information:
Steve Neale
SJ Neale Company LTD
Tel: +1 (416) 251-0332
sneale@rogers.com