Small supplies of dragon fruit continue to come in steadily from Mexico.
“There are only a few suppliers of dragon fruit in Mexico and not all of them export to the United States,” says Christian Sanchez of Plano, Tex-based Casa Magna LLC, who brings in pink dragon fruit. “The two or three who do, don’t have quantitative volume right now.” Sanchez adds that Casa Magna partnered last year with a grower in the Yucatán Peninsula and now they’re producing a single container a month from June through to October.
“We invested infrastructure money with this grower on things like watering pipes and more,” says Sanchez. “And it’s taken since March 2018 to get this product from Mexico.”
2020 preparations
After October, planting will begin again in March 2020 for the season to start again in June. “We’re planning on developing another field there about the same size that we have now so we can do more production and we’re hoping to have it ready by next March,” says Sanchez.
That leaves demand strong for the fruit. “We get rid of the load in a day,” says Sanchez, noting it largely goes to Asian wholesalers. “It’s only one container. If we brought in as much dragon fruit as we do avocados--which is seven to 10 loads a week--it would be different. But for now, as soon as it crosses the border, it’s already sold.”
As for pricing, Sanchez notes that pricing remains somewhat steady and sells between $24-$26 FOB.
For more information:
Christian Sanchez
Casa Magna LLC
Tel : +1 (469) 666-8848
christian@casamagna.us
www.casamagna.us