Domestic East Coast production of Satsuma mandarins still looks continuous out of Florida.
“We finished up mandarin supplies out of Georgia mid to late January,” says Eric Bolesta with the Lake Park, Ga.-based Grower Network, LLC. “The Florida supplies seem to be pretty steady and I think will continue to be steady. Florida should easily go through March.”
Overall, Bolesta notes that volumes are similar to last year at this time.
The quality seems to be solid as well. “The color on the fruit is good—the cool blast has reached down to the Southern tip of Florida that always helps with color,” says Bolesta. “I wish we had a bit more cold at the beginning of the season to give them more color. And as for sizing, it had a good fruit set and nothing really threw that off.”
While some crops in Florida have seen some sped up growing times thanks to the Florida heat, that’s not been the case with Florida Satsumas. “The heat did influence getting the flavor as it should be. The heat works against you on that—the fruit will still mature but it won’t pump the sugars into it like it needs,” says Bolesta. “It has only been a bit of a problem because we’ve had a slightly warmer winter than normal but it’s not a drastic issue. It’s just making it a bit more challenging.”
Readying for offshore
Following March, some production will switch to coming out of California but it’s also when offshore production from regions such as Peru and South Africa really begin.
Despite steady demand on good supplies, pricing is a bit above average this year. “It’s not significant--I’d say it’s about 5-10 percent more, nothing crazy,” says Bolesta. “Pricing has also been pretty steady with little volatility. Citrus doesn’t have a lot of volatility.”
Looking ahead, offshore production should begin in April and carry through to November when it switches back to domestic supplies out of Georgia, Bolesta’s newest location for mandarins. “We had good success this year and we want to push it again and we’ll have more acreage ready for production,” adds Bolesta.
For more information:
Eric Bolesta
Grower Network, LLC
Tel: +1 (229) 559-9051 ext: 1101
eric@grower.network
www.grower.network