Broccoli production out of Mexico will likely ramp back up this spring following a year of ups and downs. Production of broccoli is divided between two market segments: fresh, consisting of largely crowns and florets and frozen which is all florets and the varied supply means there are concerns about profitability for growers.
“As well, recently with the increase in costs such as fertilizer and labor, that’s also factored into profitability and a lot of growers said with the reduction in price and the increase in costs, the margin is small,” says Luis Solarte of Fortune Growers. “We saw a reduction in production by at least 20 percent in some areas but in others by as much as 50 percent.”
Growers coming back
Of course, in light of less production, demand looked stronger and that in turn raised the market price. “Now there are farmers who are seeing those increases and coming back to production,” says Solarte. In Mexico, broccoli is a transplant crop and Solarte notes there’s more greenhouse activity around broccoli to the point where there’s almost a saturation within the greenhouses. “So we are probably then going to see an increase in production sometime around the middle of April.”
Still, Fortune Growers reports that growers in Mexico prefer, and look, for more established contracts because the market fluctuation brings a lot of uncertainty. So the excitement for the high prices at the end of 2022 is now becoming a concern because of the drastic process drops.
For more information:
Luis Solarte
Fortune Growers
Tel: +1 (805) 481-1055
www.fortunegrowers.com