Sutherland S.A. Produce is an experienced fruit exporter, their flagship and most established product being their BC cherries. They have also enjoyed a well established citrus export program, shipping produce out of places like Spain and Australia for a number of years. This season, they are commencing a new program, exporting Navel oranges out of California.
"Sutherland began their first shipment of Navel Oranges just before Christmas, bound for markets in Asia and the Middle East," said Tad Brusseau, of Sutherland. "These markets prefer to deal with high profile companies that have a commitment to quality, and have the depth of capacity to meet their needs. They like to have that certainty that, no matter what happens in the field, the volume will be there."
To help get the program off the ground, Brusseau said Sutherland have worked with a number of companies that they have built a trusted relationship with over many years. "Sunkist and Sun Pacific are some of the brands we work with. I have been in the export trade out of the San Joaquin valley for 15 years, and in that time have built trusted relationships to ensure the success of programs like these. We personally visit packing houses on a regular basis to oversee the fruit being picked and packed according to our requirements."
Season long citrus program
The season will begin with exports of Navels and then transition to more specialty programs, followed by Valencia oranges further into next year. Brusseau said that quality is a priority as their customers want top level produce.
"The first stage comprises the Navels and then in one and a half months, we will step into the High BRIX program," he said. "These include varieties like the Barnfield and Powell, which have lower acid and are very sweet. In late April, exports of Valencia oranges will begin for the season. Our customers are looking for the best quality so we make sure that the Navels are picked when they look like Navels, in order to ship oranges that are at their sweetest and juiciest without any gassing."
Sutherland are also excited to export California mandarins as part of their citrus program. "With our mandarin program beginning this season, we will export the Tango variety," Brusseau continued. "The Tango is easy to peel, seedless, along with vibrant flesh. It's a very sweet mandarin and is also larger than other varieties. The great thing is we have an inexhaustible supply at hand, so we can ensure that we fulfill customer demand."
Getting product to the customer
Given the varying character of markets, Sutherland are shipping the fruit in different size containers. Their labels will also reflect the grower origin.
"We will use the house labels, and these will vary depending on size, variety and destination," Brusseau said. "Sutherland will ship the fruit in 40lb flatpacks, 48lb heavy pack, 40lb Euros and also 20lb gift boxes. These will depend on the destination market as well as the actual product being shipped."
Brusseau also added that the demand for quality citrus fruit is very high in Asia and the Middle East. He said the opportunities for California citrus continue to be favorable. "We are seeing excellent demand for quality California citrus in the Asian and Middle East markets," he said. "At Sutherland, due to our established and recognized export programs, we were able to present our existing customers with our new Navel program. This trusted relationship helped us expand our product range to our customers, while giving our suppliers an opportunity to export their quality produce."
For more information:
Tad Brusseau
Sutherland S.A. Produce
Tel: +1 (559) 999-2237