Summer is bringing on a hike in the demand for coconuts in the US. Consumers are demonstrating a preference for the fruit during the warmer months, when suppliers say the green, or water, coconuts are more intensely sought after for drinking the refreshing juice.
"Although we supply coconuts year round, there is high demand during the summer," said Wilson Dominguez of Florida-based WP Produce. "Supplies are much more difficult to get a hold of right now. A lot of the fruit is headed to New York, where street stalls sell the water coconuts whole with straws ready to drink. This level of demand is quite seasonal, because during the winter months, we stop shipping to the Northeast when there is no real demand for them."
Steady supply so far
WP Produce source their coconuts from Florida and the Dominican Republic and say this year is seeing good supply so far. "Our dry coconuts are sourced from the Dominican Republic while the water coconuts grow in Florida," Dominguez said. "Production has been good and we have seen no issues arise. Production is progressing along well as long as there are no weather problems."
In Florida, production is less regulated as there are no farms dedicated to the production of coconuts. Instead, people pick them from all over the region and send them to suppliers like WP Produce to distribute to the market. "Although growing in a wide range in Florida, many of the coconuts are sourced from the West Palm Beach area, where there is a naturally high occurrence of coconut trees," Dominguez explained. "Independent coconut pickers take them from the trees and the roads in the area in trucks and send them to us."
Hurricane damage takes 6 months to recover from
Being a fruit grown in Florida and the Caribbean, damage from hurricanes is a real threat to coconuts and this is what Florida suppliers dealt with last year when Irma passed through. In general, hurricanes are disastrous for coconut supply as winds severely damage the trees and destroy fruit, taking up to half a year to recover.
"Apart from destroying the fruit on the trees, hurricanes tend to blow off the flowers and baby coconuts, and it usually takes four to six months for the tree to bear fruit again," Dominguez observed. "When Hurricane Irma passed through Florida last year, it damaged a lot of the fruit. Fortunately, it came at a time of low demand and we are back to full production now."
For more information:
Wilson Dominguez
WP Produce
Tel: +1 (305) 326-8333