Supply continues to be steady on pomegranates from Peru into Canada. "The supply is good. It is switching growing regions in Peru right now so supply will be down for a bit but then it will ramp up again," says Steve Galloway at TK Fresh Produce.
In the first growing region for North America which is Palpa, there were some weather issues which did slightly impact the look of the fruit. "However, the quality was very good," he says, adding that this next region, Ica, is producing fruit with better color and good quality. "Hopefully the last and late region of Chincha will be just a good."
The season in Peru also did start slightly later because of rains in the early region which slowed harvest. While some volume comes on in early January marking the start of the season, generally the greater volume comes in towards the end of February. The season for TK Fresh will go until approximately the middle of June.
Pomegranate pricing
As for demand, it is also steady. "We have a few ads with larger retailers this week and next week and that has pushed through a lot of volume which is good to see," says Galloway. "It is a price point thing though. If you're paying $4.99 for a pomegranate, consumers can buy a bag of apples for $3.99 so which one do you think they'll buy in today's economy? If you put the right price though, it moves a lot of volume because we also have a high immigrant population who love pomegranates."
Pricing right now is slightly higher than last year at this time.
Looking ahead, demand and pricing are expected to stay the same in the near future. Though as grower-shippers start wrapping up their seasons–some do as early as this month–or move to the next region, Chincha, which doesn't have as much volume, demand and price may strengthen somewhat.
For more information:
Steve Galloway
TK Fresh Produce
Tel: +1 (905) 677-2885 Ext. 312
https://tkfresh.ca/