The supply of hot house bell peppers out of Mexico are in their peak right now. "At this time of year, we grow in four different states in Mexico–Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit and Jalisco–and all four production regions are in different phases, but everything is going," says Mark Munger, vice president of marketing & business development for IPR Fresh. "Although supplies were tighter for the last few weeks, current production is very good and very consistent."
Producing out of all four of those regions feeds into a nine-month window of supply for the company, going from September through May/early June. Then in the summer, the Coahuila region in Mexico covers those months to bring supply up to year-round.
© IPR FreshMunger says although supplies were tighter for the last few weeks, current production is very good and very consistent.
This peak comes at a time when demand is stronger for bell peppers, particularly given what is happening in some other growing regions. "Some of the weather in the U.S., especially the southeast, has put Mexican production in the bullseye. That's given us an opportunity to help North American retailers keep supplies of colored bell peppers on the shelves," says Munger. "We look at it as an opportunity, but it definitely puts some pressure on supply. The market in the last four weeks has been very, very limited as a whole."
Although Mexico also saw lighter supplies over the last few weeks, its production regions in Mexico have largely been unaffected by weather, except in early winter when Sonora saw warmer than normal temperatures which in turn sped up production. Meanwhile the other regions saw ideal growing conditions.
Transitioning markets
The state of supply from regions such as the southeast have left markets for the last months stronger than normal. "It's normalizing now. This week, markets seem to be transitioning back to more normal market levels which we expected. Eventually, production from other regions catches up so in the meantime, we had the chance to keep customers in solid supply through tight markets," he says.
Meanwhile, growers and shippers across the industry are keeping an eye on the weaker U.S. dollar. Munger says from a market standpoint in getting product on the shelves and having it priced in a way that keeps product moving, there wasn't a major impact. "From a business standpoint, a weaker dollar impacts our profitability. We pay a lot of growers in U.S. dollars so everybody is impacted by it," he notes. "It's part of the ebb and flow but our preference would be to see a stronger U.S. dollar because it also gives us a little more buying power and more money in our growers' pockets. We prioritize delivering customer satisfaction and keeping our growers healthy. They're both critical and the weaker dollar has a spillover impact."
© IPR Fresh
The state of supply from regions such as the southeast have left markets for the last months stronger than normal.
Back in production, looking ahead, there is optimism around long-term weather patterns. Given what is seen via the sets on the plants right now, a strong finish is anticipated to the traditional Nogales season with steady supply and quality on bell peppers through June.
This strong season comes amidst the company's growth plans. "Traditionally, we've been a steady supplier to a lot of other hot house bell pepper companies and we want to keep those relationships. However, we are also trying to grow our volume and our presence in the market," Munger says.
For more information:
Mark Munger
IPR Fresh
Tel: +1 (520) 377-5710
https://iprfresh.com/
