The Valley’s Top Imports
So we know how all the fresh produce is getting into North America from Mexico—but what are the top commodities coming across the border and keeping the Valley’s suppliers hopping? Sources called our attention to a number of fruits and vegetables enjoying a surge in demand.
Camacho points to cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and avocados as the most requested by consumers. Next, he finds demand for other commodities often depends on ethnicity and region; with some groups (like millennials) more interested in superfoods or fruits and vegetables with higher nutritional values.”
Avocado Action
For most South Texas suppliers, avocados continue to be one of the region’s top imports. DeBerry of the aptly-named Villita Avocados, which specializes in importing the fruit from the Mexican state of Michoacán, says this year’s crop is similar in volume to last year, though he believes there will be “some seasonal dips in availability if demand continues to increase.”
Last year’s El Niño patterns produced ideal growing weather, creating a bumper crop with “a larger than normal increase in size and supply,” DeBerry notes, “but this year is shaping up to be a normal year with more even distribution in sizing of the fruit.”
Recently, Villita introduced a new poly-mesh gusseted bag for its avocados, which has been well received at the retail level. DeBerry says the new bags are a step up for two reasons: they provide both “greater visibility and the ability to give consumers more information on the packaging than the standard mesh bag.”
Leaping Limes
Another top commodity from Mexico is limes, which have continued to climb in demand with North American chefs and consumers. Although Ruiz Sales imports mangos, avocados, tomatoes, and all varieties of bell peppers, the Persian lime is the distributor’s top seller and primary focus. Another lime, the Key or Mexican lime, is also starting to gain a foothold too.
“Although it’s not a secret in Mexico, the Key lime is not as well known in the United States,” says Ruiz. This is certainly true in some parts of the country, though not in Florida where the distinctively-flavored limes gained popularity as the main ingredient in Key lime pie.
Ruiz describes Key limes as “more tart and acidic than the Persian lime variant.” The fruit generally has a stronger flavor than their Persian counterparts, which Ruiz says “makes them great with meats, especially chicken and beef.” He also believes the importation of Persian limes from Mexico will continue to rise with the climbing Hispanic population throughout the United States, as “more and more people of all ethnicities are introduced to the Persian lime as a key ingredient or additive.”
The Valley’s Top Imports
So we know how all the fresh produce is getting into North America from Mexico—but what are the top commodities coming across the border and keeping the Valley’s suppliers hopping? Sources called our attention to a number of fruits and vegetables enjoying a surge in demand.
Camacho points to cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and avocados as the most requested by consumers. Next, he finds demand for other commodities often depends on ethnicity and region; with some groups (like millennials) more interested in superfoods or fruits and vegetables with higher nutritional values.”
Avocado Action
For most South Texas suppliers, avocados continue to be one of the region’s top imports. DeBerry of the aptly-named Villita Avocados, which specializes in importing the fruit from the Mexican state of Michoacán, says this year’s crop is similar in volume to last year, though he believes there will be “some seasonal dips in availability if demand continues to increase.”
Last year’s El Niño patterns produced ideal growing weather, creating a bumper crop with “a larger than normal increase in size and supply,” DeBerry notes, “but this year is shaping up to be a normal year with more even distribution in sizing of the fruit.”
Recently, Villita introduced a new poly-mesh gusseted bag for its avocados, which has been well received at the retail level. DeBerry says the new bags are a step up for two reasons: they provide both “greater visibility and the ability to give consumers more information on the packaging than the standard mesh bag.”
Leaping Limes
Another top commodity from Mexico is limes, which have continued to climb in demand with North American chefs and consumers. Although Ruiz Sales imports mangos, avocados, tomatoes, and all varieties of bell peppers, the Persian lime is the distributor’s top seller and primary focus. Another lime, the Key or Mexican lime, is also starting to gain a foothold too.
“Although it’s not a secret in Mexico, the Key lime is not as well known in the United States,” says Ruiz. This is certainly true in some parts of the country, though not in Florida where the distinctively-flavored limes gained popularity as the main ingredient in Key lime pie.
Ruiz describes Key limes as “more tart and acidic than the Persian lime variant.” The fruit generally has a stronger flavor than their Persian counterparts, which Ruiz says “makes them great with meats, especially chicken and beef.” He also believes the importation of Persian limes from Mexico will continue to rise with the climbing Hispanic population throughout the United States, as “more and more people of all ethnicities are introduced to the Persian lime as a key ingredient or additive.”
Mash Up: Staples and Exotics
Armando Flores, a licensed customs broker for Ace Customs Broker, Inc. in Hidalgo, confirms the ongoing popularity of both avocados and limes, and has also seen an abundance of tomatoes, watermelon, onions, Chinese squash, and berries. Among the more popular berries moving across the border are blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries.
Sweet Seasons has been building a market for specialty tropical fruits that are more recent launches into the American grocery and restaurant scene: Mexican starfruit and pitahayas. Garcia says there’s been plenty of obstacles associated with getting the exotic fruit across the border, which have considerably more barriers than avocados.
More Greenhouse-Grown Vegetables
For Moreno Produce, its top U.S. imports include the ever-popular jalapeño, Mexican tomatoes, and cilantro. Felipe Moreno, the company’s vice president, highlights the increase in the number of greenhouse growers, which has improved quality and led to less shifting in available commodities with the seasons.
For Camacho, sourcing greenhouse items was a result of inclement weather. “Due to the impact of weather, it is a fact that Mexico, the United States, and Canada cannot depend on open field crops. We must protect the produce, not only from rain but also from disease, bugs, bacteria, water, animals, etc. Protected environment crops will increase abundance and make more [aesthetically-pleasing] products.”
Another supplier, Bonanza 2001, grows all of its tomatoes hydroponically on close to 65 hectares of greenhouses in Jalisco.
“We first started in greenhouses in 2005,” Salinas says, when consumers began seeking more consistent quality and better flavor in tomato varieties. “We invested in greenhouses to keep up with the demand for high quality.”
According to Salinas, the market isn’t leaning toward new varieties as much as having an “increased interest in packs of specialty items like yellow, red, orange, and grape tomatoes in clamshells and fancier packaging for retail.”
One way he tracks local market demand is through a grocery store app from Texas retail chain H-E-B, which Salinas says “keeps me in the loop of what’s on sale, what’s in season, and what there’s a lot of—it helps to pay attention to these little apps.”
Quality Drives Sales
Despite the embracing of ‘ugly’ or less-than-perfect fruit and vegetables in the United States, Canada, and Europe, those in the Rio Grande Valley continue to emphasize and push for the highest-quality produce.
“We want to expand our suppliers, but we also want to communicate to our potential grower-partners that we want the best possible product, because only the best is something that can truly generate a sustainable profit for both our business and our customers,” shares Ruiz.
“If our customers are happy and we take care of them, they will take care of us,” adds Ruiz.
Bonanza’s Salinas specializes in avocados. Most sales are “primarily No. 1-focused and even that is tough enough,” he comments, when it comes to maintaining quality. “We see these standards in our sales; suppliers to chain stores want to know if it’s good enough. Purchases,” he emphasizes, “are very quality driven.”
DeBerry has seen a few retailers taking small amounts of No. 2 fruit, with a little bit of scarring. “But that’s still on the rare side, as most consumers are still shopping with their eyes when it comes to produce.” Foodservice, on the other hand, is much more hospitable to blemished or scarred fruit because customers only see the end product, and the pulp of a No. 2 is just as good as a No. 1 avocado.
A solid relationship with customers and clear communication is also a factor in the acceptance of less-than-perfect fruit, according to Garcia. In his experience, when dealing personally with H-E-B stores, tolerance is ultimately based on communication. An example is guavas: Garcia says the grocer is extremely strict on color, but if Sweet Seasons has a load that’s a little greener with some imperfections and lets H-E-B’s buyers know, the store will sometimes agree to the shipment.
For its part, Ruiz Sales goes through a “triple-run process” for quality to try and prevent any losses on the receiving end, which Richard Ruiz believes is imperative to keeping business relationships strong. He also touts the company’s food safety and traceability programs as another key factor in building and maintaining trust throughout the supply chain.
Catering to Schools
Another aspect of the expanding business community in the Rio Grande Valley is related to families and children. With a healthy and growing job market, workers and their families are moving into the area too. This has triggered tremendous growth in the region’s school districts, providing an excellent opportunity for produce suppliers to serve more fresh fruit and vegetables to students—one of the industry’s top priorities.
Eli Reyes has been the ‘school specialist’ for Nicho Produce Company, Inc. in Edinburg for the past four years, and his job “entails catering to the unique individual needs of each of the school districts.”
Each year, Reyes says the districts’ needs change, including the types of produce and the packages themselves. Most schools prefer some sort of single-serve portion, he notes, and are expanding their reach in fruits and vegetables to include more exotic offerings “such as star fruit, edamame, baby kiwi, snow peas, and sugar snap peas.”
New school requirements this past year included single-serve portions in both two- and three-ounce packages. Until the end of October, Nicho Produce had been packing all the orders by hand, but new machinery is now handling all single-serve portions requested by schools.
By the Numbers: Pharr International Bridge
The Pharr International Bridge has seen a gradual climb in northbound crossings, receiving more shipments of fresh produce bound for Midwestern and Eastern Seaboard wholesalers and retailers.
On the flip side the City of Pharr continues to flourish with increased revenue due to growing southbound crossings, where tolls are imposed.
In addition, projections for the next five years continue to climb—for both the number of crossings and with planned improvements and expansion of the bridge itself. Here’s a look at the bridge from a numerical point of view:
Averages:
• $3,000 and 16 hours in round-trip savings
• 120,000 vehicles crossing per month
Rankings:
• Nation’s largest land port for fresh produce
• #1 in the nation for importing avocados
• #2 in the nation for importing tomatoes
Statistics: • 60% of product passing through Pharr is perishable
• 59% of American produce imports from Mexico pass over the Pharr Bridge
Crossings & Revenue for 2015-2016: • 7.76% increase in total bridge crossings
• 9.04% increase in car crossings
• 5.83% increase in southbound truck crossings
• 6.53% increase in northbound truck crossings
• $1,080,968 revenue for the fiscal year
• 10.46% increase in revenue
Five-Year Projections: • 59% increase in new truckloads
• 62% increase in commerce for the state of Texas
• 50% increase in imports from Mexico
• Dock expansion for 60 more trucks
• Cold Storage space increased by 1,000 to 3,000 square feet
Source: Pharr International Bridge. For more information, visit www. bridge.pharr-tx.gov/.
Images: Foodpictures, Karin Hildebrand Lau, 3RUS, Artgraphixel/Shuterstock.com
