As for vegetables, Ontario’s top five export destinations are the United States, Japan, France, Russian Federation, and Bermuda. The province’s vegetable imports primarily hail from the United States, Mexico, China, Peru, and Spain.
“For us, Mexico would be the most significant trading partner, and then Costa Rica, the United States, and Peru,” offers Formusa. “Our imports are 60 percent by freight and 40 percent by sea—and the rates for both are higher this year.”
Davidson says Chile, Peru, the United States, and South Africa are the major trading partners for North American Produce Buyers; in his view, ocean rates “are not significantly higher this year, so it’s not having a material effect.” Land shipping, however, is a different story: “Where the rates are higher—is with trucks.”
Furman has parlayed Sunbelt’s logistics know-how into more work with exporters. “Produce continues to be a large component of the commodities we distribute; however, our growth has largely come from diversification of commodities both in and out of Canada,” he explains. “European and Middle Eastern exporters continue to grow their operations in North America, seeking our logistics and distribution expertise to help leverage the distribution of their commodities.”
Providing extra services has paid off for North American Produce Buyers as well. “We’ve tried to build the business as a one-stop shop,” notes Davidson. “We opened up two logistics companies over the last few years that provide additional or complementary services, and those companies continue to grow. Rather than just selling the produce itself, we’re able to deal with the import side, the food safety requirements, and governmental requirements. Having a separate logistics company that can provide support for all of these issues has helped us grow.”
On the Horizon
Looking ahead, Ontario’s cadre of buyers, sellers, and brokers remain confident about the future overall, though certain elements may give them pause. When asked about how the year had been progressing so far, most were satisfied, citing the usual uptick of late spring and the onset of summer.
“We’re very optimistic about our current year,” shares Furman. “We’ve added capacity as well as new talent to our team to accommodate client needs. Overall, sales are up as we continue to diversify our food distribution makeup.”
Kurtz says his customer base has expanded, so he added two more to his sales team. As far as sales and volume, he says, “I would say sales are about on par with last year, which is not bad. You have good months, and not so good months.”
