Last year, Nogales continued its reign as Arizona’s busiest port of entry amid tensions around the Tomato Suspension Agreement, continued labor shortages, and weather issues from frost to drought to Tropical Storm Narda, which wiped out 3,600 hectares of bananas in Colima, Mexico, in September.
The year also brought the prospect of future opportunities based on additional cold storage at the Mariposa Port and long-awaited staffing improvements.
Both are necessary to maintain and increase volume—which is already substantial: according to data published by WorldCity, Inc., for just the first seven months of 2019, Nogales was the top gateway for imported melons and papayas (43 percent); grapes, fresh or dried (38 percent); peppers/asparagus/squash (33 percent); and tomatoes, both fresh and chilled (31 percent).
A bumper crop of grapes out of Mexico pushed imports up 43.6 percent to over $588 million compared to the first seven months of 2018. Chile remains the top exporter of grapes to the United States at 43 percent, but Mexico reached 38 percent and Peru garnered 17 percent.
Imports of melons and papayas were up 24.7 percent to just under $261 million during the period, while peppers, asparagus, and squash rose nearly 10 percent to over $739 million.
Climbing volume
Grower-shipper Peppers Plus, LLC BB #:329205 was among the companies with a higher volume of hothouse bell pepper shipments this past year. “We increased year-to-year due to customer demand on the marketing side,” notes managing director Bobby Astengo.
The company’s core commodities, including bell peppers and winter squash, are primarily grown in northern Sinaloa. Peppers Plus currently anchors operations out of a Primus Labs-certified cold storage facility in Nogales.
“We’re always looking for the right opportunity to expand our window of offerings,” Astengo says, “whether that be domestic production or other regions of Mexico with crossings in McAllen, for example.”
In addition to its presence in Mexico and Arizona, Peppers Plus takes advantage of Texas’ land ports. Crossing into Texas is more advantageous for shipping full truckloads to East Coast customers, though Astengo counts on Nogales for mixed loads.
“It would be difficult to equal or better the market feel of Nogales and its bounty of commodity offerings,” he explains, with so many “shippers in close proximity during late fall, winter, and spring time.”
Ciruli Brothers, LLC, BB #:155976 ships year-round from multiple locations in the United States and Mexico. “We’ve owned and operated a warehouse facility in Donna, TX, since 1999. It complements our business in Nogales and allows us to increase our reach in the East Coast,” says Chris Ciruli, chief operating officer of the family-owned distributor.
“We’re shipping mangos all year between Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, and Puerto Rico,” Ciruli adds. “From September through November, we grow and ship bell peppers from our Oxnard, CA location. We also have direct dry vegetable growing operations in Central and West Mexico.”
Ciruli notes that Central Mexico winds down by early November, while West Mexico starts in October and ends in early May. About half of Ciruli Brothers’ distribution is retail, 30 percent is wholesale, and 20 percent is foodservice, varying slightly by commodity.
Mangos are also a hot commodity for Higueral Produce, Inc. BB #:192110 Company president Carlos Villa says volume has been up with better pricing. Demand for Higueral Produce’s other biggest seller, chile peppers, remains steady.
When it comes to peppers, Villa says jalapeños remain a bestseller. The company also deals in Roma tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers. Retailers represent about 30 to 40 percent of his buyers, Villa says, with 20 percent brokers and the balance foodservice.
Villa and Higueral Produce are also enjoying a new, state-of-the-art facility. The company moved into the warehouse at the end of 2018. “With this much larger facility, we can now offer in-and-out services and office space rentals,” he says.
This is multi-part feature adapted from the Nogales supplement in the January/February 2020 issue of Produce Blueprints.
