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“Michoacan’s higher elevation and almost ‘eternal spring-like’ conditions, Jalisco’s abun- dant fertile land and excellent weather, and Baja California’s ‘greenhouse-like’ conditions, especially in the production of organics, makes for the undeniable importance of Mexico as an organic berry supplier to the United States,” he says. Downs notes the same phytosanitary protocols that have adversely affected parts of Chile have created an opportunity for other organic blueberry suppliers from December to mid-February.
A SMALL BUT BUOYANT CATEGORY
Honigberg of Sun Belle points out produc- tion of organic blackberries is still well below that of blueberries or strawberries, but the
growth rate is strong from the smaller base. “We do have an increasing organic black- berry program — from last year to this year, we have a 75% increase,” she says. “We’re doing quite a lot with organic blackberries from Mexico, from Michoacán and a little bit in Jalisco, and we’re not doing much with
domestic production.”
She says the organic raspberry category is
smaller still, but not for lack of demand from retailers. The category has grown 11% this season for Sun Belle, sourced from Baja Cali- fornia, Central Mexico and a pilot program in California. “I think [retailers] are looking for them. It’s a varietal issue — you need to have very strong varieties, especially in Central Mexico, where you have to withstand subtrop-
ical conditions,” she says. “We’re in the midst of developing very strong raspberries.”
Downs describes an “ebb and flow” of prices during the growth phase of organic programs.
“Contrasting examples are Mexican rasp- berries, where pricing can be 230% higher on organics in a given window, versus California strawberries, where pricing can be 10-12% higher on organics during certain times of the year,” he says.
Interestingly, Downs has observed better shelf life on organic raspberries than for conventional, with more color, flavor and cellularintegrity.“Wehavehigher-endregional markets whose customer base no longer buys conventional blackberries and raspberries if the organics are available,” he says. pb
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