Mixed Market for Organic Veg

Typically, western producers see a slowdown in sales of organic (and conventional) vegetables in the summer months as local deals around the country take a healthy chunk of the business. And this year, that summer slump appears to have started a little early for some distributors.

“I’m used to seeing this in July, not in May,” said Darrell Beyer of Bluebird Mountain Organics in Reno, Nevada. “Sales are slow right now, and I’m not sure why. There is not an abundance of product, and consumer demand is still good.”

Darrell Beyer, Bluebird Mountain Organics

Organic vegetables from the many local deals around the country could be a factor, Beyer said, noting that production from Texas, Georgia, and Florida has increased. “Prices have fallen the last week,” he said earlier this week. “Organic kale dropped from $28 to $16 in two days. I am hoping for some good Memorial Day weekend demand.”

Beyer said organic celery and spinach remain in short supply with a strong FOB market for each of those commodities. “There is not too much around, but if you have them, you can ask whatever you want,” he quipped.

Bluebird Mountain Organics kale being harvested

Retailers looking for some organic promotional options can look at kale, collards, the chards, and green onions.

Michael Boskovich, who handles organic sales for Boskovich Farms in Oxnard, California, agreed that the summer deals around the country seem to have kicked in a bit early this year and taken a bite out of the organic sales pie. “Two months ago, we couldn’t get enough product to fill demand, but that is not the case anymore,” he said. “The local deals have kicked in, and I wouldn’t be surprised [if] they are producing more organics than they have in the past. I know there is more organic kale [from other areas] on the market than there used to be.”

Michael Boskovich, Organic Sales, Boskovich Farms

Boskovich was taking advantage of the hot celery market, “but my organic celery program ended last week,” he said. “Organic celery was up to $60 per carton, but it has fallen off significantly this week. I’ve seen offers at $30 this week.”

He noted that Boskovich Farms plans for this slowdown every year, and he is winding down most of his organic supplies for the summer months. “The only thing I carry consistently through the summer is organic green onions. Most growers cut back on their summer kale and chard as they just can’t get a good price to justify growing it,” he said, adding that cross-country truck rates put western growers at a disadvantage against the local producers across the country.

“The local deals have kicked in, and I wouldn’t be surprised [if] they are producing more organics than they have in the past. I know there is more organic kale [from other areas] on the market than there used to be.” - Michael Boskovich

Dominic Etcheberria, general manager of Veg-Land Inc. in Fullerton, California, was one western organic supplier that remained bullish for his summer sales. “Right now, we have organic zucchini, yellow squash, hard squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, and mini peppers from our Baja California grower, and they are all doing pretty well,” he said. “The first week of June we will start our organic green bell pepper production in Bakersfield, which will last for about one month until it gets too hot. And then we will transition to Lompoc [in Santa Barbara County] for our organic green bells, colored peppers, and mini peppers from August through November.”

Dominic Etcheberria, General Manager, Veg-Land Inc.

Veg-Land has been having a lot of success offering organic peppers and squashes in a retail-ready, shrink-wrapped two-count tray featuring. “We will be displaying that product at the Organic Produce Summit in July, along with our mini-sweet peppers in a one-pound bag,” Etcheberria added.

Speaking of the organic veg market in general, he said sales are still solid. “You read that year-over-year sales are down, and there has been a leveling off in the growth of the organic category, but we don’t see that,” Etcheberria said. “Demand is still very good. Our retail customers that do a good job in organics are taking more product from us every year, and we still have new customers that are just getting into the category.”

Veg-Land organic offerings

He noted that the company’s current lineup of organic squashes and peppers from Baja have FOB price points in the high teens, which he called a solid market that offers promotional opportunities for the organic retail shelf.

“You read that year-over-year sales are down, and there has been a leveling off in the growth of the organic category, but we don’t see that. Demand is still very good. Our retail customers that do a good job in organics are taking more product from us every year, and we still have new customers that are just getting into the category.” - Dominic Etcheberria

Casey Mills, director of sales for Salinas Valley-based Braga Fresh, said the difficult organic veg supply situation that occurred during the transition from the winter to the spring/summer production has righted itself. “Overall supply seems to be normalizing, and plantings look to be falling into anticipated harvest dates,” he said this week.

Casey Mills, Director of Sales, Braga Fresh

But like the others, Mills said organic celery remains tight and is still in a demand-exceeds-supply position. “This year’s transition from the desert growing region to Santa Maria did start a few weeks late, which has caused disruptions in supply. Currently, we are forecasting our Salinas season to start on time in mid-June, and we anticipate our organic celery supply position to finally normalize once that occurs.”

Josie's Organics organic broccoli

For retailers looking for promotional opportunities, Mills said there are definitely options. “We are in good supply positions and actively looking to promote organic leaf lettuce, organic romaine hearts, organic broccoli, and organic cauliflower.”