One of North America’s leading fresh produce importers Fisher Capespan has announced in a news statement that it has added avocados to its product line-up to complement the existing offer of table grapes, citrus and apples, sourced from across Chile, Peru, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.
The move into avocados is a natural development of Fisher Capespan’s business, the company said, since the product is widely produced in all of the countries in which the group operates and avocados are a fruit whose consumer demand is growing dramatically.
Gahl Crane has been retained as Fisher Capespan’s director of avocado sales and will be exclusively devoted to Fisher Capespan’s avocado business.
“We had long been watching the avocado business grow and knew that there was a very good opportunity here for us to complement and expand our existing business,” explained Marc Solomon, Fisher Capespan’s president and chief executive officer.
“But we also knew that we needed a person with good expertise and broad product knowledge to come on board and devote his entire attention to this specific product. Gahl Crane became available and we seized the opportunity.”
From an office and cold storage facility in Santa Ana, Fisher Capespan will import avocados from Mexico, Chile and the Dominican Republic and will also receive Peruvian avocados whose USDA approval to enter the US was recently issued.
In addition, Fisher Capespan will handle domestic California avocados. Fisher Capespan’s intention will be to offer its clients a 12-month a year supply of the best available Hass avocados irrespective of origin and will have the facilities and supplies that will enable it to deliver product to its customers in the pack style they require.
“We will focus our attention not only on developing avocado sales to our existing client base throughout the US and Canada, but also on developing programs to service those clients that are looking for a reliable source of product, 52 weeks a year from a supplier that is nimble, pro-active and able to provide consistently excellent quality and service,” added Mr Solomon.
Avocados will not only enhance Fisher Capespan’s product sales and customer service but it will also dovetail well with its procurement worldwide.
“We are already sourcing products in Chile, Mexico, California and Peru and we have established Fisher Capespan as a strong and reliable receiver and partner,” said Mark Greenberg, Fisher Capespan’s senior vice-president – procurement & chief operating officer.
“Our move into avocados is a natural especially as many of the Chilean and Peruvian citrus producers and exporters with whom we have worked for many years are also avocado shippers. We are expecting many of our citrus suppliers to strongly support our move into
avocados as they seek a means to expand their market base with a company they trust.”
Fisher Capespan is based in Gloucester, NJ, and Montreal, Canada, with associated offices in Cape Town, South Africa and Bakersfield, CA. The company is owned principally by Capespan of Cape Town.
