Seald Sweet is anticipating a strong Mexican grape season, with a good range of colours and varieties, including its first harvest of organic Flames.
Announcing the start of the new campaign on 30 April, CEO Mayda Sotomayor said: “this Mexican harvest appears to have sufficient volumes giving us tremendous opportunity to supply our customer base with consistent promotable volume throughout the programme”.
Although it has been reported that some suppliers may face lower volumes this season, Seald Sweet said it does not expect any significant shortfall as its production spans a number of growing regions.
“Our growers are located in several areas throughout Mexico, so we will have product from beginning to end of this quickly moving deal,” said Sotomayor. “We have some exciting new varieties that start early and go all the way to the end of the harvest.”
Mexico has become very important to Seald Sweet’s grape programme. Starting with 50,000 cartons in 2009, the company has grown the programme by 1,900 per cent.
“Mexico is a cornerstone of our grape business and we believe a great deal in it –enough to invest with growers in Mexico and in hiring a seasoned professional to oversee this business sector,” Sotomayor continued.
Seald Sweet recently announced the hiring ofRob Anderholt as the company’s West Coast divisional sales manager.
He said the company’s Mexican programme is made up of a good cross section of colours and varieties from quality growers, including its first harvest of organic Flames.
“We have a full team in-country to watch over the packing and ensure we have the proper quality throughout the season.
“Our early sweet grapes coming out of our ranches south of Hermosillo will be key. We should see a solid supply of these green grapes over the first three weeks of May,” Anderhold said.
