As Catania Worldwide prepares for the June start of the California fig deal, President Paul Catania worried about the impact COVID-19 will have on sales.
While fresh produce sales at retail have held up well during the pandemic, Catania noted that the basics have fared much better than the so-called luxury items. “Figs are a luxury item. Overall these items aren’t doing as well. People have to eat,” he said, “but they do get to choose what they eat.”
Speaking at the end of April, Catania said that the Toronto-based firm is holding its own during the crisis. He listed several reasons for the development. In the first place, he said the impact of the coronavirus has not been as dramatic in Canada as in the United States. Catania Worldwide tends to be focused on retail sales rather than the harder-hit foodservice sector. The company’s list of products includes items associated with healthy eating, such as lemons and limes.
However, the figs might be another story. During the March/April time frame Catania was importing figs from Mexico, which it has been doing in recent years as a contra-seasonal play to its California summer-to-fall production. Catania said sales are lagging behind last year. “We are only doing about 60 percent of last year’s number,” he said.
He remained optimistic that by the time California’s production gets underway, both Canada and the United States will have experienced a relaxing of the shelter-in-place orders with more businesses opening. “We should be starting the third week of June with the first crop, which is smaller than it was last year, but 2019 was an anomaly.”
Catania explained that fig trees typically have a self-thinning, pre-season fruit drop. “We didn’t have a fruit drop in 2019 so we had a large crop. This year, we are back to normal,” he said.
So the early crop will be smaller, which could work out well if demand is down. The second crop should arrive a month late in late July and last into mid-October. Catania predicted that the second crop will have normal volume and it will be promotable volume right off the bat. Catania attempts to pre-sell the crop and sets up promotions with retailers to run throughout the season. He admitted that this year that effort has moved a bit slowly because retailers are understandably focused on a new set of circumstance.
Catania did note that the situation seems to be settling down with more forward-planning discussions as the peak of the pandemic appears to have passed.
This season he expected very little gap between his Mexican production and that coming from California. Catania said that can be looked at as either a positive or a negative. “Sometimes it is nice to have a gap and have a little of the absence makes the heart grow fonder thing going on. On the other hand, consistency of supply and keeping your shelf space is an advantage.”
In his talks with retailers, Catania said they mostly discuss timing and volume, rather than pricing. California bumps its minimum wage every year and water costs continue to climb, making ag production in the Golden State an ever-cost-increasing enterprise. Over time, he feared that Mexico will continue to increase its acreage, expand its production window and hone its ability to ship figs into the United States and Canada, making fig production a tough proposition for California growers. Of course, Catania Worldwide is ahead of the game with its Mexico deal.
This year, the company is anticipating selling more figs in bags with a top seal. Consumers have shown a preference for bagged fruit rather than the bulk counterpart during this pandemic. There is a fear of transference of the virus through food though the experts say that is highly unlikely and only the normal precaution of rinsing off fresh produce with water is necessary.
