February 26, 2010

Sponsored by:

Mucci Pac Ltd.

Ontario Greenhouse Produce

Market Snapshot*

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was not listing prices for Canadian greenhouse products, but following are prices for selected greenhouse products from Mexico through Nogales, Ariz.:

Cucumbers: Cartons of long, seedless, film wrapped, size 12s, mostly $5.95-6.95; 16s mostly $6.95.

Tomatoes: One-layer flats, vine-ripes, sizes 22, 28 and 32, mostly $14.95; 39s, mostly $12.95.

* Prices from the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Market News, Feb.24.

The Shipping Scene

Spring hasn't quite sprung in Ontario, Canada, yet, but some greenhouse growers already are shipping good-quality cucumbers, and tomatoes and bell peppers shouldn't be far behind.

Canadian greenhouse growers have mastered the art of growing cucumbers year-round, said Joe Spano, director of sales and marketing for Kingsville-based Mucci Pac Ltd.

Snow was falling this week and temperatures were below freezing, he said, but still, quality has been very good.

"Sizing has been a challenge," Spano said, because fewer hours of sunlight in the winter result in cucumbers that are smaller than what retailers prefer.

Mucci Pak already is gearing up for beefsteak tomatoes, which should be available in light volume within a week or so, and peppers should be ready by the third week of March. Cluster tomatoes should start harvesting by the third or fourth week of March.

"We're expecting to be at good volume by the second week of April," Spano said. "We should be able to supply just about any type of demand."

The company also is shipping miniature cucumbers, which Spano said, have become a popular item with just about every major retailer in North America.

Mucci Pak's new Rustico™ -- a long, sweet grilling pepper that resembles a rustic, backyard pepper - has been shipping since January from the firm's growing partner in Mexico and should be available out of Ontario the first week of April.

"We can't keep up with demand," Spano said. "They're phenomenal on the grill."

Double Diamond Acres in Leamington should start harvesting in about three or four weeks, said partner Nick Mastronardi.

The company, which produces beefsteak, cluster and cherry tomatoes, colored bell peppers and cucumbers, already is shipping a few seedless cucumbers with quality "absolutely outstanding," he said.

"When you give these plants a perfect climate and a perfect nutritional program, you end up with pretty much perfect fruit," he said.

The region experienced "average" sunlight this winter, but Mastronardi said weather was nice early this week and conditions will get even better as the days get longer.

Prices are "reasonable," he said, with input costs leveling off a bit after spiking in recent years when energy costs skyrocketed.

Kingsville, Ontario-based Mastronardi Produce Ltd. ships English and miniature cucumbers year-round from Ontario and already has started shipping its popular Campari® tomatoes, said Chris Veillon, director of marketing.

The company also started picking orange, red and yellow peppers at its brand new, 23-acre greenhouse facility in Sarnia, Ontario, 10 days ago, he said.

"This is virtually unheard of this time of year in Ontario," Veillon said.

The new greenhouse is next to an industrial facility and uses its "waste heat" to heat the greenhouse, he said.

"By using the waste heat from the industrial facility, it allows us to plant sooner and to pick sooner," Veillon said.

Heat is one of the biggest costs of operating a greenhouse, so having access to the waste heat from the industrial facility "helps us significantly," he said.

The company ships its greenhouse products under the Sunset® label.

Quality of all the company's products, Veillon said, "is always excellent."

Ontario greenhouse acreage is up slightly this season to 1,824 acres compared with 1,799 acres last year, said George Gilvesy, general manager of Leamington-based Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.

Gilvesy said he and the association's board are excited about the new greenhouse advisory committee sanctioned by the province of Ontario through the Farm Products Marketing Commission.

"It allows for growers, marketers, shippers and retailers to sit down and establish how to improve the value chain," he said. "We're hoping it enhances the position of our sector."

The committee is scheduled to meet for the first time in March.

(By Tom Burfield, Western correspondent for The Packer. The Packer and Red Book Credit Services are part of food360º, a division of Vance Publishing Corp., Lincolnshire, Ill.)

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