The days that lead up to Lunar New Year (January 29) can be a whirlwind with the industry of exotic and tropical fruits. “Many people from Asian descendents give exotic and tropical fruit to friends for Lunar Year,” says Andres Ocampo of HLB Specialties. The first shipment will begin on the first day of New Year, but preparations are underway now.

Tropical Treats boxIn in response to the increasing demand of consumers of exotics and tropicals HLB Specialties has developed a “Tropical Treats” present box to the retail customers they serve. “It’s specifically designed for a regional store that would like to provide something unique Our treat box serves as a prototype to evaluate what the marketplace is offering.” It contains a selection of seasonal tropical fruits. The launch is planned to be held prior to Lunar New Year, it does not have any specific connection to the festivities. “It is possible to give it away anytime throughout the year, hence that name “Tropical Treats” present box.”

The demand for Brazilian papaya may triple

A specific item that’s likely to see a surge in demand once the New Year kicks off is Brazilian papaya. “Demand increases by a factor of three, if not more in the lead-up towards Lunar New Year and therefore we’ve been organizing shipments with growers as well as airline companies,” shares Ocampo. Airspace has been reserved for retailers, with Toronto, Los Angeles, and Vancouver having the most demands. HLB hopes they’ll be able to satisfy demands of the consumers, however, warmer conditions in the southern part of the hemisphere has a negative impact on the maturity of the fruit.

Challenging logistics for dragon fruit

Another item that is popular and adds some color is the dragon fruit. The yellow season of dragon fruit from Ecuador began a couple of weeks ago, and will last for another four months. This makes it the longest period in the entire year. The quality of the fruit is excellent however, the logistics are an issue. “This season there is a lot of activity producing produce from numerous South American countries, and dragon fruit that comes from Ecuador is competing for space with mangos. The demand for reefers has exploded which has resulted in a deficiency of units and the lack of space for the ships,” According to Ocampo. Additionally, a lot of shipments are experiencing delays because of delays on an area called the Panama Canal. Insufficient water levels have been limiting the number of vessels that are allowed to enter the canal. “However following the New Year, mangoes originate from Ecuador are expected to have slowed down and, with Peru remaining the main mango supply for North America, some of the burden should be lifted.”

In the meantime shipping issues won’t go away following this New Year as another East Coast port strike is in the works on January 15. The strike is happening just prior to the transition of power and, although there is a hope for just only a couple of days of disruption but it could take a bit longer. “It’s the most complicated of situations and I’m sure there’ll be a strike regardless of how. If it’s just a few days or weeks, I’m expecting the services of ILA controlled ports along the East Coast will be interrupted.”

Low availability of South African lychees

The harvest season for lychees in South Africa started in December and is now seeing a significant demand. But, the extreme heat is affecting production. “Due to the warm temperatures the skin can be burned, or crack and break the skin, even though the fruit is still hanging on the plant.” The result is a negative impact on yields, as and supply, which aren’t the same this year. South Africa is the major source of lychees for market in the U.S. market this time in the year. Between May and July lychees are harvested close to the marketplace located in Florida as well as Mexico.

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Andres Ocampo

HLB Specialties

Tel: (+1) 954-475-8808

[email protected]

www.hlbspec.com