MIAMI: Gateway to America

Clamoring for Tropicals
Not to be outdone by organics, the demand for tropical fruits has exploded over the past few years. Whether it’s starfruit, papaya, passion fruit, carambola, or guava, consumers want more. New markets, new outlets, and a wealth of nutritional information have helped push tropical fruit into the spotlight and onto the breakfast, lunch, and dinner plate. At Brooks Tropicals, production of its signature Caribbean Red papaya grew an impressive 33 percent in 2013, while production of Solo papayas doubled. Demand for starfruit also doubled in the last year. Forecasts for 2014 look to be equally strong, with double-digit growth projected for many of the company’s tropical offerings. According to Ostlund, starfruit’s unique shape when sliced (i.e., a five-pointed star) turns it into what she calls ‘table candy,’ in terms of both taste and looks—which is why photos are critical to any sales push.

FRESH FORUM
What are the toughest challenges facing Florida growers?

What Rosann Cabrera, Bayshore Produce LLC
Competition from outside the country, including Mexico and Central and Latin American countries [where] they can grow the same things more cheaply because labor is less expensive, and the transit time is short.

Leslie Simmons, Dave’s Specialty Imports
When it comes to blueberries, there are other countries like Mexico trying to produce and supply during the Florida window. Depending on their success, it could definitely make for a more competitive environment.

Fernando Fonseca, Olivia’s Best, Inc.
The high cost of being a farmer. Between the cost of producing, regulation, and labor, they just might sell their land to developers as soon as construction takes off again. We have the weather and the facilities to grow product; we need to keep farmers in South Florida and not just build condos.

Mary Ostlund, Brooks Tropicals LLC
Suburban sprawl is probably the biggest challenge.

Walter Vazquez, Freedom Fresh LLC
Labor issues; it has always been a problem for growers. Because of immigration laws and the worker’s visa program, it has become tougher to find skilled labor for operations. There are also the ever-evolving challenges of new requirements in food safety and traceability initiatives.

Timothy Henkel, Henkel and Cohen
Labor; for growers who need farm labor, they’re complaining that it’s hard to get Americans who want to do the back-breaking work. And nobody knows what’s going to happen with Congress and immigration reform, which makes things even more difficult and unpredictable.

As for why tropicals are suddenly the prom queen of the fruit world, Ostlund says it’s simply a matter of consumers looking to increase how many fruits and vegetables they’re eating through diversification. Rather than sticking to the traditional standards, they’re branching out. It’s not far, just an aisle or two over in the supermarket, but it’s a whole new world of taste. And with proper merchandising, many tropicals can become fan favorites.