Divine Flavor anticipating a consistent West Mexico season despite late-fall weather issues
Nogales, AZ- With the final days of 2023 dwindling, Nogales-based produce companies are now starting to receive their first shipments from the Sonora and Sinaloa regions of West Mexico. Despite the impacts of late-fall inclement weather and hurricane Otis, grower-shipper Divine Flavor anticipates production will be on queue heading into the new year.
“Although our farms were amid Hurricane Otis, and some areas were affected more than others, the only challenge we may face will be slight delays to start the season,” says Luis Batiz, conventional hot-house category manager. “Thankfully we expect production to rebound quickly which we’ll see once we hit the new year.”
“Our company, farms, and growing regions have experienced inclement weather in previous seasons, so we understand the importance of having contingency plans in place for when these types of situations arise in agriculture. Luckily, we also have the infrastructure at each of our growing locations and this enables us to respond quickly and not take big hits on production damage, but if so, we also have options in other regions of Mexico which we’ve strategically implemented throughout the years.”
Divine Flavor, whose origins originate from Sonora with their principal grower Grupo Alta, is also well established in Sinaloa with their core veg commodities such as organic and conventional bell peppers, mini peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers coming from sister company Viva Organica, and Hortifresh Greenhouses, 20 minutes south of the city of Culiacan.
In recent years, Divine Flavor through Grupo Alta, Hortifresh, and Viva Organica has expanded its growing locations into Jalisco and Baja California to increase its offerings for longer parts of the year.
“We’ve been growing exponentially outside the traditional west Mexico growing regions to help bridge gaps at key times of the year when it’s difficult for customers to rely on supplies from the industry,” says Batiz.
“Having the infrastructure in other growing regions gives us additional opportunities to offer products to our customers on a year-round basis, but it also comes in handy if our next growing regions are slightly delayed because of weather conditions or if other inevitable ag issues arise. We have this flexibility at our disposal.”
Though the company anticipates a slow start to the West Mexico deal, the expectation is that production will recover by the season’s end.
“Divine Flavor being both the grower and the distribution company, we have the advantage of knowing everything that is happening at the farm level, all the way throughout the supply chain. The effects of Hurricane Otis will cause delays to start, but once we get well into the West Mexico season, we expect to recover quickly on production, and ironically, we expect this year to return to normal compared to the previous seasons.”
Divine Flavor is already receiving shipments of their slicer and European cucumbers, as well as grape tomatoes and squash, with these items in full swing by the end of the year. The company expects production to ramp up on their organic and conventional mini peppers, colored bell peppers, and other tomato commodities (beefsteaks, Romas, and TOV) in early January.
