Canada’s West Coast: demand starting to pick up for broccoli
Gupta notes that while City Wide is sourcing its product largely out of the Santa Maria, Ca. region right now, there is also product available from other California regions and Mexico. “The amount of broccoli available from all the different regions has been affecting the pricing on this,” he notes.
And although demand has been slow for broccoli, Gupta seen a turn recently and it’s picking up somewhat.
Pricing stretch
And all of these factors have made for a wide gap in pricing. “There’s a bit of spread on pricing. There’s some really lower priced product out there but then the quality isn’t there,” Gupta says. “And then there’s also some premium product out there that’s up to 60 percent more so the gap is quite considerable.”
While Gupta says City Wide has been in business for almost a decade, they are still somewhat new to the broccoli business (he began a wet vegetables’ program three years ago). So the company hopes to further establish itself at the CPMA 2018 show, held this year in Vancouver from April 24-26. “We’ve gone to the CMPA show before to walk the show for a few years now but this is our first year exhibiting and we’re hoping to make our presence known,” Gupta says. “We’ve been under the radar for awhile now and we want to be out there and more involved.”
For Gupta, the CMPA show is unlike others he has experienced. “When you walk the floor, you can really see how exciting the industry is,” he says. “You can really feel the energy at this show.”
For more information:
Gopal K. Gupta
City Wide Produce
Tel: +1 (604) 283-2959
gkgupta@citywideproduce.ca
citywideproduce.ca