REEDLEY, CA - To learn more about the domestic citrus market, I turned to Garrett Steele of Bravante Produce. The Category Manager of Citrus discussed the impact of smaller fruit sizes on the Navel orange market as a whole and how Bravante Produce continues to advocate for its growers even when market demand dips.

“We are currently packing Fukumotos and Becks, and the quality has been phenomenal,” Garrett began. “This has been one of the cleanest years of fruit that we’re going to have, leaning toward Fancy with very little Choice. A lot of fruit is coming out smaller than expected; the industry anticipated having a lot of small fruit, but I don’t think we anticipated having this much small fruit.”

Garrett noted that he hopes to see a bit of size on the fruit toward the end of December when Bravante Produce gets into its late lanes. Then, he anticipates seeing more mid-sized fruit like 56s and 72s.

“Without big fruit, we haven’t been able to fill the pipeline yet with retail. Retail is taking what they can, but there’s just not enough fruit to support the overall market,” Garrett explained. “What this influx of small fruit is going to do is either make companies slow down or sell fruit below price. For Bravante Produce, we err on the side of the grower. If it’s under a specific price, we tell the grower that we’re going to send the fruit to the juice market. That way, they’re still getting a profit. For those with heavy citrus greening out there, the juice market should stay good for the whole season.”

As Garrett relayed to me, current market pricing is anywhere from $26—$28 dollars on a 56 Fancy, with 72s ranging anywhere from $22—$24.

“Historically, the market on big fruit was very high to start, and then up until mid-November, we saw a decrease in price. We were up into the 30s, and now it’s around the high 20s,” Garrett noted.

Bravante Produce’s expertise extends beyond the citrus category, although its dedication to its citrus operation is certainly nothing to scoff at. The vertically integrated grower/packer/shipper sells 95 percent of the fruit it grows—the remaining 5 percent is through grower partnerships. With a mid-sized packinghouse, consolidation capabilities, and a table grape program to boot, the company has what it takes to satisfy customer demand.

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