It is a measure of how cold the
northern Hemisphere was this winter when Mexico is knocked out. Cheap produce will disappear for a couple of
months and we will see expensive produce flown in from Africa
and the southern hemisphere.
Otherwise, these reports share
with us, just how ready the growers are in terms of responding to the
situation. The shortfall will be brief. Enjoy your potatoes and carrots. That is what we used to winter over with
along with sauerkraut.
Yet it is a remarkable testament to
modern agriculture that both Florida and Mexico can be
experiencing crop failure without seriously over straining the supply chain. A few items will simply be unavailable for a rather
short while.
I continue to look forward to the
advent of airships able to carry four containers of produce on regular routes
straight from processor to your local wholesaler. All Central America and the Caribbean will
become North America ’s market garden.
DEVASTATING FREEZE IN MEXICO
IS WORST FREEZE IN OVER 50 YEARS
Feb. 8, 2011
All of our growers have invoked the act of god clause on our contracts
(force majuere) due to the following release:
The extreme freezing temperatures hit a very broad section of major
growing regions in Mexico ,
from Hermosillo in the north all the way south
to Los Mochis and even south of Culiacan . The early
reports are still coming in but most are showing losses of crops in the range
of 80 to 100%.
Even shade house product was hit by the extremely cold temps. It will
take 7-10 days to have a clearer picture from growers and field supervisors,
but these growing regions haven’t had cold like this in over a half century.
This time of year, Mexico
supplies a significant percent of North America ’s
row crop vegetables such as green beans, eggplant, cucumbers, squash,
peppers, asparagus, and round and roma tomatoes.
With the series of weather disasters that have occurred in both of
these major growing areas, we will experience immediate volatile prices,
expected limited availability, and mediocre quality at best.
This will not only have an immediate impact on supplies, but because of
very strong blossom drops, this will also impact supplies 30 – 60 days from
now. Some growers are meeting with their boards right now to determine whether
they should immediately re-plant, hoping for a harvest by
late-march-to-early-april, or whether they should disc the fields under and
wait for another season.
We are doing everything we can with our growers to minimize the effect
of this disaster on you. With the unprecedented magnitude of this event we
wanted to immediately make you aware of the conditions. We will continue to
send out communications as our people on the ground report back to us. We thank
you and we appreciate your understanding during this time. Reduced solar
activity coupled with a current
La Nina event contribute to freezing temperatures across much of North America . ~ Ed.
11 February 2011 Last updated at 20:41 ET
A spell of unusually cold weather in northern Mexico has
severely damaged the maize crop in the state of Sinaloa.
Officials estimate the losses could amount to four million tonnes of
corn - 16% of Mexico 's
annual harvest.
President Felipe Calderon said everything possible must be done to
re-sow the fields over the next two weeks.
There are fears the losses could force up the price of the corn
tortillas that most Mexicans eat with every meal.
Officials say up to 600,000 hectares (1.5m acres) of maize have been
lost to frost in Sinaloa, which is home to some of Mexico 's richest farmland.
At a meeting with Sinaloa farmers and state officials, President
Calderon promised federal aid, credit and prompt insurance payments to help
farmers get new crops in fast before it was too late in the season.
"It is not an ordinary catastrophe or the simple loss of a
harvest, but an emergency situation that demands a clear and forceful response
from the authorities, a response that is not lost in bureaucratic delays,"
he said.
"It's not just the billions of pesos that may be lost," he
added. "We have to recover all we can because it is vital for feeding the
country."
Tortilla prices have already been rising in line with a spike in grain
prices on global markets.
In 2007 high tortilla prices provoked widespread protests in Mexico .
Maize was first domesticated in Mexico and remains the main staple
crop.
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