Produce Category Spotlight
Love Produce, in West Grove, Pa., which supplies garlic year-round from the United States, Spain, Mexico, China and Argentina. “Information about the health benefts of garlic and the use of garlic as an ingredient in cooking shows and in ethnic cuisines have kept this positive trend going.” Provost also sees a younger, more diverse U.S. population enjoying and using garlic more than previous generations. One of the most exciting introductions to the garlic category in recent years is black garlic, he notes. “It is a relatively niche item, but when Dr. Oz came out and said eating it results in younger-looking skin, the market took of,” Provost observes. Black garlic is made by fermenting fresh whole bulbs of garlic at high temperatures, which results
in black cloves. Te process creates garlic with a sweetness likened to aged balsamic vinegar. In January, Bon Appetit magazine covered the black garlic trend, noting that restaurant chefs from coast to coast are featuring it on their menus. “Another relatively recent trend is the introduction of garlic from Spain into the United States market,” says Provost. “When the Russian market closed to Spain, due to the economic restrictions, and the European market slowed down, Spain looked to the U.S. market.” I Love Produce is working with Big Garlic of Spain to bring both fresh and peeled Spanish garlic to the United States. “Because there has been a short supply of garlic from California and Argentina, and the fact [that] Spanish garlic is a very high quality, it has been very positively accepted into the marketplace,” he asserts. As a result of the aforementioned shortages, among other factors, Provost predicts that changes in garlic supply and pricing are imminent. “Tere are some factors that will lead to extreme pressure on the supply,” he says, pointing to what he calls a “perfect storm” adversely afecting the garlic supply. California’s 2015 storage crop is coming to an end, and while the industry was counting on Argentina’s new-crop garlic to bridge the gap between that end and the beginning of the garlic season from Mexico in April, Argentina has lost a signifcant percentage — perhaps as much as 80 percent — of its crop to El Niño rains, he explains. China, which leads the world in garlic production, had a short crop, starting with its harvest in July 2015, continues Provost, noting, “Now all of their garlic is in cold storage, and due to their short supply and pressure on the supply, prices are rising up like crazy.” PG
Fresh Food
Garlic is still trending upward, which is amazing, considering it has been trending upward for over 30 years!” —Jim Provost, I Love Produce