The upcoming harvest season for iceberg lettuce is poised to significantly impact supply chains and market strategies, promising to reshape the vegetable industry landscape.
CME Guinois, a prominent player in the agricultural sector, anticipates a major shift with the onset of the iceberg lettuce harvest. As a key grower of various vegetables including celery, herbs, spinach, green onions, and jumbo carrots, the company is set to commence its iceberg lettuce harvest just before the upcoming weekend. “This will be a game changer for our customers as this volume item helps them fill their truckloads,” shared Patenaude. The company emphasizes the importance of volume items like iceberg lettuce and Romaine hearts for optimizing logistics and meeting customer demands.
High-Volume Harvests to Meet Demand
During the peak season, CME Guinois harvests up to 15,000 cartons of different lettuce varieties daily. The harvest of celery, another high-demand crop, is slated to begin in the first ten days of July. By mid-July, the company anticipates an increased demand that will require multiple trucks to meet the needs of a single customer. Additionally, the harvest of green onions is expected to start within seven to ten days, followed by Asian vegetables. The jumbo carrots will be ready by the end of August, as the company waits to ensure they reach the desired large size.
Patenaude expressed optimism about the early start of the season, attributing it to favorable weather conditions. “Mother Nature took really good care of us this spring,” he commented. The earlier start is advantageous, as it coincides with strong market demand for Quebec-grown products, known for their superior taste. This timing also allows the eastern part of North America to reduce its reliance on western vegetable supplies.
Strategic Transition to Quebec
The transition to Quebec-grown vegetables offers a strategic opportunity for retailers and wholesalers to source locally for the next three and a half months. “People are eager to buy Quebec-grown product as it just tastes so well,” Patenaude noted. CME Guinois supplies a significant portion of Canada, extending almost to Vancouver, and in the U.S., it serves areas east of the Mississippi and as far south as Florida. “We are closer to Florida than California is,” Patenaude highlighted, underscoring the logistical advantages.
While Quebec leads in eastern vegetable production, the U.S. also has active growing regions on the East Coast. However, states like Florida and the Carolinas have already concluded their harvests. New Jersey is expected to wrap up by July 4 due to the heat, prompting many customers to switch their sourcing to Quebec until the frost signals the end of the season in October.
