Grower Spotlight: Bari Produce

Posted on April 10th, 2017

Partnering with the best table grape and stone fruit growers gives Direct Source Marketing the competitive edge in providing our customers the best quality fruit and service in the industry.  Bari Produce based out of Madera, California was founded by Frank Logoluso and was created to supply the highest quality fruit to the US market.  The Bari label was created over 60 years ago and is reserved only for the most premium fruit in terms of size, quality and taste.  We talked with Justin Bedwell, president of Bari Produce, about the upcoming 2017 apricot season to get a sense of the crop and what we can expect this spring.

La Nina weather conditions brought significant rain to California this winter, which affects many aspects of tree growth and production.  The crop looks to be about 7 days behind last season, but last year was significantly early in comparison to previous years.  He explained that this year apricot volumes will be light because temperatures didn’t dip low enough to induce proper dormancy cycles in the trees.  On the upside lighter fruit produces much bigger sizing and Bari Produce is expecting excellent quality on larger fruit.  Less supply will mean higher FOB’s and labor costs are expected to rise as well with California’s minimum wage increase.  Every aspect of production including box cost, transportation and packing has increased and the industry should anticipate prices to reflect these new cost additions.  The 2017 California apricot season will begin the last week of April and expectations are for excellent quality right out of the gate.  Call Direct Source Marketing for promotional pricing on exceptional fruit from trusted growing partners like Bari Produce.