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mported Mexican guava volume has been trending higher for Spring Valley Fruits LLC of Pharr, Tx, the largest U.S. importer of the tropical fruit. The company imports about 60 to 65 percent of all the Mexican fresh guava coming to the U.S., said Alberto Diaz Lopez, principal with the company.
The company’s sales have grown 70 percent over the past two years. Imports of Mexican guava is grown the round, typically being harvested green and breaking to a yellow color. Spring Valley not only has its own orchards and packing shed in Aguascalientes, but also markets guava for other growers in Michoacán, Zacatecas, and the state of Mexico.
Fresh guava imports from Mexico were approved in 2008.
The company has been growing guavas for 50 years, and before fresh guavas were authorized for entry into the U.S., the company exported frozen and dehydrated guavas.
USDA statistics show Mexico’s shipments of fresh guava totaling over 8,926 metric tons in 2017, up 18 percent from 2016 and 52 percent higher than 2015. Mexico accounted for 93 percent of U.S. fresh guava imports in 2017, with light volume coming from Thailand and India.
Shipped in 16-pound cartons, U.S. imports of Mexican fresh guava totaled about 1.22 million cartons in 2017.
Many varieties of guava are grown in countries all over the world, and the Mexican guava has different characteristics than varieties grown in Asia.
Spring Valley Fruits first entered the U.S. market selling only bulk in 13-pound cartons, but since then clamshells have become more popular and now account for about 40 percent of business.
Sold at near $1.20 per pound at shipping point, the company also ships guava in 16 1-pound cartons, with a major customer being Wal-Mart.
Guava is high in nutrition and the potential for growth is seen to be very good. It could very well become more popular perhaps following the track of other tropical fruit commodities that were once obscure but are now familiar to many.