Gas Prices in Mexico Not Affecting Organic Banana Orders
On New Year’s Day, 2017, the Mexican government deregulated the price of gasoline and diesel across the country, leading to a 20 percent rise in prices. As Mexico adjusts, there has been well-publicized news of the fallout this generated including the price hike, a gasoline shortage, demonstrations, protests, increased toll booth costs, shutting down of roads, delayed transportation schedules and increased border security. Naturally, this has raised concern for all who depend on cross-border transport, including the produce industry’s customers and consumers – nearly all U.S. residents. At Organics Unlimited, we respect and value open and honest communication with our customers and we are happy to take this opportunity to give an update about this situation to dispel any concerns.
This situation has and will continue to have repercussions across many industries. Unfortunately, this means that as costs increase across many sectors, the price of many goods, including produce, will increase. At Organics Unlimited, despite the rising cost of doing business, we are committed to honoring the contracts we have made with our customers. Most importantly, we are happy to announce our customers will continue to receive Organics Unlimited organic bananas on time and at peak freshness and quality. Despite the situation, our delivery trucks are moving across Mexico on schedule. While transit has experienced some delays overall, our trucks are on the road and our warehouse in Southern California is doing business as usual.
Read more about our unique packing and shipping process that guarantees you the freshest organic bananas on the market in this blog post.
At Organics Unlimited, we will continue to monitor this situation and if there are any updates we will notify you immediately. We thank you for your continued support and urge you to contact us if you have any further questions.
Organics Unlimited Makes an Impact with Food Bank Donations in 2016
SAN DIEGO (Jan. 11, 2017) – Organics Unlimited, a San Diego-based grower and importer of organic fruit, is committed to providing high quality, organic produce to its customers. The company grows bananas and operates its business with sustainability in mind by caring for the environment as well as the communities near its growing operations. In keeping with these values, Organics Unlimited announces 2016 organic produce donations to local San Diego food banks.
In 2016, Organics Unlimited provided healthy organic bananas to both the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and Feeding America San Diego. When shipments of organic bananas arrive at the Organics Unlimited warehouse in San Diego, boxes of fruit can sometimes be imperfect for distribution to retail customers but perfect for immediate distribution and enjoyment to beneficiaries of local food banks.
“If our organic bananas are too ripe to distribute to grocery store customers in perfect condition, I would rather donate that product to those who need it instead of risk the product not reaching customers in time,” said Mayra Velazquez de León, president of Organics Unlimited and GROW. “We are able to help families with food insecurity by providing them healthy, organic bananas, and at the same time we are minimizing the amount of wasted product. Our partnerships with local San Diego food banks help us stay committed to being a sustainable company that gives back to our communities.”
In addition to product donations to food banks, the GROW Fund, a nonprofit program developed by Organics Unlimited, allows the organic banana company to provide funds to organizations such as Children International, Project Amigo, Environmental Health Coalition and more. Over the past decade, through retailer and distributor support, GROW organic banana purchases have raised over $2 million in aid for communities near Organics Unlimited banana farms in Mexico and Ecuador. A percentage derived from the purchase of each box of GROW organic bananas is earmarked for the GROW Fund. Additionally, GROW by Organics Unlimited has supported Produce for Kids since 2014 in the nonprofit’s efforts to encourage healthier lifestyles.
