California company counting on Maui Fresh

Big Island papayas, Maui-grown sweet onions and Hawaiian ginger continue to be players in the global market.

That's according to Calavo Growers Inc., a Santa Paula, Calif.-based company that says it sees Hawaii-grown produce as profitable specialties within its Maui Fresh.

The company is a multimillion-dollar player in the business of packing and marketing fresh and processed avocados, as well as other perishable food products worldwide.

Though the locally grown specialties from dozens of Hawaii farms are just a small part of the company's revenue, they are nonetheless important.

"Papaya's a big player," said Calavo's chief operating and financial officer Art Bruno. "The Hawaiian papaya has a unique yellow and is considered a premium."

Maui sweet onions are still in demand as a premium sweet onion.

Hawaiian ginger root also is considered a premium product. However, it faces greater competition from Chinese ginger, mainly due to the latter's lower prices.

Other specialty products from Hawaii include rambutan and starfruits, but Calavo also buys these from other parts of the world. The company stopped buying pineapple from Hawaii several years ago.

Hawaii-grown goods brought in $6.5 million last year, according to Bruno, down from $7 million in 2005 -- a decrease Bruno attributed to the heavy rains of February and March 2006. Bruno declined to give forecasts for Hawaii produce this year.

Revenues grew to a record $57.3 million in the first quarter of this year for the company, a 13 percent increase from $50.6 million in the same quarter last year.

The increased revenue came from higher sales in fresh avocado, processed and diversified commodities which include the Maui Fresh family of products, according to the company's first-quarter financial report.

Maui Fresh, which offers a line of tropical, specialty and exotic produce, however, does not feature produce grown exclusively in Hawaii.

The name Maui Fresh stuck following Calavo's 2003 acquisition of Maui Fresh International Inc., which was already headquartered in California. Maui Fresh then became a wholly owned subsidiary, but continued to market products under its own brand name.

Today, Maui Fresh packs and distributes a diversified line of produce that come from Santa Paula, Nogales, Ariz., Mexico and Hawaii ranging from vegetables to exotic fruits and chilies.

Besides its Maui Fresh line, Calavo attributed its financial success to the relocation of its processing facility in Santa Paula to Mexico, which cut down transportation and labor costs.