Recent rains in New Mexico pushed back the start of the Hatch chile season. "We had a pretty big monsoon roll in the second half of June, and that's still hitting us with rain," says Preston Mitchell of The Hatch Chile Store. "That pushed forward the start date a little more than what we had expected. Previously, we were telling customers the 7th of July, +/- four to five days, but things started this week."
© Hatch Chile Store
As far as plantings of the chile, Mitchell says growers are reporting that they have planted slightly more than in years past for both the processing and fresh market sides of the business.
This follows a windy start to the growing season this year. "In March and even into April, we've had horrific winds, so there was some wind burn early on," says Mitchell. "Most of the plants seem to have come out of it, but I'm sure there are lots of growers who have lost a significant amount of plantings to that windburn."
Extending buying beyond summer
As for demand, it's expected to be strong to start the season and throughout the summer–Mitchell hopes to see sales up by between 10-15 percent this year. The challenge, though, is to get demand to stay strong through to the end of the season, which is the first frost. That is typically the end of October or the first week in November.
"It's interesting. Grocers want to be the first to market in July, and then the first week of September comes and they're out," says Mitchell. "It's a shame because the quality is much better on the back end of the season, so all the pretty stuff gets sent to the cannery. In the beginning, you're grading out more imperfections, wind burn, and more because fresh market grocers won't take it. We wish they would extend their buying habits into September and October because the best chile is coming off then."
© Hatch Chile Store
Meanwhile, pricing is expected to hold steady compared to last year, though some adjustments are being made due to box manufacturing adjustments on some sizes.
For more information:
Preston Mitchell
Hatch Green Chile
preston@hatch-green-chile.com
www.hatch-green-chile.com