Where Are the Fujis and Mandarins? Fruit Supply Chain Gaps to Watch

You might have noticed that there aren’t as many super-sweet Fuji apples as usual in our office fruit mixes right now. If you’ve been scratching your head and thinking, “But it’s apple season!” you’re totally right. But Fujis are still in short supply because we’re experiencing what we in the fruit world call a “seasonal gap.”

Why the Fujis Disappeared

Apple season starts in August with early varieties like Gravensteins, but Fujis arrive a little later in the fall. Farmers usually pick them from mid-to-late September into November depending on the region. That Fuji you ate last week? It was probably harvested last fall and held in cold storage. Usually, stored apples help cover the time between last year’s harvest and the new crop, but this year, the supply is dwindling faster than normal—hence the gap!

Another Gap to Watch: Mandarins

We’re also seeing a gap in the supply of mandarins (a.k.a. clementines) right now. Mandarins don’t do well in cold storage, so when the US crop is done (usually by the start of summer), you have to look to imports if you want to enjoy a juicy one. That’s why California-grown Valencia oranges are our go-to summer citrus. When we really need to source mandarins, we can import them from South America and South Africa until the US season starts again. This year, though, those imported crops have been tapering off faster than usual. But why?

How Fruit Gaps Happen

Sometimes I imagine the flow of produce like a river: The water never stops running even if the source may change. This is why you’ll see things like strawberries or grapes virtually year-round in grocery stores. They come from wherever they’re currently growing or stored, whether that’s California, Mexico, or even Turkey! When farmers put their heads and supplies together, pretty much the whole year is covered.

But sometimes, it’s not that poetic. Sometimes the seasons don’t overlap quite right, or there’s bad weather in one area, or there’s an issue with international trade, and we’re faced with a seasonal gap of one item or another. That’s where our fruit hunters come in.

How The FruitGuys Bridges the Gaps

Our buyers are seasonal fruit experts. They know exactly where to look for the last, best-tasting cold-storage apples, just like they know which farms to turn to for fresh ones. That’s how we’re still managing to pack a few cold-storage Fujis from Washington and California in some of our mixes. We’re also importing Fujis from New Zealand and mandarins from Chile to bridge those gaps as best we can until fresh, domestic crops arrive in October.

Staying Loyal to Local

You’re probably thinking, “Erin, for a company that’s all about supporting local farms, you just talked a lot about imported fruit!” That’s because I believe in being transparent about our sourcing. We source seasonal fruit from local farms whenever we can, but we also bring in imports to supplement our mixes so that we can deliver as much variety and flavor as possible. Variety is so important for our health, and we don’t want you to miss out on the best of what’s out there or on any of your favorites.

If you’re ever curious about exactly where the fruit in your local boxes comes from, just head to This Week’s Mixes and type in your zip code. You can see the state or country of origin for everything in your mix.