Extension team developing plan for East Coast growers to help in production and marketing of ethnic vegetables

The produce section at the grocery store used to be pretty predictable. Shoppers would browse among the typical display of bananas, apples, green beans and other fruits and vegetables that were either in season or trucked in to meet demand. These days, however, the produce department also is likely to stock Serrano peppers, Chinese eggplant and bok choy. The influx of new immigrants as well as expanded knowledge of ethnic cuisine have spurred a global revolution in vegetables.

With that in mind, Rutgers University received funding from USDA’s National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program to create a plan to coordinate production and marketing of ethnic vegetables in East Coast markets. The ambitious project involves not only Rutgers, but the University of Florida, the University of Massachusetts and Cornell University as well.

A research team from Rutgers University is heading up a project to help East Coast producers of ethnic products such as bok choy make profitable production and marketing decisions.

Bill Sciarappa is a Rutgers extension agent who traditionally deals with crops such as corn and soybeans, conducting demonstrations on university plots and farmers’ fields and holding meetings to discuss findings. “That’s typical educational research that most land grant universities do,” he said. “Now we’re shifting the topic to something more progressive and current because it’s becoming more and more difficult to make money with conventional crops.”

The project’s objectives are to identify key factors that drive demand for the produce, estimate the size of the market for different items, identify wholesalers and other outlets where the produce may be purchased, and then develop a production timeline that will indicate exactly what items and how much of them should be grown at various locations during different times of the year. The researchers hope their findings will help prevent both shortages and surpluses in markets from Florida to the Northeast.

The research team surveyed consumers in person and by mail to determine respondents’ ethnic background, preferences in vegetables typical of their heritage, and how much they would spend on that produce. Using that data, the team was able to estimate the size of various markets and assess market demand for individual ethnic items.

The luffa we know as a back scrubber is also eaten as a vegetable.

The project is now at the field trial stage, although progress has been somewhat delayed in the Florida region, said Gene McAvoy, a University of Florida extension agent based in South Florida who is one of those charged with that part of the project. McAvoy said the seeds were late arriving from Rutgers, so the team won’t be able to start planting till August. "We missed this season’s window of opportunity,” he said.

In addition to the field trials, Sciarappa and others have begun preparing fact sheets for growers and conducting face-to-face outreach. “We looked at the results of some of our initial growing trials and some of our survey information that we’ve been analyzing in great detail, and we've begun providing the information to fruit and vegetable groups who are interested in the possibility of growing these crops,” Sciarappa said. "My colleagues and I have been on the road a lot. I’ve spoken to groups in New York, Atlantic City, Canada and some locations on the West Coast.” Sciarappa plans to address a grower meeting in Homestead on April 25. For more information, contact Ray Rafie, Miami-Dade County Cooperative Extension Service at (305) 248-3311, ext. 223.

Click on the above graph to see results of the Rutgers team's research into markets for ethnic vegetables.

One of Sciarappa’s colleagues, Richard VanVranken, has been speaking with growers and taking them on field plot tours in the southern New Jersey region, known for its specialty crops, and addressing statewide and regional grower meetings in New Jersey as well as in South Carolina, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

VanVranken also puts together the grower fact sheets that can be found at www.worldcrops.org, the Web site of the World Crops program, a separately funded project that offers an online specialty vegetable production guide and teaches extension workers how to help growers determine markets for ethnic products.

The goal of the production and marketing plan is to create an environment of large-scale cooperation that works for everyone involved. “We look at this as a larger, macro-economic situation,” Sciarappa said. “You start planting early in Florida, then begin in North Carolina and Virginia, move on up to New Jersey and New York and finally into the Northeast and Canada. We’re trying to create an eight- to 10-month market like California does with many of the commodity crops.”

GO SLOWLY

One point Sciarappa, McAvoy and others involved in the project make when talking to growers who are considering planting ethnic vegetables is to take it slowly.

“Some of these markets are very small,” said McAvoy. “There isn’t room for everyone to jump on the boat. Some of the guys who are getting into it are finding out the hard way that these are niche markets. And if you start thinking you’re going to completely replace your tomato acreage or your pepper acreage with these crops, forget it.”

“Niche marketing doesn’t happen all at once,” Sciarappa added. “It’s good to expand year by year by just increasing the amount maybe 20 percent at a time, not 200 percent.”

Communication and cooperation are very important among growers of vegetables with limited markets like Chinese mustard.

And, they say, do your homework. “Every group has its own heritage crop that they relate to and are willing to spend more money to get,” said Sciarappa. “But it’s the fine little differences that determine whether you either hit the market or miss it. For example, many Mexicans like cilantro that’s about eight to 10 inches in size, whereas the Chinese prefer the four- to six-inch bunch.”

Communication and cooperation also are very important in this type of production decision. Sciarappa encourages growers to lay aside competitiveness and be open to a plan that works for everyone. “We really encourage growers to go to meetings, talk among themselves, see who’s able to handle what amount and then not over-produce. These markets are growing fast, but they’re not that big yet. We can tell growers based on our research what the average demand is for any crop in question. So you know that if there are only 10,000 people out there who fit an ethnic profile in your selling region, don’t produce for 100,000.”

The good news is that the market is, indeed, growing. “With a lot of these products, there’s a very real shortage,” said Sciarappa. “An item might have to be imported from India or China or South America, and when it gets to New Jersey the quality isn’t that good. So our goal is to offer local, fresh production that will be superior to what few quantities are available in some of these niche markets.”

TO GET IN THE LOOP

Access the fact sheets that are becoming available through the Rutgers Extension Web site: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pid=FS043. The link takes you to one of the fact sheets and provide links to others that explain production practices and offer recommendations.

You also can access WorldCrops.org to find updated information on ethnic vegetable crops as well as tips to remember if you throw your hat into the ethnic vegetable ring.