Gilroy company hopes to deliver 1 million pounds of fresh garlic a week this summer
Ken Christopher at Christopher Ranch shows off some of the farms garlic.
By Staff Report
Christopher Ranch, the nation’s premier garlic company, said that its annual 2020 harvest has officially begun, with the first truckloads of garlic being delivered in mid-June. The company is adding shifts at its Gilroy facility to increase production capacity, packing up to 1 million pounds of fresh garlic every week to ship to grocery stores and distribution centers across the country.
The COVID-19 global pandemic increased the consumption of garlic beyond their forecast, thus they were importing additional garlic from Latin America, mostly Mexico and Argentina. Company officials said they now expect to return to offering 100 percent American garlic.
Demand has been strong during the COVID-19 pandemic from people seeking to boost immunity and cook at home. This year’s California garlic harvest could reach about 100 million pounds, with 15 million pounds of early garlic and 85 million of late garlic.
As an essential business, Christopher Ranch and its 1,000 employees have remained in operation during the national pandemic. Consumers can expect to see the new crop of California-grown garlic in their local grocery stores in the next few weeks.
