Seneca Foods’ net sales slip 7 percent in latest quarter

FAIRPORT — Seneca Foods Corp. (NASDAQ: SENEA, SENEB) recently reported that its net sales for the quarter ending March 31 declined 7 percent to $308 million from $331.1 million in the same quarter a year prior. The company — a Finger Lakes–based provider of packaged fruits and vegetables, with facilities across the U.S., including Geneva and Penn Yan — said the decline was primarily due to lower sales volumes, partially offset by higher selling prices. Seneca Foods’ gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 6.7 percent for the three months ended March 31, an improvement from a gross margin of -4.3 percent in the comparable three-month period a year earlier. Seneca Foods says it is one of North America’s leading providers of packaged fruits and vegetables. Its products are primarily sourced from more than 1,200 American farms and are distributed to about 55 countries. The firm’s corporate office is in Fairport, near Rochester. Seneca says it holds a large share of the market for retail private label, food service, restaurant chains, international, contracting packaging, industrial, chips, and cherry products. Products are also sold under the brands of Libby’s, Green Giant, Aunt Nellie’s, Green Valley, CherryMan, READ, and Seneca.