GreenPoint Distributing offers a highly diversified product line, ranging from hard shell and summer squash to sweet corn, citrus and melons, which is key to its quest to be a one-stop shop for its customers.

“We work with several growers, including some longtime growers with whom we have built great relationships over the years,” said Alfred Nuñez, sales director for the Rio Rico, AZ-based GreenPoint. “It’s a good combination, and all are focused on quality.”

A combination of factors contributed to a slow start to the winter veg season out of Mexico, but Fresh Farms was looking forward to an improvement in market conditions as the holidays approached.

David Watson, senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the slow start was due in part to the local deals running later than usual.

In some ways it is difficult to believe that Raquel Espinoza has been working in the produce industry for three decades. Her youthful exuberance and enthusiasm belie the fact that it was a long climb up the ladder to where she is today.

“I was exposed to the produce industry early on as my father worked for a Customs house, but I am a first-generation produce person,” she said. “My first job was with Meyer Tomato and I really enjoyed it and remained there for 12 years before moving on to a few different companies, and eventually to opening Produce House nine years ago.”

A cold snap during the winter growing season in Mexico is not all that unusual. But this season has seen more than it’s fair share of temperature swings, according to Fresh Farms, the Rio Rico, AZ-based U.S. sales arm for the Molina Group.

It was in December of 2002 that the late Francisco (Pancho) Obregon opened IPR Fresh in Nogales, AZ, with the idea of brokering a few fresh produce items and bringing them into the U.S. market.

“Our first product was the bell pepper,” said Jose Luis Obregon, son of the founder and the current president. “We’ve been growing ever since. We’ve had a good track record of delivering high-quality bell peppers and we’ve built strong relationships with trusted growers in Mexico that are focused on sustainable farming practices.”

While Seeded Produce provides a full complement of Mexican produce, its melon crops are a shining star of the lineup.

“Our line of melons consists of honeydews, cantaloupes, Hami melons, mini-watermelons and seedless watermelons, which are available from October through May, depending on the variety,” said Omar Losolla, managing member of Seeded Produce, based in Nogales, AZ.

Losolla said an abundance of rain during the fall resulted in fruit that was larger in size than normal, owing to the excess nitrogen in the soil.