The Texas International Produce Association has added three new members to its board of directors: Travis Catalani, Anna Lopez and retail and Cory Oliver.

Though Mexico-based truckers ended their three-day blockade of two Texas ports of entry on Wednesday, April 13, that was not the initial problem and it has not solved the long delays.

“The blockade ended last night,” said Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association, relaying a slight bit of good news. “But DPS (the Texas Department of Public Safety) is still conducting safety tests on 100 percent of the trucks and there are still millions of dollars of produce stuck on the Mexican side of the border.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has greatly increased truck safety inspections at the major Texas border crossings from Mexico to the United States causing truckers to wait as long as 32 hours to get into the United States with their loaded trucks. As a result, there were efforts by incoming truckers to block the border on Monday morning to shine light on the situation.

Heading into the 2022 version of Viva Fresh, the Texas International Produce Association is perhaps stronger than it has ever been in its close to 80-year history.

On March 31 a structure fire significantly damaged a large portion of some of the largest fresh onion packing facilities in south Texas.

“Last night a massive fire overtook our onion packing facility," Rio Fresh Inc. said in a statement. "Our family and team are devastated over our loss, but we remain thankful.