SAN ANTONIO, TX — About 400 people packed the Grand Hyatt Riverwalk Aug. 15-17, here, for the annual Texas Produce Convention, which was about one-third education, one-third information and one-third recreation with an agenda that kept conventioneers busy from arrival to departure.

Thermometers in downtown San Antonio still read 107 degrees as attendees began to file into Pat O'Brien's Aug. 15 for the convention's opening reception, about a block away from the famed Alamo. Many were still buzzing about the previous day's announcement that the former Texas Produce Association, which sponsors the convention along with the Texas Vegetable Association and Texas Citrus Mutual, had unveiled a new name, the Texas International Produce Association, to better reflect its symbiotic relationship with neighboring Mexico.

Deepening business relationships and improving infrastructure south of the border are creating ever-increasing trade between Texas and Mexico.

In 2011, 140,000 tractor-trailer Texas International Produce Association President John McClung with Bernie Thiel of Sunburst Farms in Lubbock, TX, at the annual casino night at the Texas Produce Convention Aug. 16. (Photo by Chip Carter)loads of fresh imported produce came through Texas and about 70 percent of those entered the country at the Pharr-Reynosa Bridge, the main entry point in the lower Rio Grande Valley. By August of this year, 101,598 truckloads had already come into the state, with about 60 percent of those coming across the Pharr-Reynosa Bridge.

Educational sessions at the convention covered marketing and labor issues, featuring participants like Texas Sen. Juan Hinojosa; Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association; Washington, DC, labor expert Libby Fulton Whitley; and keynote speaker Lorna Christie, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Produce Marketing Association.

The Texas Vegetable Association presented its annual Award of Merit to Bruce Frasier, president of Carrizo Springs-based Dixondale Farms, while the annual Texas Citrus Mutual Special Award went to Lloyd Miller, longtime sales manager for Edinburg-based Healds Valley Farms.

But, by far, border issues and relations with Mexico dominated convention proceedings.

"Fresh fruit and vegetable imports from Mexico are a $5.5 billion a year industry and growing rapidly," said John McClung, the association's president and chief executive officer. "In the last few years, Texas has become the largest importer of fresh Mexican produce. In fact, some 65 percent of the produce Texas supplies to the U.S. marketplace is grown in Mexico."

As scheduled improvements to Mexico's infrastructure continue, including the planned November opening of the Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge, which will for the first time connect eastern and western Mexico via a safe route over the treacherous Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains, Mexican produce is increasingly expected to filter through Texas — perhaps by twice as much — on its way to the eastern United States.

"Over the years, our industry has undergone a fundamental transformation," said association Chairman Ed Bertaud, director of business development for IFCO Pallet Management Services Division. "The board has recognized that it's time to update the name of our association to more accurately reflect the international reality of our business and better define the full breadth of our members' role."

"Make no mistake — the synergy between the domestic and international components will only make us a stronger and more effective force for both as the industry continues to evolve," Mr. McClung said.

But the name change is mainly a matter of semantics since people on both sides of the border have been doing business with each other for ages.

Said Mr. McClung, "The border has never prevented trade on either side from occurring."

More important than the name change was the announcement of the formation of the new Border Issues Management Program, which will focus on issues like alleviating congestion at ports of entry, preventing pests and diseases from crossing the border, and stemming the flow of narcotics and illegal immigrants from the south while making it easier for parties on both sides to do business.

Mr. McClung spoke of the "gridlock" that often occurs as traffic piles up waiting to cross the border at the understaffed points of entry. As much as any of the other issues on the table, delays in getting fresh product into the U.S. present a threat to business on both sides of the border.

"Federal inspectors at the ports of entry are being stressed to the maximum, with no realistic hope for more personnel or laboratory capacity," said Mr. McClung. "Meanwhile, the Food Safety Modernization Act, the necessary push to prevent the introduction of invasive pests, and the ongoing mission to keep out undocumented individuals and drugs combine to make the government's job all the more difficult, perhaps impossible."

The goal of the BIMP is to find ways for private business to help protect itself and resolve some of those border issues. And while Mr. McClung is optimistic that the initiative will bring about improvements, it may not be on his agenda much longer.

Earlier this month, the association named Rio Grande Valley native Bret Erickson its new senior vice president and eventual successor to Mr. McClung.

The 2012 convention was Mr. Erickson's first official function in his new position and he wasted no time stepping into the role.

"We felt like the 2012 TPC was a tremendous success," he told The Produce News Aug. 20. "We had one of the strongest turnouts we've had in years and we couldn't have been more pleased with the finished product. The speakers did a fantastic job and the topics were relevant and timely. I think that attendees walked away with a better understanding of some of the current trends and challenges faced by our industry. The Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio Riverwalk provided a great venue for an event of this size and our staff did a fantastic job in organizing and executing the conference. We also extend our sincerest gratitude to the sponsors, exhibitors, and all of the attendees who participated and helped support such a great event; without them it would not be possible. We're already making plans for our 2013 TPC and we can't wait to see all of our friends and colleagues next August."