After a winter of doing without, U.S. consumers now have ample supplies of fresh Florida tomatoes available.

Brutal winter weather wiped out as much as 85 percent of the Florida tomato crop. Some plants were salvaged, and others were reset. The result is a later- than-usual crop of very good tomatoes at promotable volumes.

With the shortage of Florida tomatoes, buyers and brokers sourced most of their product from Nogales and Mexico from mid-January through mid-May. Some Florida tomato growers began picking as late as May 12 - more than two weeks behind the usual deal.

NOGALES, AZ -- The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas' annual membership meeting May 11 here had several highlights, including Jaime Chamberlain of JC Distributing assuming the chairman's position.

In addition, Alejandro Canelos of Apache Produce Imports was elected to fill the position of chairman-elect, members had the opportunity to meet new FPAA President Lance Jungmeyer, and a slate of board directors was elected by the membership.

After completing a retail promotion tied to the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, Mexican producers and exporters of avocados have launched a new campaign hoping to capitalize on the interest created by soccer's World Cup.

Rousseau Farming Co. in Tolleson, AZ, one of the state's faster-growing produce companies, announced in late April that it has signed a new contract to ship its products on pallets from Chep, one of the world's leading pallet and container pooling companies.

Cool weather in the growing region delayed the start of the harvest for Mexican-grown spring cantaloupes and honeydews from SunFed in Nogales, AZ, according to Alan Voll, vice president of sales and marketing. The harvest, which was originally scheduled to start around April 20, did not get underway until about May 1, but it was going strong and still building when The Produce News talked with Mr. Voll May 11.

You won't find any sales circulars or flyers at Exo Fruits. That's because the store's general manager, Giovanni Daddio, does not believe the store needs them.

"We do not advertise and give away merchandise to get customers in," he said. "Our philosophy is only one. We believe in service and only the best quality of the product at a decent price."

Mr. Daddio bought the store, which has a 3,600-foot selling area, in the early 1980s. He sold it to its current owner, Amjad Ansari, in 1990, but remained on as its general manager.