Sweet potato volume in some key Southern production areas is off by as much as 75 percent as a peak demand period approaches.

Benny Graves, executive secretary and treasurer of the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council in Mississippi State, MS, said that the state's sweet potato crop is "very, very" short.

Overall, we have a 70-75 percent loss, said Mr. Graves. We wont have enough to cover Thanksgiving, and well likely be out of supplies completely before the end of the year.

Heavy rains in August and September hampered Florida fall planting, resulting in crops that are coming to market a couple of weeks later and a bit smaller than usual but otherwise unscathed, according to growers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Persistent tropical weather throughout late summer delayed planting and harvesting and resulted in sporadic damage, but most crops are arriving at market now in fair-to-excellent condition, if a bit undersized.

The Nogales, AZ, produce deal is often thought of primarily as a winter deal out of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. But Sonora, the state immediately north of Sinaloa that borders Arizona, has a heavy production in various commodities during the fall season and was in full swing when The Produce News spoke with some of the distributors in Nogales in early November. Some products from Sinaloa had also begun to arrive.

Immokalee, FL-based Six L's Packing Co. Inc. has greatly increased its volume by inking a deal with Meyer Tomato Co. to become that firms exclusive sales and marketing agent.

The new relationship will give Six Ls close to 5 million more boxes of tomatoes and other winter vegetables to sell.

In a Nov. 2 press release, Darren Micelle, chief marketing officer for Six Ls, said, "Our new sales partnership with Meyer Tomato allows us to broaden our supply base in Mexico and provide our customers with a dependable source of products from multiple growing regions."

Blue Book Services Inc. has entered into a collaboration agreement with Fresno, CA-based Lotpath, a firm that enables food suppliers to share information about their products and production practices with consumers, retailers, trading partners and regulatory agencies, making Lotpath a registered developer with Blue Book Services.