Vision Produce Co. announces new products added to its line
“We will have additional grower-direct deals in chili peppers, honeydew melons, watermelons, squash and bell peppers,” said Donald Souther, vice president of marketing and sales development for Vision Produce Co. headquartered in Los Angeles. “And we are re-introducing our ‘California Chile Company’ brand with a refreshed look and exposure through our print, marketing outlets, social media and our packaging. Our ‘La Visión’ label has expanded into watermelon and squash.”
Fresh Farms moving to Culiacan product in December
RIO RICO, AZ — This December, Fresh Farms, located here, will be starting with Culiacan eggplant, fresh pickles, green beans and green Bell peppers, according to Jerry Havel, director of sales and marketing.
In a mid-November interview, Havel said, “I think there will be a tight squash market to Christmas and a decent cuke market through Christmas.”
Nogales season lengthens as Grower Alliance expands
RIO RICO, AZ — The Nogales shipping season is expanding, Jorge Quintero Jr., the managing partner of Grower Alliance LLC, here, said. “We started earlier than ever” this summer, Quintero noted.
Grower Alliance had an early watermelon deal start Sept. 10, despite two unusual hurricanes struck West Mexico and largely washed out the watermelons. Nonetheless, the start date was 15 days earlier than normal.
At one time the Nogales deal began in November but now Culiacan and Sonora are increasingly shipping in October with products like melons, squash and cucumbers.
Bernardi expects good quality and production out of West Mexico
The big thing produce buyers are going to notice out of Mexico over the next few weeks is a shortage of the items that usually come out the La Paz area at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula during the early part of the Mexican vegetable season, Joe Bernardi, president of Bernardi & Associates in Nogales, AZ, said Nov. 17.
That is because a hurricane in September hit the La Paz deal hard and “totally knocked it out,” he said.
Ciruli driving sourcing expansion
RIO RICO, AZ — At Ciruli Bros. LLC, “We look at every season and try to see if there are opportunities to diversify. We also try to be bigger in our core items,” said Chris Ciruli, chief operating officer of the family-owned produce distributor, located here.
In the last two summers, Ciruli extended well beyond its core Mexican produce business to handle squashes grown in Sunnyside, CA. The firm sold California-grown green and yellow squash, Mexican Grey squash and hard squash.
Sigma Sales’ Mike Smith discusses Nogales deal
RIO RICO, AZ — Mike Smith has been in the Nogales produce business for 36 years. This is his 23rd year owning and operating Sigma Sales Inc., located here.
Smith is pleased by the formula that has always driven his business. He has observed the development of the Nogales deal.
He recently discussed those topics with The Produce News.
For Sigma, “our focus is still to provide a service. We have had a really good customer base for a long time.”
Import programs at Customized Brokers steady
“We’re currently seeing asparagus, melons, grapes, blueberries and cucumbers being imported from several Latin American countries,” said Nelly Yunta, vice president of Customized Brokers, headquartered in Miami. “These are mostly originating from Peru, Chile, Argentina, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica.” We’ll see these produce items run from about October through April.”
COI members stay ahead of the food-safety curve
Kay Riley, president of Certified Onions Inc., said customers who purchase onions from the organization’s members are assured that product meets and exceeds the highest food-safety standards available today.
The nonprofit organization was formed in July 2009. “This is our sixth year of testing,” Riley told The Produce News.
Members voluntarily undergo stringent testing for off-label pesticide use and random maximum residue levels, and pathogen testing is also available. Third-party auditing is performed at both the field and shed levels.
Maverick cites nice quality and sizes for 2014 potato crop
Maverick Potato Co. Co-owner Roger Christensen was spot-on going into the 2014 potato harvest when he called for good quality and sizes. Now, several weeks into the shipping season, Christensen said demand is steady for the holidays, and he and Co-owner Michael Kruse continue to see good reception in both the domestic and Mexican markets.
Aldi names new CEO
Aldi Inc. announced that it has made a structural adjustment to its senior leadership organization in order to support the retailer’s further expansion both in the U.S. and internationally.
Jason Hart, who currently serves as president for Aldi U.S., has been promoted to a new role, effective April 1, 2015. Hart will become chief executive officer for Aldi U.S. and will be supported by Chuck Youngstrom and David Behm, who will continue in their roles of co-presidents for Aldi U.S.