Ecoripe Tropicals in Medley, FL, carries a widely diverse line of tropical fruits and vegetables. The line was originally developed specifically for the wide range of Chinese, Indian, Hispanic and Southeast Asian cuisines, but these foods have become highly desired by mainstream foodies who want to experience new, interesting and flavorful dishes.

Marc Holbik, director of grower relations for the company, said that this year its tropical vegetable program is being sourced from three different growing areas.

Harrison Fresh is “a new company this year” in Nogales, AZ, and is “a work in progress,” said Brent Harrison, president of the new entity, in an interview with The Produce News.

Harrison is also president of Al Harrison Co. Distributors, a long-established multi-generation family company in the Nogales deal. “At this point, we are going to operate” under the Harrison Fresh name,” he said. Because the organizational aspects of the business were in a transitional state, he did not go into detail beyond that announcement.

Grower Alliance LLC in Nogales, AZ, which was founded seven years ago, has “been able to grow little by little” from its inception, and that growth continues for the 2013-14 season with expansion in several commodities, according to Jorge Quintero Jr., managing partner.

“Euro cucumbers we just started this week,” Quintero said Nov. 19. “That is our big deal,” and it has expanded significantly this year. “We are doubling our production from last season, so that is something huge. That is all out of Culiacán” in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

Divine Flavor LLC, which is located in the Rio Rico Industrial Park north of Nogales, AZ, is building a new 90,000-square-foot state-of-the-art warehouse and office complex on a 22-acre site on Mariposa Road in Nogales, which is expected to be ready next October in time for the 2014-15 season, according to Pedro Batiz, vice president of sales.

“We are breaking ground next week,” Batiz told The Produce News on Nov. 25.

“It is going to be a green warehouse” with solar panels, he added.

Organizers of the America Trades Produce Conference announced that Christopher Wilson, associate at the Woodrow Wilson Institute's Mexico Institute, will be the keynote speaker at the fourth annual conference.

"We are delighted with how the agenda and speaker lineup is developing," Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which runs the conference along with the Texas International Produce Association, said in a press release.

Syngenta announced Dec. 17 that it has signed an agreement to sell its Dulcinea Farms business to Pacific Trellis Fruit LLC, a Fresno, CA-based grower and marketer of fresh produce.

Based in Ladera Ranch, CA, Dulcinea was formed in 2004 in partnership with Tanimura & Antle, initially as a vehicle for branding proprietary mini-watermelon and specialty melon genetics directly to consumers through national food retail chains. Syngenta took full control of the company in 2005 and annual sales have since increased to around $80 million.