The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas 2023 Spring Policy Summit will have a heavy emphasis on trade issues when the industry meets for the two-day event on March 14-15 at the Tubac Golf Resort and Spa in Tubac, AZ.

FPAA President Lance Jungmeyer said the top government trade representative from both Mexico and the United States have been invited so a lively and frank discussion on market access is expected to take place. 

Jim Matiasevich, co-founder and president of Fullerton, CA’s Veg-Land Sales Inc. and its subsidiaries, died Jan. 28 due to complication from pneumonia. He was 76.

Over the final two weeks of January, the projection is that Mexico will send almost 150 million pounds of Hass avocados to the U.S. market, according to data compiled and released by the Hass Avocado Board each week.

Long before “influencers” were a thing, Don Christopher reached that status in the world of garlic as he helped make the pungent bulb a culinary staple and significantly impacted production in the United States and around the globe.

The typical post-holiday decline in demand has resulted in an almost-across-the-board drop in FOB prices on western vegetables, but cold weather and a seemingly unending string of storms has kept some prices at a relatively high level this month.

“Celery is still in the mid-$50s,” said Adam Sides of Boskovich Farms in Oxnard, CA, noting that demand dropped off as expected right after the holiday, but cooler temperatures and heavy rains have limited supply and kept the market strong.

Tracing fresh produce from the field or the packing plant through the entire supply chain with the simple scanning of a barcode saves money and time, and just as importantly, greatly reduces the risk of mis-shipments.