The “Valentine’s Day Massacre” for south Texas’ fruit and vegetable growers spared J&D Produce Inc., a major Texas produce grower based in Edinburg, TX.

“The cabbage is looking pretty good. We dodged a big bullet,” said Bret Erickson senior vice president of business affairs for spared J&D Produce.

On the night of Feb. 14, temperatures in south Texas were below freezing for many hours. Freezing cold continued to blast these fields through that week. Erickson, noted that “cabbage is pretty hardy. That was a bright spot, along with onions.”

J&D’s onion harvest will have a little decline

The outlook for fresh Mexican produce imports is positive. Growing numbers in fruit and vegetable crossings and the value of fresh products continues to increase through the Pharr International Bridge, according to Luis Bazan, the bridge’s director.

When Bazan spoke with The Produce News in late February, south Texas growers were in the process of assessing damage from multiple days of freezing, which commenced on Valentine’s Day. Bazan expressed a sincere sympathy for those growers, but dinner tables will continue to be served, which translates to higher demand for similar products from

There are numerous reasons for exhibiting at Viva Fresh Expo 2021, according to Ronnie Cohen, vice president of Vision Import Group LLC.

“We can,” he said, noting that this is the first in-person produce convention since Coronavirus shut down the country in March 2020.

“We want to,” he indicated, in order to promote Vision’s imported Mexican produce to buyers, while reconnecting with the broader trade.

“And, it is the right thing to do. The pandemic has been what it’s been. We have to get back,” he said.

Vision will have its full team at the Vision Import booth in Dallas. “It’s the first

Even in 2020, Salix Fruits substantially expanded its global fruit trading business, according to Alejandro Moralejo, the firm’s CEO.

Speaking by Zoom from his Argentine office, Moralejo said business in the United States was a key part of the growth and will increasingly be Salix’ emphasis.

The global fruit trader is based in Philadelphia, with offices in South Africa, Argentina and Chile. Salix has 20 full time employees; four based in the United States.

The company works with more than 80 growers in 18 countries. It has 400 customers in 57 countries and its own sales app has proven very

Poised to begin the second half of their marketing season, SweeTango apple growers across North America are advising their best retailers to stock up to meet continued strong demand from the variety’s passionate consumer fans.

A coordinated strategy of aggressive retail push and consumer pull drove SweeTango sales into the top-three managed apple varieties early in the apple season per Nielsen scan data, reports Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative. The cooperative’s SweeTango sales desks coast to coast report that consumers are still looking for the apple well after the new year — and the

One year after the 2020 Viva Fresh Expo was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the show makes its return this year.

A great effort has been made to make the March 26-27 Viva Fresh Expo a “safe, in-person event,” said Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association, headquartered in Mission, TX.

The TIPA staff and its active and valuable industry volunteer leadership has worked tirelessly for eight months to assure this Dallas event will be safe for participants to come and greet one another.

“People will be very pleasantly surprised by all the