Customs house brokers have been preparing their customers -- and international produce shippers -- for a new phase of regulatory enforcement that will soon take effect.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection will begin enforcing the Importer Security Filing rule Jan. 26 with stiff financial penalties.

VIENNA, VA -- The U.S. Apple Association praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announced intended purchases of apples and apple products. The $18.6 million overall apples and apple products buy was first announced by the Obama Administration in November 2009, but amounts tentatively allotted for each category were revealed in mid-January.

As the extended cold snap in Florida wound down the week of Jan. 11, produce distributors and retailers in the Northeast were facing shortages and high prices on a number of items.

As would be expected, the end of the holiday season brought the red hot California and Arizona lettuce and leafy green vegetable markets back to earth, but expected rainfall as well as the cold weather in Florida and Texas could produce another spike in the coming weeks.

Todd Hultquist, director of communication and membership for the U.S. Apple Association, said that 2010 is already proving to be a busy year. During the week of Jan. 11, the association's public affairs committee met in Vienna, VA. "This group identifies priority issues for the coming year, which the board then approves at the semi-annual board meeting in late March," Mr. Hultquist told The Produce News.

Following are highlights of top priorities identified in a paper compiled by the association in January.

A crop report issued Jan. 12 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that this season's nationwide sweet potato crop is one of the larger since 1932. The increase comes despite volume declines, some of which were huge, caused by heavy rains during the harvesting season in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama.