NOGALES, AZ — The spring product offering of Lisa Inc., is highlighted by pickling cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, tomatillos and jalapeno and pasilla (poblano) peppers, according to John Lichter, Lisa’s sales manager.

“The weather has been good and the volume the same,” Lichter said.

Lisa’s vegetable deal runs from October to May. “We consolidate, mix loads and ship,” he added.

NOGALES, AZ — As February rolled around, organic Mexican vegetable markets were “coming off,” according to Steve LeFevre, sales manager for Wholesum Family Farms, based here.

The movement had been “backed up by high prices. This will take a couple of weeks to settle,” he said on Jan. 30.

In mid-January, organic Mexican vegetable supplies were down and demand pushed high prices for all products in this category except for red bell peppers.

RIO RICO, AZ — A heightened focus on shipping Mexican citrus continues for R.C.F. Produce. Inc., based here. The firm has slowly built its Mexican citrus volume over the last two shipping seasons. The citrus is shipped under the “R.C.F.” brand.  

Malu Crespo, president and general manager, said, “We have increased our citrus a lot. All of our citrus is grown in Sonora. The citrus season is going very well. It’s a little tight now (in January), with more demand. That is good for the growers and us, too.”

RIO RICO, AZ — Keith Connell, Inc. should have some watermelon availability for the Easter pull, weather permitting, according to Danny Connell, who heads the Rio Rico office of the family business. “It may still be cool at the end of March,” he cautioned.

Easter is April 5 this year. Connell said his larger Mexican watermelon volume will come on in the week after Easter.

Connell’s affiliated watermelon growers are in Jalisco, Los Mochis, Obregon and Hermosillo. The Hermosillo growers planted in the first full week of January.

NOGALES, AZ — A new Nogales produce distributor, Healthy Trends, is in its first full year of shipping Mexican greenhouse and open field bell peppers.

Handling sales and marketing for the company is partner Bobby Astengo. Astengo previously worked nine years for Prime Time International, based in Coachella, CA.

Astengo was the sales and operations manager at Prime Time’s Nogales office. For seven years prior to that, he was the sales manager for Sysco FreshPoint, which has since closed its Nogales office.

The latest hurricane season has all but faded to a memory for Joe Bernardi, president of Bernardi & Associates in Nogales, AZ, who is anticipating a good spring deal.

“People are excited to be out and about,” he told The Produce News in early February. “It’s going to be an active spring.” Traditional wisdom, he pointed out, holds that producers who make it to February without any significant impacts to crops from weather will be in good shape.