“We strive toward our goal as a team dedicated to the mission of growing, supplying and servicing customers with high-quality products and information,” Jim Mulcahy, North American sales manager for New World Farming Trade, told The Produce News. “This starts with our focus on growing, packing and shipping according to Good Manufacturing Practices [commonly referred to as GMP] and food-safety-certification requirements.

NOGALES, AZ — A year ago in December there were plenty of watermelons to ship from northern Mexico. But the fall 2014 crop has run short because two August hurricanes struck Mexico’s west coast.

“There will be a gap from now until the deal begins in Jalisco. This is projected for January,” said Chuy Lopez, president of Big Chuy Distributors & Sons Inc.

Harvesting in Chile's Copiapó Valley has begun, and the first grapes of the Chilean season are on their way to the North American market. With favorable climatic conditions throughout the past year, the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association anticipates that export volumes from Copiapó will grow from 10 million boxes to more than 11 million boxes. North America is the largest export market, receiving roughly 70 percent of all Copiapó grapes.

Diana McClean, who formerly was in marketing at Tanimura & Antle in Salinas, CA, has joined Ocean Mist Farms as director of marketing.

Mann Packing recently hired Julie Bowman as the company’s Eastern regional sales manager.

Organic cauliflower is the newest fresh vegetable Braga Fresh Family Farms has added to its sustainable, premium-quality, certified USDA organic line of produce: Josie’s Organics.