HLB Specialties LLC in Pompano Beach, FL, continues to import its high-quality papayas from Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico, Homero Levy de Barros, president and chief executive officer for the company, told The Produce News.

Calixtro Distributing Co. Inc., which is located in the Rio Rico Industrial Park north of Nogales, AZ, already has a sizeable warehouse and office complex that not only serves the company’s own needs, but also accommodates several tenants, and now further expansion is in progress.

“We have an addition coming up on our building over here,” said Frank Calixtro, one of five brothers in the family business. “We are adding on another 25,000 square feet to our warehouse.” It is all “state-of-the-art cold storage,” he said.

“I think the big question out there, is how will the higher minimum prices under the new anti-dumping suspension agreement announced by the U.S. Commerce Department in March,” affect the 2013-14 Mexican tomato season, said Joe Bernardi, president of Bernardi & Associates Inc., Nov. 19.

However, “I think there are so many more factors than just the minimum being implemented,” Bernardi said. “A lot of it depends on how much acreage is planted in tomatoes and Romas,” not just in Mexico but in Florida “for the same time period.”

The Perishable Specialist, a leading customs brokerage firm headquartered in Miami, handles fresh produce exclusively. Ana Ramos, co-owner with her husband Frank, said that a broker that specializes in fresh fruits and vegetables serves the importer and shipper best because every bit of effort is concentrated within the produce industry.

Jesus Gonzales, who has more than 30 years in the Nogales produce industry and was most recently with Foodsource, is now general manager of the Nogales office of Fresno, CA-based Crown Jewels Produce Co.

Prior to Foodsource, “I was with Sysco here in Nogales, when Sysco had a purchasing office here,” Gonzales told The Produce News. “I ran the [Sysco] office here in Nogales at that time.” Before that, “I was with Carlsbad Produce for nine years, and before that, I was with Mandel Produce, back before it was SunFed.”

MINNEAPOLIS — A variety of strengths are leading to dynamic growth for the pre-cut produce offerings of G.O. Fresh, located here.

A key base for the company is strict cleanliness and food-safety procedures throughout operations. Beyond that, said Marylou Owen, owner and chief operations officer, a good taste profile is critical for her firm’s offerings.