(Left to Right) Benjie Richter, Lloyd Richter and Kevin Rogers at the 2015 Southeast Produce Council annual Retail and Foodservice Conference

Produce distributor Richter and Co. is helping to spread the word about buying regionally with presentations at industry expos like Southern Exposure, the Southeast Produce Council’s annual Retail and Foodservice Conference.

The event in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 26-28, drew 2,500 people, setting a record for attendance the fourth straight year. In fact, the new number left previous totals in the dust. At least 267 grower-shippers, distributors, marketers and others displayed their products during the expo. Traditionally, the turnout has been mostly from the Southeast, but attendance from the entire East Coast and even the Midwest was impressively high this year.

The event brings together members of the produce industry to connect, learn and gain a fresh perspective from retailers, growers, food service distributors, and wholesalers. Industry insiders said the turnout, which has climbed steadily over the last several years, was not a total surprise because The Southeast has become an increasingly important center for agricultural, retail and food service growth.

Richter and Company has participated in Southern Exposure since it began. The company distributes peaches, tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet potatoes and Vidalia onions to food chains across the United States, Canada and Mexico. This year is the Richters’ 86th in business, making it an icon in the agriculture industry. Today, it represents growers in Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia and Michigan. And its longevity has helped it to become one of the world’s largest peach distributors and a major shipper of Vidalia onions.

As a member of the Southeast Produce Council, Richter and Co. helps promote the consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables in Florida, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia.

It’s a joint effort known throughout the industry as buying regionally. Produce purchased seasonally and regionally means that, in most cases, it can be prepared and served within 48 hours of harvest. The result is healthier communities and customers. Buying regionally also ensures the sustainability of family farms, a familiar way of life for those who live in the Southeast.

Produce distributor Richter and Co. welcomes Jarrod Snider to its sales team as vegetable commodity development director. Snider oversees the sales growth and development of our vegetable commodity line, said President Benjie Richter. Snider is based at the company’s Southlake, Texas, office.

His experience and reputation throughout the industry will help strengthen and expand the company’s existing vegetable programs in Georgia and South Carolina. Richter and Co. is launching an aggressive sales and marketing campaign to promote its year-round sweet onion program and also is expanding its bell pepper, sweet potato and eggplant operations.

Snider has more than 17 years of experience in the fresh produce industry, working most recently at Frontera Produce Ltd. Past work includes positions at Standard Fruit and Vegetable Co. Inc. and Fresh Del Monte Inc.

For the first time since 1994, Georgia and South Carolina peaches are available in Mexico. The deal sets strict guidelines about how the fruit must be grown after Mexico banned peaches from the two states over mounting concerns about invasive pests. Until recently, only peaches from California were allowed over the border.

The clearance followed several years of negotiations. Only a few growers in Georgia and South actually ship to Mexico, mainly because the requirements are difficult to meet. They include setting and trapping pests, frequent field inspections and assuring that peaches bound for Mexican retailers are separated to keep fruit-eating insects from finding a new home south of the border.

The restart of exports likely means better prices for farmers, particularly at the height of peach season when the largest quantities are being picked and sold, said Desmond Layne, a peach specialist at Clemson University told Fox News Latino. “It gives farmers more places to sell their product for profit,” said Layne, known affectionately in agricultural circles as “Dr. Peach.”

”That’s a great thing for our growers. There are a lot of people in Mexico, and a lot of people who eat peaches.” Get the full story