As part of its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet their contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the PACA.
The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:
- Perfect Harvest Inc., operating out of Nogales, AZ, for failing to pay a $243,240 award in favor of an Arizona seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Jorge A. Mercado was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.
- Lorex Produce LLC, operating out of Rio Rico, AZ, for failing to pay a $48,826 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Francisco Alejandro Lopez Rodriguez and Enok Aristiga Ayala were listed as members of the business.
- Arizona Lemons LLC, operating out of Phoenix, for failing to pay a $16,776 award in favor of a Minnesota seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Martha E. Bombela and Jose R. Partida were listed as members of the business.
- Super HK HG LLC, doing business as Hong Kong Supermarket, operating out of Hawaiian Gardens, CA, for failing to pay a $4,774 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Myint J. Kyaw was listed as a member of the business.
These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA. By issuing these penalties, USDA continues to enforce the prompt and full payment for produce while protecting the rights of sellers and buyers in the marketplace.
In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,500 PACA claims involving more than $58 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 7,800 callers with issues valued at approximately $148 million.
