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Distributors of produce from West Mexico were hoping for a fruitful spring after a fall/winter season affected by rainstorms and cold weather.

Champagne brand mangoes from Chiapas, Mexico, the signature item for Rio Rico, Ariz.-based Ciruli Bros., should peak during the second week of March, said partner Chris Ciruli.

Matt Quiring is now director of sales for Leamington, Ontario-based Nature Fresh Farms.

Favorable planting and growing conditions have onion growers and shippers in South Texas anticipating a timely start and smooth season in 2020.

Organics are still a niche category in the Texas onion business, but they still grow — and sell, suppliers say.

The Weslaco, Texas-based Onion House has fewer acres planted this year than last, said Don Ed Holmes, owner.

Acreage is up this year at Mission, Texas-based organic onion grower-shipper South Tex Organics LLC.

The South Texas Onion Committee has developed www.tx1015.com, a website devoted to South Texas-grown onions.

The demand for organic has infiltrated the sweet Vidalia onion world — a demand that’s rising incrementally year after year, growers and marketers say.

Effective July 30, assessment rates for onions handled under the South Texas onion marketing order will decrease from 6.5 cents to five cents per 50-pound unit.