Rico's Produce

Network

From the packing house to your dock, without a handoff.

Most of what goes wrong with imported produce goes wrong in the seams: between the exporter and the broker, the broker and the customs agent, the agent and the carrier. We removed the seams by owning every step.

Fruit from 10 Latin American and Caribbean countries enters the United States through 7 gateways (California, McAllen, Houston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey) and reaches every region of the country.LATIN AMERICA10 countriesand the CaribbeanCaliforniaLand crossing & sea portMcAllenLand crossingHoustonSea portMiamiAir & sea portNew YorkAir & sea portPhiladelphiaSea portNew JerseySea portUNITED STATESNationwideLTL and full truckloadsCUSTOMS · FDA · ORGANIC CHAIN OF CUSTODY

Northeast

New York/New Jersey metro, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and Washington

Fed from: New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia

Southeast

Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee

Fed from: Miami, Houston

Midwest

Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City, the Ohio valley

Fed from: McAllen, Houston, New Jersey

South Central

Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas

Fed from: McAllen, Houston

West

California, the Pacific Northwest, the Mountain West, the Southwest

Fed from: California, McAllen

Gateways

Seven doors, chosen by origin and season.

A single port is a single point of failure. Splitting entry by origin keeps Mexican fruit off a boat, gets early-season South American fruit in by air, lands container volume near the market that will consume it, and means a delay at one crossing does not stop a program.

California, CA

Land crossing & sea port

West Coast distribution

The western door. Product entering through California serves the West Coast directly and shortens the run to the Pacific Northwest and the Mountain West, without dragging a load across the country from a Gulf or East Coast entry.

McAllen, TX

Land crossing

Mexican product

The Rio Grande Valley crossing, and the busiest door in the network. Mexican fruit crosses here, the cold chain is picked up on the US side, and loads build for every outbound lane. That is what makes a mixed truckload out of Mexico practical rather than theoretical.

Houston, TX

Sea port

Latin America, Gulf distribution

The Gulf port. Houston takes container volume straight into the Texas and south-central markets, and gives the network a second Texas door, so a delay at one entry does not stop a program.

Miami, FL

Air & sea port

South and Central America

The fast door for South American fruit: air freight for the opening weeks of a season, reefer containers for the volume behind it. Also the shortest path into the Southeast.

New York, NY

Air & sea port

Northeast retail and foodservice

Air freight for the opening weeks of a Southern Hemisphere season and containers for the volume that follows, landing straight into the largest consumer market in the country.

Philadelphia, PA

Sea port

Chile, Peru and the Southern Cone

The historic South American fruit port and the anchor of the Northeast program. Containers discharge within a day's drive of most East Coast distribution centers.

New Jersey, NJ

Sea port

Northeast distribution

The East Coast container complex. Volume discharges within a short run of the New York and New Jersey distribution centers, which is where a Northeast retail program is actually won or lost.

Outbound

Where it goes from there.

RegionMarkets servedFed from
NortheastNew York/New Jersey metro, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and WashingtonNew Jersey, New York, Philadelphia
SoutheastFlorida, Georgia, the Carolinas, TennesseeMiami, Houston
MidwestChicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City, the Ohio valleyMcAllen, Houston, New Jersey
South CentralTexas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, ArkansasMcAllen, Houston
WestCalifornia, the Pacific Northwest, the Mountain West, the SouthwestCalifornia, McAllen

LTL and full truckloads. Transit times are quoted per lane and per season rather than published. A printed number becomes a promise, and the honest answer depends on the crossing, the port and the week.

The chain

Six steps. One party accountable for all of them.

  1. Step 1

    Source

    Direct contracts with growers and packers in each origin. No intermediary between the field and your program.

  2. Step 2

    Verify

    Hazard analysis and supplier verification under FSVP, performed by our Qualified Individual before the first pallet ships.

  3. Step 3

    Finance

    We buy the fruit and pay the freight and the duty. The grower is paid on our terms, not on the buyer's.

  4. Step 4

    Clear

    Customs entry, FDA prior notice and the organic chain of custody, handled as importer of record.

  5. Step 5

    Consolidate

    Loads build at the gateway, mixed pallets and mixed origins where the program calls for them.

  6. Step 6

    Deliver

    LTL or full truckload to your distribution center, anywhere in the country, tracked by one team.