Publication date: September 4, 2020
Hurricane Nana made landfall in a sparsely populated part of Belize right after midnight on Thursday morning. From there, Nana weakened to a tropical storm, pushing across Guatemala on Thursday. “The storm affected the northern part of Guatemala, the heart of our papaya growing region,” said Andres Ocampo with HLB Specialties. “Fortunately, Nana had turned […]
Publication date: July 19, 2020
One of these products is rambutan, which is currently being sourced from Guatemala and Mexico. Andrés Ocampo of HLB Specialties, located in Florida, says: “We are currently sourcing our rambutan from Guatemala. The season started late April, early May in the Pacific region, which is just across the border from Mexico. Then, as the season […]
Publication date: April 17, 2020
Nowadays, consumers are used to being able to buy many fruit and vegetable items all year long. Although in-season much is grown domestically, some fruit and vegetable varieties are almost exclusively imported. Papayas are one of these items and 97.7 percent of consumption is grown outside the US, according to the USDA. What is the […]
Publication date: April 8, 2020
Published by: Produce Retailer Continued … Specialties Andres Ocampo, CEO of HLB Specialties, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said that some offshore suppliers of specialty produce have been limited by the lack of freight in passenger planes. “For markets serviced only by passenger planes, it’s been a big blow,” Ocampo said. “For markets serviced by air freighters […]
Publication date: April 8, 2020
Published by: Reuters LAND, SEA & AIR In addition to the trucking problems, a sharp decline in air traffic has cut deeply into capacity to move fresh produce long distances.Slideshow (13 Images) Andres Ocampo, chief executive of HLB Specialties LLC, a fruit importer based in Miami, Florida, relied on commercial flights to shift papayas and other […]
Publication date: March 4, 2020
Port of Miami specializes in tropical and exotic produce South Florida is an important gateway for produce from South America arriving into the United States. Both the Port of Miami and Port Everglades have been specializing in handling produce, especially tropical and exotic items. Not only do these ports serve the Southeastern United States, produce […]
Publication date: January 24, 2020
2019 marks the 30th anniversary of HLB, a family-owned company who started off importing fish into Germany. Since its founding, the company has grown to two independent branches – HLB Tropical Food in Germany, and HLB Specialties in Florida – and helped open up and develop numerous markets for exotic fruits. The company began their […]
Publication date: January 8, 2020
Though still seen as an exotic fruit by many, papayas can be found at almost any major retailer in Europe and North America. HLB Tropical Food, which was formed in Germany by Homero Levy de Barros, was a major player in the development of the papaya market in Europe. When Levy de Barros moved to […]
Publication date: December 9, 2019
The German tropical fruit importer and distributor HLB Tropical Food GmbH is announcing some major personnel changes in its Kelsterbach headquarters. A few months ago, Mr. Lorenz Hartmann de Barros has joined the company as co-managing director. He brings almost 20 years of experience in the family business, and a lifelong enthusiasm for exotic fruits […]
