WASHINGTON, DC - As part of its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed a complaint under PACA against Wayne Bailey Inc. and Wayne Bailey Produce Co. LLC. The companies, operating from North Carolina, allegedly failed to make payment to 46 produce sellers in the amount of $8,182,415 from June 2015 through April 2018.

According to a press release, Wayne Bailey Inc. and Wayne Bailey Produce Co. LLC will have an opportunity to request a hearing. Should USDA find that the companies committed repeated and flagrant violations, they would be barred from the produce industry as licensees for three years, or two years with the posting of USDA-approved surety bonds. Furthermore, their principals could not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee for two years, or one year with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond.

The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses that are operating subject to PACA, including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers, and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,350 PACA claims involving more than $63 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $156 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service