As part of its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture 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 $8.18 million from June 2015 through April 2018.

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.

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.