Fresh Produce Market Report: Score Distribution Across 1,000 USDA PACA Entities Reveals Compliance Landscape

For small business owners in the fresh produce industry, knowing who you're doing business with isn't just good practice—it's essential for protecting your company's financial health. The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) license from the USDA provides a baseline for legal operation, but understanding the full compliance picture requires deeper analysis.

Verdica's latest scoring of 1,000 USDA PACA-licensed entities—including dealers, brokers, and commission merchants—reveals a market landscape where excellence is the norm, but significant compliance gaps still exist. With an average score of 828 out of 850 possible points, the fresh produce industry demonstrates strong overall compliance. However, the distribution tells a more nuanced story that every small business owner should understand before signing their next purchase agreement.

Understanding the Verdica Scoring Framework

The Verdica Fresh Produce platform evaluates entities based on comprehensive USDA PACA data, including enforcement actions, license status, and regulatory history. Our scoring system runs from 0 to 850 points, with scores translating into letter grades that help small business owners quickly assess risk:

• A grade: 800-850 points (exemplary compliance)
• B grade: 700-799 points (good standing with minor issues)
• C grade: 600-699 points (notable compliance concerns)
• D grade: 500-599 points (significant regulatory problems)
• F grade: Below 500 points (critical risk)

These scores draw from the latest USDA PACA enforcement data, with our most recent refresh on 2026-07-20 incorporating 30 records from paca_enforcement actions. This real-time data integration ensures small business owners have current information when making vendor decisions.

The Compliance Landscape: 93.9% Earn Top Grades

Of the 1,000 dealers, brokers, and commission merchants scored by Verdica, 939 earned an A grade—representing 93.9% of all analyzed entities. This overwhelming concentration at the top of the scoring spectrum reflects several positive trends in the fresh produce industry:

First, the vast majority of USDA PACA licensees maintain clean regulatory records with no recent enforcement actions. These companies understand that compliance isn't optional—it's a competitive advantage that builds trust with buyers and protects their license to operate.

Second, the high average score of 828/850 suggests that most produce businesses have implemented effective internal controls for payment practices, record-keeping, and transaction documentation. These operational disciplines are exactly what PACA regulations were designed to encourage.

For small business owners, this data point offers reassurance: when you're sourcing fresh produce from USDA PACA-licensed vendors, you're statistically likely to be working with a compliant partner. However, the 6.1% of entities falling below an A grade represent real risks that verification can help you avoid.

Grade Distribution: Breaking Down the Numbers

The complete grade distribution across all 1,000 scored entities reveals where compliance challenges emerge:

• A grade: 939 entities (93.9%)
• B grade: 41 entities (4.1%)
• C grade: 16 entities (1.6%)
• D grade: 4 entities (0.4%)
• F grade: 0 entities (0%)

The 41 B-grade entities represent companies with good but imperfect records. These businesses may have older resolved issues or minor regulatory notes that don't rise to serious concern but warrant awareness. For small business owners, B-grade vendors can still be viable partners—especially if you're conducting regular verification and maintaining strong contractual protections.

The 16 C-grade entities signal more substantial compliance concerns. While still USDA PACA-licensed, these dealers, brokers, or commission merchants have regulatory histories that justify extra caution. Small business owners should consider requiring faster payment terms, smaller initial orders, or additional financial guarantees when working with C-grade entities.

The 4 D-grade entities represent the highest-risk category among currently licensed operations. At an average score in the 500-599 range, these companies have significant regulatory problems that should give any small business owner pause before entering into agreements.

Top Performers: Perfect Compliance Scores

Five entities in our analysis achieved the maximum possible Verdica score of 850/850:

1. MIMS PRODUCE INC (850/850)
2. WALTER H MAPLES INC (850/850)
3. JEYCO PRODUCE COMPANY INCORPORATED (850/850)
4. BIG SANDY WHOLESALE COMPANY INC (850/850)
5. BETHEL FOOD MARKET INC (850/850)

These perfect scores represent entities with completely clean USDA PACA records, current licenses in good standing, and no enforcement actions in our historical database. For small business owners, companies like MIMS PRODUCE INC and WALTER H MAPLES INC represent the gold standard for vendor relationships—partners you can trust with confidence.

What distinguishes these top performers? Perfect-scoring entities typically share several operational characteristics:

• Prompt payment practices: They consistently pay suppliers within agreed terms, avoiding PACA complaints
• Meticulous documentation: Their record-keeping meets or exceeds USDA requirements
• Proactive compliance: They treat regulatory obligations as business imperatives, not bureaucratic burdens
• Operational longevity: Many have decades of clean operation under USDA oversight

When you're evaluating potential fresh produce vendors, prioritizing A-grade entities—and especially those near or at perfect scores—significantly reduces your payment risk and operational uncertainty.

Lowest Performers: Understanding the Risk Profile

At the opposite end of the spectrum, five entities tied for the lowest scores in our analysis, each earning 524/850 points:

1. GLOBAL GREENHOUSE LLC (524/850)
2. PARADISE PRODUCE (524/850)
3. MOODY'S MARKET INC (524/850)
4. PHOENIX VEGETABLE DISTRIBUTORS (524/850)
5. HAMDEN MARKETS LLC (524/850)

With scores more than 300 points below the industry average of 828, these D-grade entities represent significant compliance concerns that small business owners must understand before initiating any business relationship.

These low scores typically result from combinations of factors that Verdica's scoring algorithm weights heavily:

• Recent USDA PACA enforcement actions
• Unresolved payment disputes or reparation awards
• License suspensions or revocations (including subsequently reinstated licenses)
• Patterns of PACA violations across multiple instances

For small business owners, entities like GLOBAL GREENHOUSE LLC or PARADISE PRODUCE may still be operating under valid USDA PACA licenses, but their regulatory histories suggest elevated risk. This doesn't necessarily mean you should never work with lower-scoring entities—but it does mean you should implement additional protections:

• Require cash-in-advance or COD payment terms
• Start with smaller test orders before scaling volume
• Conduct more frequent verification checks during the relationship
• Maintain alternative supplier relationships to avoid dependency
• Consider third-party payment protection mechanisms

What Drives Score Variations?

The 326-point spread between perfect scores (850) and the lowest scores (524) reflects the wide range of compliance performance across the fresh produce industry. Several factors contribute to these variations:

Enforcement Actions

USDA PACA enforcement actions carry the heaviest weight in Verdica's scoring. Our latest data refresh on 2026-07-20 incorporated 30 records from paca_enforcement, including formal complaints, reparation orders, and license actions. Entities with recent enforcement activity see immediate score impacts proportional to the severity and recency of violations.

Payment Practices

PACA exists primarily to ensure prompt payment in produce transactions. Entities with histories of payment disputes, slow payment patterns, or reparation awards owed to suppliers receive lower scores. For small business owners, this focus on payment reliability directly aligns with your primary concern: getting paid on time.

License Status and Duration

Current, continuously maintained USDA PACA licenses signal stability. Entities with gaps in licensing, recent reinstatements after revocations, or frequent license status changes score lower than those with decades of uninterrupted good standing.

Operational Transparency

While not directly scored, entities that maintain clear business information, respond to USDA inquiries promptly, and demonstrate operational transparency tend to avoid the compliance issues that reduce scores.

Industry Implications for Small Business Owners

This distribution of scores across 1,000 entities offers several actionable insights for small business owners in fresh produce:

The 94% Rule

With 939 of 1,000 entities earning A grades, you can operate with reasonable confidence that most USDA PACA-licensed vendors will be reliable partners. However, this also means approximately 6 in every 100 potential vendors carry elevated risk. Verification before commitment is essential.

The Concentration of Risk

The 61 entities scoring below A grade (B, C, and D combined) represent just 6.1% of the market but potentially a much higher proportion of payment problems and disputes. Small business owners who skip verification disproportionately expose themselves to this small high-risk segment.

The Value of Data-Driven Decisions

The 304-point difference between the average score (828) and the lowest scores (524) illustrates why gut-feel vendor selection is insufficient. Objective, data-driven verification through platforms like Verdica Fresh Produce helps small business owners avoid expensive mistakes.

Regional and Sector Patterns

While this analysis covers dealers, brokers, and commission merchants as a unified group, compliance patterns often vary by geography and specialization. Small business owners should consider:

• Regional concentration: Some markets have higher concentrations of top-scoring entities
• Product specialization: Certain commodity specialists may show different risk profiles
• Business model: Dealers, brokers, and commission merchants each face unique compliance challenges

Regular verification through Verdica allows you to understand these patterns as they relate to your specific sourcing needs.

The USDA PACA Foundation

All Verdica scores build on the regulatory foundation of the USDA Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. Enacted in 1930 and administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, PACA:

• Requires licensing for dealers, brokers, and commission merchants
• Establishes prompt payment standards for produce transactions
• Provides dispute resolution mechanisms through reparation proceedings
• Offers PACA trust protection for unpaid suppliers
• Enforces compliance through license suspensions and revocations

For small business owners, understanding that Verdica scores translate USDA PACA data into actionable intelligence helps you appreciate both the regulatory backing and the practical utility of the verification process.

Making Verification Part of Your Business Process

The score distribution across these 1,000 entities demonstrates that compliance verification shouldn't be a one-time event—it's an ongoing business practice. Consider these integration points:

Pre-Contract Verification

Before signing agreements with new fresh produce vendors, verify their Verdica score. This single step can prevent partnerships with the 6.1% of entities that carry elevated risk.

Periodic Re-Verification

Even existing vendor relationships deserve regular compliance checks. A vendor with an A grade today might experience enforcement actions that drop their score significantly—information you need to know before your next large order.

Portfolio Risk Assessment

Small business owners with multiple produce suppliers can analyze their entire vendor portfolio, identifying concentration risk if too many relationships fall into B or C grade categories.

Due Diligence Documentation

Maintaining verification records demonstrates your own due diligence—valuable protection if disputes arise or if you need to demonstrate prudent business practices to lenders or investors.

Conclusion: Knowledge Reduces Risk

The fresh produce industry's strong overall performance—with an average Verdica score of 828/850 and 93.9% of entities earning A grades—reflects decades of effective USDA PACA regulation and widespread industry compliance. This is genuinely good news for small business owners who depend on reliable produce suppliers.

However, the presence of 61 entities scoring below A grade, and particularly the 4 D-grade entities with scores of 524/850, reminds us that risk exists even in a well-regulated market. The 326-point scoring spread between perfect performers like MIMS PRODUCE INC and concerning operators like GLOBAL GREENHOUSE LLC illustrates why verification matters.

For small business owners, the math is straightforward: in a market of 1,000 potential vendors, you face a roughly 6% chance of unknowingly selecting a problematic partner if you rely on USDA PACA licensing alone. Data-driven verification through Verdica Fresh Produce eliminates this uncertainty, helping you confidently partner with the 939 A-grade entities while avoiding the compliance risks that could disrupt your operations and cash flow.

The difference between working with an 850-score vendor and a 524-score vendor isn't just numerical—it's the difference between reliable partnerships and potential payment problems, between operational confidence and constant uncertainty.

Look up any dealers on Verdica Fresh Produce—free for your first search. Verify before you commit, and build your fresh produce supply chain on the foundation of data-driven confidence.