AgEx.com, an Internet commodity trading site for agricultural products, announced today that it has designed a relief operation to help tomato growers recoup losses caused by the recent bankruptcy filing of food processing giant Tri Valley Growers. 

"Our secure, neutral auction site is being customized to handle the immediate needs of growers and processors,'' said Blair Richardson, vice president of auction services. "Nearly 700,000 tons of tomatoes need to be handled, and many processors have only limited ability to accept more tomatoes. Our auction site has the potential to enable processors and growers to match their product with each others' needs and soften the blow to the agricultural community from Tri Valley's unfortunate situation.'' 

For a limited time, AgEx.com is inviting growers of processing tomatoes to list their crops on tomatoEx's Processing Tomato Posting Board. Growers can access the Posting Board starting at 8 a.m. Pacific time on Monday, July 31 by following the links on tomatoEx, the tomato-specific news, data and trading site operated by AgEx.com. The board will be available at the click of a mouse at www.agex.com or www.tomatoex.com. 

Crops listed on the Posting Board can be bid upon by purchasers through a neutral, private AgEx.com auction site. An intervention team led by Richardson has established new business rules to facilitate sales of processing tomatoes during the current crisis. AgEx.com is working with tomato processing plants and the California Tomato Growers Association to develop awareness and encourage their participation in its custom auctions. 

"Our goal is to respond quickly to growers who need help salvaging the hard work and investment they placed in their current crop,'' Richardson said. "This is an excellent example of how our Internet-based approach gives us the flexibility and immediacy needed to serve the agricultural community.'' 

"We have been speaking with government agencies and politicians in an effort to aid the growers of
California. We applaud the efforts made by AgEx.com in utilizing the Internet to achieve the same goals,'' Jeff Shaw, president and chief executive officer of Tri Valley Growers, said Thursday. 

AgEx.com's tomato exchange debuted just this week. In addition to the Posting Board, the new site includes latest news on global tomato trends, pricing, shipping, current import/export data and field information. Information is compiled by the AgEx.com News Service, which maintains a staff of reporters and correspondents worldwide and offers breaking news throughout the day. 

AgEx.com is a privately held company based in Sacramento, Calif. The company has additional offices in San Francisco and New York, and representatives in major agricultural centers around the world including France, Germany and Argentina. 

Membership information, news and other information about AgEx.com's services is available at
www.agex.com or by calling 916/481-9891. 

Company news release
P2006