WASHINGTON, D.C. - Export International Inc., a Gresham, Oregon-based company, has posted a $90,000 surety agreement with the USDA to employ Michael Aker, a former PACA violator.

Aker was the only officer and a stockholder of Pacific Rim Onion Inc., a Salem, Oregon-based company, which was found to have committed repeated and flagrant PACA violations, according to a press release.

USDA will hold the $90,000 cash surety agreement for four years, providing assurance to the industry that the company will be able to pay for produce purchased and to conduct its business according to PACA rules.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 4,600 claims filed under PACA involving more than $87 million. Any PACA licensee looking to employ someone who has previously failed to pay a reparation award, or has been subject to a USDA disciplinary action, must post a USDA-approved surety bond.

Agricultural Marketing Service