Though it is going to be a challenging year because of economic conditions, Alpine Fresh Inc. is expecting to increase its volume of Peruvian asparagus this year led by new production of purple asparagus.

“Stevco’s program is set up to where a large percentage of our volume is shipped in the fall, during the months of September through December,” said Jared Lane, vice president of sales and marketing.

The Grape Guys in Cutler, CA, considers itself primarily a red grape house, in that it is “heaviest to Flames and Crimsons,” according to Shaun Ricks, the company’s founder and president.

The Flame crop this year has been “excruciating[ly]“ slow to come on this year, he said Aug. 4. “We expect to use the whole month of August to get our Flames in.”

Scattaglia Growers & Shippers LLC in Traver, CA, has a strong fall fruit program consisting not only of grapes and stone fruit, which are the company’s major product categories, but also pomegranates and persimmons.

“Our stone fruit — our peach, nectarine and plum deal — will continue strong well into October as it usually does, complementing our grape program that is just getting into full swing,” said Louis Scattaglia, managing partner of SGS, in an interview with The Produce News Aug. 5.

It has been “a different type of year” in the grape business in California, said Jeff Olsen, vice president of The Chuck Olsen Co. in Visalia, CA, Aug. 5. “Even though we did have a later start, things are moving well, and I hope they continue to do so. I would hope that the later part of the deal should finish up fairly strong.”

A lighter-than-normal supply of California grapes available in the market during the first part of summer, coupled with strong demand, has resulted in “a demand-exceeds-supply situation for the last month or so,” Louie Galvan, a partner in Delano, CA-based Fruit Royale Inc., said Aug. 5.

Grapes have been moving well at good prices, “so the coolers have been staying relatively clean” without the inventory buildup that can occur by early August some years. So from a grower and marketer standpoint, “everything so far has been ideal,” he said.