This year, as every year, Family Tree Farms in Reedley, CA, has introduced several new varieties of stone fruit to the market that have come out of the company’s research and development facility, where the focus is on flavor, according to Dave Goforth, marketing director of Family Tree Farms Marketing LLC.

The new introductions for 2014 include five or six varieties of white flesh peaches and nectarines and three new varieties of plumcots.

RJO Produce Marketing Inc., a fruit broker in Fresno, CA, services customers in three primary areas, according to Clint Lucas, who does sales and inspection for the company. Those areas are category managing, buying and inspection. “We continue to do what the customer needs and asks of us,” he said.

According to the company’s website, RJO is “unlike the traditional agriculture commodity broker. We offer a wide variety of services to help our clients work smart and maximize their profitability.”

Larger California blueberry volume will translate to increased promotions for Gourmet Trading Co. and its customer base. Marketing Manager Chloé Varennes said the company markets blues throughout North America as well as Europe, Asia and Australia.

Gourmet Trading is headquartered in Los Angeles and has a 125-acre farm in Delano, CA. “Our blueberry farm will be starting two weeks earlier than previous years due to great weather,” she told The Produce News. “The season typically begins in early May, but this year we are due to begin in mid-April.”

Homegrown Organic Farms is set to celebrate the first anniversary of its new facility in early May. The company is located in Porterville, CA, and the new facility occupies 28 acres west of Highway 99 in Kingsburg, CA.

“Its location will enhance logistical efficiencies and improve customer service through ease of access for transportation,” Marketing Manager Cherie France told The Produce News.

During April, California Giant Berry Farms — headquartered in Watsonville, CA — was in its peak season for California coastal blueberry production. “Quality has been superb, and we expect to see this quality persist throughout the month of April,” Director of Marketing Cindy Jewell told The Produce News.

As California’s blueberry crop increases in volume, growers continue to develop offshore markets. “The California Blueberry Commission is heavily focused on exports,” said Executive Director Alexander Ott. At the current time, roughly 20 percent of the Golden State’s blues are moved to export destinations.

The commission was created by an act of the California State Legislature and approved by a grower-shipper referendum. The commission is funded through grower assessment and reauthorized every five years. The next referendum will take place in 2015.