McDaniel Fruit Co. in Fallbrook, CA, a four-generation family business that began in 1947, anticipates “pretty much a record volume this year” in its California avocado program “given the fact that we have been growing in our grower base, and our own production base has been growing” as well, said President Rankin McDaniel in an interview with The Produce News Feb. 21.

“The more people travel and are exposed to new products, the greater the chances that they will buy those exotic items to share with their family and friends,” said Homero Levy de Barros, president and chief executive officer of HLB Specialties in Pompano Beach, FL. “At HLB, we feel it is our job to provide information on how the fruit should be handled, prepared and eaten. And it also helps to keep the nutritional value of tropical fruits in the forefront of our customers’ and consumers’ minds.”

Creekside Hot House, a member of the BC Hot House family of growers, has expanded its focus on specialty crops with an additional 10 acres of glass greenhouses in South Surrey, BC. This facility will focus on growing specialty tomato varieties with Big Taste that include Pink Blushers, Sweet Cherry on the Vine, Colourful Gem medley mix, Tastini grape tomatoes, Roma, Beefsteak and tomatoes-on-the-vine.  

In response to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan’s departure, which was announced by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Bryan Silbermann, president and chief executive officer of the Produce Marketing Association, issued the following statement :

After cooling, processing and shipping vegetables for nearly 30 years, the owners of Watsonville Produce in Moss Landing, CA, have expanded into direct sales of fresh and frozen produce through the creation of Muzzi Family Farms LLC.

Muzzi Family Farms recently opened a sales office in Salinas, CA, and will team with D'Arrigo Bros. of California, effective April 1, on a deal to use the D'Arrigo cooler on Harris Road in Salinas.

McALLEN, TX — With record attendance, hot-button topics, government and industry VIPs from the U.S. and Mexico and a new business expo component, the third annual America Trades Produce Conference, held here March 6-8 at the McAllen Convention Center, displayed deepening dialogue and a new willingness on the part of participants to forego surface formalities, roll up their sleeves and go to work to take advantage of the increasingly important influx of produce from south of the border into the United States.