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Rising middle class can change export dynamics for apples

Countries with a growing middle class give producers of Washington apples increased opportunities to market product abroad. Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, provided The Produce News with the following observation. "As economies improve and the middle class grows, [apple] size and pricing improves to be similar to the United States." Historically, foreign markets have favored smaller-sized apples, Mr. Fryhover said. But he sees potential for the dynamic to change in the coming years.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack carries nutrition message to WPPC

WASHINGTON -- After a 25-minute interview, when then President-elect Barack Obama decided that Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was his top choice as secretary of agriculture, the newly elected president made it clear that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would be expanding its mission to promote fruits and vegetables.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack carries nutrition message to WPPC

WASHINGTON -- After a 25-minute interview, when then President-elect Barack Obama decided that Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was his top choice as secretary of agriculture, the newly elected president made it clear that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would be expanding its mission to promote fruits and vegetables.

Sen. Harkin gives up top post on Senate Agriculture Committee

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), a longtime champion of the school snack program, is stepping down as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee to lead a Senate health committee that is expected to take up food-safety legislation this fall.

Food safety remains top concern for tomato growers

NAPLES, FL -- Despite the lack of a single tomato-related food-safety incident in the past year, that topic was at the forefront during the first two days of meetings at the 34th annual Florida Joint Tomato Conference held Sept. 8-14 at the Ritz-Carlton, here. The conference was hosted by the Florida Tomato Committee and the Florida Tomato Exchange.

DRC urges caution during 'silly season'

The executive staff at the Ottawa, ON-based Dispute Resolution Corp. calls it "silly season," referring to the time of year when less-than-scrupulous operators seemingly come out of the woodwork and basically steal loads of U.S. produce and dump them on the Canadian marketplace at well below market values.

"It's an industrywide problem," said Fred Webber, vice president of trading assistance for the DRC. "It's that time of year that production from up here is drawing to a close and virtually everyone is importing from the U.S."

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