VIENNA, VA -- The U.S. Apple Association praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announced intended purchases of apples and apple products. The $18.6 million overall apples and apple products buy was first announced by the Obama Administration in November 2009, but amounts tentatively allotted for each category were revealed in mid-January.

As the extended cold snap in Florida wound down the week of Jan. 11, produce distributors and retailers in the Northeast were facing shortages and high prices on a number of items.

As would be expected, the end of the holiday season brought the red hot California and Arizona lettuce and leafy green vegetable markets back to earth, but expected rainfall as well as the cold weather in Florida and Texas could produce another spike in the coming weeks.

Todd Hultquist, director of communication and membership for the U.S. Apple Association, said that 2010 is already proving to be a busy year. During the week of Jan. 11, the association's public affairs committee met in Vienna, VA. "This group identifies priority issues for the coming year, which the board then approves at the semi-annual board meeting in late March," Mr. Hultquist told The Produce News.

Following are highlights of top priorities identified in a paper compiled by the association in January.

A crop report issued Jan. 12 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that this season's nationwide sweet potato crop is one of the larger since 1932. The increase comes despite volume declines, some of which were huge, caused by heavy rains during the harvesting season in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama.

Titan Foods Inc., a Los Angeles-based food distribution company, has begun shipping South Korean chestnuts into the United States and has found great success largely because of their competitive price advantage.

Raj Makkad, the firm's vice president, said that Italy is the leading exporter of chestnuts to the United States, but South Korean chestnuts are typically about 40 percent less in price at the wholesale level.