Historically, most produce from the United States going into China “has gone through traders in Hong Kong and Taiwan,” said Jim Provost, managing partner in I Love Produce in Kelton, PA, who has been doing business with China for eight years, mostly importing Chinese product into the United States.

For Columbine Vineyards in Delano, CA, the 2011 grape season will be “almost a mirror image of last year,” according to Keith Andrew, who is on sales with the company.

Planted acreage and the variety mix this year is “all the same” as the year before, he said.

But there are changes coming.

Because of new plantings not yet in production, the 2012 season will see new grape varieties coming into bearing including two new patented varieties, as well as increased volume on some varieties Columbine is already growing, he said.

Green Tree International Inc. in Visalia, CA, handles an assortment of products, with a strong focus on California-grown fruit, fresh grapes from the San Joaquin Valley being among the most important.

“Out of the San Joaquin Valley, we don’t represent any growers,” said Cary Crum, vice president. “We do mostly brokerage. We work with probably 10 to 12 shippers on a very close level” and also with a second tier of about that same number of shippers as needed. “We try to concentrate on a core group of shippers as much as we can and be supportive of them,” he said.

BAKERSFIELD, CA — At one time, Sun World International LLC, here, was heavy to the Sugraone variety in its table grape program. The variety, an early season green seedless that was developed by the Sun World breeding program and which Sun World markets under the proprietary trade brand of “Superior Seedless,” was once a Sun World exclusive but is now in the public domain.

With a focus on the Sugraone in earlier years, Sun World focused on the early season and “didn’t have much late grapes, other than Crimson,” according to Rick Paul, category director.

BAKERSFIELD, CA — The Maricopa district, located on the west edge of California’s San Joaquin Valley at its southern extremity, is among the earliest districts in the valley for grape production, but it also does well with late-season varieties. For Stevco, which is headquartered in Los Angeles with branch offices located here and in Coachella, CA, and a seasonal sales office in Nogales, AZ, the Maricopa district is the major focus for the company’s acreage and variety expansion.

The Chuck Olsen Co. Inc. in Visalia, CA, has “probably about a 30 percent increase overall” in grape acreage this year, not because of new plantings but because of additional growers the company has picked up, according to Jeff Olsen, vice president.

“We’ve got new growers” who have brought into the mix “a little bit more Sweet Scarlets, more Scarlet Royals, a few Autumn Kings, more Princess, more Thompsons, more Crimsons, more Autumn Royals and more Red globes,” he said.