Winter weather in one way or another has decreased supplies on a variety of crops coming from the West, causing prices to reach very lofty levels.
Leading the parade is celery, which was in the $35-$40 range the week of Feb. 6-13, but there are also very strong markets on Iceberg, Romaine, leaf items and strawberries.

Bill Armstrong is a self-employed produce broker who operates Armstrong Marketing in Salinas, CA. His column appears here every Wednesday afternoon/Thursday morning. He may be reached by phone at 888/484-0800 or at ArmstrongMarketing@comc ast.net

As of Wednesday, Feb. 9, growers in the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora were still assessing damage to assorted crops following a freeze the nights of Feb. 2-3, which is said to be the worst the area has seen in over half a century.

The Produce News spoke with distributors and brokers in Nogales, AZ, in the days following the freeze, who were tentative in their assessments, saying it would be at least another week or two before they would have any reliable information on how much growers might be able to salvage of some of the harder-hit crops.

Ryan Schneider, vice president of sales and business development for FoodLink Online LLC, headquartered in Los Gatos, CA, has already packed an impressive amount of education and experience into his short career.

At only 29 years old, his role includes growing the company's on-line platform to suppliers and retailers while helping the fresh fruit and vegetable industry with solutions for turn-key compliance with the produce traceability initiative, or PTI as it is commonly known.

After a decade of discussion and frustration, "It is in stone" that the new Philadelphia market will open April 3.

John Vena, the spokesman and a board member for the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, told The Produce News Feb. 10 that the move into the new market would begin March 1. The market operators will then have just over a month to set up their stores and prepare for business in their new venue before opening for business the first Sunday in April.

WASHINGTON -- Tom Stenzel, United Fresh Produce Association's president and chief executive officer, offered the support and congratulations of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry to Michelle Obama on the first anniversary of her groundbreaking Let's Move! initiative.