Mitsuko Murakami, the wife of Murakami Produce Co. founder Shigeo (Sig) Murakami, died Aug. 11 at Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, ID. She was 88.

Ms. Murakami, known to her friends as Mitzi, worked with her husband to build one of the more respected onion-producing companies in Idaho- Eastern Oregon's Treasure Valley.

Domestic importers of Peruvian sweet onions are anticipating an uptick in volume during the 2009 season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service indicated Aug. 4 that the first arrivals of Peruvian onions were expected to occur by mid-August, with initial f.o.b.s to be announced shortly thereafter.

Todd Hultquist, director of communications and membership for the U.S. Apple Association in Vienna, VA, told The Produce News Aug. 12 that the organization received news that morning that this season's U.S. apple crop was predicted to be 240 million bushels.

"It is one of the largest ever," said Mr. Hultquist. "And all growing regions are reporting that the quality and apple sizes are on target. As of today, production across the country is normal, and everyone is looking forward to a good year."

The Southeast Produce Council will celebrate its 10th anniversary during its annual fall conference, set for Nov. 5-7 at the Chateau Elan Winery & Resort in Braselton, GA.

The conference is always a fun and informative weekend for attendees, but this year's event will be especially gratifying to all those who helped found the council and who have worked so hard since that time to make it a success.

The Quebec Produce Marketing Association will be "embracing a culture of change" at its 62nd annual convention, scheduled to take place Aug. 20-22 at the Fairmount Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.

Sophie Perreault, executive director of the association, told The Produce News that "the theme of 'embracing a culture of change' will include culture in all of its meanings, especially in business, where it is changing rapidly. We're mixing cultures and doing business with different cultures all over the world.

Bob Meek, chief executive officer of Wada Farms Marketing Group, based in Idaho Falls, ID, calls sweet potatoes a "sleeping giant."

Anthony Totta, a produce industry marketing expert, believes sweet potatoes "are an SKU that should be a category."

It is this belief that sweet potatoes are an underperforming and underdeveloped produce item that has led Dole Fresh Vegetables and Wada Farms to make a major push to reinvent the sweet potato in the collective mind of consumers.