DETROIT - Working what he declared "the hardest job of my life," Khalil Saad, owner of Papaya Fruits & Grocery in a Middle Eastern neighborhood, here, gets little sleep. He shops the Detroit Produce Terminal daily for about three hours beginning at 2:45 a.m. for the fruits and vegetables he will sell from his store's shelves each day. But his customers appreciate his efforts and he moves great volumes of produce through his modestly sized store.

Damage to the California avocado crop during the week-long January freeze that affected most growing areas now appears to be approaching 30 percent, according to industry sources.

The price for mushrooms from the farm to the retail shelf rose significantly in recent months, and that is expected to continue, at least in the short run, according to a number of mushroom industry marketers.

Speaking both off and on the record, several mushroom industry executives painted the same picture of demand continuing to exceed supply with no letup in sight.

Anticipating between 50 and 100 responses to its inaugural retail display announcement last fall, the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee began receiving inquiries and started sending fulfillment material to retailers in November.

But as requests continued to come in, IEOOC Marketing Director Sherise Jones realized that the numbers were exceeding all expectations.

"We didn't expect this kind of overwhelming response," Ms. Jones said in mid-January during Idaho-Eastern Oregon Spanish Sweet Onion Lover's Month.

John Loughridge, a long-time executive with Del Monte Fresh Produce Inc., has joined Bunge Ltd. as vice president of food products for Latin America and the Caribbean. He will build a team to rapidly grow food sales from Bunge operating units in North America, Brazil and Argentina as well as to identify production and distribution investment opportunities in the region. Mr. Loughridge will work from Bunge's Coral Gables, FL, office.

The Produce Marketing Association's Produce Solutions Conference, Consumer Trends '07, will be held March 22-24 in Charlotte, NC. The three- day conference is designed to give executives representing every segment of the supply chain the opportunity to focus on ways to target new consumer segments -- namely, moms, kids and the affluent.

With moms spending more than $1.6 trillion, kids influencing $146 billion in spending and the affluent averaging $3.1 million in net worth, there is considerable wealth to be spent among these target markets in this year alone.