The Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market’s 26 distributors will host allied industry Nov. 16 for an export seminar.

The invitation-only event will include ocean freight companies and a score of other similar international trade service providers in addition to business and political leaders. The goal of the event is to create a discussion between attendees and Philadelphia’s produce wholesalers about the opportunities and challenges involved in developing a fresh fruit and vegetable export program from the market. The 700,000-square-foot market opened June 5.

The Vidalia Onion Committee’s 2011 Sweet Vidalias & Country Music promotion featured a retail display contest that drew more than 100 entries from across the United States. The winning display entry came from Charles Hanks, manager of a Harvey’s store in Tallahassee, FL. As a result, Mr. Hanks won the grand prize Ultimate VIP Trip to Nashville, TN, the Music City.

Pomegranate growers in California’s Central Valley have indicated that the Wonderful variety harvest will be peaking soon. Timing of the peak is dependent on the return of the cool evenings needed to bring the prized deep red color to the fruit.

Brad Paris, vice president and general manager of produce for PomWonderful, said in a Nov. 8 press release that the “fruit is sizing nicely, with the average size being larger than last season. If Mother Nature behaves, we expect to be able to ship promotable volumes of fresh pomegranates well into January.”

Students at the University of Massachussetts-Amherst campus could find Driscoll’s berries at their dining venues.

Students at the

One of the nation’s larger foodservice operators and a regional retail player had many similar answers from a bevy of supplier-type questions despite their size difference during a workshop session at the Western Growers Association’s Nov. 8 Annual Meeting in San Diego.