For the first time organizations from both Chile and Peru will meet at the Global Grape Convention 2024 to collaboratively seek solutions to the problems of the grape sector as well as provide market information. The grape producing and exporting industry worldwide has experienced a process of change and stress marked by climatic factors, the Covid-19 pandemic, logistical issues in origin and destination, and the cultivation of new varieties that have not achieved expected results.

The International Fresh Produce Association has been hard at work since the Global Show, digesting all of the feedback, ideas and work that happened on-site. Here is a brief summary of what’s been on its mind since the show:

Floral Committee Meeting:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture imposed sanctions on three produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

Sprouts Farmers Market is now available on Uber Eats for on-demand grocery delivery, starting in Florida and expanding to all Sprouts locations by the end of the year. Customers will be able to order thousands of fresh, natural and organic products from Sprouts by simply visiting the Uber Eats mobile app or website, where they can choose to have groceries delivered on-demand or schedule a delivery for later in the day or week.

Marketing apples is easy as snapping your fingers with Stemilt’s Lil Snappers kid-size fruit. As a proven way to market apples as a fresh, healthy snack for parents and children, Stemilt Marketing Director Brianna Shales said Lil Snappers are an all-in-one merchandising tool for retailers to increase purchase size and move apple volume.

Hot potatoes. Really hot potatoes.

That is the state of the potato category, a market that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cornell University say is producing dollar sales gains that are increasing by more than 10 percent annually. The reason: consumers see potatoes as a healthy option, tasty, different uses, easy to prepare and, perhaps most importantly, relatively inexpensive, especially during times of high inflation.