If the grape crop in California's Arvin district, the earliest in the San Joaquin Valley, comes off in the way it appeared to be shaping up as of the second week of June, it will be a welcome relief to buyers who have struggled to secure promotable volumes during the Mexico and Coachella spring grape seasons.

The desert grape deals so far, out of both Mexico and Coachella, had been light on most varieties as well as late, making grape supplies short and prices steeper than usual at mid-season for the deals.

Fullerton, CA-based JBJ Distributing Inc. is planning a July 5 opening of a regional sales office in Crown Point, IN, about three- quarters of an hour from Chicago.

Rob Gurney, who has been with JBJ for 12 years, will run the one- person office for the company, which is a subsidiary of Veg-Land Sales Inc., also based in Fullerton. Veg-Land Inc., a 110,000- square-foot warehouse, and Flower Land -- flowers for retailers -- also are subsidiaries of JBJ and are based in Fullerton. The Crown Point facility will be JBJ's first regional office.

With supplies down a bit, the New Mexico onion deal got off to a good start, and in mid-June shippers were quoting prices better than usual for this time of year.

Stormy Adams of Shiloh Produce Inc. in Hatch, NM, summed up the comments of many who were interviewed by The Produce News when he said, "The crop is short, so demand is up and the prices are pretty good."

Newly formed WEA Farms in Lima, Peru, is launching a new line of value-added fresh asparagus products for retailers. Focusing on providing value-added items like Euro covers, microwavable bags, MA bags, tips, clamshells and other special packs, WEA intends to energize the fresh asparagus industry.

Nogales, AZ-based Damon Distributing opened an office in Los Angeles the week of June 19 across from the Los Angeles Wholesale Market.

Though Damon Distributing is well acquainted with the Los Angeles Wholesale Market and services customers in Los Angeles, the opening of its L.A. facility marks the first time Damon Distributing has opened an office in Los Angeles.

The Perishables Group, an independent consulting firm specializing in the fresh foods industry, has a new agreement with BI LO and Bruno's to provide the necessary data and tools for a customized perishables performance tracking and category development program.

The agreement will enable BI LO/Bruno's and its supplier partners to gain new insights into category performance across the perishables departments including produce, meat, seafood, deli and bakery.