Good things come to those who wait, and this season consumers will be eagerly anticipating the summer sweetness of Orchard View Farms cherries for longer than usual.

Although its unique location along the Columbia Gorge in The Dalles, OR, protected Orchard View Farms’ fruit from the severe winter weather woes that plagued some Pacific Northwest cherry growers, Brenda Thomas, president of the operation, is anticipating that the harvest will start late in the third week of June.

A rebranding of Toronto-based Gambles Ontario Produce Inc. has gone well, according to Tom Kioussis, head of business development for the firm.

Earlier this spring, Mr. Kioussis told The Produce News that the firm was technically keeping its name but would simply work with the company name “Gambles” from day to day.

L&M Cos. Inc. in Raleigh, NC, has been dabbling in mangos for the past decade, but the firm has recently made a strategic decision to make mangos one of its core product lines.

“We will have 300 percent more volume this year than last and expect to grow significantly again next year,” said Juan Torres, L&M’s business development manager based in the company’s Weslaco, TX, office.

J&C Tropicals in Miami expects to sell significantly more mangos this year over last year, due both to an increase in its Mexican supplies and the increased popularity of its locally grown Florida mangos.

After a difficult 2010 season hurt by the devastating January earthquake, Haitian mango producers have bounced back this year with a good-sized crop.

Ronnie Cohen, one of the partners at Vision Import Group in River Edge, NJ, has a vision. He sees a time in the future when mangos will sell at retail in the same volume and velocity as bananas. Bananas have long been not only the top tropical fruit in the produce department, but the top produce item overall.

In recent years, several other items — including bagged lettuce and strawberries — have competed for domination of the U.S. produce department, and Mr. Cohen thinks mangos can be in the same race.