Jim DiMenna says serving as CPMA chair an amazing experience
Jim DiMenna, chair of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and president of JemD Farms in Leamington, ON, a leading distributor of high-quality greenhouse-grown vegetables, is stepping down from his one-year service as chair of the CPMA. The CPMA Convention & Trade Show, being held April 17-19 in Toronto, traditionally marks the end of the one-year appointment.
Record highs in January, record lows in March have Florida growers wondering what will come next
Newcomers to Florida who complain about the weather are often told, "Don't worry -- wait five minutes and it will change." In most years, that is a jest: Florida weather is reliably cool and dry in the fall and winter and hot and wet in late spring and summer. This year, however, Mother Nature has been schizophrenic.
Fresh & Easy's U.S. experiment appears to have failed
Though its U.K.-based parent company, Tesco, is not showing its hand at this point, widespread reports indicate that the firm is close to selling its 220 Fresh & Easy stores, located in the West.
In December, Tesco announced that the chain was "under review" because of its substantial losses and no turnaround in sight. When the effort was launched a handful of years ago, Tesco expected that 2013 would be the year it turned a profit.
Port of Miami seeks to increase Chilean imports and deepen relations
While PortMiami already has strong import movement from Chile, officials there have been approached by shippers and brokers seeking to import greater quantities of fresh produce from the country.
Eric Olafson, Esquire, manager, Intergovernmental Affairs/Cargo Development for PortMiami, said that port representatives have met with many of the leading importers.
Unique Cold Storage offering full logistics services in Florida facility
Brian Osborne, general manager of Unique Cold Storage in Pompano Beach, FL, told The Produce News that the company offers full logistics’ services to meet any need.
“Unique Cold Storage can receive product coming into Florida, and it will pick up product from the port or airport,” said Mr. Osborne. “The product is brought to our warehouse, inspected, pre-cooled and ripened specifically to each item’s requirements.”
Country Fresh expands into state-of-the-art facility
On March 8, Country Fresh Mushroom Co., now headquartered in Toughkenamon, PA, announced that it has moved to a newly constructed facility to accommodate its expanding production requirements.
The 60,000-square-foot plant and office building located in Toughkenamon, PA, is among the five largest mushroom processing facilities in North America and houses a state-of-the-art operation.
World’s Largest Lunch Tray event features 126 pounds of Artisan lettuce
Tanimura & Antle donated 126 pounds of Artisan lettuce for the World’s Largest School Lunch Tray event facilitated by PBS show, "Bringing it Home with Laura McIntosh," as part of the annual California Ag Day festivities in Sacramento March 20.
Philadelphia merchants upbeat as cutting-edge market picks up steam
PHILADELPHIA — In May 2012, close to one year after the new Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market opened for business, Mark Levin, chief executive officer of M. Levin & Co., told The Produce News, "If I were a box of produce, the PWPM is where I'd want to be."
On March 27, 2013, he reiterated his opinion that the market is the perfect place for the handling and movement of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Senior sales executive at Potandon to step down at the end of March
Potandon Produce LLC announced that Kent Romrell, senior vice president of sales, will retire at the end of March after a career in produce spanning over 30 years.