Frieda's Specialty Produce encourages shoppers and retailers to show appreciation for produce managers April 2, the national Love Your Produce Manager Day.

In July 2012, Edward L. Myrick Produce, headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, opened an office in Plant City, FL. In early March this year, Jimmy Myrick, vice president of the company, told The Produce News that things were going very well at the new location. It is staffed by Carl Boyles and Donald Buti. Both men previously worked for Crown Harvest Produce in Plant City.

Kurt Zuhlke, owner and president of Kurt Zuhlke & Associates, headquartered in Bangor, PA, will be exhibiting at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association Convention and Trade Show in Vancouver, BC, on April 2-4. Zuhlke will be at the company’s booth to personally greet customers and prospective customers to the event.

He is particularly excited about the launch of the company’s new two- and three-compartment clamshells.

In preparation for the upcoming corn season, Pioneer Growers is launching two new packaged sweet corn products that provide consumers with more convenience and value-added options in-store.

The items are a tray package with eight ears of corn sold in a 10-count case instead of the 12-count industry standard, and a grab-and-go microwavable bag package.

The Produce Marketing Association held its Fresh Connections: China event in Shanghai on March 20 to bring supply chain members in China and across the globe to network and learn about emerging trends and topics. More than 130 people — from various countries, including Australia, Canada, Chile, China, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States — were in attendance.

With a 2014 California Hass avocado crop estimated at around 300 million pounds, down from 505 million the prior year, the California Avocado Commission anticipates that the bulk of the crop will be shipped during a more condensed marketing window this year. "We project that we will have volume availability in the mid- to late April timeframe leading into Cinco de Mayo," with the peak harvest period continuing through Labor Day, said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the commission.