BOSTON — The New England Produce Council's 14th annual expo was marked by a strong retail presence, a varied trade show and a keynote speech by a baseball hero.

Paul Kneeland, vice president of produce, floral and seafood for Kings Supermarkets, will now add management of the meat department to his responsibilities. He has been with the company since 2007.

The Fresh Produce & Floral Council, which pioneered the concept of regional trade shows more than 25 years ago, is holding its Northern California Expo today at the Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. As in the previous years, this year's show is a sell-out.

The all-day event differs a bit from its Southern California Expo counterpart held in July, as today's Expo is strictly a trade show with no additional programming.

Suntreat Packing & Shipping Co. continues its Reserve Citrus line of limited-availability varieties with the Gold Nugget, which began harvest the first week of April — available only in April and May.

The Gold Nugget is a sweet, seedless, bright orange medium-sized Mandarin with a bumpy easy-to-peel and aromatic skin.

Sumo Citrus, the first in Suntreat's Reserve Citrus line, has received rave reviews from both retailers and consumers for its superior Mandarin orange attributes.

“Our very warm winter is creating some very large potential on the agricultural scene,” said Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for Brooks Tropicals, a leading grower-shipper of tropical fruits and vegetables headquartered in Homestead, FL.

“ ‘SlimCado’ avocados and starfruit flowers indicate good sized crops coming our way this year,” she said.

Brooks Tropicals handles a wide range of tropical fresh produce items.

The onion market has firmed up with performance eclipsing early season predictions, leading Don Ed Holmes of The Onion House LLC in Weslaco, TX, to think it will be a good year.

“It should be a darn good year but not a crazy one like 2010,” he said.

In 2010, onion prices hovered around $40 a box for the entire season due to low supply. In 2011-12, Texas growers chasing those markets planted additional acreage that led to oversupply and a race to the bottom of the market.