International sales of packaging products continue to grow for Kurt Zuhlke & Associates Inc., helping the firm diversify its options and remain strong.

Diversification is the same reason Kurt Zuhlke Jr. gave for making a push for sales in the bakery industry. “Produce packaging is still the main part of our business,” he said, “but we are just starting to get into the bakery packaging business.”

A cold winter storm that plowed through California and moved east through Arizona the week of Feb. 18-22 is expected to have an impact on vegetable supplies in the short term.

The storm came down the coast and through the Central Valley on Tuesday dropping a few inches of snow at the higher altitudes and pelting fields and orchards with freezing rain and occasional hail. The storm moved quickly through each area so lasting damage appeared to be minimal.

The Produce Marketing Association will not be filling outgoing Chief Operating Officer Lorna Christie's position before June when a strategic planning group is scheduled to come up with a plan on personnel needs for the organization, Bryan Silbermann, president and chief executive officer of PMA, told The Produce News.

The two prominent farming operations in Santa Maria, CA, that joined forces more than a year ago to build a new processing and shipping facility for their respective harvests are now under the same roof at Fresh Venture Foods.

There is a direct correlation between the ups and downs of the economy and the sales trends associated with the packaging manufacturing industry. At least that is what the figures suggest, according to Andrew Duguay, who is a senior economist with the Institute for Trend Research in Boscawen, NH.

Bayer CropScience is forging new food chain partnerships around the world and has reaffirmed its commitment to working together with the food value chain for the sustainable production of fresh fruit and vegetables.