VISALIA, CA — California Citrus Mutual held it's 35th annual meeting far from the hurricane winds of Sandy, but the effect was felt on the opposite coast anyway.

Rebecca Bech, deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service-Plant Protection & Quarantine, was scheduled to speak. She lives in Maryland and escaped major damage to her home there, but she was not able to catch a flight to California in the wake of the storm.

There isn't a time in written history when the produce industry has not stepped up to help people in need during times of trauma or disaster. And some are stepping up again in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast.

Steven Dandrea, co-owner of family-owned-and-operated Dandrea Produce in Landisville, NJ, said Nov. 5 that he received a phone call from a friend asking for help.

With the addition of a Mexican hothouse program, Baloian Farms is expanding its Bell pepper production, with availability through May.  

A new partnership with Cueto Produce in Guadalajara, Mexico, provides expanded availability and loading options for Baloian Farms current year-round pepper program. The new hothouse program includes red, yellow and orange Bell peppers in a variety of packs including bulk, stoplight, sunrise and single color packs.

ANAHEIM, CA — Despite slight labor issues, the market for U.S. garlic is currently strong in all areas.

Industry leaders met during the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Oct. 27 at a breakfast sponsored by Christopher Ranch and Empacadora G.A.B., here, to discuss the current and future state of the garlic industry.

Paul Auerbach of Maurice A. Auerbach Inc., based in Secaucus, NJ, said there was a “pretty good market on all items and in all areas,” and that sales are strong. He also noted that the company successfully opened a new facility 10 months ago.

With Brazil and Ecuador in full bloom and Peruvian mangos expected to join the party soon, Oxnard, CA-based Freska Produce International LLC is expecting to have very good supplies throughout the fall and winter period.

Managing Partner Gary Clevenger said that higher prices at this time of year tend to curb promotions, but Freska is doing its part in filling any supply gaps.

Historically, Booth Ranches LLC in Orange Cove, CA, has been “very, very heavy to oranges with nothing else really to offer our customers.” But “we’ve had increasing pressure from customers who have said, ‘It would be nice if you had a little something else to add to put on the truck,” Neil Galone, vice president of marketing, said in an interview with The Produce News Oct. 17.