The mid-April date of Viva Fresh show in Houston offers the perfect opportunity for the William H. Kopke Jr. company to give its customers an update on its spring/summer crops including both domestic and imported grapes, Mexican mangos and its summer citrus program.

International Fresh Produce Association President and CEO Cathy Burns has had a career of breaking through the glass ceiling, but she faced biases along the way and believes headwinds still exist for women.

As a longtime grower-packer-shipper of California avocados, Index Fresh has a full portfolio of the Hass variety with many different retail and foodservice offerings, but it has also made a concerted effort to be the leader with the new GEM variety.

With a portfolio of larger fruit, strong marketing conditions and a diminishing supply of Mexican avocados, Peter Shore of Calavo Growers Inc. is optimistic that 2024 will be a positive season for those California growers that have produced a reasonably good crop from their trees.

In total, the 2024 California avocado crop has been estimated to be down about 12 percent from last season, but McDaniel Fruit Co., headquartered in Fallbrook, CA, does not expect to see a decline in its production.

“In conjunction with our growing partners, we do plant thousands of new trees every year in California,” said Carson McDaniel, a vice president for the longtime grower-shipper-packer. “So, while the industry is expected to be down, we expect to have the same volume of fruit as last year if not more.”

Heading in a new promotional direction for 2024, the California Avocado Commission is promoting the sustainable growing practices employed by its local growers in its new advertising and marketing campaign.