With a compelling keynote presentation by a woman pioneer, a fascinating retail panel and richly deserving recipients of the produce and floral achievement awards, the 2023 FPFC Expo seemingly met the great expectations of the many people in the crowded exhibit hall.

With a 25 percent increase in the size of its packinghouse and cold storage facilities, Colonial Beach, VA-based Parker Farms is poised for growth in both volume and its packaging options.

“The game plan is to grow our business and offer more options for our customers,” said Sales Manager Jimmy Carter. “It is somewhat of a leap of faith attitude — build it and they will come.”

The foodservice sector has not quite reached pre-pandemic levels in terms of units sold, but it has surpassed dollar sales in 2019 and is in full recovery mode, according to Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic Inc., a leading B2B and B2C consulting and research firm focused exclusively on the food industry. 

With significant vineyard acreage deep in Mexico in the state of Jalisco, Divine Flavor is able to get a start on its south-of-the-border grape shipments six to eight weeks before the country’s traditional Sonora grape-growing region comes into play in mid-May.

“We started packing on March 20 in a very light way,” said Carlos Bon, vice president of sales for the Nogales, AZ-based company, noting that the main window for Jalisco grapes is in the April 15 to May 15 time frame.

Temperatures reaching the upper 90s have basically brought an end to the winter vegetable deals in the California and Arizona deserts, resulting in supply gaps and stronger markets with some commodities headed into the FOB stratosphere.

A virtual tour of a Texas 1015 onion field in the Rio Grande Valley, featuring grower Wayne Reavis of Reavis Farms reporting live from the ground via video, was one of the highlight events at the Viva Fresh Expo in Dallas, March 30-April 1.

Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association, moderated the session as he led Reavis through a series of topics designed to give the buyer community a firsthand look at an onion operation in Rio Grande City, even though they sat comfortably 500 miles north in the Gaylord Texas Resort in Dallas.