When Sunkist's director of retail merchandising, Julie DeWolf, came from a consumer product group company to the nation's largest citrus marketer, she was surprised that retail display bins weren't in the firm's marketing arsenal.

On the consumer products side, it was a well-developed and well-used strategy. "They offer an excellent opportunity to get a display in a secondary location," she said.

The National Mango Board recently named Rachel Muñoz as its new director of marketing.

Muñoz contribution to the NMB will serve to strengthen the board’s mission to increase fresh mango consumption in the United States.

As director of marketing, Muñoz will oversee marketing and public relations for consumer, nutrition, retail and foodservice programs, as well as manage trade shows and website communications. In addition, she will collaborate with the management team in developing marketing concepts, tactics and campaigns — all designed to push forward the NMB’s mission.

HLB Specialties, a Pompano Beach, FL-based distributor of a full-line of tropical produce items with a focus on papayas, is promoting a good supply of high-quality papayas during the holiday season.

Homero Levy de Barros, president of HLB Specialties, said the company sources the large Formosa variety papayas for the U.S. market primarily from Guatemala and Mexico, and both regions are in a period of maximum production, with no issues of weather that could cause an interruption in supply.

The Chilean Cherry Committee, an entity associated with the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association, expects total exports of fresh cherries from Chile to reach 100,000 tons this year. As the second-largest export market for Chile, North America anticipates a 45 percent increase in volume over the 2013/14 season.

The Southeast Produce Council will honor Terry Vorhees at the end of February with its highest honor, its Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented posthumously at Southern Exposure, the council's conference and trade show, scheduled for Feb. 26-28, 2015, at the Caribe Royale All-Suite Hotel & Convention Center in Orlando, FL

Despite domestic shortages from the drought conditions in California and Chile, the steady rise in avocado production from Mexico has allowed Henry Avocado to supply its growing customer base in record numbers, according to a company press release.

Based on the projections Phil Henry has received from his certified growers in Michoaçan, imports will increase from the approximately 1.2 billion-pound levels of last year, to 1.4 billion pounds during 2015. As recently as 2007, avocados from Mexico weighed in at 970 million pounds.