Safeway Inc. and Albertsons announced a definitive agreement under which AB Acquisition LLC, the owner of Albertsons, will acquire all outstanding shares of Safeway for $40 a share, totaling $9 billion.

The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the board of directors of Safeway. It will create a diversified network that includes over 2,400 stores, 27 distribution facilities and 20 manufacturing plants with over 250,000 dedicated and loyal employees. No store closures are expected as a result of this transaction.

The mango industry continues to marvel at how supplies continue to increase yet the market remains strong. The numbers tell the story. According to the National Mango Board, mango consumption per capita in the United States increased by about one-third from 2005 to 2012, which is the last year that per capita consumption numbers were available.

It’s been a volatile winter for vegetable supplies as a series of East Coast storms has altered consumer buying habits. Carrots, like the other vegetable items from the West Coast, are affected though it manifests itself in demand rather than pricing.

“It has been a very strange demand situation for the past six weeks,” said Chris Smotherman, who sits on the sales desk for Kern Ridge Growers LLC, which is headquartered in the southern San Joaquin Valley town of Arvin, CA. “One week has been very, very slow and the next week our capacity is being run over by demand.”

Tim Spiech, chief operating officer of Spiech Farms, told The Produce News that the company recently completed its relocation to a new facility in Brooksville, FL, and it has ceased all operations at its previous Hudson, FL, location.

The new facility gives the company outstanding growth opportunities due to its large size and high-tech advancements.

“We are looking forward to a great California avocado marketing season" with a crop that is expected to be more in the average range, following last year’s very large crop, Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission in Irvine, CA, told The Produce News March 4.

The Eastern Produce Council will honor Gordon M. Hochberg, vice president of The Produce News, with its 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award during its 46th annual dinner dance Saturday, April 5, at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, NJ.