Gourmet Trading Co., a year-round distributor of fresh asparagus and blueberries, has hired Caylan Gingerich as its East Coast Procurement.

The San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market’s governing board held a ceremonial groundbreaking event for market tenants Tuesday, Nov. 4 to celebrate the market’s expansion. The three-acre site adjacent to the current produce market on the south side of the city is expected to be open for business by late summer next year and will add an 84,000-square-foot distribution center to the market.

Mission Produce has teamed up with Lantao to introduce Mexican avocados to more Chinese customers.

Columbia Marketing International, the marketing arm of the North American "KIKU" brand apple alliance, announced that "KIKU" brand apples have been harvested and are ready to ship from its growing-shipping partner, Rice Fruit Co., located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s orchard country.

Booth Ranches LLC in Orange Cove, CA, a leading grower, packer and shipper of citrus from California’s San Joaquin Valley, will see an increase in volume for the 2013-14 season as young plantings continue to mature.

Late navels, and specifically the Barnfield variety, are “really our forte” in the citrus program at Hronis Inc. in Delano, CA, according to Pete Hronis, vice president of sales and marketing.

The timing for the Barnfield variety is March and April. By that time of year, “regular navels are beginning to soften” and to go “the other direction” with regards to quality, but the Barnfields are “still rock-hard.” They are “coveted highly by the export world,” Hronis said. They travel well and hold well. “So this is where we are continuing to grow our program.”