Sunkist Growers is embracing opportunities to showcase its fresh citrus outside of the produce section by offering its customers secondary display units. Six different display offerings give retailers the flexibility to showcase Sunkist products in the front lobbies, at the registers or in various departments to drive incremental sales.

It has been a topsy-turvy year for Florida, weather- and market-wise, with record high temperatures in January and record lows in March. In fact, Joel Silverman of Paradise Produce Distributors Inc. in Lakeland, FL thinks 2013 might be the most unpredictable year he has seen in his three decades in the business.

The Southeast Produce Council has been very busy for the last few years working to build its organization by investing in what it believes is its greatest asset: recognizing and promoting youth.

Unlike many produce commodities that are now available virtually year-round from one source or another, fresh cherries remain highly seasonal, and the first cherries of the season typically command very high prices.

The earliest cherries out of California typically start around the first of May, with crops out of the Pacific Northwest following several weeks later.

A jump in the f.o.b. price as well as a need to get some fruit off the trees has resulted in a near doubling in the volume of California avocados the third week of March, with more volume expected moving forward.

In mid-March, the sale of five grocery store chains from Supervalu to Cerberus Capital Management was finalized leading to a plethora of activity on the retail front.