Shipments of Peruvian asparagus to the U.S. market are expected to follow the normal pattern of increasing in September with the peak shipping weeks occurring in the October-November time frame.

It was the middle of winter when most importers were asked to discuss the crop by The Produce News, so many used the same caveat as Tracy Wood of Keystone Fruit Marketing’s Southeast Division in Vero Beach, FL, when he said, “It’s just too early to tell.”

SuperValu Inc., one of the nation’s leading grocery distributors, will welcome more than 3,900 grocery industry professionals to St. Paul, MN, this week for the company’s first-ever national sales expo, a three-day trade event. The expo will feature more than 20 educational sessions and over 330 expo booths, providing independent grocery retailers from over 1,250 stores the opportunity to gain valuable insights, innovative merchandising ideas and best-in-class grocery retail solutions from industry experts.

RedLine Solutions, a leader in produce traceability and inventory solutions, announced that Deardorff Family Farms has deployed RedLine Cooler in its new, state-of-the art facility to manage inventory, improve operations and increase customer satisfaction.

Deardorff’s new facility essentially doubled its operations and it quickly realized the need for more efficient tracking of product lines and inventory management.

As volume for 2013-14 nears an end, the growers of "Pink Lady" brand apples in Washington state can look back on a second season in a row with record production thanks to months of outstanding movement and the increasing influence of a ‘new’ apple variety.

According to numbers reported by the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association, this year’s crop — as listed by the variety name of Cripps Pink — is on target to be over 3.89 million cartons as compared to last season’s record of over 3.4 million.

"We have great volumes, and sales on our ‘SlimCado’ avocados have been tremendous this summer season,” said Mary Ostlund, marketing director for Brooks Tropicals LLC, headquartered in n Homestead, FL. “Brooks starts picking our Florida avocados in May, but out-of-state volumes aren’t available until June. The season picks up steam in July and August, which is perfect for summer’s outdoor eating.”

Ostlund said consumers are adventurous when it comes to avocados. They love choice and when they party, they give their guests a choice.

Gourmet Trading Co., one of the larger importers of Peruvian asparagus in North America, moved its headquarters offices in the past year, opening a brand-new facility in the Southern California city of Redondo Beach.

The state-of-the-art warehouse and office is a newly renovated 53,000-square-foot facility. The space has expanded loading capacity, advanced precooling infrastructure and the addition of clean rooms for future value-added programs.