The Chuck Olsen Co. in Visalia, CA, expects production increases in two newer red seedless grape varieties for the 2014 season, as young plantings come into fuller production, according to Jeff Olsen, vice president of the company.

Sweet Scarlets will increase about 25 percent for the company, he said July 8. “This is their fourth leaf. We actually had them last year, but bunch size was so small we basically snack-packed all of them.”

The company will also enjoy production increases in Scarlet Royal this year, Olsen said.

Bari Produce LLC in Madera, CA, expects to harvest and pack around 1.25 million boxes of fresh grapes this year, according to Justin Bedwell, managing partner. “That is up a little bit from last year,” but it is due to production increases in existing acreage, not to new acreage, he said.

The biggest production increases for the company will be in the Scarlet Royal and Autumn King varieties, he added.

Fruit Royale Inc. in Delano, CA, has increases in several grape varieties for the latter part of the season, according to Louie Galvan, a partner in the company. “Our biggest increases are going to be in Scarlet Royal and Autumn King,” he said July 7.

Autumn King, a late season green seedless variety that for Fruit Royale follows the mid-season Princess variety, has seen a great deal of growth industry-wide in the last year or so. “It has really done well for us,” Galvan said. “It gives us great size. The customers are liking what they see and taste.”

The board of directors of Loblaw Cos. Ltd. announced that Galen G. Weston, executive chairman, has been appointed as president, effective immediately. Thomas O'Neill, lead independent director, confirmed the appointment as part of a series of management changes at the company.

“Everybody is saying it is going to be a good quality year,” said Clint Lucas, an inspector at RJO Produce Marketing Inc. in Fresno, CA, in interview with The Produce News, with regard to the 2014 California grape season.

But there has been some variation in yields early in the season, with generally early start dates followed by lower volumes in the early harvest than expected and considerable variance in grape size.

EDISON, NJ — A large number of industry people gathered Thursday, July 17, for Allegiance Retail Services LLC's annual holiday food show, held here at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center.

"Close to 600 people will be coming in and out during the course of the day," Victor Savanello, the Iselin, NJ-based cooperative's director of produce and floral, told The Produce News as the show was getting started.