MIAMI — Kara Adanalian of Fresno, CA, took top honors in the Del Monte Fresh "Find Your Inner Chef" competition, besting runner-up Karen Gulkin of Greeley, CO, in a cook off held at the Miami Culinary Institute, here.

With the Maine broccoli deal set to kick off in mid-July, Fresh From the Start is touting the advantages it offers to retail and wholesale clients looking for top-quality product.

A new three-compartment tomato container marketed by Zuhlke & Associates will be available to retailers soon. Kurt Zuhlke Jr., the company’s president, said the packaging will allow consumers to one-stop shop tomato purchases, as the container will be packed with a trio of tomatoes.

“We will introduce it at the end of July,” Zuhlke told The Produce News.

Mastronardi Produce/Sunset, headquartered in Leamington, Ontario, has various greenhouses growing gourmet tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers throughout North America, with distribution facilities in strategic locations.

Nancy Pickersgill, events and communication manager for the company said that currently the company’s Canadian and U.S. greenhouses are in full production.

The California avocado deal has been hampered by a plethora of small-sized fruit, with Mexican producers providing most of the larger fruit for the past couple of months. But the avocado market is on an uptick as Mexico moves into a typical lag period and California fruit begins to have a more diverse size portfolio.

Rob Wedin, vice president of fresh sales for Calavo Growers Inc. in Santa Paula, CA, told The Produce News that "Mexico is barely importing any small fruit at all, while packers in California are getting better sizing every day."

Prices for Chinese garlic have reached historic highs in recent years due to light crops, but this year's crop is expected to be up in volume by about 35 percent with a corresponding drop in price, according to Jim Provost, managing partner of I Love Produce in West Grove, PA.

For the past three years, prices for Chinese garlic have been "stronger than they have ever been" previously, said Mr. Provost, who had just returned from a three-week visit to China when he spoke with The Produce News in late June.