“Our state-of-the-art banana ripening rooms here at the new Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market employ the latest technology,” said Mark Levin, chief executive officer of M. Levin & Co. Inc. “They are getting a real workout because as fast as we fill them, they’re emptied again.”

More than a wholesale market that services retailers, foodservice operators and other industry categories, the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market is a true food hub, and it invites the public to come to the market to make purchases.

“It is such an inviting place for people to visit,” Fran Carfagno, director of sales for T.M. Kovacevich International told The Produce News. “It’s nice to see consumers coming in to buy a case of product.”

Scott Hulsey, vice president of procurement for Gourmet Trading Co. in Los Angeles, said prospects are bright for the 2013 California blueberry season.

“This season has provided ideal growing conditions for the California blueberries,” he told The Produce News. “We had very little rain through our flowering period and no pre-harvest freezes, which can typically have a negative impact on the overall crop load.”

The Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market opened on June 5, 2011; mere days away from the planned formal closing of the previous wholesale market located just a few blocks away. The previous market was an open dock building, much like many of the older terminal markets that still operate across the country today.

It is said that the PWPM is the most advanced cutting-edge fresh produce facility in the world. The many tours people from around the world take at the market are a sure signal that produce professionals are trying to learn from the best.

By the time the month of February is torn off the wall calendar, Family Tree Farms Marketing LLC has picked its first limited volume of conventional blueberries. “We start quite early, picking very sporadically as early as late February,” Marketing Coordinator Dovey Plain told The Produce News. “But in real terms, we get going in mid-April. May is our peak harvest period and then we’ll trail off through mid-June.”

The blueberry season is shaping up well for California Giant Berry Farms. “We have more acreage this year than last year and are expecting about a 15 percent increase in overall volume,” Director of Marketing Cindy Jewell told The Produce News.

The company is headquartered in Watsonville, CA, and markets blues to its global customers under the “California Giant Berry Farms” label.