A very cold winter in the Southern Hemisphere country of Peru has hampered asparagus production and should continue to have an impact through the month of September, according to one of the leading importers of the commodity.

Julia Inestroza, marketing director of Gourmet Trading Co., based in Los Angeles, said, "Given the cold weather we've had the last month or so, we predict there will be some residual market effects until mid-September. By October, there should be an abundance of product."

An innovative partnership between the Produce Marketing Association, Sysco Corp. and PrimusLabs.com is providing much-needed produce food safety training to small growers across America to help them increase their produce sales. Local growers, including PMA members and those interested in doing business with Sysco, can receive training via a series of workshops held around the country. The workshops are designed to help growers understand current food safety demands, how to meet them and how to navigate food safety requirements.

MONTREAL -- The Quebec produce trade took time out at the Quebec Produce Marketing Association's 63rd annual convention, held here Aug. 19- 21 at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel, to honor two industry veterans and the contributions they have made.

At the industry brunch Aug. 21, the association paid tribute to Dan Dempster, president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, who will be retiring in March after almost 35 years at the association.

IRVINE, CA -- "Authenticity" has long been a watchword of the California Avocado Commission, and never more than with the inception of the California avocado grower marketing campaign.

This season, California avocado growers have elevated their level of involvement in the consumer campaign by making personal appearances at retailer events and by interacting with consumers as well as the media to create personalized marketing experiences.

ORLANDO, FL -- The National Mango Board is reporting record-setting mango import volume from April 1 to Aug. 15. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Market News database shows volume that's 15 percent higher than the same period in 2009 and higher than any year on record for the same period.

Favorable growing conditions across multiple regions have contributed to the record-setting volume. The primary source of growth was Mexico, which increased its volume of mangos exported to the United States by 18 percent compared to 2009 for the same period.

Nearly every commodity in California so far this year has started later than usual due to an unusually cool, wet spring, and peaches, plums and nectarines were among the items affected.

But as the weather has warmed to near seasonal norms, in some commodities such as table grapes it now appears that the start dates for later varieties will be closer to normal. Not so for stone fruit.