California produced 93.3 million boxes of table grapes in 2009, almost three-quarters of which were red grapes, and is on target to produce about 4 million boxes more during the 2010 season, according to the California Table Grape Commission.

That production brought about $1.37 billion into the state. Of that figure, some 5.8 million boxes, or about 6 percent, came from the Coachella Valley. Last year's total figure was just above the five-year average of 91.8 million boxes.

Ira Greenstein, president and owner of Direct Source Marketing Inc., headquartered in Mount Kisco, NY, told The Produce News that the company is excited and proud to be celebrating its first full year in business.

The firm is an East Coast sales and marketing representative for California stone fruit and table grapes as well as Mexican table grapes. It also manages a Chilean import program for Hass avocados, table grapes and stone fruit.

During an 11-day period in March, first handlers and importers of fresh mangos voted to continue the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Mango Promotion, Research & Information Order for an additional five years.

When it comes to the annual Vidalia, GA, sweet onion crop, Mother Nature is usually in the driver's seat. This year, though, she is riding shotgun while a large, green ogre steers the truck.

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas╒ Executive Search Committee has announced that it has concluded its search and has hired Lance Jungmeyer as its next president.

He will start May 10 and will be introduced May 11 at the association's annual membership meeting.

"We couldn't have found a better person to join our team," FPAA Chairman Chris Ciruli said on the association's web site. "Lance's experience in the produce industry is going to be an important asset for the FPAA. He is the right person for the direction the association is heading."

Joseph Azzolina, president of Food Circus Supermarkets, a 10-store chain in the Monmouth County, NJ, area, died Thursday, April 15, at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York. He was 84 years old. The Middletown, NJ, resident had battled cancer for a number of years.

Born Jan. 26, 1926, in Newark, NJ, Mr. Azzolina served in the New Jersey Senate and New Jersey Assembly from 1965 to 2006. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Navy for more than 40 years, retiring with the rank of captain, according to published reports.