Dominion Citrus Ltd. has sold two of its four stalls at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto.

The board of directors of Fruit Patch Inc. announced the appointment of Scott Wallace as president and chief executive officer, effective July 13.

Geno Valdes, president of Sunburst Farms 10 years ago, has returned to the Miami-based floral company, again as its president.

"I'm excited to be back and to work with so many good employees who were here when I left and know what it takes to achieve success in this industry," he told The Produce News.

Bashas', Arizona's largest grocery store retailer with 158 stores, filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-July and announced that it would close 10 stores by July 21.

The amount of produce debt covered by the PACA Trust amendment appears to be in the neighborhood of $5 million, and experts expect that it will be paid. In fact, Bashas' has informed its creditors that it hopes to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy within three months.

The 2009 Northwest cherry season has not been without its challenges, with what one marketer described as a "barnburner of a crop."

By all accounts, the Bing crop is the largest on record, with June estimates from Northwest Cherries at 16 million to 18.5 million 20-pound equivalents. That number was significantly higher than the 2007 crop, which was itself a record at just under 15 million boxes.

The California Avocado Commission in Irvine, CA, which represents the state's 6,000 avocado growers, has announced staff reductions of nearly 40 percent.

Tom Bellamore, who was named president of the commission in June, told The Produce News, Tuesday, July 14, "Last Friday there was an announcement out to the industry from me that we have taken the first formal step in reorganizing the commission and restructuring, and part of that entailed a reduction in force."

It was a "major" cut, he said. "We went from 18 people down to 11."