PORTLAND, OR -- According to figures compiled by Pear Bureau Northwest, this season's overall Northwest fresh pear crop is estimated to see an 11 percent increase over that of 2004, with Anjous predicted to be up 21 percent. Kevin Moffitt, president and CEO of the bureau, said in late July that the 2005-06 crop estimate calls for 18.8 million 44-pound equivalents, up from 17 million in 2004. Moreover, the new crop will exceed the five-year average of 17.7 million boxes by some 6 percent. "The season is on track, and we're average on timing," Mr. Moffitt said. "We'll have the main harvest of

An extended heat wave in California that began on June 30 and was finally just beginning to break in mid-August caused some reduction in tomato yields and contributed to a strengthening of market prices beginning in early August. More significantly, the heat is said to have caused bloom drop in mature greens in the San Joaquin Valley that will cause a dip in production from around mid-August through about mid-September. From mid-September through October, the California mature green industry is expected to be at peak production. That is the time that growers plan to have their heaviest

PHILADELPHIA -- New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus visited the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, here, Aug. 16 to meet with produce distributors and tour the market. Mr. Kuperus was hosted by broker Chuck Zambito of Zambito Produce Sales in Woodbury, NJ, and accompanied by Al Murray, director of marketing and development for the department. The trio started the market visit with a meeting with market President Jimmy Storey of Quaker City Produce Co. and Joe Procacci, owner of Procacci Bros./Garden State Farms. Mr. Kuperus told this group that his department is conducting

WASHINGTON -- A congressional panel has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission, for the first time, to investigate and compare between U.S. and foreign suppliers the costs of producing Navel oranges and lemons. "It has come to the attention of the Committee on Ways & Means that certain U.S. citrus growers are concerned about the competitive conditions affecting certain segments of their industry," Rep. William Thomas (R-CA), chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, wrote in a letter to the trade commission. Sunkist Growers Inc. in Sherman Oaks, CA, asked the independent agency to

SELAH, WA -- Replacing eight portable pear conditioning rooms with four permanent facilities, Blue Star Growers and Rainier Fruit Co. are "leaping ahead of the U.S. pear industry and current technology," according to Rainier Director of Marketing Suzanne Wolter. Ms. Wolter said in mid-July that the facility is the first of its kind in the industry, and she noted, "We see this as a long-term program. Capable of bringing the temperature down to 32 degrees to stop the ripening process, the permanent facilities are being used to condition primarily Anjous and Bartletts, although Ms. Wolter said

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA -- With few exceptions, the women in downtown Medellin are dressed to kill. In a four-day trip to Colombia, this was the closest threat to mankind that I witnessed. This modern city -- overwhelmingly known in the United States for its dark association with the word "cartel" -- is very much alive, apparently safe and moving ahead. On Aug. 9, my first full day in Colombia, El Colombiano, Medellin's daily newspaper, reported that coca acreage in the country has declined since 1997 by 50 percent, although that still leaves a lot of drugs in 2005. Still, many good things are