Though the total volume of mango exports was down about 10 percent by the end of May, most of the losses were early in the season and mango importers are expecting good supplies for the next several months. In fact, May shipments were running ahead of last year, and the outlook is good for the foreseeable future, which includes June and July. Gary Clevenger, co-owner of Freska Produce International in Oxnard, CA, said that the strong May helped close the volume gap, which saw deficits of more than 3 million cartons after just a couple of months of shipments. Bill Vogel, president of Tavilla

Just in time for the 2010 blueberry season, California Giant Berry Farms is launching a state-of-the-art cooling and packing facility in Aurora, OR. Located in the Willamette Valley, this facility has been designated by California Giant as a strategic shipping location for this highly productive region. Establishing the Pacific Northwest as the cornerstone of its domestic production program, this new facility furthers the company's commitment to a year-round quality bush berry program. California Giant's new facility is fully equipped and ready to receive fruit when harvest begins in mid-June

In collaboration between the Trenton Marriott Downtown Archives Restaurant in Trenton, NJ, and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the restaurant began featuring "Jersey Fresh" produce on its menu May 3. "Archives Restaurant has committed to purchase New Jersey-grown produce and highlight a different 'Jersey Fresh' item on its menu once a month," said Jeffrey M. Zeiger, general manager of the Trenton Marriott Downtown. "Our executive chef, Mark Ellis, will create the monthly menu item, and he will hold a monthly after-work cooking demonstration of the recipe in one of the meeting rooms

Guatemala experienced a major volcanic eruption May 27-28, which killed at least three people, poured ash upon Guatemala City and brought a declared "state of calamity." And on May 29, matters became much worse, as Guatemala and neighboring Honduras and El Salvador were struck by tropical storm Agatha, which caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 180 people. Nancy Tucker, vice president of global business development for the Produce Marketing Association, had scheduled a Fresh Connections Central America seminar in Antigua, Guatemala, for June 1. With the Guatemala City airport

In the wake of recent budget cuts in Florida that slashed support for citrus industry research efforts, the state's largest citrus trade organization blasted Gov. Charlie Crist in a June 2 e-mail sent to thousands of members and media outlets. In May, Gov. Crist vetoed HB 981,a measure that would have codified the Citrus Research & Development Foundation, which serves as ground zero for the industry’s fight against HLB, or citrus greening, a disease that is now spreading a path of destruction throughout Florida groves. The bill would have provided about $2 million toward research efforts. Last

VANCOUVER, BC -- When Karen Brux moved back to the United States from Taiwan in 2002, she had the task of selling gold kiwifruit to the North American retail market. She relied heavily on the knowledge garnered while living and working in Asia for the previous decade. Ms. Brux, who is general manager of Zespri International North America, based in Redwood City, CA, knew that Asians, and particularly Chinese people, love the gold-flesh kiwifruit and buy it in large volumes. She also knew that worldwide demand for the New Zealand fruit exceeded supply and that the amount she had to sell was very