The California Tree Fruit Agreement in Reedley, CA, announced Oct. 30 the appointment of Sheri Mierau as president of the organization, effective Jan. 1. She will succeed Blair Richardson, who announced Oct. 27 that he had decided to step down after almost five years as president. He will remain with CTFA during the transition. "I would have to say Blair has been an excellent leader," said Melvin Enns of Enns Packing Co. Inc. in Dinuba, CA, who is chairman of the CTFA Executive Committee. In an interview with The Produce News on Oct. 30, Mr. Enns said that Mr. Richardson "has served the

Metro Richelieu Inc., one of Canada's larger retail supermarket chains, has promoted Alain Pare to director of central produce procurement for Quebec and Ontario. Mr. Pare, a 31-year veteran of the retail produce industry, most recently served as Metro Richelieus director of special projects for fruits and vegetables, and has spent the past 15 years with the Montreal-based company. Mr. Pare said that he will be responsible 600 stores operating under the Metro and A&P banners across the two provinces. In his new position since the end of September, Mr. Pare said he has been working "to find

Naturipe Farms is the new corporate and brand moniker for Global Berry Farms as the company has launched a new identity for the purpose of creating a consumer brand as well as being poised for growth into other commodities. In fact, with the announcement of the new name, the company also introduced two products: "Naturipe Farms Gold" label, a premium line of berries, and an expansion beyond berries with a line of cherries. Furthermore, John Shelford, president of Naturipe Farms LLC, told The Produce News that the company is "absolutely" looking at "other produce or produce-related items" that

The 2005-06 California Navel orange crop came in heavier than expected, at a whopping 91 million cartons. This year, the California Agricultural Statistics Service estimates the 2006-07 crop to be about 27 percent lighter, or about 66 million cartons. Last year's harvest was characterized by small fruit size. This year, sizes should be better, but some growers said that it is still not sizing as well as they would like. The expected start dates are one to two weeks later than normal, with some early harvesting expected by the final days of October, but most shippers expecting to start shipping

To say that Joe Prandini died doing what he loved hits it pretty close to the truth. The 30-year veteran of Santa Maria, CA-based Bonipak Produce Co. died Oct. 21 of a heart attack while boarding a private plane destined for the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit in San Diego. Mr. Prandini was 61 years old. He spent half of those of years moving up through the ranks of Bonipak, starting out with the company as a vacuum tube operator. At the time of his death, he was Bonipak's general manager and chief executive officer. Mitch Ardantz, vice president of sales and marketing and a third

SAN DIEGO -- Looking to capitalize on the momentum it has gained in just under two years of operation, Sundia Corp., an up-and-coming marketer of fresh watermelons and a watermelon juice distributor, is now setting its sights on cut fruit. "We are launching in January for nationwide distribution through chains and mass-market retailers," said Brad Oberwager, Sundia's chief executive officer. "This one's big." Mr. Oberwager noted that the cut-fruit market is currently "underserved by only one premium-priced brand," and that Sundia plans to "get into the market by being aggressively priced. This