As the watermelon season gains steam, Gordon Hunt, director of marketing for the Orlando, FL-based National Watermelon Promotion Board, is encouraging North American retailers to bring something new to watermelon displays by informing consumers of new shipping areas. Mr. Hunt suggested that retailers can smooth watermelon sales -- and avoid the peaks and valleys of demand centered around national summertime holidays -- by attracting consumer interest with information on the fluidity of the seasonal watermelon deal. He equated this with wine connoisseur interest in a newly released French

TAMPA, FL -- The Southeast Produce Council announced in mid-April the addition of a new education program for upcoming retail and foodservice professionals: the Southeast Training Education Program for Upcoming Professionals, nicknamed STEP-UP. The objective of the new training program is to provide an enriched learning experience for 12 high-potential retail and foodservice professionals with emphasis on development of strategic business orientation, personal leadership and hands on field experience. The program will cover the span of eight months and include a combination of industry field

LAS VEGAS, NV -- The United Fresh Produce Association, based in Washington, DC, announced that it is ending its three-year run in Las Vegas, NV, and will relocate to New Orleans for next year's convention. While this news came as a surprise to many attendees of this year's convention, most were unfazed as they looked to make the most of their experience at United Fresh 2010, which focused on school salad bars and produce traceability as two of its main themes. United Fresh 2010, held here April 20-23 at the Sands Convention & Expo Center and Venetian Hotel, kicked off with a golf tournament

The fair trade movement intends to provide market access to otherwise- marginalized producers to ensure higher-than-typical wages and to help producers develop knowledge, skills and resources to improve their lives. Fair trade advocates seek to raise awareness of the movement's philosophies among consumers in developed nations. Most consumers tend to think of coffee first when they think of fair trade products, as coffee was the first fair trade agricultural product traded about a half a century ago. It was quickly followed by tea, dried fruits, cocoa, sugar, fruit juices, rice, spices and

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. The data, based on figures provided by the commission's 550 members, had not been released to the public as of April 16

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. "From September through May, we focus directly on imports from South America," said Mr. Greenstein. "From May through the end of November, we specialize in