A prolonged period of freezing weather in late December and early January damaged about 30 percent of the flower crops in the area around Bogotá, Colombia, according to Augusto Solano, president of Asocolflores, the Colombian flower growers association. Mr. Solano stated in a news release that a significant amount of the crop loss was among roses, carnations and other flowers earmarked for export to the United States for Valentine's Day. Flowers in greenhouses covering more than 12 acres were affected by the frost and Asocolflores estimated the damages to roses alone totaled about $15 million

With her first-place win Jan. 23 at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, WA, 17-year-old Colorado skater Rachael Flatt secured her spot in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. And she takes with her the sponsorship of the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee in a one-year contract, inked just days before Ms. Flatt's powerful performance in Spokane. According to Linda Weyers, administrator for Monte Vista, CO-based committee, the relationship with the young athlete was initiated by Ms. Flatt's representatives. "We were contacted by them last year," Ms. Weyers

The Idaho Potato Commission is seeing record interest in its Potato Lover's Month retail display contest. "We are finding there is more interest in the [Potato Lover's Month retail display] contest than I have ever seen before, said Seth Pemsler, vice president of retail for the Idaho Potato Commission in Eagle, ID. In a Jan. 19 interview with The Produce News, Mr. Pemsler said that he attributes the unusually high interest in this year's Potato Lover's Month contest "to the importance of potatoes today in our recessionary environment." Potato volume at retail "is up by more than 10 percent

South African growers of summer citrus bound for the United States have signaled their intention to aggressively market their products in the Midwest and the West Coast for the first time and are expecting to raise the value of their exports to the United States to $500 million in 2010. "We are delighted to be able to announce this expansion of our marketing efforts for 2010," Gerrit van der Merwe, chairman of the Western Cape Citrus Producers' Forum, said in a Jan.26 press release. The Western Cape organization (www.summercitrus.com) promotes orderly marketing and promotion of South African

Demand for Hass avocados in the United States has grown at a steady pace for a number of years, but for the last couple of years, annual volume had plateaued at around 1 billion pounds due to limited availability of supply. This year, Hass avocado movement in the United States is expected to reach a record 1.35 billion pounds, with good volumes available from California, Mexico and Chile. Mexico, which ships year round, has been exporting exceptionally high volumes of Hass to the United States since the second week in January, as Super Bowl weekend, traditionally the biggest time of the year

Sahlman Williams Public Relations & Marketing announced Jan. 15 that Gary Caloroso, a food marketing industry leader who directed the company's West Coast expansion, is the company's new president. Assuring management continuity, John Williams, the company's leader who created the food marketing practice, becomes the firm's chairman, while Sahlman Williams' long-time administrative leader, Cheryl Miller, becomes chief financial officer. As the company continues to expand its national and international client base, the leadership changes reflect its initiatives to offer an even wider range of