Earlier this year Kroger Co. said it would grow sales and share by leading with fresh food and increase profitability by accelerating with digital. Those plans are paying off, according to the company's third quarter 2022 results.

Kroger said its go-to-market strategy is delivering value for customers with Our Brands identical sales up 10.4 percent, digital sales up 10 percent and its Fresh Produce Initiative accelerated with a total of 1,252 stores certified, driving higher identical sales — up 6.9 percent excluding fuel.

"Kroger achieved strong results in the third quarter as we continue

Tomatoes, lettuce and strawberries are three major tonnage categories that have been on the extreme shortage and escalated cost list. Prices have been at an all time high on these items, especially on lettuce.

Meanwhile, the transition to the winter desert product is done. However, there have been some cold desert temperatures that have held back vegetable growth with continued cold weather forecasted. Unfortunately, this will only add to the already short supply and higher costs of several sensitive items like lettuce.

With all these ongoing challenges, let's look at a brighter side for a

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed an administrative complaint against Mestizos Group LLC for alleged violations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The company, operating from Texas, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to five produce sellers in the amount of $399,416  from April 2021 through September 2021.

Mestizos will have an opportunity to request a hearing. Should USDA find that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry as a licensee for three years, or two years with the posting of a USDA-approved

Full Harvest, a business-to-business produce marketplace specializing in surplus and imperfect produce, acquired FarmersWeb, a farm sales and inventory management SaaS provider. Full Harvest now has the ability to speed the delivery of advanced features for its produce suppliers and buyers — driving a more efficient, sustainable produce supply chain.

“Climate change considerations have become a pressing priority across the agriculture and food industry, especially in regard to on-farm food loss. We understand the need to move as quickly as possible to provide effective solutions to reduce

Earlier this year BC Tree Fruit Cooperative announced the closure of the organization’s Lake Country and Kelowna packing facilities. As a result a group of growers requisitioned for a special general meeting of the cooperative to deal with a number of important matters ranging from the composition of the board of directors, facility investments and the potential sale of properties. The meeting was held Nov. 22 at the Peachland Community Centre.

“The meeting was very well attended with 70 percent of the voting members coming out to vote on resolutions that would have serious implications for

Asia Fruit Logistica 2022 returned to its face-to-face format after being affected by restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The event was held Nov. 2-4 in Bangkok — not in Hong Kong where the event was traditionally held.

“I saw a lot of enthusiasm from all the participants to have the possibility of meeting once again at a fair, which is important for this business. The number of stands has probably been a bit smaller than in recent years when it was held in Hong Kong, but I think this is largely due to fewer Chinese exhibitors present, given their travel restrictions," said Javier