About the Guide

A guide to ordering, handling and selling produce

The Produce Availability & Merchandising Guide, more commonly known in the produce industry simply as The Guide, is a 466-page buyer's guide to sources of fruits, vegetables and specialty items. It also is a retail merchandising and foodservice guide, providing relevant information for produce handling, storage and use.

The book is arranged in alphabetical order, with each commodity highlighted in its own section, offering details on varieties, availability, shipping season and crop volume. Shipper lists provide buyers with sources for each commodity, including organically and conventionally grown products.

Buyers and retail merchandisers can find information on merchandising displays, promotion, nutrition, uses in foodservice, ordering specifics, receiving instructions and proper care and handling. Lists of individual varieties are provided for each commodity, with their characteristic appearances and traits and common Price Look-Up numbers.

The guide is also full of useful facts and little known trivia on individual fruits and vegetables that can be used in promotional materials and marketing communications literature. The Guide publishes annually with updated information.

Check out the NEW Online version here.

Contact Information

To comment about news and information in The Guide, e-mail: Ben Wood

To advertise in The Guide, e-mail: Connie Dudziak

To purchase a copy of The Guide, e-mail: Nancy Rhomberg. A single copy of The Guide is $35. Discounts up to 71% off are offered for volume orders.