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West Bridgewater, Mass.-based Oke USA Fruit Co. is running a campaign called “Not All Bananas Are Created Equal.”

Potatoes ranked only behind bananas among fresh produce items most frequently purchased, according to The Packer’s 2022 Fresh Trends survey.

February is a good time for retailers to show their love for potatoes.

Some Red River Valley potato marketers could finish a little earlier than usual this year, said Ted Kreis, marketing and communications director for the Northern Great Plains Potato Growers Association.

U.S. sweet potato area harvested in 2021 totaled 152,700 acres (data collected only in California, Mississippi and North Carolina), off just 2% from 155,300 acres in 2020 and 4% higher than 146,700 acres in 2019.

The Baton Rouge-based Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission is celebrating its 70-year anniversary in 2022, a milestone that doesn’t even tell the complete story of the roots of sweet potatoes in the state.

One in three people surveyed in The Packer’s 2022 Fresh Trends report said they purchased fresh sweet potatoes in the past 12 months.

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission is celebrating 60 years and a big part of that celebration has come from RFD TV’s Chip Carter’s new TV series called “Where the Food Comes From.”

Nash Produce is well-positioned to manage sweet potato demand for the balance of the season, said Thomas Joyner, president of Nash Produce, Nashville, N.C.

Wynne, Ark.-based Matthews Ridgeview Farms is growing and has no plans to slow down, said Autumn Campbell, sales manager, speaking at the SEPC Southern Exposure expo in early March.