This year there were 2,785 exhibitors from 83 countries and 65,000 trade visitors from around 130 countries.
The trade visitors at Fruit Logistica in Berlin chose the “Aurora Seedless Papaya” produced by Aviv Flowers Packing House Ltd. in Israel as the winner for the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award 2015.
The second place FLIA winner chosen by trade professionals at Fruit Logistica was the "Lemoncherry" tomato. Developed by BelOrta, a growers' co-operative based in Belgium, this yellow, sweet-tasting cherry vine tomato features a distinctive, lemony aroma. Third place honours went to the "DIY Fresh Packs" produced by Bakker Barendrecht in the Netherlands. These products are designed for consumers who want to use fresh ingredients to prepare a full meal, soup or side dish for four people.
Valentine's Day was creating great demand for strawberries
Although supplies of Spanish strawberries are always low at this time of year, it's was even less than other years, because Spain had another cold wave.
Bigger shipments were only expected to come in late this February/early March. So the high price was expected to stay for a while.
The weather was continuing to disrupt crops in both the US and Europe in February.
Batlow apple hail damage bill expected to be around $260k
A heavy hailstorm in Batlow towards the end of February caused around a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of damage to the pre-harvest crops in the area.
The hail damage was largely confined to just two orchards. The total area affected was around 13 Ha and around 400 tonnes of apples. That amount represented only about 3% of the total crop, and growers expect to lose around 5% of their crop in any given year.
French cauliflower 2 weeks late
French cauliflower supply was running over two weeks behind. Since the end of December the temperature at night had been around 0 degrees, and during the day the temperature did not exceeded 7/8 degrees. Cauliflower doesn't grow until the temperature is at least above 8 degrees which is what caused the delay. The quality was good and so was demand throughout Europe.
Frost causes severe losses to Spanish artichoke crops
Frosts caused severe losses to growers, particularly with artichoke, broccoli and lettuce crops in the Guadalentin Valley.
In the rest of the Region of Murcia, the anti-frost systems used by producers managed to offset the sharp drop in temperatures, minimising damage in Cieza, where the thermometer registered five degrees below zero, and the Altiplano.
In Lorca and the Guadalentin Valley, temperatures reached -4 degrees Celsius.
Good lettuce prices this winter
On the other hand, the lettuce market was good for Dutch growers. It didn't freeze too severely, so the energy costs weren't too high. Prices, on average, were also at a good level."
A few firsts in February
On a brighter note there were also a few firsts during the month. The first shipment of Australian ‘Calypso®’ mangoes were exported to the United States and French apples went again to the United States and Sweeper, the first market ready harvesting robot was also launched in February.
French apples to United States
After a long absence from the market, French apples were once again available in the United States. Blue Whale, a supplier of french tree fruit, sent their first shipments of French apples and pears early in 2015. They were the first French companyto do this in more than 20 years.
Grower One Harvest dispatched 700 trays of the luscious golden tropical fruit with the rosy pink blush to the US as part of a commercial trial organised by the Australian Mango Industry Association (AMIA).
OneHarvest partnered with Giumarra for the launch of Calypso® into the US and retail trials were conducted in Texas and California, with samples also sent to key retailers across the country.
SWEEPER, an innovation driven international research programme for the development of the first generation market ready sweet pepper harvesting robot, was launched at the beginning of the month. The research was supported by the Horizon 2020 programme of European Union. Wageningen University & Research Centre will coordinate the international network in which partners from Sweden, Israel, Belgium and the Netherlands take part. The partnership includes universities, research institutes, a system integrator and a large grower of sweet pepper.
Marked increase in Southern Hemisphere apple production 2015
The 2015 apple crop forecast suggests a noteworthy increase compared to last year influenced by Australia (+13%), New Zealand (+13%), South Africa (+10%) and Brazil (+6%), with no countries showing a decrease. Argentina and Chile also forecast a slight increase of +2 and +1%. This year’s crop is consequently estimated at 5.542.000 T up 5% on that of last year, and up 2% on the running average of crops between 2012 and 2014. Chile remains the largest southern hemisphere apple producer in 2015 at 1.678.000 T, while Brazil keeps the second place with 1.234.000 T. Argentina remains third with 907.000 T and South Africa is not far behind at 874.000 T. Forecast export figures decrease by 5% to 1.723.056 T.
Florida orange crop 2014-2015 estimate holds steady
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday said its estimate of the 2014-2015 Florida orange crop remained the same at 103 million boxes. The USDA held early-mid and Valencia orange varieties at 48 million and 55 million boxes respectively.
Africa topples UK as top apple destination
The estimated increase by 25% of apples from South Africa at the start of year sounded dramatic, but it was due to the fact that 2014 was an off year and volumes were really just back to normal. Increased planting in the last five years has also had an influence on the volumes.
Meanwhile exports to the African market continued to grow, in 2014 Africa with 32%, bumped the UK from its traditional position as the top apple export market, to take third place behind Africa and Far Eastern Asia.
Russia postpones lifting sanctions
After rumours in January of possible lifting of sanction on trade with Russia, the Russian phytosanitary service reported postponing plans to lift the sanctions. The service wanted to relax the restrictions on meat and potatoes, but blamed the EU for not appreciating this step. The EU denied that there had been talks.
Russia and Egypt let go of dollar
Reports this month said that Russia and Egypt would soon exchange the dollar for the rouble and the Egyptian pound in trade between the two countries. In the Egyptian media, president Putin pointed out the advantages of trade in own currencies, such as the absence of exchange rates, direct payments and increased transparency between banks.
Mergers and partnerships within the big players
Total Produce creates strategic partnership with Canadian company
Total Produce PLC of Dublin, Ireland has agreed to purchase a 50 percent share in Gambles Ontario Produce Inc., a Toronto, Ontario distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables.
“This partnership with Total Produce will enable us to grow strategically to the benefit of our growers and customers,” said Jeff Hughes, president at Gambles Produce. “We will continue to operate autonomously but will have the support of Total Produce and their global affiliations alongside us.”
Possible merger and IPO Univeg seems logical
Over the years, there have been a number of rumours about Univeg going public. Now, the same reports are emerging again. Univeg is said to be hungry for capital, aspiring to an IPO through Greenyard Foods. At the moment, nothing is concrete. We looked into the past, and asked a number of industry experts where these reports are coming from, and whether it would be a logical step for Univeg to go public through Greenyard Foods now. Remarkably, the price of Greenyard Foods shares is on the rise.
Fyffes reports higher profits for 2014
Total revenues at the company were up by 0.8pc to €1.091bn. Group revenue, excluding Fyffes' share of its joint ventures, increased by 2pc to €853m in the year.
The company suffered a major setback last year after its planned near $1bn merger with US banana distributor Chiquita was aborted.
February also saw new innovations
Carton packaging made from fibres from tomato stalks
The Greenery had a real world first at the Fruit Logistica. A carton packaging made from fibres from tomato stalks was presented for the first time. Duijvestijn tomatoes are packaged in the bio based box. This Greenery grower was chosen as the winner of the Tomato Inspiration Award 2015 at the fair.
Yuksel introduces strawberry shaped cocktail tomato
Eider F1 is a new cocktail tomato from Turkish seed breeder Yuksel Tohum. The variety was specially selected for hydroponic cultivation and was grown in commercial volumes. According to Yuksel's agricultural engineer Ziya Yildiz, the new strawberry-shaped cocktail tomato has potential for growers in North America.
Village Farms present new website
Village Farms website has a new look and feel. The primary focus of the sites redesign is in driving the leadership process for the company as a consumer brand. The year-long effort was a direct collaboration facilitating a cross-functional team process within the company combined with consumer driven research. The new Village Farms ‘next generation’ website employs innovative features geared toward a consumer-centric integration of all the companies social media channels. The company’s focus on their unique full flavor products highlighted by high impact graphics and videos serve to tell the story of the company’s people and their process from farm to table. The website redesign is on the heels of the company’s 25th year in business celebrated in 2014, inspired by its people, passion, and performance.
