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Friday, April 20, 2018

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Texas beet grower to introduce 1lb bags

Growing conditions for beets have been rather mixed lately, with some rain slowing production in recent weeks. Growers say that quality remains high however, and specialty varieties of beets are continuing to see healthy demand."Demand has been fair and we've enjoyed steady flow and volume, despite some.....

SunGold kiwifruits expand their presence in North America

Yellow-fleshed kiwifruit is still relatively new in the North American market. However, they have not entered unnoticed, and growers have said there is a burgeoning market for them. Consumers are willing to try new flavors and as a result, Zespri - a New Zealand based global kiwifruit producer - is now looking.....

North Carolina sweet potato grower-shipper files Chapter 11

Faison, N.C.-based Southern Produce Distributors, Inc. a grower, packer, shipper of sweet potatoes, has voluntarily filed Chapter 11 to strategically restructure and effectively handle financial burdens. The company’s operations are strong and will continue unhindered throughout the financial restructuring.....

Millennials moving towards pears

Washington pears wind down in supplies

After what’s been described as a normal season, Washington pear availability is beginning to wind down. “We’re wrapped up in Bartlett pears—that wrapped up about a month ago. Our Green Anjou movement is pretty good. While the season was pretty normal, the green Anjou crop was the shortest crop we’ve had in.....

Organic and conventional Vidalia onions offered this year

In accordance with the Apr. 20 start date announced by the Vidalia® Onion Committee, Giumarra will begin shipping both organic and conventional Vidalia onions the third week of April. Giumarra Southeast is pleased to offer promotable volumes of Nature’s Partner-brand Vidalia onions in bulk and bagged pack.....

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Label manufacturer develops anti-counterfeit labels

A recent online survey of over 1000 respondents conducted by researchers at Dalhousie University showed that 63 percent of Canadians are concerned about what they see as a widespread practice known as food fraud. According to the study, 40 percent of Canadians polled said they had purchased a food item that.....

Steve Young joins British Columbia grower-shipper as VP of Sales

As the CPMA kicks off their 93rd Annual Conference in Vancouver, BCfresh announces the appointment of Steve Young in the role of VP, Sales, commencing April 23rd, 2018. Young joins the company with almost 15 years of produce experience, with the last 7 years spent in senior sales management positions.Murray.....

New UF blueberry variety machine-friendly

At an education session at January’s Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, University of Florida (UF) Assistant Professor of Blueberry Breeding and Genomics Patricio Muñoz, showed a list of blueberry varieties the university has released over the years.Those 21 blueberry varieties have many.....

US radishes set to increase in domestic volume

Imported radishes are beginning to wrap up so supplies are less for now. “We’re coming to the end of our radish production in Mexico so supplies are a bit lighter than in the past couple of months,” says Lori Bigras with Green Giant™ Fresh.While supplies seem to match the volume brought in last year, in May.....

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Mangos: Farmed with love

Native to southeast Asia, mango trees thrive in tropical and subtropical climates all around the globe – Central and South America, the Caribbean, Florida, Hawaii, Asia, Africa, Australia, and parts of the Mediterranean. In these beautiful regions, mango farmers nurture and harvest this luscious nutritious.....

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Viva Fresh 2018 Gateway to Innovation

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Viva Fresh 2018

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Rungis 2018

Rungis 2018

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PMA Fresh Connections: China 2018

PMA Fresh Connections: China 2018

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Blue Whale event 2018

Blue Whale event 2018

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GLOBAL FOCUS

Greenhouse Vegetables

France: New varieties shown at Indoor Lettuce Discovery Day

Last Thursday, March 29, lettuce professionals met for the Indoor Lettuce Discovery Day, organized at the Gautier headquarters in Eyragues. The event was in two parts: a visit of the trial platforms followed by a technical conference on the bioaggressors.The afternoon began with a visit to the tunnels at the.....

Joe Spano with Mucci Farms on the company’s expansion into the US

“We want to be close to the customer”

Mucci Farms has completed the first phase (24 acres) of greenhouse expansion in Huron, Ohio and harvest will begin in May. “For the first phase, we chose Tomatoes On-The-Vine (TOV) because it is amongst the commodities with the highest demand from consumers,” says Joe Spano with Mucci Farms. The new facility.....

Yuxellence brand:

Presenting quality of the past in modern tomatoes varieties

You can say many things about the fresh produce market, but it's never boring. Recently a remarkable trend has appeared: people are willing to pay more for a quality product. According to Ziya Yildiz of Yuksel Tohum, this demand for quality is an important concept for breeders nowadays. That's why they united.....

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North Americamore »

Millennials moving towards pears

Washington pears wind down in supplies

After what’s been described as a normal season, Washington pear availability is beginning to wind down. “We’re wrapped up in Bartlett pears—that wrapped up about a month ago. Our Green Anjou movement is pretty good. While the season was pretty normal, the green Anjou crop was the shortest crop we’ve had in.....

US radishes set to increase in domestic volume

Imported radishes are beginning to wrap up so supplies are less for now. “We’re coming to the end of our radish production in Mexico so supplies are a bit lighter than in the past couple of months,” says Lori Bigras with Green Giant™ Fresh.While supplies seem to match the volume brought in last year, in May.....

SunGold kiwifruits expand their presence in North America

Yellow-fleshed kiwifruit is still relatively new in the North American market. However, they have not entered unnoticed, and growers have said there is a burgeoning market for them. Consumers are willing to try new flavors and as a result, Zespri - a New Zealand based global kiwifruit producer - is now looking.....

Click here to receive this news directly in your inbox

Texas beet grower to introduce 1lb bags

Growing conditions for beets have been rather mixed lately, with some rain slowing production in recent weeks. Growers say that quality remains high however, and specialty varieties of beets are continuing to see healthy demand."Demand has been fair and we've enjoyed steady flow and volume, despite some.....

April 19 - National Garlic Day U.S.A.

Thursday April 19 is National Garlic Day. So, what do we know about garlic? A lot, actually. Whether it’s for consumption, medicinal or other uses, garlic definitely deserves its own day of recognition.Repairs Next time you are in a junkyard and see demolished cars, think of garlic as one remedy to help make.....

Using mushrooms, chicken feathers and textile waste

Researchers create biodegradable shoes

Researchers in the USA have designed biodegradable shoes, tackling the waste that comes from fashion consumption. Their prototype shoes, which were recently unveiled at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, were created using mushrooms, chicken feathers and textile waste.Students Jillian.....

Mark Greenberg, CEO of Capespan North America

Imported citrus will land in empty US market

Mark Greenberg, the President and CEO of Capespan North America, stated in his Market Report for week 13-2018 that California citrus producers continued to face weather challenges that have slowed down the harvest, reduced the expected yield and threaten an early end to the domestic sweet citrus.....

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Shay Myers of Owyhee Produce from Idaho

"I wish the quality of storage onions was this good every year"

Shay Myers of Owyhee Produce from Idaho recently posted this video about the last storage onions of the season. He is switching to Texan onions and he is very happy with the quality: "I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it a thousand more, I wish the quality was as good as this every year.!

Organic and conventional Vidalia onions offered this year

In accordance with the Apr. 20 start date announced by the Vidalia® Onion Committee, Giumarra will begin shipping both organic and conventional Vidalia onions the third week of April. Giumarra Southeast is pleased to offer promotable volumes of Nature’s Partner-brand Vidalia onions in bulk and bagged pack.....

Label manufacturer develops anti-counterfeit labels

A recent online survey of over 1000 respondents conducted by researchers at Dalhousie University showed that 63 percent of Canadians are concerned about what they see as a widespread practice known as food fraud. According to the study, 40 percent of Canadians polled said they had purchased a food item that.....

Mangos: Farmed with love

Native to southeast Asia, mango trees thrive in tropical and subtropical climates all around the globe – Central and South America, the Caribbean, Florida, Hawaii, Asia, Africa, Australia, and parts of the Mediterranean. In these beautiful regions, mango farmers nurture and harvest this luscious nutritious.....

Changes in personal income of U.S. counties 2000-2016

'Many rural counties are doing OK'.
Click here for a larger image.

Granite Springs, New York

USA: Stuart’s Fruit Farm permanently protected

Stuart’s Fruit Farm in Granite Springs, Somers is now officially protected from future development. Westchester Land Trust announced this week that it closed on a conservation easement to protect the 172-acre farm in Granite Springs. The decade-long project is valued at almost $3 million, the organization.....

Steve Young joins British Columbia grower-shipper as VP of Sales

As the CPMA kicks off their 93rd Annual Conference in Vancouver, BCfresh announces the appointment of Steve Young in the role of VP, Sales, commencing April 23rd, 2018. Young joins the company with almost 15 years of produce experience, with the last 7 years spent in senior sales management positions.Murray.....

On April 1, 2018

Northwest region potato stocks at 4,420,000 tons

Potato stocks in Idaho on April 1, 2018 totaled 2,540,000 tons, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. April 1 potato stocks in Oregon totaled 355,000 tons. In Washington, April 1 potato stocks totaled 1,524,000 tons.Nationally, the 13 major potato states held 6.81 million tons of potatoes.....

New veggie pasta products with plant-based protein

Mann Packing Company announces two additions to its line of Nourish Bowls: Fresh Veggie Pastas with plant-based protein.Following the launch last year of its Spicy Thai Nourish Bowls featuring fresh kohlrabi noodles, the company is now adding to the line with Basil Pesto and Tomato Bolognese. The company said.....

Official Fruit for 2018 season

Natural Delights Medjool Dates partners with Pro UCI MTB team

Natural Delights™, the prominent Medjool date brand, is excited to join the Stan's-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis as the team's "Official Fruit" sponsor.Natural Delights™ Medjool dates are a sustainably grown, nutrient dense, whole fresh fruit that have long been a performance staple of runnerrs and fitness.....

Linked to lettuce

US: Outbreak of e.Coli expanding to five more states

A slow-growing e.Coli outbreak linked to chopped romaine lettuce is continuing to grow, with a new update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealing that an additional 18 individuals are thought to have been hit with the bacteria. The CDC also revealed that the outbreak has spread to five.....

North Carolina sweet potato grower-shipper files Chapter 11

Faison, N.C.-based Southern Produce Distributors, Inc. a grower, packer, shipper of sweet potatoes, has voluntarily filed Chapter 11 to strategically restructure and effectively handle financial burdens. The company’s operations are strong and will continue unhindered throughout the financial restructuring.....

Latin Americamore »

Dominican Republic increases exports to Russia

“In recent years Russia has been demanding more products from all over the world, some companies saw the opportunity to export and make investments. The demand for produce and tourists arriving to the country encourage Russian air lines to start with routes to the Dominican Republic and realized the growth and.....

Paraguay: Domestic tomato production doesn't cover demand

The national tomato production currently covers 60% to 70% of local consumption, according to reports from the Commercialization Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The rest of the offer would be of contraband tomatoes.In addition, the suspension of the issuance of Afidi (Phytosanitary.....

High onion prices bringing Mexican consumers to tears

Mexican onions have recently seen several price hikes. During the last two weeks of March, the price of a kilogram of onions in the state of México was 15 pesos, or €0.66. By the first week of April, the price had nearly doubled to 29 pesos. The National Alliance of Small Businesses (Anpec) explained that fuel.....

Asiamore »

"Growing popularity of Chinese mushrooms on overseas markets"

"There are currently more than 350 different kinds of edible mushrooms known in China. The cultivation technology has recently greatly improved, our knowledge has grown, and the plantation surface has increased. The export price of Chinese mushrooms keeps rising, and our mushrooms are becoming more popular on.....

China: "Yongxing lychees may be this year's dark horse"

"The Lychee king, originally named Toad in the Moon, has a rich fruit flesh, sweet and sour juice, and it endures transport well. This product variety comes from Hainan and has already spread across production areas in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian.Yongxing Village in Hainan is known as the "hometown of.....

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Da Lat potatoes

Vietnamese potato brand to fight Chinese fakes

Vietnam’s Lam Dong Province has approved a programme to construct a Da Lat potato brand to prevent farmers from selling cheap Chinese potatoes disguised as potatoes from Da Lat. In the near future, the province plans to spend around VND 1 billion (US$ 44,000) to print around 200,000 packages that will be.....

As official reporting and trade currency

Iran switches from dollar to euro

Iran will start reporting foreign currency amounts in euros rather than U.S. dollars, State media said on Wednesday. This is part of the country’s effort to reduce its reliance on the U.S. currency, due to political tensions with Washington.The new policy could encourage government bodies and firms linked to.....

China: Walmart unites suppliers in "Fresh Food Alliance"

On April 16th, Walmart established the "Fresh Food Alliance" with seven other suppliers of fresh products, including Jingdong Home, Tyson, Yili, Dole, Sunner, Blue Snow Food, Goodfarmer and Jinlongyu. Walmart said that more suppliers will join the alliance in the future. At the current stage, the "Fresh Food.....

"Cold weather and falling production volume leads to increased apple prices"

In many apple production areas, such as Qianxian in Shaanxi as well as Yuncheng, Yiyuan, and Yantai in Shandong, prices have recently increased. There are two main reasons for this development:1. Apple farmers are unwilling to sell. In western production areas large volumes of fruit, including apples, have.....

South Korean government scientists to decode fruit and vegetable genomes

South Korean agricultural authorities have revealed plans to decode the genomes of popular agricultural products including strawberries and bell peppers. According to the plans released by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) on Wednesday, the new project will decode the genomes of 23 valuable.....

Africamore »

ZZ2’s adoption of M9 rootstock in an ultra-high density orchard leads to complete rethink of management techniques

Transplanting modern European apple farming to South Africa

In 2012, in response to widespread labour unrest in the Western Cape, some Ceres apple producers sent a delegation to visit their counterparts in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy. The visit produced a lot of new ideas and on the way back from Italy, Retief du Toit remembers, a decision was made to.....

SPECIAL

South Africa

Sunday

ZZ2’s adoption of M9 rootstock in an ultra-high density orchard leads to complete rethink of management techniques

Transplanting modern European apple farming to South Africa

In 2012, in response to widespread labour unrest in the Western Cape, some Ceres apple producers sent a delegation to visit their counterparts in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy. The visit produced a lot of new ideas and on the way back from Italy, Retief du Toit remembers, a decision was made to.....

Harvesting and packing held back by colour development; False Codling Moth Management System could impact on harvest timing

Grapefruit season slow out of the starting blocks

Grapefruit exports from Southern Africa are estimated to increase by around 8% this season, but the trend is yet to be established, with year-to-date volumes substantially lower than in 2017. This year’s grapefruit season also has a new dimension: the false codling moth has been a regulated pest in the EU.....

Lemon pricing has pulled back

"Producers will just have to get used to this as the “new normal”

South Africa is seeing both sides of the coin at the moment, prolonged drought in the Western Cape and too much rain in the north. The rain itself is not a bad thing but the timing of it is delaying the harvest of lemons and grapefruit."On the one hand this is good for the market, as a low supply will keep.....

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Europemore »

New concepts boost sales

Focus on innovation within vegetable convenience

Meals always have to be quickly and easily prepared, but consumers also want to eat healthily. The space created between these two factors is where processed fresh produce can find opportunities. The growth within this segment is two-fold: the traditional products are sold more, but the market is also growing.....

Frank Bennemeer of Palletcentrale sees turnover increasing year after year

“Selling pallets online results in additional customer segment”

Palletcentrale supplies a broad range of new and used pallets, both nationally and internationally. With five branches and their own production, the pallet company offers a 100 per cent availability guarantee. The increasing wood prices, however, are currently causing wood shortages.The wholesaler of used and.....

Turkey: Cherry harvest is approaching

In Kemalpasa town of Izmir, where 10% of sweet cherry production in Turkey takes place, the growers are preparing to harvest the first products of the season and to offer it to the market at 25 -30 USD per kg.Annually around 60,000 tons of cherries is grown in Kemalpasa and the products from the area are well.....

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New agreement between Greenyard Fresh and Carrefour Belgium

Greenyard announced that on 18 April, Greenyard Fresh and Carrefour signed a new cooperation agreement under the name ‘First-In-Fresh’. This further strengthens the long-standing cooperation between the two parties. The new cooperation involves the logistical bundling of various product categories adding more.....

Mandarin tops the list

Turkish export figures of fruits and veg to Russia first quarter of 2018

Turkey has exported 74,119 tons of mandarin to Russia in the first quarter of 2018 and generated a revenue of 42.3 million USD in return. East Black Sea Region Exporters Association President Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan: “In order to develop the trade relations between two countries, it is imperative to lift the.....

Global artichoke consumption on the rise

Artichoke consumption and production are on the rise following the growth of the global frozen vegetable market which was valued at over $25 million in 2016 and is expected to reach $35 million by 2023 (Business Wire). Overall, the global frozen food market is expected to grow with a compound annual growth.....

A less bureaucratic CAP that focuses more on digital technology

European farmers should invest and bet on agriculture beyond 2020, as it will be less bureaucratic, more focused on making the most of digital technology, and much more focused on improving the quality of life of farmers, according to what the Commissioner of Agriculture of the European Union (EU), Phil Hogan,.....

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Oceaniamore »

Seeka buys T&G Global Northland kiwi operations

T&G Global Limited (T&G) has reached an agreement regarding the sale of its Kerikeri-based kiwifruit orchards, packhouse facilities and assets to Seeka Limited (Seeka). The agreement, valued at approximately $40 million will see Seeka purchase T&G’s post-harvest facilities in Kerikeri for the.....

Worldmore »

OVERVIEW GLOBAL LIME MARKET

At the moment, the situation in the global market is strongly determined by the high prices in the US. Exporters in countries such as Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia prefer this market as a destination for their fruit, as in the US, prices are about twice as high as in the same period last year. This choice on.....

France: New varieties shown at Indoor Lettuce Discovery Day

Last Thursday, March 29, lettuce professionals met for the Indoor Lettuce Discovery Day, organized at the Gautier headquarters in Eyragues. The event was in two parts: a visit of the trial platforms followed by a technical conference on the bioaggressors.The afternoon began with a visit to the tunnels at the.....

Click here to receive this news directly in your inbox

Porsche's answer to Tesla

Map showing travel time to nearest city with at least 50 K residents

Map shows travel time to the nearest city with at least 50,000 residents.
We're guessing it concerns travelling on foot...?
Click here for a larger image.

Battle of the Oranges

Ivrea, Italy: World’s craziest festival

Every year, the small northern Italian town of Ivrea comes under attack during the ‘Battle of the Oranges’. Thousands of people come from far and wide to take part in the annual Carnevale di Ivrea. In most cases, the participating teams usually dressed up in brightly coloured medieval costumes and engage in a.....

New UF blueberry variety machine-friendly

At an education session at January’s Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, University of Florida (UF) Assistant Professor of Blueberry Breeding and Genomics Patricio Muñoz, showed a list of blueberry varieties the university has released over the years.Those 21 blueberry varieties have many.....

Retail

Food Lion tests robots to spot out-of-stocks, hazards, pricing issues

Walmart Canada: zero food waste by 2025

US: Food City is building 3 new supermarkets in North GeorgiaFood City chief executive Steve Smith said that three stores the grocery chain is building in Northwest Georgia are part of up to $60mln that Food City is now investing into the Chattanooga market. "It's a real opportunity for us," he said, adding.....

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