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Friday, February 27, 2015

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Michel Jansen, Total Produce
"Difficult to compete with international markets for EU"
New markets don't just pay better prices than the European Union, they're also less strict when it comes to food safety. Importers like Total Produce notice that, Michel Jansen said yesterday at the opening of Brightbox in Venlo. Growing trade barriers play a part.Annually, Total Produce, an Irish company.....

Are supermarket specs contributing to food waste?
The issue of food waste is never far away especially in these times of austerity and it is hardly surprising when 15 million tonnes is wasted each year in the UK, (as quoted on Love Food Hate Waste), coming from household, manufacturing, retail/wholesale and hospitality. This food waste goes to landfill,.....

Next superfood?
Israeli fresh seaweeds available
In recent years market forces had begun an endless pursuit over the next 'so called' Superfood, a vegetable or a fruit that could potentially provide exceptional health remedies that cannot nor will not be disputed. Kale, for instance, had penetrated our culinary conscious by a storm. Some years back a mere.....

Cristóbal Aguado, of AVA-ASAJA, and José Antonio García, of AILIMPO:
"South Africa cancelling citrus shipments to S. Europe is nonsense"
Last week, we published the article "South Africa may consider stopping citrus exports to southern Europe", in which Jourbert Deon,on behalf of the South African Citrus Growers Association, reported the African country's proposal to stop citrus exports to southern Europe because of the "incongruity" in the.....

Tengelmann starts with discount stores in Russia
Russia opens borders for Moldovan apple
Moldova exported more grapes to Europe last year than in 2013. For the upcoming season, Moldova wants to increase this volume even further. Russia is opening its borders for Moldovan apples, ending the boycott of Moldovan apples that lasted for over half a year. This is initially a trial period. The prices.....

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Argentina: Apple and pear exports down by 90% and 50%
As reported by ADN Río Negro: "In the first 45 days of 2015 exports of apples and pears have dropped by 91.80% and 52.41%, respectively, compared to the same period of 2014.""The extent of the drop in exports has been such due to weather issues (severe hail storms), trade problems (wage claims and protests).....

NZ: Kiwifruit prices return to pre-PSA levels
Horticulture property sales are receiving a summer boost as kiwifruit prices return to near pre-PSA levels.Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures show the average price per hectare of horticultural properties sold in the three months to January was $205,634, compared with $202,308 in the three months.....

Van Ooijen Citrus with Californian Minneolas in Markthal
"Minneolas have become more popular"
Since 2008, Van Ooijen citrus BV has been importing Minneolas from California. The growing season has gone well, and the quality of the first arrivals is very good, according to Marcel van der Welle. "The flavour is magnificent, with a high brix. Minneolas from California have something special. They taste.....

Belco to export iceberg lettuce
Years after abandoning the product after a small trial, Belco, an Egyptian exporter of fresh produce, has started up their iceberg lettuce program once again. Though Russia is currently their largest market for that product, the plan is to expand into Europe in the coming years.“We invested in a vacuum.....

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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 is proposing to pay a final dividend for 2014 of €1.673 cent per share, up 12.3pc on the previous year.Earnings per share in 2014.....

North America

US: Asparagus available in Southern California
When it’s a steady 70 degrees for 11 months out of the year, produce is a colorful reminder that seasons do exist in Southern California. As a general rule, green means spring. Fava tendrils appear, followed by pea tendrils, snap peas, English peas, and the ultimate indicator, asparagus, which showed up at.....

Washington’s apple growers fear stigma by association after GM apple approval
Washington’s apple growers fear stigma by association after GM apple approvalBob Crider & Frank Purdy & Karen Troianello & Sharon J. Prill | February 26, 2015 | Yakima HeraldThe debate over genetically modified organisms didn’t end in 2013, when this state’s voters narrowly rejected an initiative.....

B.C. blueberry farmers worried early blooms spoil harvest
Blueberry farmers are worried the warm weather in the Lower Mainland could put their crops at risk."A lot can change from now until harvest time," Jason Smith, the chair of the BC Blueberry Council told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.Smith some of the plants are at a blooming stage they wouldn't usually.....

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US: California still number 1 vegetable producer
In 2014, California fresh vegetable production remained unchanged from 2013 and amounted to 214 million hundredweight (10.7 million tons) with an estimated value of $6.5 billion. The State continues to be the leading fresh vegetable market, accounting for 52 percent of US vegetable production and 60 percent.....

Onion export to Central America down 80%
In the last 5-6 weeks demand for onions has been good despite the low prices of onions. “Prices are extremely low in comparison not only to last year’s prices, but on a five year average,” explains Shay Myers of Owyhee Produce. Although the company’s produce is currently stored from the 2014-2015 season,.....

US: Different lemon growing areas complement each other
“North American lemon supplies are coming out of California this time of the year”, says John Carter with Limoneira. “Some California growing regions offer year-round supply, but the peak is really from October through June.” Limoneira also grows lemons in Arizona and recently expanded into Chile......

NMB host ripe and ready to eat mango conference
The National Mango Board (NMB) will host a free Ripe and Ready to Eat Mango Conference on March 26, 2015 at the Hilton Long Beach Hotel in Long Beach, CA. The conference will be divided into three sessions that will focus on the following topics: 1) The What, Why and How, of the Mango Ripening Program; 2).....

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Potato addict loses weight
A woman so addicted to potatoes she scoffed half-a-tonne in a year, fought off her fluffy white vice to shed a huge 13 stone.Whether it was chips, roasties, mash or a jacket potato oozing with butter, Trisha Corbett just couldn't get enough.But after the 26-year-old's weight soared to a massive 26st 11lbs,.....

US: Brisbane IGA store has a 80kg watermelon for sale
A Brisbane IGA store has a champagne watermelon up for sale, and it’s heavier than most teenagers.Anyone in the market for an 80kg melon?Weighing in at 80kg, the massive melon is reportedly being sold for a bargain price of $100, much cheaper than it’s $1.99/kg suggests.A local resident snapped this photo.....

Fruit vegetables get celebrity-studded marketing campaign
What if cauliflower got the same type of marketing firepower as candy bars and potato chips? A campaign being launched Thursday plans to put that premise to the test by enlisting celebrities including actress Jessica Alba and NBA star Stephen Curry to shill for fruits and vegetables.The campaign was.....

Central America

Mexico: Jalisco's banana production decreases
Banana production in the valley of Cihuatlan, Jalisco, has declined sharply as a result of the excessive rainfalls, flooding and the presence of black sigatoka.The president of the municipal association of landowners of Cihuatlán, Narciso de Jesus Ramirez Rubio, who is also a producer of bananas in the.....

Honduras: Orange exports on the rise
Honduras is becoming Central America's largest citrus producer and exporter. Its oranges, grapefruit and lemons are consumed in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.About 600 truckloads of oranges from the Lower Aguán and Sonaguera, in the department of Colón, and several communities in the department of.....

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South America

Peru: An unusual frost is affecting potato crops in the provinces of Puno
Several hectares of staple food, especially of potato and quinoa crops in different locations in the southern and northern Puno area, have been affected by the unusual frost recorded in the region and that was more intense yesterday at dawn.Most crops are in the process of flowering, so most of them.....

Chile: Organic exports grew 12% in 2014
According to the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (PASO), in 2014, exports of organic products amounted to US $199.3 million, 12% more than the $178 obtained in 2013. This amount includes the wines made with organic grapes.The exports of organic fruits and vegetables totalled 33,607 tons, worth $.....

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Asia

Korean apple cultivation to almost disappear by end of century
Due to climate change, apple cultivation is expected to be limited to certain areas in Gangwon province by the end of the 21st Century.According to the Rural Development Administration (RDA) on February 26, growing areas for other fruits such as pears, peaches and grapes will also decrease after 2050, while.....

Gross loss first half year Asian Citrus
Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd Thursday swung to a gross loss in the first half of the year, hit by a significant drop in revenue, largely due to lower orange production following damage to its plantations from two typhoons during the period and the infection of its orange trees with the citrus canker disease.The.....

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Europe

Slightly lower yields than last year due to cold weather
Quality bell peppers Almeria stable
Every spring, Enza Zaden focuses on bell pepper cultivation in the Almería region in its Pepper News. Last year, the weather conditions were remarkably favourable for the bell peppers growers. The plants had good health in a high fruit load of good quality. In addition, many growers planned on continuing.....

Peter Damen, KCB:
"Bring on the Dutch peppers"
This week I saw large parties of Israeli peppers, which were on their way to being packaged in small packaging. It didn't really cheer us up, says quality specialist Peter Damen of the KCB. In many of the boxes there were rotten fruits, but blemishes were also no exception. A lot of moving around produced.....

André Nieuwenhuis, Olympic Fruit:
"White seedless grapes scarce at the moment"
The situation on the grape market is different for both seedless and seeded grapes at the moment. According to André Nieuwenhuis of Olympic Fruit there are less white seedless grapes on the market. "It's all a bit scarce but the demand is good. This means they have good prices." He believes this has various.....

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Georgian blueberries to appear on European market
A multi-million dollar blueberry plantation and processing plant will soon be established in Georgia in a bid to counter Europe’s high demand of blueberries. And the increase in exports will offer a much-needed boost to the country’s economy, said Agriculture Minister Otar Danelia.The new blueberry.....

Italy: New website for Finò
The new website of Caligari e Babbi is now online.The company specialises in the processing and marketing of fennel from the most important producer areas of the peninsula and has recently launched on the European market its "Finò, il finocchio italiano" premium brand - produce of Italian origin, available.....

Spain: Very irregular cauliflower campaign
Up until last week, cauliflower prices have been high on the European markets due to production shortages in major producing countries caused by low temperatures and unfavourable weather conditions. Consumer prices have stood above 2.16 Euro/kilo in the case of Germany.Now the situation has completely.....

"Making people aware by using as little packaging as possible"
Organic fruit and vegetables at packaging free shop in Antwerp
In August 2014 the first packaging free shop opened in Belgium. The Zero Waste Shop is located in Antwerp. The idea came from owner Savina Istas, who wanted to tackle the waste problem at the source. "We do this by minimising the use of packaging in our shop. I studied sustainable sciences and was always.....

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Norway: Bama picks COAGRISAN as one of the year's best suppliers
Bama-Gruppen AS is the largest importer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables in Norway. For several years, the company has been holding an event in which it rewards the best international supplier of the year; those which have managed to fulfil five key factors for the group.Thus, the Canary.....

PROEXPORT regret resignation of Antonio Cerdá
"He has strongly supported the producers of fruit and vegetable in the Region of Murcia all these years," said Juan Marin.The horticultural producers and companies linked to PROEXPORT regret the resignation of Antonio Cerdá as Minister of Agriculture and Water, something that caught everyone by surprise......

Stagnation in the lime market
Lime importers with already scheduled appointments are doing pretty well at the moment, but it is more difficult for those who have surrendered to the daily market. According to a trader, the market started slowing down over a week ago, "Until December it was quite good. The moral in January was the same as.....

Spain: García Carrión to produce pineapples in Murcia
The president of the beverage company J. García Carrión, José García Carrión, aims for the industrial production of tropical pineapple juice to start in 2018, after successfully managing to cultivate the crop in Murcian greenhouses.According to García Carrión, the first test stage has already been completed.....

Issues in UK potato sector require closer relationships
Better relationships between UK potato growers and the rest of the supply chain are needed if the sector is to cope with its current downturn.The fresh potato industry has been hit by declining consumption combined with good production over the past two years which has led to dangerously high stocks, and a.....

33 more recalls in fruit and vegetables
Europe: 16% Jump in food recalls last quarter
Stericycle ExpertSOLUTIONS, the global leader in product recalls, retrievals, returns and audits, has revealed that there was a significant rise in food recall and notification occurrences across Europe during the final three months of 2014.Compared to the previous quarter, there was a 16 per cent jump in.....

Rabobank: Lower oil prices contributing to lower food prices
Rabobank says that the recent dramatic oil price drop will have implications for the global food supply chain if oil prices remain low through 2015, as the bank predicts. In a new report, Rabobank forecasts that the economics of some specific F&A sectors will materially change, affecting volumes and.....

Ukraine: Fruit and veg prices continue upward trend
According to "APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits", Ukraine's fruit and vegetable price index for the previous week (from 14 to 20 February 2015) increased by 2.8%, immediately after registering a 3.1% increase in the previous week, due to the continued sharp depreciation of the Hryvnia. Thus, the upward trend.....

Interfel launches new campaign
The organisations representing fresh fruit and vegetables, potatoes, melon, apricots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches and nectarines and fruit and vegetables from Alsace have united their means and strategies in a new communications programme. Interfel led a communications programme financed by the EU titled.....

Israel: Crops in Carmel Coast hit by bad weather
Last weekend, Israel was hit by snow storms, and growers based in the Carmel Coast were severely affected. Many hectares of vegetables and fruit trees were destroyed. The first estimates point to losses of about a million NIS (over 200,000 Euro).Winds destroyed plastic coverings and nets, leaving the crops.....

Oceania

Hail makes a dent in apple exports
Nelson's export apple harvest is expected to be down 10 per cent because of hail damage.Picking has started, and orchards and packhouses are gearing up for a difficult season as final decisions are made on what fruit gets processed or packed for export.Pipfruit NZ business development manager Gary Jones said.....

Australian horticulture scopes out how to drive exports
The new grower-owned horticulture body is looking for guidance on a major new spending blitz, to grow international sales and improve production across all sectors.Australian horticulture, which encompasses the fruit, vegetable, nut, flower, turf and nursery industries, is worth $9 billion, but exports.....

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Aid approved for cyclone-affected in Australia
Extended financial aid were approved Friday for residents, businesses and farmers affected by Cyclone Marcia which hit Australia's second largest state of Queensland last week.Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the extended payments while visiting the disaster zone clean-up sites in Rockhampton, the.....

NZ: Growers ask cricket fans to leave fruit at home
New Zealand’s commercial fruit and vegetable growers are asking everyone going to the World Cup Cricket match at Eden Park tomorrow to help smash an unwanted Aussie visitor for a six.The industry that takes every opportunity to promote healthy eating is taking the unusual step of asking fans not to take.....

Africa

"Our own community is far ahead of Fairtrade"
Organic makes the difference with Roux Pecans in South Africa
'Roux Pecans' grows organic pecan nuts. The company is located at the banks of the Orange River in South Africa. Through exclusive distributor Rhumveld Winter & Konijn, Roux Pecans supplies its organic pecan nuts to customers all over Europe. Bob Roux, son of founder Chris, works full time with Roux.....

Egypt: Cold wave causes 100-150% increase in vegetable prices
The recent cold wave and frosts in Egypt have resulted in a large increase in vegetable prices, of between 100 and 150%. Prospects, however, are for them to drop again by 100% over the coming weeks, as the weather improves. In contrast, fruit prices declined in an attempt to boost consumption.Ibrahim Abdel.....

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Exploit organic agriculture, Uganda advised
Uganda must capitalise on its potential in organic agriculture; improve product quality and packaging to capture a larger share of the American export market.Meg Jaquay, the vice-president of the American Chamber of Commerce, Uganda, told New Vision in an interview recently that increasing use of non-organic.....

World

Spain: MJ Agroasesores plans to export organic asparagus
Last Thursday at the Biofach trade fair, held in Nuremberg, Germany, MJ Agroasesores, an organic fruit and vegetable distributor based in Almeria, presented an R & D project that will lead to the shipment of organic green asparagus to major supermarket chains in eight countries.The company, established.....

Europe appreciates quality of Peruvian organic bananas
The European market appreciates the quality of Peruvian organic bananas, which meet every demand from its consumers, according to the head of the Delegation of the European Union in Peru (EU), Irene Horejs.The European official said that organic bananas are one of the products that have made the most.....

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Mexico: Promotion of organic mango production
UABCS researchers are assisting growers of the Mexican town of Santiago in the production of organic mangoes through a project funded by Produce.Mangoes of the Mangifera indica Lspecies are one of the most commercially important fruits worldwide; fifth in the ranking of main fruit products. In 2011, global.....

Retail

Mexico: Oxxo sets new stores benchmark
FEMSA Comercio's total revenues were up 12% in the last quarter of 2014, driven by new store openings and same store sales growth. Full year revenues were up 12.4% and same store sales increased on average 2.7%, mirroring top line trends that gradually improved throughout the year.New benchmark for store.....

How Lidl is changing in Germany
We've been in-store in Düsseldorf to assess the retailer's latest initiatives. Here's our perspective on what we learned. Lidl is communicating a new value-quality equation In-store communication now differs from that traditionally associated with Lidl, focusing on quality led values much more than pure.....

Mexican Soriana: positive end to year
Mexican retailer Soriana has reported net sales growth of 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2014, and a net earnings increase of 129.4%.Positive trends in quarter fourSoriana said it had noticed a positive change in income trends as of October 2014, as well as a recovery in customer traffic which has continued.....

'We will cut prices across the board'
UK: Tesco boss declares war on rival discounters:
In what amounts to a declaration of war against the value and discount retailers Tesco is seeking to offer competitive prices right across the retail market.‘We aim to be competitive at all ends of the market and that includes the opening price point in every category.’Lewis began the process of widespread.....

NZ: Countdown boosts first-half earnings
Countdown, the New Zealand supermarket chain owned by Australian retailer Woolworths, increased first-half earnings 2.9 percent as it cut costs and boosted volumes to compensate for lower prices.Earnings before interest and tax increased to $169.1 million in the half year ended Jan. 4, from $164.4 million in.....

UK: Costcutter supermarket group embarks on new marketing campaign
Costcutter Supermarkets Group, based in Dunnington, has taken on Leeds-based integrated media agency, Boutique, to handle its media strategy and implementation following a four-way pitch.The decision to recruit a new media agency comes as Costcutter embarks on a new operations and marketing model.Working on.....

AU: Woolworths profits slide
Woolworths has downgraded its full year guidance and announced plans to step up investment in its core supermarkets business after falling further behind arch rival Coles.The supermarket giant had previously forecast full year profit growth of between four and seven per cent but now says growth is likely to.....

UK: Organic food goes budget as sales surge thanks to Lidl and Aldi
The food industry has seen a surge in the sales of organic foods according to an annual report by the Soil Association.The research found that UK shoppers are now spending an extra £1.4 million a week on organic food.The growth in sales is largely being helped by the discount organic ranges found at budget.....

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