Announcements

Job offersmore »

Specialsmore »

Recent commentsmore »

Top 5 - yesterday

Top 5 - last week

Top 5 - last month

Remaining news more »

Economic newsmore »

Exchange ratesmore »

AU: Peak horticulture organisation confirms importance of advocacy role in lead-up to federal election
With a federal election looming next year, Growcom’s Board has confirmed the importance of the organisation’s role in 2009/2010 in taking issues important to horticulture forward to all tiers of government, including politicians standing for election federally next year. The Board is also keen to increase..... 0 comments

AU: Growers excluded from CPRS
Growers have welcomed agriculture’s exclusion from the Federal government’s carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS), but have warned the scheme will still lead to higher costs for them.Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers chairman Dave Depaoli, Bundaberg Canegrowers president Alan Dingle and Canegrowers..... 0 comments

AU: Murray water diversion angers fruit growers
Riverland fruit growers are reacting angrily to news that Murray River water is being piped to Ceduna on South Australia's west coast.SA Water has begun supplying Ceduna with a mix of water from the Murray and the Eyre Peninsula underground basin because of continuing problems with the underground..... 0 comments

AU: Heat holds problems for fruit
Fruit growers are gearing up for harvest season as the Goulburn Valley swelters under an unusually hot November sun.Cherries and apricots are coming into season at the moment, and both need to overcome obstacles in the coming weeks and months.Fruit Growers Victoria president John Wilson said this month's..... 0 comments

AU: Horticulture industry proposes climate change levy
Fruit and vegetable growers could pay a climate levy on fertiliser under a proposal developed by the horticulture industry.The plan by Queensland horticulture group Growcom recommends farmers pay about 5 per cent more for fertiliser, with the money raised funding climate change research.The details come as..... 0 comments

AU: Mango growers want to boost Japan trade
Mango exporters in far north Queensland are looking at ways to increase exports to a lucrative Asian market.Single mangoes in season sell for up to $A100 in Japan as a prestige gift.Mareeba exporter Bruce Nastasi says the capacity to treat the fruit before export will have to be increased, and shipping is..... 0 comments

Aldi is Aussies’ top store
Aldi has been voted Australia’s most popular supermarket in the latest customer satisfaction poll, writes Nick Gibson.Aldi came out top above the country’s two biggest chains – Coles and Woolworths – in the new twice-yearly Roy Morgan Supermarket Satisfaction Report. Coles has seen the biggest improvement in..... 0 comments

NZ dollar up late despite weak inflation data; bonds up
The New Zealand dollar returned to an upward path Monday following Wall Street's rise Friday and a general resumption of risk appetite."Wall Street's gain Friday allowed Kiwi to recover the US$0.7400 level, though it hasn't been able to push on and remains in its recent range," said Custom House Western..... 0 comments

Australian dollar trades near 15-month high on recovery outlook
Australia’s dollar traded near the highest in 15 months after a report showed Japan’s economy grew more than expected, adding to signs a global recovery will spur the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates next month.The currency was little changed before the RBA tomorrow publishes minutes from..... 0 comments

AU: Bowen mangoes on the way for Christmas
The mango harvest in Bowen in North Queensland is underway, with most producers around the region around a week into picking.Ben Martin grows the R2E2 mango variety just outside town, and says he'll be powering through the season, hoping to get all the fruit packed and sent off by Christmas Day.He says his..... 0 comments

NZ: Kiwifruit processing giant set to expand
A kiwifruit industry behemoth has the all clear to expand adding a further 5 million trays to its production schedule.Seeka Kiwifruit Industries plans to buy Mt Maunganui-based kiwifruit and avocado packing and coolstore company Te Awanui Huka Pak in a $24 million shares and cash deal.Te Awanui Huka Pak is..... 0 comments

AU: Southern Queensland counts cost of hail storms
The clean-up continues in southern Queensland after wild hail storms on the Darling Downs and Granite Belt yesterday.Fruit and vegetable growers are facing big losses after small to medium-sized hail pelted their crops near Stanthorpe around 3:30pm yesterday.Local resident Simon Butler says the hail storm..... 0 comments

Growcom welcomes federal government’s decision to exclude agriculture from CPRS
Peak horticulture organisation Growcom today welcomed the federal government’s decision to exclude agriculture from the carbon pollution reduction scheme.Chief Advocate Rachel Mackenzie said the decision was a significant concession and a win for the agricultural sector.Growcom has extensively lobbied both..... 0 comments

NZ: Samoa’s agriculture ministry welcomes organic produce venture
Samoa’s agriculture ministry says growing organic produce is a good option for families having to rebuild their livelihoods after the tsunami.Many affected families that used to settle on the coast have moved further inland and are turning to growing organic produce for export.The organisation, Women in..... 0 comments

AU: Woolies JV 'may out price retailers'
Analysts say undertakings given by Woolworths Ltd and joint venture partner Lowe's Companies Inc to the competition watchdog will not stop both companies from engaging in price discrimination against stores previously supplied by takeover target Danks Holdings Ltd.Woolworths released its second bidders..... 0 comments

NZ: Supermarkets need code of practice - Green Party
Now is the time for an inquiry into how the two giant supermarket chains set their prices, says Green Party food spokesperson Sue Kedgley.Kedgley said the Green Party was concerned by the stranglehold two supermarket chains had on the New Zealand grocery market.Progressive Enterprises and Foodstuffs between..... 0 comments

AU: Heatwave could pip the cherry harvest at Young
The heatwave gripping Central West NSW is threatening to derail a bumper cherry harvest in Young.Maximum temperatures in the district have topped 30 degrees for the past five days.The sizzling conditions have the potential to cook the fruit on the trees, especially if it stays warm overnight.Orchardist Ian..... 0 comments

Blackcurrant plan for NZ, Japan
The blackcurrant industry has welcomed a proposed research collaboration between New Zealand and Japanese scientists.The Plant and Food Research Institute has made a joint application with Japanese researchers to both countries' government science funding agencies.They want to exchange information on..... 0 comments

AU: Fruit and vegie producers tackle contamination issues
Australia's horticultural industry is bedding down a new plan to manage its food contamination issues.Horticulture Australia Ltd product integrity manager, Richard Bennett, says the plan addresses a range of modern issues that fruit, vegetable, nut and flower industries didn't have to contend with earlier.He..... 0 comments

AU: New varieties, technology and collaborative marketing key to grower profitability
Australia’s 2,000 citrus growers will be able to access new citrus varieties however access to the new varieties will come at a cost as commercialisers try to recover their investment in R&D.Citrus Australia Ltd, the national peak body for the Citrus Industry, held its annual conference in Mildura over..... 0 comments

AU: Qld company unveils ‘intense' tomato
In a move set to bring an end to the age-old soggy sandwich dilemma, Australia’s largest supplier of fresh field grown tomatoes has this week introduced a new product to the market.SP Exports Managing Director Andrew Philip explains ‘Intense’ tomatoes have been selectively bred in response to consumer..... 0 comments

AU: Delegation pushes cherries for China
Orchardists are ramping up their campaign to get Australian cherries into China.A delegation of growers and industry representatives departs for China today for several days of top-level talks.NSW cherry producer, Ian Hay, is part of the group, which will start the tour at a fruit and vegetable trade fair.He..... 0 comments

AU: First Aussie seedless mandarins coming soon
Sydney-based fresh produce marketing company, Perfection Fresh Australia, has won the rights to commercialise two new seedless mandarin varieties bred by the CSIRO.CSIRO plant breeder Dr Stephen Sykes said the varieties – Merbeingold 2336 and Merbeingold 2350 – were the first two seedless mandarins to be..... 0 comments

Aussie is near 15-month high on China’s gains in Output,sales
Australia’s dollar traded near its strongest level since August 2008 as China, the South Pacific nation’s biggest trading partner, said industrial production and retail sales accelerated last month.The currency, nicknamed the Aussie, rose as high as 93.44 cents after better-than-forecast growth in output and..... 0 comments

AU: Mango season lacks usual magic
As you read this, the North Queensland mango season harvest is moving into full swing.During the lead-up to Christmas, mangoes always seem plentiful on the supermarket shelf, but recent weather conditions may have a negative effect, farmer John Morton (pictured) said.“As long as farmers have up-to-date pest..... 0 comments

AU: Fruit growers wins travel award
A Queensland strawberry and passionfuit grower, Christina McPherson, has won the first TQA Global Insights Award.The award was presented last night in Launceston at the 6th National Food Safety, Quality and Environmental Assurance Conference, Keep it Real® 2009.The $10,000 travel award is to recognise..... 0 comments

AU: Indigenous mayor wants government action over banana farm
The Mayor of Hope Vale in far north Queensland says he is getting frustrated by a lack of support from governments for a banana-growing farm.One of the world's largest fruit and vegetable producers - the Hawaiian-based Dole company - wants to establish a banana farm at the Hopevale indigenous..... 0 comments

Australia-India science collaboration gets major boost
The Australia-India collaboration on the scientific front received a major boost today with the Australian Prime Minister Mr. Kevin Rudd announcing an additional $50 million investment by the Australian Government in the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund.The announcement was made by Rudd during his..... 0 comments

Fiji: Farmers aim to increase produce for Australian market
Farmers in the Western division are aiming to increase their output for the Australian market.This is after Australian importers indicated that they are interested in buying more products from Fiji and as early as the first quarter of next year the first container of mixed products is expected to be shipped..... 0 comments

NZ: Juice company pleads guilty to breaching Fair Trading Act
Brownlie Brothers Limited trading as Simply Squeezed, a juice manufacturing and distribution company pleaded guilty to six charges of breaching the Fair Trading Act and was fined $45,000 in the District Court in Auckland today. An order for court costs and solicitors fees of $6,780 was also made by the Court..... 0 comments

NZ: Growers blame supermarkets for high grocery prices
There was more evidence today about what's happening to food prices, and more dark muttering about what the supermarkets are up to.Overall the price of food dropped 1.5 percent last month, as measured by the Government's Department of Statistics. And it noted that for the first time this decade prices fell..... 0 comments

AU: Queensland expecting bumper table grape crop
Dry weather has meant a bumper table grape crop in Queensland.The first grapes of the six-week harvest have been picked in the south-east Queensland region of Mundubbera.Grower Chris Allen says he's never seen it so good."Yes, this is the best crop we've ever had, size wise and quality wise, due to the dry..... 0 comments

AU: Fruit & veg the key to cheaper food bills
Families wanting to cut their food bills should include more fruit and vegetables in their diet.That's the view of horticulture body Growcom as it weighs into the debate about rising Australian grocery prices.Growcom chief advocate Rachel Mackenzie said that Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Cost Price Index..... 0 comments

NZ warned over Cedenco owner Marianne Gillingham
A group opposed to foreign control of New Zealand businesses says it warned the Overseas Investment Office a year ago about a United States federal investigation into Cedenco’s former parent company SK Foods.Both SK Foods, which has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, and Cedenco were owned by a..... 0 comments

New Zealand Oct food prices fall, annual rate rises at slower pace
New Zealand's food price inflation fell in October, led by a fall in fruit and vegetable prices, official data released Wednesday showed.Statistics New Zealand said the Food Price Index fell 1.5% in October from September, with fruit and vegetable prices falling 4.6%.Meat, poultry and fish prices declined..... 0 comments

Aussie dollar near year high on China output, retail sales gain
The Australian dollar traded near its strongest level since August 2008 as China, the South Pacific nation’s biggest trading partner, said industrial production and retail sales accelerated in October.The so-called Aussie rose as high as 93.24 cents after better-than-forecast growth in output and retail..... 0 comments

NZ: Blackcurrant research project with Japan planned
The blackcurrant industry has high hopes for a proposed research collaboration between New Zealand and Japanese scientists.The Plant and Food Research Institute has made a joint application with Japanese researchers to both countries' government science funding agencies.They want to exchange information on..... 0 comments

Perfection Fresh wins rights to commercialise the first Australian bred seedless mandarins
CSIRO has awarded Sydney-based fresh produce marketing company, Perfection Fresh Australia, the rights to commercialise the two new seedless mandarin varieties bred by CSIRO.CSIRO plant breeder Dr Stephen Sykes said the varieties – Merbeingold 2336 and Merbeingold 2350 – were the first two seedless mandarins..... 0 comments

AU: Simplot chips away at spud price
Potato processor, Simplot is asking its Tasmanian farmer suppliers to accept a further $15 a tonne price cut this year.Chairman of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association Simplot growers committee, Stephen Earley, says Simplot sent letters to growers last week requesting a 5 per cent cut to contracts..... 0 comments

NZ: Receivership alarms growers and workers
More than 80 vegetable growers and hundreds of seasonal workers on the East Coast are fearing for their futures as one of New Zealand's largest processing plants has gone into receivership.The news about Gisborne-based Cedenco comes on the back of a tough year for the region.Gisborne grower Ron Prebble is..... 0 comments

Fruit and vegies not reason for food hikes - Hort NZ
The national horticulture body is questioning the Government's view that the dramatic increase in the price of food is due mainly to the rise in the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables.An Australian study found the price of food in New Zealand has gone up by more than 42.5% since 2000, the second highest..... 0 comments

AU: Lower fruit and vegetable prices are good news for consumers but disturbing for industry
Peak horticulture body Growcom weighed into the debate about rising Australian grocery prices today, arguing that families who wished to reduce their food bills should switch to a greater consumption of fruit and vegetables in their diet.Chief Advocate Rachel Mackenzie said that Australian Bureau of..... 0 comments

NZ: ZESPRI Funding Highlights the Power of Science
Horticulture New Zealand congratulates kiwifruit marketer ZESPRI and the New Zealand Government for taking a long-range view of the importance of science to growing our agricultural economy.The only way New Zealand can compete cost-effectively on the international market is to get smarter about the products..... 0 comments

Juice maker to shut SA factory
National Foods says it will wind down production at its juice factory at Berri in the South Australian Riverland.Production will end by the middle of next year, resulting in a loss of 64 jobs.A review of operations was announced back in June and the factory suffered millions of dollars' damage during a..... 0 comments

AU: Hepatitis semi-dried tomatoes traced to Victoria
The NSW Food Authority has confirmed at least three cases of hepatitis A have been traced to contaminated semi-dried tomatoes from Victoria, which are being blamed for an outbreak of the disease.NSW Health has issued a warning not to eat loose, semi-dried tomatoes unless they have been cooked and has alerted..... 0 comments

AU: Buy local, urge Glenlyon spud farmers as prices drop
Buy local: that's the message Glenlyon potato grower Denise Leonard wants to spreadPlummeting vegetable prices are making it difficult for local potato farmers to break even.Ms Leonard said due to cheap overseas imports there would be a 10 per cent drop in prices this season.The Leonards, who grow potatoes..... 0 comments