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Friday, August 21, 2015

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Jon Clark - Total Cherry
UK: "By far the best cherry season yet"
The English cherry season has yet again seen record volumes this season. "By far the best overall, the cherry business is very good but also other stonefruit is doing exceptionally well, such as apricots, and plums which are getting into the height of the season and looking very good indeed," according to.....

Open and upright plants
Zucchini breeder focuses on reducing labor costs
“Nobody is looking for innovation in zucchini,” says Bill Johnson, squash breeder with Monsanto in Woodland, CA. “My job is to develop varieties that won’t surprise anyone.” Yield, quality and disease resistance are three of the most important elements. Nobody is going to pay a price premium for flavor as.....

Brazilian supplies starting up
Mexican mango imports wrapped up
Mango imports from Mexico are wrapping up, and with Brazilian shipments not near peak volumes, current supply levels are keeping prices strong. If Ecuadoran imports arrive later than normal, then current mango prices could stay up.“The late Mexican deal in Los Mochis began and ended earlier than usual this.....

Russia: food smuggling equal to arms trade
Valencia wants kakis and pomegranates on compensation list
The government of Valencia pleads with the EU to add kakis and pomegranates to the list of products for which support is possible. The region expects that growers will be hit hard once again. The Polish minister invited Prime Minister Medvedev to come and sample apples. Recently, Medvedev accused the Poles.....

Better growers returns expected
British Bramley expected to be down 20%
The WAPA European apple estimate is down on last year, but the figures still need to be finalised because growing conditions in many of the countries have changed during August, so there may be still be some changes according to Adrian Barlow from English Apples and Pears."At the moment European volumes.....

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Difficult season for strawberries
"Demand for blueberries extremely high"
As is well known, summertime is also berrytime in Germany. Doesn't matter if they are red or black, big or small, currently the domestic berries are in exceedingly great demand. So too the berries of Marktvertrieb Dieter Schwerin GmbH from Duisburg. The trade- and service provider company has been active in.....

Unique bag pusher and bag positioner
New machine designed for entire packing line
Customised solutions and simplicity are vital issues for Manter in the supply and set-up of its packaging lines. Two examples in this respect are the unique Pusher and Positioner. The Pusher ensures the correct reading of labels, while the Positioner conveniently places bags of all sizes on a belt in the.....

Pumpkin prices skyrocket 300pc with markup
It seems that those who have held on to their pumpkin crops through a few bad years are reaping limited rewards, with prices having skyrocketed in the last month, according to Qualipac Sales and Marketing Manager Kees Versteeg. “Several growers this year have drastically reduced their production programme or.....

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North America

Tanimura & Antle and The Produce Mom launch #FamilyFarming campaign
Tanimura & Antle and The Produce Mom® recently launched a #FamilyFarming campaign to raise awareness of Tanimura & Antle’s company blog, titled Family Farming. The campaign includes a Pinterest contest which encourages consumers to follow Tanimura & Antle on Pinterest. The contest also encourages.....

Grapes from Mexico announces display contest winners
Grapes from Mexico has announced the winners of its “Snack On!” Retail Display contest in the Northeast region. Highland Park Markets in Farmington, CT is among the winners of the first Grapes from Mexico Retail Display Contest. Participating retailers competed for prizes including an iPad Air, Bluetooth.....

Attractive fruit with less winter chilling
US: Producers upbeat about new peach 'Gulfsnow'
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), University of Georgia and the University of Florida scientists joined hands to develop Gulfsnow, a new peach variety.It is an attractive fruit with less winter chilling.The new variety should give growers in the southeastern lower coastal plain an edge in commercial.....

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Will these changes impact grape, almond and major California crops?
Climate change, California drought lead to record early harvests
California farmers have experienced record early harvests,thanks to exceptionally warm weather during the winter, spring and summer as climate change trends advance.Early harvests are not necessarily a bad thing. But they are among the first visible symptoms of what will probably lead to a dramatic.....

Consumer education drive
Apple growers, USApple partner to boost education
A Buy an Apple, Help a Student initiative has been launched by the US Apple Association (USApple), apple growers, and partner brands. The drive is aimed at helping to promote apples as a healthy snack for students.This consumer education campaign helps fund classroom projects nationwide.Every time a consumer.....

Positive vibes
Trends at the US Apple outlook conference
The Michigan group in the US expect an excellent apple crop size, boosting their numbers to 24 million from 23.7 million. This information was released on the eve of the US Apple Association crop outlook conference in Chicago.It appears most of those attending the conference agree with the US Department of.....

Canada: First crop of nuclear seed potatoes unveiled
The first crop of nuclear seed potatoes, grown from plantlets, has been unveiled by the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada by its Nuclear Seed Potato Propagation Facility.The potatoes have been produced from disease-free tissue culture plantlets. This is critical to the growth of a.....

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Tajin® seasonings & Borton Fruit
In store demos to promote WA apple harvest
The Washington State apple harvest has started and Borton Fruit is partnering on in-store demonstrations with Tajin® seasonings to help create excitement and interest in the new crop.Tajin seasonings is a custom blend of world-class Mexican chilies, dehydrated lime juice and sea salt and is produced in.....

Florida Citrus shifts marketing communications to agency
The Florida Department of Citrus has enlisted the services of Edelman’s Edible Inc food and beverage specialist agency in a contract worth up to $8 million to boost citrus sales.The two-year contract covers maketing communications services including brand management, advertising, earned media, issues.....

Supermarket tomatoes tastier when dunked in hot water
Tomatoes sold in supermarkets can be made to taste better by dunking them in hot water before they ripen, a US government study has found.The research raises hopes that tomatoes bought from shops could one day be as tasty as those straight off the vine. Typically tomatoes destined for supermarkets are picked.....

Canada: Windset Farms goes solar
A cloudless, sunny sky set the perfect scene for the unveiling of a 1-megawatt solar energy rooftop installation above the greenhouses of Windset Farms on Tuesday."Windset is proud to call Santa Maria its home, and we're proud of investing in the continual development and expansion of our operations here in.....

ALC chosen as Top 3rd party logistics & cold storage provider
The Allen Lund Company is pleased to announce the earning of a spot on Food Logistics' Top 3PL & Cold Storage Providers list. The Top 3PL & Cold Storage Providers serves as a resource guide of third-party logistics and cold storage providers whose products and services are critical for companies in.....

Study: Recalls of organic food on rise
There has been a sharp jump in the number of recalls of organic food product, new data shows.Recalled products accounted for 7 percent of all food units recalled so far this year, compared with 2 percent of those recalled last year, data of the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture.....

Nogales Produce History bound for Library of Congress
How did the Mexican produce importing industry grow from just a few rail car loads to hundreds of thousands of trucks today? How has this growth affected the socio-economic and cultural areas of whole communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border, its government, families and individuals? Those are.....

Rootstocks to the rescue
US (FL): Glimmer of hope to rescue citrus industry
Growing evidence of several citrus rootstocks that are tolerant to the devastation caused by citrus greening, has given hope to growers in Florida that they can keep their industry alive long enough to find a cure.But University of Florida citrus researchers have yet to find a rootstock that can completely.....

Central America

Dominican Republic: Med fruit fly virtually eliminated
The Minister of Agriculture, Angel Estevez, said yesterday that the eradication of the Mediterranean fruit fly, the bug that caused the United States to ban imports of several Dominican products, was in its final stage.The official said they were working based on a protocol and national and international.....

Mexico: Exports of cactus, prickly pear and maguey leaf to US started
The 2015 export season of cactus, prickly pear, xoconostle, and maguey leaf from the eastern region of the State of Mexico to the United States started today with a cargo of 20 tons.Before this cargo was dispatched, the chief director of the National Service of Health, Food Safety and Quality (SENASICA),.....

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South America

Bolivia: Bananas from Chapare received certificate for export
Yesterday, the Union of Banana Growers Associations from Chapare (Unabana) received a certification that their product was free of pests and met all the conditions for export. Unabana is looking to export their bananas to the Brazilian market.The secretary of Unabana's Production Development, Pedro Padilla,.....

Argentina imports Brazilian onions lower prices
The Government, through the Central Market, is trying to lower the price of onions, which in recent days was around $40 per kilo. To compensate for the lower production due to excessive rains, the exchange rate appreciation and the lower external demand, the country increased imports and it is now buying.....

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Argentina: Plums, crop with biggest growth in last five years
San Rafael continues to bet strongly on fruit products. As such, the department already has more than 12,000 hectares of plums and it is becoming the largest producer of the fruit at the provincial level. Long ago, plum crops were not one of the main bets of the producers of the department, but the increase.....

Asia

Indian onion exports dip 8%
The current financial year has started on a gloomy note for the country's onion traders with the export registering an 8% decline in April compared to the figures in the same month during the 2014-15 fiscal.Sources in the National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) said the.....

Unifrutti starts banana venture in Philippines
The Unifrutti group has established a new banana-plantation project in Maguindanao worth P3.7 billion. Its registration has been approved by the Regional Board of Investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM).The ARMM Bureau of Public Information said the venture was registered as a.....

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IFCO Systems consolidates ownership in Japanese arm
IFCO Systems, an arm of logistics firm Brambles Company, is buying two-thirds stake that it did not already own in its Japanese unit.The deal valued IFCO Japan at $39.7m.The company is one of the two established reusable plastic containers (RPC) poolers in Japan. It supplies RPCs to retailers, fresh produce.....

India: Odisha plans 112 potato cold stores in 3 years
The Odisha government, which has launched a state potato mission to streamline the production, preservation and distribution of potato in the state, will set up 112 cold stores within three years to prevent its shortfall during the lean season.Construction of these 112 proposed cold stores with a cumulative.....

Japan: McDonald’s launches Avocado McMuffin
McDonald’s launched their latest creation, the avocado McMuffin, in Japan at the start of August. The burger is made up of two slices of toasted bread, a slice of ham and salad leaves, topped off with chunks of avocado in a spicy sauce. Like all McMuffins, it is specially made for breakfast! The Avocado.....

Taiwan exports decline more than expected
Taiwan's export orders declined at a faster-than-expected pace in July, figures from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed Thursday.Export orders fell 5.0 percent year-over-year in July, exceeding economists' expectations for a 4.1 percent decline, but slower than the 5.8 percent decrease in June. It was.....

Africa

President of National Banana and Plantain Growers:
Nigeria can earn over N2bn annually from bananas
The President of National Banana and Plantain Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NABPAN), Mr. Adjarho J. Oghenekaro, has said that the country can earn more than N2 billion annually from banana if just one hectare is cultivated in every local government across the country.Mr......

Nigeria: State to export ag products to neighboring countries
The Chairman Caretaker Committee of the Sokoto State Traders Association, Alhaji Muazu Bello Rafi, Thursday said the state can generate over N10 billion annually exporting agricultural products to neigbouring African countries.He also stated that the State Chamber of Commerce had constituted a 14-member.....

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Ghana to produce tomato paste
The Conserveria Africana Ghana Limited (CAL) has announced their decision to inject 100 million cedis into their tomato paste production. The announcement was made at the launch of the company’s factory which up until now has specialised in importing tomato paste. President of the CAL, Rajib Chattopadhyay,.....

Ghana: Trade minister concerned about Intra-Africa trade
The deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Mohammed Murtala has expressed worry at the export volumes within the African sub-region. Intra-Africa trade amongst Ghana and other African countries stands at a low 12 percent, which according to the minister calls for a concerted action to improve exports to other.....

International Potato Center releases annual report
The three cross cutting themes of gender, partnerships, and capacity building are the main focus of the 2014 CIP annual report. Cooperation is the common thread that binds them all. In addition to finding out more about CIP’s 6% growth in revenue, the annual report provides on-the-ground vignettes of how CIP.....

Europe

Germany world champioin in cabbage turnip consumption
The Germans are world champion not only in soccer, but also in cabbage turnip consumption. In no other country is the vegetable as popular as with us. 68,000 tonnes of the round tubers were harvest in Germany in 2014 – an increase of 4 percent points compared to the same time period in the.....

Spain: Cucumber producers obtain lower revenue this campaign
Cucumber growers in the province of Almeria have made a smaller profit than in the previous campaign, according to estimations by Hortoinfo, based on data from the Council of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of Andalusia and its Prices and Markets Observatory.A higher yield per square metre has.....

Aragon
Heat reduced Barbastro's pink tomato harvest
High temperatures in June, with successive heat waves, and torrential rains in recent weeks have caused a reduction in Barbastro's expected pink tomato harvest, which will ultimately amount to around 800,000 kilos, 20% less than in 2014. The region of Aragon is the destination for 40% of the production,.....

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Gala especially sweet
Austria apple season commencing
Southern Tyrol is starting with the Gala variety in the new season – at the same time this is the main type of the region. The farmers began the harvest of Gala's early sites mid-last week, www.stol.it reports. That is “mainly in the lowlands and Bozner Raum,” explains Georg Kössler, head of the Verband.....

Lemons and grapefruits selling very well
Sales of South African citrus is good across the board. The price of oranges lies between 11 and 14 Euro, tangerines are between 14 and 18 Euro and limes are 7.50 Euro. Traders are calling grapefruit gold; the price for red grapefruit is 16.50 Euro and white is 13.50 to 14 Euro. The same is being said about.....

Hazera’s Cucurbits Global Product Manager, Mark van der Zouwen:
“The watermelon market is undergoing a very dynamic trend”
Mini watermelons are gaining popularity, but the large watermelon varieties will continue to have a following. An interview with Hazera’s Mark van der Zouwen on the latest trends in the watermelon industry and Hazera’s new variety, Ocelot.“The watermelon market is undergoing a very dynamic trend,” says Mark.....

Mini lemons, combatting food waste
Withered lemon quarters in the fridge, half a lemon in the fruit basket surrounded by hungry fruit flies... eventually they are thrown away. This also happens in the lemon orchards around the world when perfect lemons are left to rot for the simple reason that they are too small. This is a great shame.....

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Spain: Growth of raspberry prices and export
Raspberry exports have grown significantly this season, reaching 20,009 tonnes, compared to almost 15,539 tonnes in the previous campaign; that is, a 29% growth. The fruit is one of those being used by growers in Huelva to diversify production, given how strawberries appear to have reached their full.....

Ghent University, VIB and ILVO:
Resistance to Late Blight requires gene stacking
Scientific results of the potato field trials in Flanders and the Netherlands demonstrate that gene stacking is necessary for a strong and lasting resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans).Flemish researchers from Ghent University, VIB and ILVO (involved in the Wetterese GMO potato field trial in.....

Click and grow: 'Keurig' for fresh herbs
Keurig sparked a revolution when coffee lovers discovered the ease of plopping in a cartridge and getting a cup of joe a few minutes later.A new startup, Click and Grow, now wants to bring the coffee cartridge craze to vegetables.Living up to its name, the Y-Combinator backed startup wants to make it as easy.....

«Coop to go»
Coop launches new store concept
More and more people feed themselves on the road, and not at home or in restaurants anymore. Coop has recognized this trend early and has expanded its competence in the domain of food consumed on the go. Now the retail trader is launching a new store concept under the name of «Coop to go», which focuses.....

Tobi Seeobst AG closes store in Dietikon ZH
The fruit-trade company Tobi Seeobst AG will give up its production site in Dietikon ZH in spring 2016.Tobi Seeobst AG sees the reason for the dissolution of the site in securing its competitiveness. It is said in a media announcement that competitive market conditions have led to the decision to close the.....

German dies after eating homegrown zucchini
A 79 year old German has passed away after eating a homegrown zucchini. The vegetable most likely continued to grow into a self-made poison. This usually does not happen anymore, but it does come up sometimes in very rare cases. The man and his wife were very sick for two weeks after eating the zucchini, and.....

La Reunion: Onion production under threat
With high competition from India and Madagascar and increasing regulations, local onions are under threat and production is decreasing. Local onion production has decreased from 4,000 tons a few years ago to 1,000 tons today. A local producer says that he has friends who have already stopped producing onions.....

PotatoEurope, September 2-3, 2015:
Tomra takes potato sorting to Belgium
Farmers, growers and producers looking to enhance their sorting process efficiency should head to PotatoEurope next month, where Tomra Sorting Food will be demonstrating its Field Potato Sorter.This unique open-air event is being held September 2-3, 2015, on Rue de Mourcourt 2 near Kain, Belgium with the.....

Good prices and high demand
Lack of calibre boosts Spanish onion exports to South America
While the current onion campaign kicked off with low prices, following one of the worst winter seasons in recent memory due to market oversupply, the trend from April has been and remains positive, helped by higher demand from Latin America, as explained by César Ruescas, manager of the Valencian company.....

Bulgaria: Intensified inspections on fruit and veg traders and storage facilities
Since mid-June, inspectors from the Regional Directorate for Food Safety (RDFS) in Gabrovo have intensified their inspections on markets, warehouses and outlets for fresh fruits and vegetables.Checks are intended to monitor the products' compliance with existing legislation to prevent unfair trade practices.....

Bulgaria: Application period 'Fruit in schools' extended
The application period for the 2015/2016 "Fruit in Schools" programme started on 17 August and will continue until 23 September, 2015. This year, the scheme has been allocated a budget of 14 million Lev (7.16 million Euro).About 480,000 children are expected to benefit from the initiative. Each child will be.....

Greece: Assessment of rain and hail damage in Crete underway
Assessment of damage from hail and rainfall in Crete is being carried out by ELGA, according to a statement issued on 17 August, specifically stating:"The ELGA is working to rapidly complete the evaluative process and produce an assessment of the damage caused to crops in Crete by the bad weather registered.....

"Lower yield, higher costs, producer prices at last year's level"
Germany: Balance of fruit, vegetable and potato harvest
“The German fruit and vegetable cultivation is stressed by the effects of the draught. Additionally, we clearly have increased costs due to the minimum wage.” The chairman of the Deutschen Bauernverband (DBV) explained this at the harvest press conference of the association in Berlin. With this, harvest.....

Basil grown underwater in Italy
Diving enthusiasts in Liguria, North East Italy, have launched an experimental underwater basil crop in the hope that they can develop the idea and export basil to drier areas across the globe. Sergio Gamberini, CEO of Ocean Reef, an Italian-American company specialising in underwater communication systems,.....

Over a six month period
Moscow: vegetables prices increased the most
Mosgorstat compared the cost of goods and services in June 2015 and in December 2014. In the past half a year, the price of several types of vegetables in Moscow grew by one and half times.According to the data from Mosgorstat, since December last year, to this June, food products in the.....

Henk Wolswinkel lasers fruits and vegetables
Printing text on fruit and veg
As an entrepreneur in gifts, Henk Wolswinkel from Promogoed saw a growing demand for original gifts. Last September Henk started Bedrukt-Fruit.nl (website for printing text on fruits and vegetables). This company specializes in supplying fruits and vegetables with a logo or text printed directly on the.....

Russia: Prosecutor’s office responds to complaints concerning greenhouse complex ‘Avangard’
In the Bogatovsky District in Samara, the greenhouse complex ‘Avangard’, which grows tomatoes and cucumber for profit, was inspected on August 17. Employees from the Rospotrebnadzor, Rosselkhoznadzor and the prosecutor's office came to the Trostyanka village after an appeal from local.....

BLE market report CW 33/15
Continuing decline with apricots
ApricotsIn accordance with the time of the season, availability continuously declined. France and Turkey dominated events; Germany, Italy Hungary and Spain rounded out the product palette. The organoleptic properties were never convincing, so that excesses often formed. Marketing proceeded calmly; demand.....

Largest order of refrigerated containers in the history of Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd is investing a two-part sum of millions in its container fleet and has ordered 6,000 altogether, refrigerated containers (“Reefer”; corresponds to 12,000 TEU). The company is already one of the largest Reefer-carriers worldwide. Because of this strong position, Hapag-Lloyd can benefit not only.....

Food prices to increase amid Turkish Lira loss
Food prices will increase in the coming months, as it is not possible for agricultural producers to endure such a huge loss in the Turkish Lira, said a sector representative, adding his company’s maximum lira-U.S. dollar parity projection for this year was 2.7 before the election. “We have not forecasted.....

Success for HM.CLAUSE open days in Jordan
The 3rd international Open Days took place on July 27th and 28th, 2015 at theHM.CLAUSE research station in Amman, Jordan. This meeting is becoming a majorevent in the Middle East area. More than 180 people from 30 countries in the MiddleEast, Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and the US attended the.....

Oceania

AU: Record profit for Select Harvests
Almond giant Select Harvests has listed a record profit of $56.8 million for 2015. This is up from $21.6 million last year.In its full year results, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange this morning, Select Harvests reported its underlying earnings before interest and tax were $89.6 million, up from.....

World

Small sizes Europe, high demand Latin America
Onion market shortage drives up prices India, Brazil and Argentina
Smaller sizes, shortages and reasonably optimistic expectations for the new season, that's the global onion market in a nutshell. In Europe and the United States, dry weather and high temperatures result in smaller onions of good quality. Germany, France and Spain are among the countries facing these.....

Seven Star Fruits
India: Mobile app to help production, traceability monitoring
In today’s digital age all sectors are growing rapidly and connecting each other by using mobile and internet technology. The aim of Seven Star is to provide a digital solution to growers for improving traceability in production. The company is committed to food safety and would like to ensure that every.....

Retail

Ahold's new fresh format Bfresh to unveil | Morrisons faces huge bill
French Lidl low on fresh fruit and veg | Coles pleased with sales
Forbes puts ‘Magnit’ in the world’s top 100 most innovative companies listThe Russian retailer ‘Magnit' was the only representative of Russia in the magazine’s list, taking 23rd place, as reported byria.ru. The list was published Wednesday 19 August. According to Forbes, the Russian retailer managed to.....

FreshPlaza Funny

Relationship in tatters