US: Mango imports low, prices high
Mango imports from Ecuador and Peru have been lower than in previous seasons, and light supplies have made for a tight market. As the last of Ecuador's shipments reach the United States, Peru's shipments have been slow to take off.“Prices right now are pretty good, not just because Ecuador's shipments have.....

Eurobanan kicks off Kiwibérico kiwi tastings
The group Arc Eurobanan is currently immersed in a promotional campaign intended to boost the consumption of Kiwibérico kiwis. These tastings are taking place at greengrocers, traditional markets and wholesalers in Madrid, including fourteen stores in Mercamadrid and Barcelona. Furthermore, consumers tasting.....

Philippines: Local mangoes declared pest-free
The government on Friday declared Philippine mango free from mango seed weevil, a development that can open more export markets for the country’s top fruit commodity.The mango pulp weevil, or Sternochetus mangiferae, causes black or grayish scales on the fruit that affect its quality and taste.Agriculture.....

Philippines: Davao exports up 12%
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Davao Region reported that exports in the region posted a 12-percent increase in freight on board (FOB) value to $595.05 million, as of the third quarter of 2014 as compared to $531.39 million in the same period in 2013.Agricultural products remain as the top.....

AU: Mango bumper crop in Gympie
Gympie region mango growers have begun harvesting, in what has already been a bumper season.January is the traditional time to pick mangoes throughout Gympie and surrounding areas, and the conditions have been better than previous years. Most back yard trees are heavy with the popular fruit.Although.....

NZ: More Mango weevil cases come to light
The Ministry of Primary Industries has confirmed that more cases of foreign insect pests in imported mangoes since a 10-year-old girl's discovery came to light.Hannah Trow and her mum were shocked last week to find what is believed to be a seed weevil living in a mango they bought from a store in Marton,.....

Ettinger delcines
Israel: Demand exceeding supply for Hass, Pinkerton stable
With the early varieties largely out of the way, Israel's avocado season is now entering its second stage. Demand for Hass avocados has been strong, Pinkerton is stable and demand for Ettinger avocados has been declining.“Sales are going well,” said Ronen Eisenberg, fruit export manager for Mehadrin. “Demand.....

AU: Export market key to mango industry
Producers are hoping for a better slice of the money as the mango market looks to open itself up to customers from all parts of the globe.Australian Mango Industry Association industry development manager Trevor Dunmall said the opening up of export markets to the United States would hopefully provide a.....

India: Coconut industry needs makeover
It's time the coconut industry in India got a makeover.Producers and officials lament that although India is one of the largest producers of coconuts, it has failed to extract exquisite high value goods - unlike some other countries. Even some non-coconut producing countries are using coconuts to manufacture.....

Tanzanian mango growers learn from Mali
Mango growers have been advised to have a packing-house and other processing facilities where the fresh fruits are kept in the wait in cold so that they could be exported while they are fresh.Hamad Mkopi, an agronomist with the Association of Mango Growers in Tanzania (Amagro), who was in Mali last year told.....

India: First alphonso mangoes to market
For those eagerly awaiting mangoes, here’s some good news. The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Vashi on Monday received the first batch of Devgad alphonsos of the season. A small batch of four boxes had arrived from Kunkeshwar town of Sindhudurg district.Traders at the market revealed that.....

Pakistan: Rs 4.9 billion from mango exports
Pakistan has earned Rs 4.9 billion from the export of mangoes to different regions of the world in 2014.Provincial Parliamentary Secretary Rana Ejaz Noon said this while addressing the Executive District Officers Agriculture of the Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanewal and Bahawalpur. He said the.....

Spain: Companies sought to market five million kilos of kakis
Growers of Llano de Zafarraya, in the Spanish province of Granada, and of Alta Axarquia, in Malaga, are looking for local companies to market the more than five million kilos of kakis that will be produced in the coming years.So far, Granada and Malaga producers have been selling their Persimmon kakis to.....

Mexico: Acid rain damages mango crops
As a result of acid rain fallen in late December in the Mexican state of Guerrero, 30% of the region's mango production, the country's largest producer, was damaged and will have to be sold in local markets of Acapulco, Chilpancingo or Zihuatanejo.Producers in the area known as "Region of Sanluises", which.....

Record avocado consumption expected during Super Bowl
With 111 million viewers in 2014, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched television events in the United States every year.During the match, fans consume more food and drink than at any other time of the year, except for Thanksgiving, with guacamole being an inevitable classic.An incredible 54 million.....

AU: Mango, lychee given green light from US
Trial batches of Sunshine Coast mangoes and lychees are set to be sent to the USA, helping growers to open up a big new market and potentially give them a higher return for their produce.Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce was in Mooloolah today to announce the latest trade development, which will see.....

Philippines: Mangoes from weevil-hit countries banned
In an administrative circular dated Nov. 11 and published in newspapers this week, DA reiterated its quarantine over Palawan because of the presence of Mango Pulp Weevil (MPW), whose scientific name is Sternochetus frigidus (Fabr.). The whole country, meanwhile, was declared by the circular as free from.....

Tanzania: Avocados new 'gold' in Kilimanjaro
Good news, the avocado, that has for many years been considered worthless with some communities throwing the fruit to animals has become a 'green gold' bringing wealth to farmers. Research findings have identified and improved a high yield variety of avocado, which matures and produce fruits within three.....

Michoacan
Mexico: New certifications will boost mango exports
According to Xavier Contreras Chavez, President of the Mango Product System in Michoacan, the state of Michoacan will ratify its position as the number one international marketer of mango this year because it will export 54.07% (73,000 tons) of the estimated 135,000 tons of mango the state will produce in.....

Colombian mango seeks place in EU market
Colombia currently has about 23,000 hectares devoted to the production of mango located mainly in the departments of Cundinamarca and Tolima.Mango production amounts to nearly 300,000 tons per year and it is currently primarily allocated for consumption in the domestic market.But, as stated back in 2011 a.....

Philippines: Grant sought to develop mango industry
The Zambales provincial government is seeking a P200-million grant from the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the development of the local mango industry and the promotion of the popular Zambales sweet mango as a world-class product.Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said in a meeting with stakeholders that his.....

India: Crop insurance schemes for farmers in Kerala
The weather-based crop insurance scheme (WBCIS) and the modified national agriculture insurance scheme (MNAIS), the two components of the National Crop Insurance Programme of the Union government, are being extended to farmers in the State for the ongoing crop season. Paddy, plantain, cashew, sugarcane,.....

Spain: Zespri launches promotion for greengrocers
Zespri is launching its first promotional campaign of the year on 9 January; an operation intended to fill greengrocers all over Spain with the characteristic green colour of Zespri Green and yellow kiwis, a hallmark of Zespri SunGold.Up until 31 March, a total of 6,000 kits with promotional material will be.....

BioTropic launches farming projects
BioTropic is pursuing projects to develop organic farming and sourcing finished goods, as well as continuing their import activities over four continents and many countries. The company which is based in Duisbourg helps small producers from developing countries that are normally in a cooperative to export.....

Melon demand slow during Canadian winter season
Winter brings a decline in demand to the melon import market as other fruits available during the holiday season trump the demand for melons in the winter. Melons experience a peak season throughout the summer when the majority of popular varieties like Hemi and Cantaloupe are imported from California......

Peru second largest exporter of Hass avocado to US 2014
According to Pachamama, the Agricultural Weekly Paper of the Embassy of Peru in United States, in 2014, Peru became the third biggest supplier of Hass avocados to the United States and the second largest exporter of this product to that market.This weekly paper collects data recorded on the website of the Hass.....

EU agrees to lift import ban on Alphonso mangoes
The European Union (EU) has agreed to lift the ban on import of Alphonso mangoes from India before the start of next season, but the ban on import of four other vegetables from the country may stay for longer. “They have communicated to us that they are going to lift the ban on Alphonso mangoes before the.....

Passion fruit offers opportunity in Kenya
The sweet yellow passion fruit could soon overtake the once vibrant coffee sector if more farmers embrace its production in the country.Its farm gate price stands at Sh70 per kilogramme during the peak seasons while those lucky farmers who produce the fruit at off peak seasons can comfortably earn Sh120 per.....

Western Kasai to construct pineapple and mango processing centres
The Minister of the Environment in Kananga announced, during a meeting about the protection of the forest last November, plans for the construction of pineapple and mango processing centres in Dimbelenge, Demba and Karumba in Western Kasai by 2015. The project will be financed by the World Bank and will be.....

Queensland mango harvest hits peak production
The Queensland mango harvest has reached peak production, with more than 2.6 million trays of fruit hitting the domestic markets since mid-November. Growers in the Burdekin/Bowen region have almost completed their 1.5 million tray harvest, with picking now also well underway in the Far North.Boyd Arthur from.....

Avocados hope to steal Super Bowl spotlight
The Super Bowl is getting fresh: Avocados from Mexico, a marketing unit that aims to get more people to eat the main ingredient in guacamole, will run a single 30-second spot at the end of the first quarter of NBC’s coming broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX, and it won’t be making any previews of the commercial.....

Expected Israeli sharon fruit production down
Unfavorable weather during this year's harvest will likely put a dent in Israeli sharon fruit production. Increased competition from Spanish fruit has also made it a tough year for growers, though they hope increased prices during the next few weeks can help them end this export season on a.....

AU: Avo industry still split on levies
The peak body representing avocado growers has fired some pointed questions at the newly established Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (HIA). HIA is the reincarnation of Horticulture Australia Limited after a third-party review suggested major changes to the organisation in early 2014.In a lengthy.....

Piñata strikes gold with mango crop
The gold rush is on for Queensland-based Piñata Farms. The company is expecting a record harvest of this year’s Honey Gold mango variety in Katherine, Northern Territory.Piñata Farms will be aiming to send about 450,000 trays of mangoes to market between November and March - an increase of some 33 per cent.....

AU: Challenges as mango, lychee harvests overlap
Hot weather and some rainfall has brought on a Central Queensland tropical fruit farmer's mango harvest earlier than expected, which wouldn't be a problem if they weren't still picking lychees.Ian Groves has been growing tropical fruit on his Bungundarra property since the early 1980s. He says while he often.....

Czech Republic: Exotics popular before Christmas
Unlike in the pre-1989 period, Czech stores now offer consumers products from all over the world. Do people remain faithful to traditional fruits, or are sales of exotics on the rise?"Nowadays, exotic fruits like avocados, carambola, papayas, cape gooseberry, pineapples, mangoes, or kiwis have become.....

Peruvian Hass avocados to Japan mid-2015
The procedures carried out by Peru to be able to export Hass avocado to Japan, which started over five years ago, could be completed in the next four months, as announced by the head of the National Agricultural Health Service (SENASA), Jorge Barrenechea."We are about to finish the work plan with Japan,.....

NZ Avocado industry waits for China clearance
The New Zealand avocado industry is waiting for clearance to export to China, as it expands its trade into Asian markets. The Ministry for Primary Industries was negotiating an access agreement for China and avocados are at the top of its priority list for horticultural products. Chief executive of New.....

Production volumes could triple if dam water was used
Spain: Granada growing over 80,000 tonnes of tropical fruit
The climate in the Coast of Granada-Malaga is perfectly suitable for the production of tropical crops such as cherimoyas, avocados, medlars and mangoes, among others.The Tropical Coast produces about 50 million kilos of cherimoyas per year, 99% of the European production; 20 million kilos of avocados (30%),.....

Good results for Colombian avocados
The Colombian Hass avocado sector has been growing tremendously in recent years. The country's excellent climatic and soil conditions, its conduciveness to relatively low production costs, and its privileged geopolitical position, added to the various FTA's which it has with the world's major markets, all.....

According to Mercasa
Spain: 26% of pineapple sales in December
26 percent of all fresh pineapple sales take place in December, mainly because of Christmas. According to Mercasa, the network of wholesale markets, the main production areas of pineapple, a fruit that ripens off the plant, are in Costa Rica, Ivory Coast and South Africa. One of the three largest importers.....

Innovation puts end to brown guacamole
Creamy guacamole. This healthy offering is no longer considered a specialty or ethnic food. Guacamole has gone mainstream.Oxidative browning has always been the main detractor to this popular dip. Once prepared, there is very little time to enjoy guacamole before color changes begin. NatureSeal’s scientists.....

Produce Sensation finds niches in United States
With offices in New York, Produce Sensation, an importer and distributor of fresh produce, takes advantage of the many local markets in the area. But it's their ability to go into many small markets across the country that has brought them good business.“We carry between 30 and 40 items from about 20.....

Ecuador: Mango shortage expected
"This year we had quite adverse weather conditions that made it very difficult for producers to achieve homogenous blooms; we made it in the end, but there was a 25% to 30% decline in the production when compared to previous seasons," said Jacquie A. Swett, president of Blix.Blix SA produces high quality.....

AU: Big boost for mango trade
The Territory’s mango industry was host to Barnaby Joyce recently when the Agriculture Minister joined Northern Territory Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries Willem Westra van Holthe for a visit to Pinata Farms to unveil the Strategic Export Plan for the Australian Mango Industry.“The Australian.....

Myanmar: IP protection for a better mango
The mango has been exported from Myanmar since 2006, but only began catching on in foreign markets around 2011. Sein ta lone mangos are growing in popularity overseas – one food reviewer from The Straits Times said they “seem to be all the rage” in Singapore earlier this year, while they are also exported in.....

AU: Helping Cambodia's mango industry
In the shade of a mango plantation, an hour's drive south of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, a group of Australian researchers are busy checking trees. The team includes researchers from the New South Wales and Northern Territory Department of Primary Industries, and they've spent the last 18 months visiting.....

Decrease in South African lychee production
According to Gavin Hardy from the South Africa Lychee Growers Association (SALGA), South African lychee production will record a 30% decrease this year. According to Mr Hardy, this decrease caused by weather conditions and insufficient cold chains in the sector will not affect the quality of the fruit, which.....

Israel ready for avocado season
Yonatan Packing & Marketing is a 20 year old Israeli packing house owned by two moshavs and devoted mostly to the cultivation of mangoes, as well as avocados and citrus in the winter. “We produce 10,000 tons per year and deal with clients in Europe (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the UK), Russia,.....

Spain: Great future for kakis Eastern Europe
The current Bright Red kaki campaign is underway with lower prices than last season, mostly due to the weather's impact on calibres, the Russian veto and the drop in consumption as a result of the recession.According to Jordi Motilla, manager of Quid Pro Quo Fruits, "the season has been marked by a number of.....

Germany: highest prices for NZ kiwis
The average prices of kiwis were quite high in Germany in week 50. The New Zealand shipments fetched particularly high prices compared to volumes from other countries, also compared to last year's price during the same week. The New Zealand kiwi fetched 3.17 per kilo on average, with the French costing 2.41.....

Peru’s avocado hits new markets
Peru’s avocado target markets have expanded over the past five years. Peru has passed from exporting avocado to 20 countries in 2010 to 29 countries this year. As in previous years, the main markets are the United States ($125.5 million dollars), the Netherlands ($97.8 million) and Spain ($48.7 million.....

Volumes South African litchi down 30%
Harvesting of litchis began mid November in South Africa, the growing season was good but a lack of rain and cold units has led to a drop in volume.Gavin Hardy, Chairman of South African Litchi Grower's Association said the climatic conditions has led to 30% less production than last year. "This will not.....

Mexico: Avocado production to increase by 10%
Michoacán is considered the largest producer of Hass avocados from Mexico and the world. This privileged region has the ideal climatic conditions to grow avocados as its temperatures range between 16 ºC and 25 ºC."We have a rainy season that goes from May to September and then we have a dry period, however.....

US: Mango imports behind last year's volumes
The amount of mangos imported into the United States from Ecuador and Peru this season lag behind the volumes brought into the country last year.At the end of the first week in December, the total volume of imported mangos from Ecuador reached 6.8 million boxes, which is 1.4 million fewer boxes than were.....

Malaysia: More land needed for coconut production
Some 3,000ha of land is needed to plant coconuts to produce an additional 72 million fruits a year for the country’s consumption, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.At present, coconut production stands at 539 million fruits a year compared to the yearly.....

South Africa: Avocado value increase despite bumper year
South African avocado growers are upbeat about the future of the industry after a record crop in 2014 that saw 15 million 4kg cartons being exported and an increase in product demand on the local market.“A total of 25 498 tons of avos were sold on the National Fresh Produce Markets this season to date.....

Queensland takes baton
AU: NT mango harvest wrapping up
The mango harvest 'baton' is being passed from the Northern Territory to Queensland.About 120,000 trays are expected to be trucked out of the Katherine region this week, which will just about wrap up the NT's mango season."The baton really does get passed over now to Burdekin/Bowen in Queensland and we're.....

Damage from typhoon Ruby hits P3B ($67M USD)
The Philippines’ disaster relief agency said damage wrought by the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year has reached a total of P3.19 billion $67M USD). Of the figure, P1.91 billion accounted for farm losses, which an agriculture official said is “minimal.”Damage to high-value cash crops (such as.....

Nigeria: Lack of education hampering productivity
The Umediunor Pineapple Farmers Co-operative Society, Umunede, Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta, has appealed to the state government to provide agricultural extension services to members of the union.The Chairman of the society, Mr Fred Uwajeh, made the appeal in an interview with the News.....

Avocado campaign just started
Trópico Spain expects 14 million Euro turnover
80% of Malaga's subtropical fruits, namely mangoes and avocados, are exported, mainly to countries of the European Union, which is the main destination for the province's agriculture, even though the number of non-EU destinations is increasing. Exports are bringing good and rewarding results to Malaga's.....

Aussies get messy with mangos
Nippers celebrated the first weekend of summer on Sunday 7 December by getting messy with mangoes at North Bondi.Thousands flocked to the annual Mess-tival – a free, one day festival celebrating the peak of the Australian mango season and the official arrival of summer.The largest Nipper program in the.....

Ghana: Potential for mangoes and cashews
The Kwahu Afram Plains North District has a lot of potential for large scale cultivation of mangoes and cashew.Currently, ADRA-Ghana is cultivating hybrid mangoes at Somese in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District and indications are that the crop could be a potential cash crop for the whole of the Afram.....

AU: 'Regular' season for NT mangoes
The mango harvest at Mataranka, in the Northern Territory, is just past its mid-way point, in what is looking like an average year.Bruce Strachan, orchard manager at Oolloo Farm's Mataranka property, says recent rains have not slowed down picking too much, and has swelled the size of the remaining fruit.Mr.....

Madagascar’s lychee season ending
The lychee season which began on the 18th November is coming to an end. According to exporter, Faly Rasamimanana, 15,500 tons of lychees have been exported. “We only have 2500 tons left. The most recent container to leave Madagascar went on Sunday, and the final one will go this Sunday, as in the 14.....

Avocados from Mexico own guacamole this football season
Avocados from Mexico (AFM), the number one selling avocado in the U.S., is partnering with Old El Paso® during the prime football season and leading up to the Big Game with their Guac Fiesta campaign. Launching nationwide and running from Dec. 16, 2014 to Feb. 1, 2015, the Guac Fiesta campaign will feature a.....

US: Pomegranate market to heat up this month
Fast movement of fresh pomegranates this year could result in fewer supplies available later this month, which could, in turn, make for higher prices. While supplies from California usually last into the January, this year's supplies could be stretched by Christmas.“It's been a very good season this year,.....

Difficult economic context for Malagasy lychees
The lychee season began in November and will last for about 8 weeks. Madagascar expects to export 17,000 tons this year, compared to 18,000 tons in 2013-2014 and 17,500 tons in 2012-2013. According to the figures, Malagasy lychee exports have tended to decrease over the last few years. Malagasy lychee.....

Spanish kiwis seek to conquer domestic market
The kiwi harvest season started in early November for the producer and exporter of fruit and vegetables, TC Fruits, with the harvest of the Hayward variety. Luciano Martinez said: "This year the weather has not been favourable; the flowering was good, but the spring was wet and cold, causing many flowers to.....

Peru’s per capita consumption of avocado doubles the US
Augusto Cilloniz Benavidz, project manager of Intipukio, stated that consumption of avocado in Peru amounts to 5 kilos per capita, double that of what is consumed in the US. A person in Mexico, which is the worlds biggest consumer of avocado, consumes an average of 8 kilos per year.He also said that the.....

Paraguay: Mango export project yields no results
A major project to export mango, a fruit that isn't well regarded in Paraguay, was announced with great fanfare over a year ago. However, the initiative stalled after a storm damaged an installation, in which the Itapu Binational and the Paraguayan Central Cooperative (CEPACOOP) had invested $550,000.....

Irrigation affects Chilean avocados
This year, Chile's avocado production was already expected to be lower than last season's, but the effects of drought have made things worse, leading to a gradual reduction in the acreage. Juan Enrique Lazo, general manager of the Hass Avocado Committee of Chile, states that "the initial estimate of 150,000.....

Colombian pineapple to hit international markets
Bengala Agrícola S.A.S. is a Colombian agricultural producer and exporter based in Cali, in the Cauca Valley; one of the country's engines for economic development. The company's plantations are in the municipality of Pradera."The group the company belongs to has traditionally been devoted to sugarcane.....

First seafreight Ataulfo mangoes to UK
UK importer Pacific Produce is shipping Ataulfo mangoes to the UK, for the first time Pacific Produce will do this via seafreight instead of the normal airfreight. Robert Cullum from the company said, "We are bringing Ataulfo Mango, normally an airfreight variety, by sea. This is a difficult process to.....

Avocado shortage may be on the horizon
While there have been avocado scares throughout the year, with initial reports in March suggesting that guacamole may be a fast-disappearing condiment, the latest evidence presented by National Geographic paints a dire picture for the future of the fruit. California’s $435 million avocado industry supplies.....

Spanish avocados facing fierce competition
The Spanish Hass avocado season, with production concentrated mostly in the coast of Málaga, started three weeks ago with the earliest varieties, and so far prices have remained high due to their great demand.While bad weather took its toll on the fruit's quality during this first stage of the campaign,.....

Solution for avocado disease
Researchers have found what could be the first biological control strategy against a beetle that is threatening Florida’s avocado industry. Laurel wilt, a disease transmitted by the invasive and non-native redbay ambrosia beetle, threatens the state’s $54 million-a-year avocado industry, according to a.....

Why the amazing Avocado will help curb cravings
Research shows adding a few slices of avocado to your lunch will slash your desire to eat over the next three hours by 40 per cent compared to eating the same meal without it.A study, published in Nutrition Journal, focused on overweight adults to see if avocado consumption helped them feel more satisfied.....

Rainfall damages mangoes in Ghana
A number of mango farmers say that many mango tree flowers have been washed away by continuous rainfall, which has caused them to lose their harvest and put them in a dire situation to meet market demands.Already, the situation has forced one of the country’s biggest fruit-juice producers, Blue Skies Ghana,.....

AU: Consumers to join fight against pesky weevil
Western Australian mango producers are trying to get consumers on board with their fight to block the influx of interstate fruit that could carry a pesky weevil. The mango seed weevil has infiltrated plantations in Queensland and the Northern Territory, but has so far been kept out of WA.Local growers are.....

Spain: Andalusian subtropical fruits generate 150 to 200 million Euro
Andalusia's Councillor of Agriculture, Elena Víboras, opened the 2nd Territorial Meeting of Malaga's Agro-food Sector, dedicated to subtropical fruits, and organised Diario Sur. Víboras stressed that Andalusia's subtropical fruits generate between 150 and 200 million Euro per year.Currently, Andalusia has.....

Mali exports over 37 million tons of mangos
Mali’s mango production reaches about 200,000 tons of which a quarter are grafted varieties (Zill, Irwin, Amélie, Smith, Kent, Palmer, Keith et Brooks) and the rest non grafted (notably Sabre, Mangotine and Mango vert varieties). The non grafted varieties are mainly consumed by the local population......

Vietnam eyes AU for tropical fruit export
Vietnam is in the final stages of getting approval to export lychees to Australia, and its government is hoping this will be the first of many tropical fruits it can export, including mangoes and dragon fruit.Speaking to delegates from the Northern Territory Government in Hanoi this week, Vietnam's Vice.....

Thailand could increase exports by 20%
It was recently announced that Thailand is now the first fruit and vegetable supplier in Vietnam according to Vietnamese Customs Department. Thai products accounted for 34.2% market share in excess of products imported from China that they totaled 23% market share.The main Thai products exported to Vietnam.....

Harvesting aids a boon for Honey Gold mangoes
Honey Gold mango producer, Piñata Farms Pty Ltd, has launched the Australian mango industry's first custom-made harvesting aids and introduced night picking at its Northern Territory farms.Managing director, Gavin Scurr, said three bespoke harvesting aids, designed to maintain fruit quality and prolong shelf.....

Chinese prefer smaller avocados
Viocar, a small family company based in California, specialised in the production and export of avocados, was recently in China, where according to Juan Carlos Pérez, “we have been trying to create a circle connecting China, the U.S. and Mexico to help my company become a good option to do international.....

Afghanistan: Replacing poppies with pomegranates
In a factory in southern England, cartons of pomegranate juice are rolling off the production line. The Pomegreat juice company buys quality pomegranate concentrate from all over the world and now has its sights set on Afghanistan."Pomegranates from Afghanistan are amongst the best in the world," says its.....

AU: Expanding avocado production seeks opportunities in Asia
Australia, with its huge variety of climates, has the capacity to grow avocados all year-round in different production sites in Queensland and down the east coast. John Tyas, CEO of the Avocados Australia Board, explains that, “most of this fruit is currently intended for the domestic market, which absorbs.....

Mario de Goede: "Pineapple still a hot item for Christmas"
"Pineapple market more difficult each year"
The pineapple market is getting a bit more difficult each year. That's what Mario de Goede of Coolfresh says. "Costa Rica produces more every year, which has an influence on the market. Periods with good prices become increasingly shorter and rarer, and periods where you have to fight to break even, are.....

Changing climate hitting mango crop
Gujarat is known for its mango varieties - Kesar and Alphonso - and lovers of the king of fruit, who do not miss having an aam or aamras for even a single day during the season. However, production-wise Gujarat is nowhere in the top five - the state ranks 7th in the country - producing only 1,003,000 metric.....

Secret weapon for NT mangoes
Change could be afoot in the Northern Territory mango industry if entomologist Austin McLennan gets his way. At the Katherine Research Station, Dr McLennan and his team are running trials to prove that local mangoes need not be sent to Queensland for expensive post-harvest spraying before export to.....

India: Techies develop model guava farm
Three engineers and a textile chemist have come together to create a horticulture farm that is turning out to be a model for farmers. Striking a balance between traditional and modern farming, they have reaped a rich harvest of guavas in less than 18 months.Besides using drip irrigation, bagging of growing.....

Record result for Mali mango sector
The mango sector in Mali generated 14 billion CFA Francs over the 2014 season. Bakary Togola, President of the Permanent Assembly of Chambers of Trade, is pleased with this record result and says that it reflects the quality production Mali has achieved. “Today, on the global market, the label Mali mango is.....

AU: Wet and busy mango season reaches peak
The Katherine region of the Northern Territory has reached its peak harvest period for mangoes.Last week over 430,000 trays were trucked out of Katherine and similar numbers are expected this week, however rain could slow picking.There's been heavy and reasonably widespread rain across the Top End this.....

Israeli pomegranate production to increase
After last year's quality issues that limited pomegranate production in Israel, this season's pomegranate production is set to top that from last season. With harvesting of the Wonderful variety completed, Israeli packers are busy readying this season's fruit for export.“We suffered from quality issues.....

Avocado, corn and mezcal
Mexico: Puebla processing three new designations of origin
In 2015, Puebla will seek to create three new designations of origin (DO) for avocado, corn and mezcal, stated the Undersecretary of State Rural Development, Rodrigo Riestra Piña.The official said that the process has started this year. In the case of avocados, it is the first time it has been.....

Andalusia: World's biggest cherimoya supplier
In Andalusia, around 40,000 tonnes of cherimoyas are grown annually at the moment, on an acreage of 3,000 hectares. The revenues made here are almost 48 million Euro, website agronoticias.es reports. The main cultivation areas are the provinces of Granada and Málaga.When it comes to consumption, cherimoyas.....

Good year for Ecuadorian passion fruit
CORPEI and the Public sector (MAGAP, Ministries of Foreign Trade and Environment, Mipro and Proecuador) along with associations of small and medium producers and juice and pulp processors, have presented a Competitive Improvement Plan for Passion Fruit.The Plan is intended to diagnose the chain, work on a.....

Increasing avocado consumption in China
If you happen to visit China and visit your local supermarket, chances are you will not find an avocado display in the produce department. Even Western owned retailers with branches in China may only have a token few pieces of fruit for an expat customer. But generally, it is very difficult for Chinese.....

Madagascar expects good lychee season
Lychee harvest began on the 17th November in Madagascar and producers hope to export 17,000 tons this season. According to Simon Rakotondrahova from the SCRIMAD, the lychees this year should be of a “very good quality thanks to climate conditions that were extremely favourable”. The main aim for producers is.....