"Sales of delicate tomatoes remain unaffected by the pandemic"

Delicate tomatoes can be used in cooking as a vegetable, but also eaten as a snack. These small tomatoes contain 1.7 times the vitamins of regular tomatoes. The outside is delicate and the sugar content is high. The delicate tomatoes are fragrant and taste delicious. Their flavor is unique. They have…

Supplies of iceberg lettuce exceed demand

Iceberg lettuce volume remains high thanks to a few factors. Sam Christopherson of Salinas, CA-based Markon notes that ample supplies of iceberg are currently being harvested and shipped from Arizona and California. “Stocks have been fairly steady for quite awhile now. It’s a supply-exceeds-demand…

The weather affects fennel crops

Over the past few years, fennel crops have been going through many crises in the various cultivation areas - the planning schemes operators (producers, traders and technicians) have applied for years struggle to guarantee results due to the adverse weather. Michelangelo F1 Abnormal growth leads to increasing plant problems,…

"We're expanding because we want to continue to support food service"

A 10-acre greenhouse facility in Massachusetts is providing the United States’ East Coast with “local lettuce that locals love,” according to the company’s slogan. Paul Sellew started Little Leaf Farms with the vision of supplying the East Coast with fresh, locally grown leafy greens. On February 17, the…

Ecuadorian bananas need to recover markets

Ecuador has been the largest banana exporter in the world for almost 6 decades, with more than 30% of the global market share for this fruit. The European Union and the United…

© Graham Corney

Good domestic demand for Australian onions

While the northern and eastern states of Australia have finished the onion harvest the south is in full production. South Australian and Tasmanian onion harvests are in full swing," said Onions Australia CEO,  Lechelle Earl. "Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales have all finished harvesting. Onions from…

Crop update South American mango growing regions

The National Mango Board (NMB) projects the total volume of mangoes shipped to the United States over the next two months to be 34 percent higher year-over-year. The 2021 Guatemalan season is expected to be about 40 percent higher year-over-year compared to 2020, which was cut short due to COVID-19. The…

Mission Produce enters the mango category

Mission Produce, Inc., well-known for sourcing, producing, and distributing fresh Hass avocados, has announced its year-round mango program. The program will incorporate ripening and distribution on a global and national scale through its advanced network.    “We’re entering the mango category today as we did the…

Private online trading platform for fresh produce launches

Fresh produce can ‘trade smarter’ through the release of the industry’s online marketplace. ProduceIQ is a business-to-business platform for qualified growers and buyers to negotiate directly. The marketplace provides opportunities to transact with new trading partners in an efficient and safe trading…

Cooling down a hothouse to launch Panama's strawberry cultivation

When you think of Panama and especially when you think of Panama City, strawberries might not be the first thing that come to your mind. Yet, if it’s up to the team of Ag Incotech, they will become so in the near future. The company, a developer and operator of large-scale agricultural projects, recently…

Pandemic ‘doom shopping’ clogs up US ports

Shipping companies are making it more difficult and costly to ship American food exports. Now, industry groups want federal regulators to clamp down on ‘unreasonable, unjust…

Bringing automation to nut harvesting

The macadamia market is constantly growing: indeed, the nutritional virtues it provides makes the macadamia nut a fruit very much in demand. "The success is such that today the macadamia nut is the most expensive nut in the world with a price varying around 60$/kg (R900). This infatuation has naturally…

Enhancing California’s specialty crops

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program has awarded $450,000 to researchers in the UC Davis Center for Precision Medicine and…

USDA imposes sanctions on two companies for PACA violations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on Southern Sun LLC, Woolwich, N.J., for violating the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions…

Forecasts show that there is no short term end for Australia's horticulture labour shortages

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) says while the horticulture industry will suffer significantly from labour shortages, there are some opportunities from high domestic demand. A senior industry economist at ABARES, Charley Xia, told this week's Outlook 2021…

Washington-grown organic produce offered year-round for fourth year

Last year, organic produce outpaced conventional produce in terms of volume and sales. “The pandemic changed consumers’ grocery shopping habits,” says Blaine Markley, director of domestic sales with Rainier Fruit Company. “As the pandemic is still affecting the way people shop, and Earth Day right around…

"The Chilean grape season ended abruptly, but no shortages on the European market"

The Chilean grape season literally ended up in the water. "For the growers, it's tragic. They had a perfect growing season. Everything was going their way until the last weekend in January. Then heavy rainfall destroyed everything," Jan Marc Schulz of SFI Rotterdam says. "Thompson grape supplies are down…

“Our strength is to sell produce from Africa directly to North American retailers”

Oppy recently opened an office in South Africa and discusses the journey of setting foot on the African continent, combined with the immense opportunities the country offers. Having representation in South Africa had been on Oppy’s radar for several years and about five years ago, the company started…

"South Africa poised to become big player in saffron market"

Plans are in place that could see South Africa becoming a significant player in the farming and export of saffron. For the South African economy, this offers an invaluable source of foreign income from exports, whilst also assisting in establishing emerging, small-scale farmers. Furthermore, it offers…

Tomato Week covers e-commerce trends, COVID-19 and more

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas has opened registration for Tomato Week 2021 which takes place March 8-12. The event is open to all who have an interest in…

Eurostat, Comext

Current EU weighted average orange price €5 above 2019/2020 average

2019/2020 EU imports of saw a new high regarding oranges, at about 950,000 tonnes. the same was true for small citrus fruits, with imports coming in at about 410,000 tonnes. The current weighted average orange price per 100 kgs over the EU stands at €74. This is €5 above the 2019/2020 average and €14 above…

"With our packaging line we want to bring consumers into contact with exotics they never buy"

Starting your own business in the export of exotics during COVID times sounds like a challenge. Nevertheless, according to Tim Struckman of Exotic Roots, it is precisely now that offers opportunities for a start-up. The first shipment arrived on September 23rd 2020 and the young company is developing…

"SunGold 7-10 days advanced, Hayward same as last year"

The New Zealand kiwifruit harvest is about to begin and grower and post harvest company Seeka have been harvesting kiwiberry for a few weeks now and are on the home straight now with one orchard to go. The company's kiwifruit harvest is expected to start this Sunday in Northland at Kerikeri. "Seeka is…

Swedish organic goods sales trend changes: Fell for two years, now on the up again

The Swedish organic farmers' cooperative, Ekologiska Lantbrukarna, has released a new report. It shows that Swedish-produced organic food sales values have risen by SEK 133…

'Eating fruits and vegetables reduces carcinogenic effects of red and processed meats'

Recent research led by Katerina Maximova, an adjunct professor in the University of Alberta's School of Public Health and member of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern…

NZ: Moving tomatoes into next-gen tech

Waybeyond has launched a purpose-built mobile Crop Registration app for tomato growers, digitizing a time-consuming manual data process. “Those in the tomato business will be very familiar with Crop Registration and the task of collating that information. When we started talking to tomato growers last…

Tessara Berrisys: Big difference in arrival quality of blueberries

Tessara’s launch of their Berrisys product for blueberries came at exactly the right time, when many blueberry exporters from South Africa were looking at a sea freight alternative to air freight. “It was fortunate that we had this product ready when Covid-19 impacted the world fruit industry,” says Jaco…

University of Michigan students launch company to promote healthy eating

A couple of student entrepreneurs wanted to promote healthier eating on the University of Michigan campus and across the community. Therefore, Jacqueline Sun and Taylor Hurley…

UF/IFAS

New study shows why strawberries must keep (their) cool

Right about now, if you eat a Florida strawberry, odds are it’s going to taste oh-so-good. That’s no accident. Strawberries are in season, and those you see at the grocery store should be shipped and stocked at the right temperature, says a University of Florida scientist. Experts stress the word…

Ultrasonic cleaning of salad could reduce instances of food poisoning

A new study has shown that gentle streams of water carrying sound and microscopic air bubbles can clean bacteria from salad leaves more effectively than current washing…

Chestnuts and marrons are now facing the threat of the chestnut tortrix

A small consortium, the Associazione Marrone dolce di Pieve di Rivoschio (Sarsina) in the province of Forlì-Cesena, has asked the local and regional authorities for help in tackling the problem of the chestnut tortrix (cydia). Last year we lost 30-40 per cent of our production and this not only…

JBT Corporation acquires label inspection/verification systems provider

JBT Corporation, a global technology solutions provider to segments of the food and beverage industry, has acquired AutoCoding Systems Ltd, a provider of software solutions…

Onions and cabbage crops may recover from the Texas freeze

As assessments of Texas crops continue more than a week after the state was plunged into an unusual deep freeze causing significant state-wide damage, it’s becoming clear that some crops have fared better than others following the weather event. “The only thing I know that survived was onions, cabbage…