Focusing on high quality to obtain maximum economic results

"We have always focused on high quality in order to obtain the maximum economic result from our productions. This is why we opted for plum tomatoes," reports Giuseppe Ottone, sole administrator of a company located in Macconi (RG), a stone's throw from the sea. Above: Giuseppe Ottone runs the company…

The ‘946’; one of Japan’s most expensive bananas

The vast majority of bananas in Japan are imported; they sell for about US$0.50 each. However, there is a small percentage of bananas that are just a tad more expensive. These…

January - March 2021 retail sales: a year after unparalleled growth

Potato sales for Q3 (January – March 2021) of Marketing Year 2021 have caught up to the changed buying habits that the pandemic brought about. March 2020 was an unprecedented…

Intensive management and care pays off for litchi grower

The subtropical hills and valleys of Hazyview in Mpumalanga were once home to numerous litchi producers. But the difficulties of having to harvest in December, when labour is…

Week 17 avocado supply to the EU dominated by shipments from Peru

In week 17, Israel shipped just 1,000 cartons of Greenskin avocados to Europe, but 395,000 units of Hass avocados, totalling 396,000 units.  The Hass supply to the EU in the last week of April was dominated by shipments from Peru; week 17 avocado shipments from Peru to Europe stood at 211,000 cartons of Greenskin avocados,…

Social programs elevated in preparing for busy Mexican grape season

As the Sonora, Mexico grape season is just a few weeks away, grower/shipper Divine Flavor will quickly turn their attention to the upcoming grape deal, relying on their work force to prepare for one the busiest times of the year. “With an expected 30 percent volume increase from 2020 to 2021 (roughly 5…

Produce companies top Canada’s Best Managed Companies list

Oppy, Mastronardi Produce, Red Sun Farms, Fresh Direct Produce and Crawford Packaging have been chosen as one of Canada’s Best Managed companies again. Applicants for this prestigious award are analyzed by an independent judging panel comprised of representatives from program sponsors and guest judges.…

Vanguard welcomes two new team members

Vanguard International has added new talent to their team with the hiring of Ignacio Ugarte in Chile and Fanny Robles in Peru. Ignacio Ugarte is an agronomist with years of produce industry experience. Ignacio’s past roles includes quality controller with Decofrut, as well as the operations manager at…

iTradeNetwork adds sales leaders to executive and operations staff

iTradeNetwork, a global provider of supply chain management solutions for the food and beverage industry, announces two new key additions to its team. Theresa Trees was named executive vice-president of commercial sales and Amy Mi was appointed vice-president of sales operations. “Theresa and Amy bring…

“We are striving to start the British season earlier, without using gas fuelled greenhouses”

As one of the biggest soft fruit producers in the United Kingdom, the team at Hall Hunter is always looking for new ways of growing and innovations that grow their market and sustain their business. Heating their tunnels with a river source heat pump matches these goals perfectly. “This heat exchange has…

Zespri switches to mostly charter refrigerated container ships

Rather than relying on normal scheduled ships, this year, Zespri has switched to using mostly charter refrigerated container ships in order to get its kiwifruit to major…

When the American dream comes true - thanks to a citrus peeler

Citrus fruits are not only freshly consumed in southern Italy, as in many other parts of the world, but are also used in other industries. For example, for beverages and cosmetics. Peeled lemons The Italian company PND has been producing industrial machines for decades, destined to international companies…

Non-tariff barriers impacting imports at Mexico-US border

The University of Arizona (UA), Rogers College of Law recently published a TradeLab report about non-tariff barriers to trade. Inspections and Non-Tariff Barriers on…

Making ordinary food extraordinary

Enjoying a glass of juice, tucking into a hearty piece of meat or having a plate of cut fruit may be part of the diet that many do not give much thought to. However, could these common food items be more nutritious or sustainable? Some final-year undergraduate students at NUS Food Science and Technology…

Pace International LLC to host its International, Annual Postharvest Academy Virtually

Pace International, a provider of sustainable postharvest solutions and technologies for the fresh produce industry, will be hosting its annual Postharvest Academy virtually…

SHAFFE members look positively towards the future

During the Southern Hemisphere Fruit Trade Congress 2021, members of the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters reviewed the challenges and opportunities exporters and growers from the region are currently facing. SHAFFE members have a positive perception of future seasons, whilst E-commerce…

Continued growth, high profit and additional share buy backs from A.P. Moller - Maersk

A.P. Moller - Maersk had an exceptionally strong start to the year, with strong earnings and growth momentum across all our businesses in ocean, port services and logistics. The company benefitted from strong demand in a market still influenced by the pandemic and significant disruptions in global supply…

UK food retailers threaten to boycott Brazilian suppliers over deforestation

In an open letter sent to the Deputies and Senators of the National Congress of Brazil dated May 5, a string of big-name supermarkets, food-to-go chains, suppliers and manufacturers have threatened to boycott Brazilian products if lawmakers there do not bolster laws designed to protect the Amazon…

Country Fresh, Sun Rich assets acquired by Stellex Capital Management

Country Fresh and Sun Rich USA, two divisions previously part of the Fresh Food Group, will now operate as a standalone company under the Country Fresh name following the…

Procurant signs Merchants Distributors LLC

Procurant, a cloud-based software company transforming the global food supply chain, today announced the signing of Merchants Distributors LLC (MDI), a North Carolina-based…

"By extending the UK season we avoid the unnecessary food miles from imported strawberries at this time of year.”

Dyson Farming has picked the first strawberries from its new 15-acre glasshouse in Carrington, Lincolnshire. The 424m long glasshouse is powered with renewable electricity and surplus heat from Dyson Farming’s adjacent anaerobic digester. Currently 6 hectares of strawberries are planted. The Spring…

Egyptian grape season started, three weeks earlier than expected

A little earlier than expected, the Egyptian grape season has kicked off. Due to warm weather, the start of the season arrived three weeks before it was expected to begin. For some varieties a little more time is needed, but this earlier start has resulted in solid demand from the market. According to…

"Our new greenhouses mean we can meet the early demand for redcurrants, raspberries even better"

The redcurrant and raspberry season has begun at Berrybrothers in the Netherlands. "We've invested in a new, modern, 2.3-hectare greenhouse for redcurrant cultivation. We grow Junifer redcurrants in it. These have been outside during the winter to get the necessary cold hours. We placed them in the…

"Until mid-May there will be an apricot shortage of about 50%"

The stone fruit campaign kicked off a couple of weeks ago in the Region of Murcia with a delay of about 10 days compared to last year, although very close to the usual start date. This year's adverse weather conditions are being a major constraint for the European stone fruit season, and apricots will be…

Key challenges of the Chilean cherry industry

Different experts from the cherry sector that participated in the "Cherries 2021: challenges and opportunities after a complex season" webinar, which was organized by the…

Organic apple importer differentiates by importing as well as growing in-country

The southern hemisphere apple season has started and last week, Viva Tierra received its first shipment of organic apples from Chile and Argentina in the port of Philadelphia. This shipment contained Gala, Granny Smith and Red Delicious varieties, which are always the first ones to come in. “With the…

Delayed start for domestic blueberry volumes

Domestic supplies of blueberries are coming on heavily to meet a high demand market for the fruit. The supplies coming on now follow a delayed start for the Southeast blueberry season. “The crops in Georgia and Florida had been delayed roughly 10-15 days, depending on the varieties and location. Two…

Kei Higuchi - courtesy of Fukuoka Prefecture

Japan frustrated by Chinese and Korean strawberry and whisky copycats

Both the Japanese government and Japanese companies are battling Chinese and South Korean copycats, taking steps to protect the image and integrity of "made in Japan" products. The government, led by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, has revised the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act. This legislation…

IPS created subsidiary in South Africa

"As part of its international development strategy, IPS created a subsidiary in South Africa in October 2020 with the permanent presence of a new collaborator, Michael Oosthuizen. The arrival of Michael in our team allows us to strengthen our agreements with current partners (nurseries, producers,…

medFEL publishes European apricot harvest estimates

On Tuesday 4 May, the first webinar * of the medFEL took place, concerning European apricot harvest estimates, based on the production of the 4 main growing countries and realised thanks to the partnership established with the local structures of the different countries. A look back at the European stone…

"Diversified client base proved vital last year"

Van Vugt Kruiden has many clients in the hospitality industry. This Dutch company was, therefore, greatly affected by the corona crisis last year. "But fortunately we have a good spread of customers. The hospitality sector took considerably less, of course. However, our retail customers in Europe sold considerably more,"…

IBO Summit 2021 takes place from August 23rd to 25th

The International Blueberry Organization (IBO) and the Association of Blueberry Producers & Exporters from Peru (PROARÁNDANOS) are responsible for organizing the IBO Summit…

Citrus growers in Misiones hope to be able to export to the US and China

The announcement of the reopening of the European market for Argentine citrus fruits has been good news for the entire sector. However, Carlos Satur, the president of the…

Exports of Indian organic products record $1.04 bln last fiscal

Export of organic products from India grew 51 per cent to a record $1.04 billion in dollar terms during the 2020-21 fiscal compared with the previous fiscal. Since 2002-03,…

Could consuming mushrooms reduce risk of cancer?

Preventable risk factors such as smoking, excess body weight, poor nutrition and excess sun exposure are associated with many forms of cancer. Free radicals, which form in the…

Fruit importer/exporter launches multi-use app

Salix Fruits, fresh fruit import and export company, celebrates its 10th anniversary by launching an app that has been developed with Lyncros, a software factory for mobile applications, business solutions and microservices with secure APIs in companies of all sizes. With more than 15 years of experience…

European grocery store successfully implements AI-based fresh produce recognition technology

The COVID-19 pandemic and its disrupting effect on the retail sector have accelerated some in-store technology trends like biometric checkout and scan-and-go systems. The new trend that is emerging  is the drive to look for solutions to distinguish fresh produce—like fruits and vegetables—as they tend to perish…

Dole and McDonald's launching fat-free golden pineapple sorbet in China

On April 21, Dole, an international fruit brand, and McDonald's China jointly launched a new product for the early summer market - Golden Pineapple Sorbet, adding a zero-fat and zero-burden option to the summer chilled dessert market. It is reported that this sorbet uses Dole’s golden pineapple juice and…

Crop protection from spring frosts

Frost-sensitive crops, especially bulbs and tubers, are now safe. Optimal leaf and product growth are unimpaired even in case of frost, because Arrigoni, an international leader in the production of technical textiles for agriculture, has developed Arricover, the bioclimatic screen that provides…

CanadaGAP obtains recognition against version 2020.1 of GFSI Benchmarking Requirements

CanadaGAP®, an internationally recognized food safety program for fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers, and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), The Consumer Goods Forum’s…

Some almond groves survived the frost in the Taranto province

"I notice something different every time I check on my groves. Almonds are growing rapidly, a look at the branches is enough to understand the volumes to be expected this year. The frost of late March has not affected me much, unlike other colleagues just a few hundred meters away. I was very lucky,"…

Ready-to-eat vegetable & salad trends boost value demand for related packaging

Demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) produce was already on the rise prior to the COVID-19 pandemic due to its enhanced convenience over standard options, which users must wash or…

Ontario growers positive following recent temperature drop

Ontario growers are breathing a sigh of relief following last week’s drop in temperatures and wet snow. On apples, Cathy McKay, the Ontario Apple Growers chair and an apple grower and operator of a pick-your-own orchard near Port Perry, ON says it surveyed its growers about the effects of the weather in…