Friday, January 18, 2019

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OVERVIEW GLOBAL APPLE MARKET

After the reports on record harvests last summer, peace has once again returned to the European apple market. The market situation is determined by the fact that the storage facilities are full. French exporters saw their market in Northern Europe slip from their hands. Polish exporters had to direct some of their exports to…

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Lemon importers in US seeing good supplies from Spain

Lemon importers in the United States are enjoying a positive start to the year. Spain is currently a major exporter and source for the US and importers are enjoying good, steady supplies. These supplies from Spain will roll on until April, when the transition occurs to Latin American supply. "Right now, we are…

California rain delaying planting and harvesting

California has been receiving a tremendous amount of rain recently, with news reports of flooding in some areas. Although in general, producers in California are a little quieter right now than at other times of the year, there is still a lot of produce being grown throughout the state. Rainfall was…

“Perfect storm” created tighter kale market

After a bit of a perfect storm in the leafy green business, kale supplies on the East Coast particularly seem to be coming back online. “This is a difficult time of year for us to…

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

US might consider lifting China tariffs

Some sources say US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed lifting some, if not all tariffs on China. He may even offer a tariff rollback during the next round of trade…

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Ginger from China short on supply

Chinese ginger is short and volumes are expected to be slim for awhile longer. “It’s going to be like this for a little bit. China is coming with a new crop but in between the change of crops, the containers have been delayed. So there’s a lot of shortage in garlic and ginger right now,” says Juan Pablo Lozano of…

Michigan-based Riveridge grows statewide reach through acquisition

Riveridge Produce Marketing out of Sparta said last week it acquired the “sales operation” of Jack Brown Produce- also based in Sparta. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this large supplier of apples clearly expects to grow its market share in the state. Jack Brown Produce, which is a grower-owned business with…

Summer Citrus remembers Gerrit van der Merwe Sr.

Entering the new year with heavy hearts, Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA) honors the legacy of its founder and a well-respected South African citrus grower, Gerrit van der Merwe Sr., who passed away suddenly on December 19. In 1999, shortly after South African citrus growers started exporting limited volumes to…

First time export of Pingdong wax apples from Taiwan to Canada

A 500 kg shipment of premium wax apples from Chiatung Farmer's Cooperation in Pingdong, Taiwan, reached Canada by plane this week. The secretary-general of the Chiatung…

University of Illinois

National Cancer Institute awards $1.7 million to research mangosteen

Traditionally, healers in Southeast Asia have used the mangosteen fruit to treat skin infections, wounds, dysentery and urinary tract infections. A new $1.7 million grant from…

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Global Focus
Global Focus Bananas
Demand for bananas is rising slowly

"Thanks to the Christmas season, we have a good buffer"

Between January and March, in Germany and Europe the demand for bananas traditionally increases. Thus, prices are starting to rise slowly. "The quality is satisfactory and there are only minimal or no delays in overseas deliveries. At the moment, premium wares are priced at €12.00 per box, Category 1 go…

Claudia Gómez, of Novamerc:

"This female-run company has achieved great things working with small producers"

Last season was very unstable as far as banana prices were concerned, with very high and quite low peaks; however, Claudia Gomez, of Novamerc, believes that the price falls were bearable. The counterpart, she says, was that there were fewer orders than usual, especially in the conventional banana sector,…

Demand to pick back up on cooking bananas?

Supplies of hard green cooking-type bananas is steady for now but that will soon change. “We’re going to start seeing supply go down due to cold temperatures hitting Central America. And in South America, Ecuador and Colombia will start wrapping up again because the rainy season is starting for them,” says Jose M.…

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Europe

Mark Vernooij (Urfruit): "Great taste is taking its toll on shelf life"

Slight upturn in pear market after New Year

"This year's pears taste exceptionally good. The hot summer resulted in high sugar concentrations in the fruit", says Mark Vernooij of the Dutch trading company, Urfruit. "Even the Lucas variety tastes considerably better than usual this year. We are getting very positive feedback about these pears from various places.…

Theresa May survives no confidence vote

British Prime Minister Theresa May survived a vote of no confidence this week after her Brexit plan was voted down. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn filed the motion…

According to the Belgians, Colruyt has the best promotions

"Discounts on fresh produce more popular than 2 for1 promotions"

It is a better option to give discounts on fresh products, rather than have multi-buy promotions. This strategy is evident from WES' survey, the Consumeter. WES is a Belgian marketing research firm. Four times a year, WES sends questionnaires to 1.500 Belgians. These people, aged between 18 and 74, are a representative…

Vilhelm Már Þorsteinsson hired as new CEO of Eimskip

The Board of Directors of Eimskipafélag Íslands has appointed Vilhelm Már Þorsteinsson as the company’s new CEO. He is due to start on January 24. Vilhelm has been Managing…

The company was not affected by the bad weather

Italy: Master Fruit's artichokes keep thriving

The Sicilian artichoke campaign started a few weeks ago. Most of the areas were greatly affected by the bad weather, but not the Licata area. Maurizio Bartolini from Master Fruit explained to us the current season's trends. Massimiliano Consagra (sales and production manager) and Maurizio Bartolini (marketing manager) Bartolini…

Customers are ready to try new products

The Ruggiero company inaugurates two new plants

Angelo Ruggiero is the marketing manager of the Ruggiero group. He is a potato and onion specialist and he shared some observations with us: “2018 was a tough yet very positive year for the Ruggiero group. The shortage in Northern Europe and the pressure coming from the processing industry allowed the…

e-Fresh announces 93% growth rate in 2018

e-Fresh, one of Europe's fastest-growing digital grocers, today announced a 93% growth rate in 2018. By the end of the year, e-Fresh secured a 88% repeat customer rate,…

In a few weeks, elections for Agripat, Dop Bologna and Consorzio Selenella

Winds of change for the potato sector

Elections are coming for Agripat, the Bologna Dop and for the Consorzio Selenella. New people will reach the top of Agripat on the 22 of January, during the best year for potatoes ever. The elections will occur in February for the Dop and in May for Selenella. The outgoing Agripat president Michele Filippini stated, “Prices are high, and…

Italy: Courgettes threatened by the New Delhi virus, in Sicily

A member of the Sicilian regional assembly, Rosanna Cannata reported: “Yesterday morning, I went checking the Rosolini and Pachino countryside, where I could notice the presence of the New Delhi virus with a 50% incidence on the courgette productions. Also, the virus has reached the Noto and Portopalo…

Spain: Canary tomato exporters expect price rebound this week

With the arrival in Europe of a polar cold wave, which in the United Kingdom has caused temperatures to drop by more than 10 degrees Celsius, Canary tomato exporters hope to…

Commercial concessions agreement with Morocco will be officially extended to the Sahara

The Plenary Session of the European Parliament, which was held in Strasbourg on Tuesday and Wednesday, rejected a resolution proposal from a large group of MEPs to consult the…

Spain: Citrus prices still too low in Almeria

Not much has changed in the current citrus season compared to a few weeks ago, when ASAJA denounced the low prices paid for oranges, mandarins and lemons in the province of…

Spain: Citrus crisis leads to breach of contracts, defaults and excessive fruit discards

The citrus crisis drama has reached the courts of justice. The chaotic and desperate situation that thousands of Valencian producers are going through due to the terrible results achieved in the current orange season is causing many to start filing complaints before the courts. The legal services of the Valencian Association…

Spain: Producers request citrus fruits be included in the aid package

The Association of Producer Organizations integrated in the Citrus Management Committee (AOPCC) was informed by unofficial channels that Valencia's Ministry of Agriculture…

Lower Saxony Minister President Stephan Weil visits the Pöppelmann company

''Future of the plastics industry lies in recycling''

During a visit to Lohner company Pöppelmann on Monday the 14 th of January, Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil was impressed by the success of the plastics processor in the use of recyclates from the recycling bag. On site, he took a look at the production of the blue recycled plant pot. Here,…

New packaging solution uses ultrasound to weld fruit and vegetable nets

"Reduction of plastic waste is being discussed everywhere now"

There are discussions worldwide about reducing (plastic) waste. Above all, the food trade is held responsible for this. Packaging fruit and vegetables in nets is not a novel solution, but it is now gaining importance again, says Jörg Czepluch, CEO of C-Pack in Tornesch in Schleswig-Holstein: "Which…

Florian Jochims, Jochims Steckrüben-Handels-GmbH & Co. KG:

"Smaller swede crop with better prices & stable celery market"

Last year, swedes were voted Vegetables of the Year: After a fairly good harvest, yields again fell back slightly in 2018-2019, but current prices are significantly higher those of the previous year, says Florian Jochims of the vegetable growing and trading company of the same name. Lower yields, better prices One of the difficult…

Elbegarten GmbH also supplies quality vegetables outside of the local season

"Partnerships with established suppliers in Germany and abroad are important to us"

Greater Hamburg has been the hub of the German fresh goods trade for many years. Big and small trading companies as well as service providers are offering tasty fresh goods from home and abroad with passion and joy. Elbegarten GmbH is one of the most important providers and, in addition to its…

Innovative vegetable business starts with cultivation and online trading

The Jerusalem artichoke is now also available in organic form

The Jerusalem artichoke is one of the more interesting products on the market. Although this product plays a subordinate role in wholesale and retail trade, demand in Germany has been stable or rising slightly for several years. Vegetable farm Uhrbach based in Winsen has decided to grow it organically…

Food only very rarely contaminated with pesticide residues

Hardly any pesticide residues in food

The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has hardly found pesticide residues in food produced in Germany. Only 1.1 percent of the samples tested…

AgrarMarkt Austria: Market Report Fruits and Vegetables, December 2018

Austria: "Still high onion prices"

Apple prices stabilising Christmas time is apple time. Not least because of the great diversity of varieties and the consistently first-class quality, domestic products are…

Chairs made from apples?

Replacing leather with apples? This is precisely Philippe Starck’s idea, the famous French designer. With an installation called “Cassina bites the Apple”, displayed at the design and decoration fair…

Avocado: the catastrophic 2018 scenario cannot happen again this year

“What we experienced in 2018, we hope never to see again,” explains Gabriel Burunat, president of the company Commercial Fruits. “We had an unpleasant surprise during the summer season which led to very low prices on the products from South Africa and Peru.” The two or three previous seasons had been…

Belgium: fruit and vegetable vending machines

More and more farmers have decided to acquire fruit and vegetable vending machines in order to offer their products 24 hours a day to their customers. In the Tournais region, at the…

Switzerland: Aldi has transformed the retail business

“The arrival of Aldi on the Swiss market fourteen years ago marked a turning point for the retail business in Switzerland,” says Timo Schuster, CEO of Aldi Switzerland. With…

Whole Foods arrives in Europe via Amazon

For a few days now, the Amazon sites of Germany, France, Italy and Spain have been proposing organic products under the Whole Foods brand. After acquiring the American chain…

OVERVIEW GLOBAL APPLE MARKET

After the reports on record harvests last summer, peace has once again returned to the European apple market. The market situation is determined by the fact that the storage facilities are full. French exporters saw their market in Northern Europe slip from their hands. Polish exporters had to direct some of their exports to…

LinkFresh:

Support for IBM's Food Trust platform announced

LinkFresh, a provider of supply chain solutions for the fresh produce industry, has announced its market leading LinkFresh365 solution will support integration to IBM’s Food…

First Moldovan apples into Russia under duty-free agreement

Moldova delivered to Russia the first batch of apples under the Duty Free Trade Agreement, which was the result of negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and…

RedStar appoints New CEO

Henri Lambriex has been appointed CEO of RedStar, replacing Kees van Oostenrijk. Former Chairman of the Board of Thanet Earth (RedStar’s Joint Venture partner in UK), Henri comes with broad…

Jack Hanson - Fountain Fresh

UK: Too much supply is creating a flat citrus market

Citrus sales in the UK are remarkably poor post-Christmas, with no exception for variety or country. “The Spanish orange and clementine season never took off in Spain and, from November onward, demand has been poor, the quality is good, but values are low," said Jack Hanson from Fountain Fresh. “We are not quite…

50% government subsidies help farmers to use cold storages

Turkey: Adıyaman exports pomegranates

Thanks to government subsidies, Adıyaman, a city in southeastern Turkey, built cold storages where pomegranates can be stored until they are exported to Germany and other countries. Adıyaman's Samsat district grows pomegranates and exports them in winter. Two cold storage units were installed by the Ministry of Agriculture…

New Covent Garden Market's traders - Predicting fruit and vegetable trends 2019

Root-to-flower eating, miniature vegetables and fruit bowls filled to the brim with dragon fruit, guava and passionfruit will all be big produce trends this year, according to London's leading fruit and vegetable market. New Covent Garden Market supplies fresh, quality produce to the capital's top restaurants. Traders there…

MSC Reefers boost fruit supply chain

Ocean carrier MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has called attention to its latest technological breakthroughs for long distance shipping. As the world’s second largest…

Oceania

AU: Gippsland growers set to have new regional agriculture representative body

There will soon be a new body representing Gippsland food and fibre producers, as East Gippsland Food Cluster (EGFC) and Agribusiness Gippsland are in the process of merging. EGFC Industry Development Officer for the vegetable industry, Shayne Hyman, says the new organisation will be known as Food and…

$1.3 million debt waiver is boost for South Australia’s hail-ravaged apple growers

South Australia’s hail-stricken apple and pear industry will receive a $1.3 million lifeline after the State Government agreed to waive a growers’ co-operative debt. Lenswood Cold Stores Co-operative Society chairman Iain Evans said the debt write-off was great news for Adelaide Hills growers, who had faced two years…

The latest miniature food to be grown in Australia

To some it would appear as if farmer Stewart Gow is growing chillies. But instead of these spicy vegetables, they are in fact capsicums; a new variety called Baby Sweet Capsicums. They are grown in red, yellow and orange. The farm in Amiens is in its second year of producing the fruit, with 100,000 plants for Kalfresh…

Barry O’Neil is new chairman of HortNZ

New chair for Horticulture New Zealand

According to Barry O’Neil, new chairman of Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ), horticulture presents a major opportunity for New Zealand: “People in NZ and around the world…

Jim Ertler - Premium Fresh Tasmania

“The European market is looking very positive and the export price is stronger than the domestic price"

While a lot of the Australian mainland is sweltering under high temperatures and being hit by storms, things have remained calm in Tasmania which is know for its mild climate. The vegetable season is in full swing and things are looking positive. “We are just winding up with carrots,” explains Jim Ertler from Premium…

World

The world’s busiest ports visualised

An estimated 90% of world trade is facilitated by maritime shipping, and as trade volumes continue to increase, the world’s busiest ports continue to grow larger and more efficient to meet demand.

European countries that fit into Chile

Do they know?

List of alkaline foods and fruits

Over the last decade, more and more people have become conscious of what they eat, especially given the prevalence of unhealthy foods, and the damage they can cause to the body’s health. It is, therefore, not surprising that several diets have sprung up all over the internet, with each taking a different…

CMA CGM unites Containerships and MacAndrews brands

The CMA CGM Group, a worldwide shipping group, announced the union, from April 1st, 2019, of its Containerships and MacAndrews brands under the single Containerships brand. By joining the…

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