“Egyptian garlic season has been rather unstable this year”

The Egyptian dry garlic season is about to start, while the green fresh garlic season is wrapping up. Export quantities have been lower this year, but demand on the Egyptian local market is actually quite strong. This in turn has led to high prices, although they’re similar to last year’s prices. According…

ToBRFV: first trial results confirm high resistance level

In 2020, Enza Zaden announced the discovery of the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) High Resistance gene, a complete solution for ToBRFV. Since the announcement, we've worked hard with resistant trials material achieving excellent results. “We see no symptoms at all in the plants, while the…

Senasa reports a possible case of "Fusarium" race 4 fungus in Peru

The Peruvian National Agricultural Health Service (Senasa) issued a statement on April 8 regarding various reports of a possible case of Fusarium oxyporum f. sp. cubense (Foc…

United Potato Growers of Canada

Total Canadian potato storage holdings on April 1 at 9.0% below 3-year average

Total Canadian Potato Storage Holdings on April 1, 2021 are 9.0% below the 3-yr. average at 38,037,000cwt. A snapshot from this same month a year ago had stocks 4.5% below 3-yr. averages so these figures show deeper reductions in supply than 2020. This is one of the lowest Stocks on Hand for several…

Almeria-based company Agroatlas will produce avocados and mangoes in Mexico

The unstoppable growth of avocados continues in the markets, and this rising supply doesn't seem to be having an impact on the demand, which appears to have no limits. For this reason, the crop has become essential for many fruit and vegetable suppliers. The Almeria-based company Agroatlas, a specialist in…

Costa Rican pineapple prices rose by 14% in first months of 2021

In the twelve weeks leading up to 7 April, the Mintec price of Costa Rican pineapples rose by 14%. This rise can be attributed to steady exports, following the gradual…

Blueberry councils hire new director of communications

Jill Scofield has been hired as the director of communications and industry relations for the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council…

Braga Fresh promotes senior director of sales

Braga Fresh promoted Heather Fuller to vice-president of sales.Fuller joined the company more than five years ago and most recently was the senior director of sales. In her…

New opportunities for professional development

Center for Growing Talent by PMA has announced the newest addition to a suite of development opportunities for produce and floral industry young professionals. The new…

Apple quality solutions and market trends discussed at Quality Summit

Hazel Technologies, Inc. announces the first ever virtual Apple Quality Summit. The one-hour event will be held on Friday April 30th and feature keynote speakers from across the industry ahead of the 2021 Northern American apple season. “Apples are a powerhouse within fruit — the second largest behind…

Fresh marketer connects Namibia and South Africa

NatureSmart was established last year to facilitate the growing fresh produce trade between Namibia and South Africa. It makes sense for Namibian growers to enter the South African market since labour and pack-at-source costs are much lower in Namibia than in South Africa. “We've ended our first year on…

Real-time digital overview accelerates handling of delayed Suez vessels in port of Rotterdam

Many sea-going vessels have been delayed as a consequence of the Suez Canal obstruction. As delayed vessels are arriving in quick succession in Rotterdam, there are many…

Reemoon officially installs its first kiwifruit sorting line in South America

COVID-19 has provided many challenges for fresh produce companies, Chilean kiwifruit producer CCF has self-installed its new fruit sorting machine with help from Chinese supplier Reemoon over video calls. Felipe Espinosa, director of the CCF Company, and a member of the Chilean Kiwifruit committee, first…

Bananas from Colombia at £0.78 per kg

This series gives the average wholesale prices of bananas by country of origin. The prices are national averages of the most usual prices charged for bananas at wholesale markets in Birmingham and London. This publication is updated weekly. The current average week prices of bananas from Colombia stood at…

AgroFresh appoints Clinton A. Lewis Jr. as CEO

AgroFresh Solutions, Inc., a global player in produce freshness solutions, today announced that Clinton A. Lewis Jr. has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and to the…

Twitter.com

St Vincent: Deputy PM says agricultural region in northeast is destroyed

According to Deputy Prime Minister of St Vincent & the Grenadines, Montgomery Daniel, the agriculture sector is now non-existent on the eastern side of the La Soufrière volcano. The volcano erupted last Friday. The PM visited the area on Sunday, reporting to Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves that the…

Dole fined $20,000 for safety risks posed by Wahiawa Dam

On Friday, Hawaii’s land board has fined the Dole Food Company Hawaii $20,000 for failing to safely maintain the Wahiawa dam. The more than a century-old dam – that protects…

Mexican grape pricing strong while imports vary greatly

Mexican grape production has begun out of Jalisco, Mexico. George Matoian of Fresh Farms in Kingsburg, CA says it started its grape harvest approximately two weeks ago with all the major varieties of green seedless along with Cotton Candy grapes. “We’ll also have red seedless grapes available in future…

"Currently more challenging to buy than sell apples"

There's a vast difference between the current apple and pear markets. That's according to Erik Kieftenburg of MJ Pronk in the Netherlands. "When it comes to apples, we're short of everything. Buying is currently more challenging than selling. There aren't large Elstar volumes any more." "And Jonagold…

The time has come to only think about protected fruit orchards

After the frost of mid-March 2021, the frost of the past week caused serious damage to the fruit-growing potential of northern Italy. Stefano Lugli, experimenter at the University of Modena and Reggio and breeder of some of the most renowned cherry varieties, illustrates his point of view.   "I believe the time…

Michoacan, one of Mexico's three-largest melon producers

The state of Michoacan established itself as one of the main melon-producing entities in Mexico. According to data from the Agrifood and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP),…

Club apple brand teams up with upcoming DreamWorks film

JAZZ™ apples are joining an epic adventure thanks to an exclusive new partnership with the new DreamWorks Animation film, Spirit Untamed. The film, which arrives in theaters June 4, 2021, is the next chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s franchise that began with the 2002 Oscar-nominated film Spirit:…

More than 4.28 mln boxes of blueberries destined for US inspected as of March 31

At the SAG / USDA - APHIS / ASOEX Phytosanitary Inspection Site in Cabrero, more than 4.28 mln boxes of fresh blueberries destined for the United States were inspected as of…

Basil continues to increase in popularity

Supplies of basil could become slimmer as the Easter holiday approaches. Camilo Penalosa of Infinite Herbs in Miami, FL says basil volume at this time of the year typically comes from Baja California, the interior of Mexico and Colombia. Domestically, Florida and select greenhouses in the U.S. also have…

Medfel connects with sector online on May 4th, 11th and 25th

On Tuesdays 4, 11 and 25 May, from 4pm to 6pm, medFEL will connect up with the sector with a two-part programme: European  forecasts for summer fruit and vegetable harvests, followed…

New lemon variety Lise developed

The National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural, and Livestock Research (INIFAP) developed Lise, a Mexican lemon that has high yields, better characteristics, and high adaptation to the producing…

Chilean citrus season projects volume increase to the U.S. market

In its initial forecast for the 2021 season, the Chilean Citrus Committee of ASOEX estimates a six percent increase in citrus exports, encompassing navels, lemons and easy peelers (clementines and mandarins). With a total citrus forecast of 387,000 tons, Chile expects to ship roughly 85 percent of all…

Growers hope for better pricing on rambutan this season

As it ramps up for next month’s rambutan season, growers and shippers are hoping for a better season than the one that contended with early COVID-19 last year. Harvest begins on Guatemalan rambutan next month.  Prime Tropics begins harvesting and shipping rambutan from Guatemala next month. It’s there the…

Retail promotions and new vertical packaging for golden kiwi season

Zespri begins shipping its kiwifruit from New Zealand mid-May. Leading the sales growth is SunGold, which is now Zespri's #1 largest and top-growing kiwifruit. Shoppers can locate SunGold in the produce section with its newly designed vertical packaging, which is stackable and easier to merchandise. “Our…

Technavio

Technavio: Organic banana market to grow by USD 252 Million from 2021-2025

The organic banana market is expected to grow by USD 252 million during 2021-2025, according to Technavio. The report offers a detailed analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the organic banana market in optimistic, probable, and pessimistic forecast scenarios.  Image: Technavio  The organic banana market…

Fruits and vegetables could help young adults improve sleep

Increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables could help young adults sleep better, especially young women, a new University of Michigan study shows. Young adults who reported consuming less than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day reported a high prevalence of chronic insomnia symptoms,…

US: Computer modeling will aid growers to time thinning

Research from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is focused on answering the question ‘How can computer modeling help growers decide when it’s best to…

Strawberry Flavia is becoming increasingly popular in South Italy

Many companies in South Italy and in particular in the Basilicata region are testing the commercial varieties of CIV with great interest, in particular the variety Flaviapbr, characterized by early ripening, mid-vigour, fruits that are external to the foliage and therefore easy to harvest, with high…

New hot honey product features datil peppers

St. Augustine, Florida is known for growing some of the hottest chili peppers in the country, including the fiery datil pepper. Traders Hill Farm, in partnership with World…

AM King begins construction on cold storage facility for Mexican-based produce distributor

A M King has begun construction of a south Texas distribution center for Mexico-based GAB Operations, LLC (GAB). The new 45,590-sf facility, when complete, will provide increased cold storage capacity for fresh produce and will serve as a hub for the company’s U.S. and Canadian customers. The project is…

FDA: ‘Foreseeable hazard’ if leafy greens are still grown near cattle or dairy farms

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would take ‘two important steps to advance the safety of leafy greens’. These steps will impact the way leafy…

After two years of low prices, Brazil nut pricing is now on the rise

This year’s Brazil nut volumes are down and it’s causing a boost in the market’s prices. Byron Machuca of Peruvian company White Lion Foods explains: “The prices have been low for the past two years, ever since they reached record levels in 2017, but so far in 2021 we have seen the prices increase again…

Bio vegetable packaging made with plastic recovered from the sea

Agromediterránea has launched a new container for the marketing of BIO radishes under its brand Sun & Vegs. It is a sustainable container made with recycled plastic that has been recovered from areas near the coasts and in the seas of Southeast Asia. It is doing so as one of the main partners of…

From Piedmont to Tuscany, heavy losses of stone fruit and damages to kiwi and pome fruits

The low temperatures in the north of Italy are causing increasing concern. Below is a partial statement of damage, for each region. PiedmontIn the Monregalese area, in the province of Cuneo, the fruit-growing area par excellence, temperatures have dropped to -3 °, with conspicuous frosts together with…