USDA

Movement of asparagus from Walla Walla District and Lower Yakima Valley expected to decrease

As vaccination rates rise and more and more aspects of life return to normal, the wide-spread shortage of labor and workers becomes increasingly apparent. While many levels of the foodservice industry and the retail sector face similar labor shortages, staff shortages in dining establishments will likely…

Kim Jong Un warns that North Korea is running out of food

Sources say that North Korea is struggling to maintain food supplies, with reports claiming prices of everyday goods are skyrocketing. Speaking at a party meeting this week,…

European retailers will soon make the switch from southern hemisphere onions to Spanish onions

Spanish onion sales remain stagnant and prices have yet to rebound; a result of the fact that the food service channel has yet to recover from the impact of the pandemic.  "The food service and hospitality channel is not yet working at full capacity in Europe, as tourism remains well below normal levels. This…

Dominican Tropical avocado will soon arrive in Honduras

Dominican avocados have entered a new market in Central America, after having already reached consumers in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. "Bilateral agreements have already been established between the Ministries of Agriculture of the Dominican Republic and Honduras, and in September, when the…

Portugal: Algarve avocado growers to generate annual revenues of €40 million

According to a study carried out by Agro.Ges, a consultancy specialising in agricultural matters, the production of avocados in the Algarve will generate annual revenue of €40…

More Dutch-corrugated cardboard products: "Soon, no need to turn customers away anymore"

The demand for corrugated cardboard has exploded in recent years. Were it up to Henk de Jong, the first corrugated cardboard would have rolled off the machines in a new factory this month. He owns De Jong Verpakkingen in the Netherlands. But COVID-19, nitrogen, and PFAS threw a spanner in the works.…

"The COVID outbreak exposed the risks inherent to our centralized industry"

Here are some remarkable numbers for you. Trevor Kenkel is 26 years old today. He started growing lettuce and fish in an aquaponic setting 10 years ago and founded his company Springworks Farm in 2014. Springworks Farm grew to 27,000 square feet and last Saturday, its first new 40,000-square-foot…

Port of Oakland volume up while vessel congestion continues

The Port of Oakland continues to move its cargo volume numbers toward record territory. At the same time, more cargo presents enormous operating challenges for marine…

"The 24 sorting lines with Cherryscan allow us to process up to 5,000 tons of cherries per season"

Automation in the sorting and grading of cherries allows an optimal evaluation of each fruit and guarantees uniformity in the quality, adding a significant amount of value to the final product. This is a very important factor with this fruit, which requires great care in its handling and which has a very…

Fruit sales track ahead as produce demand is robust

Weekly consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables continues to be robust compared with the 2019 pre-pandemic baseline. According to the May IRI primary shopper survey series, shoppers point to a low rate of infection (45 percent) and broad vaccination (39 percent) as the top two indicators of what…

How new technologies can prevent fruit waste

Globally, an astounding 1.3 billion tons of food are either thrown away or lost along the value chain, which is approximately a third of the entire food production. What most people are not aware of, is that the majority of food waste accumulates in the very beginning of the value chain. A lot of the…

Dollar at near multi-month high after announcement U.S. Federal Reserve

After the U.S. Federal Reserve surprised markets last week by signaling it would raise interest rates and end emergency bond-buying sooner than expected, the dollar held near…

Australian table grapes pass the test in the Republic of Korea

In mid-April, the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency Korea (APQA) advised Australia’s Seoul Agriculture Counsellor of the high compliance rates achieved across the…

Chile exported 119,000 tons of plums in the first five months of the year

According to information compiled by the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (Odepa), Chile exported 119,000 tons of plums from January to May 2021, i.e. 4.8% less…

Chinese apples struggle in export market, while the import apple market continues to flourish

China, one of the world's largest apple producers and exporters, is responsible for more than 50% of the global apple production volume. In recent years, however, Chinese…

There is still a huge potential for imported cherries in the Chinese market

Cherries are an expensive fruit with a high value and excellent flavor. They have become very popular with young people in recent years, even trending online. Imported cherries are large and juicy with firm fruit flesh and are easy to transport. Cherries have quickly established themselves as one of the…

Grape exports South Korea set fresh high in 2020

South Korean grape exports have shot up 35 percent year-on-year in 2020, coming to a new and record high, data showed. These sales come on the back of the growing popularity…

Indiatimes.com

These are the world's most expensive fruits

Who doesn’t love yummy fruits? Of course, all we do. Fruits are something that makes our diet complete. But if you thought dragon fruit, kiwi and passion fruit were exotic, then you need to pause as the world of luxurious and most exorbitant fruit can leave you awestruck! There are many expensive fruits…

Northwest growers weather the storms and push on into cherry harvest

Cool weather has continued to slow the start to the Northwest cherry harvest over the past week. Fortunately, that allowed many growers the time to mitigate any effects from several rain storms that passed across Washington state. Quality and color remain exceptional, but sizing has been a challenge in…

New Kraft paper packaging for fresh herbs

“The organic herb campaign is going well,” according to Frédéric Marie. “The offer and the demand are present. In terms of quality, there are no particular concerns either.” The farm is specializes in the production of organic aromatic herbs in pots. “The most popular herbs in the summer are basil and…

Supporting the role of women in 2021 and beyond

In February 2021 it was reported that almost 3 million women in the U.S. have left the workforce. That was the backdrop for yesterday’s PMA Virtual Town Hall examining issues facing professional women in fresh produce. The town hall featured a sneak peek at sessions that will be featured at this…

Experts revise estimate for fresh lemon production to 1.15 million tons for MY 2020/21

For MY 2020/21, industry experts have revised their estimate for fresh lemon production to 1.15 million tons (MT), up 12 percent from prior estimates, as summer rains offset…

Organic Washington blueberries: Yearly volumes continue to grow

Michael McMillan of Bridges Organic Produce, based in Portland, Oregon, said on his company’s blueberry production: “The growing conditions so far have been excellent. We have…

Greater fruit intake seems to lower risk of diabetes

It is generally accepted that eating more fruit reduces the risk of developing diabetes, but little is known about how fruits confer this advantage. Type 2 diabetes affects a…

Technology’s role in retail is multi-faceted

As part of PMA’s Global Retail Week, yesterday's session focusing on North America examined the evolving role of technology in retail and produce. Anne-Marie Roerink of 210…

Electronic Avocado reveals areas of potential damage

Netherlands-based Center for the Promotion of Imports has stated that avocado consumption in Europe increased by 25% in 2018 alone, with import volumes exceeding 600 million…

Snijpunt supplies fresh prepared cut vegetables to meat processors

At Snijpunt B.V. in De Lier in South Holland, the barbecue season is already in full swing. The company processes 100,000 kilos of peppers and 35,000 kilos of other fresh vegetables into semi-finished products every week. A growing part of this is supplied to meat processing companies. This includes…

Laredo Council signs incentive agreement for $18 mln cold storage facility

The Laredo City Council has entered into an economic development incentive agreement with a California-based international fresh produce grower, packer, shipper and marketer,…

FDA to resume Produce Safety Rule inspections in 2021

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will resume Produce Safety Rule inspections under the Food Safety Modernization Act in Oregon. This means that Oregon operations may…

Zimbabwe: Ariston Holdings revenues increase by 64 percent

Ariston Holdings has been able to defy the disruptive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on business operations worldwide, seeing the groups revenue jump by 64 percent to $425,5…

Colombian protests impact the produce supply chain

The ongoing protests against the Colombian government in the South American country have affected an unexpected part of the produce industry. “It’s a little surprising that packing materials have been the main issue affecting us but that’s the reality,” says Andres Ocampo with HLB Specialties in Fort…

Proseal's fully automated, high-speed crate, box packaging system

The British company, Proseal has expanded its product portfolio. It's launched a fully automated, high-speed packaging system for crates and boxes. Proseal's new CP3 complements its extensive range of tray sealers. Now they can offer customers a complete packaging solution. The CP3 Case Packer combines…

Drought in US could affect production in several states

A spring that was dryer than normal could mean trouble for for East Idaho area farmers, especially potato farmers. Tony Olenichak, the water master for Water District 1 in…