Dutch business opportunities in South Korea, Argentina and Colombia

For many years, Dutch horticulturalists are exporting their products and transferring their knowledge abroad. In many countries, the Dutch products and methods are being used, but there are always opportunities to expand further. In yesterday's Xpert Theatre webinars during the GreenTechLive & Online…

Typhoon-hit South Korea suffers cabbage shortage

A series of typhoons that hit South Korea this summer has left the country facing a kimchi catastrophe. Whole fields of cabbages — which are usually seasoned with spices this…

September brought strong fresh produce gains

The pandemic caused changes in virtually all shopping habits, from when and where people shopped to the types, amounts and brands they purchased. These changes were driven by anxiety over in-store visits that prompted fewer and shorter trips as well as by out-of-stocks, more meals at home and greater…

New Zealand food supplies: Local Auckland companies step into breach

Mike Chapman, CEO of Horticulture New Zealand, has stated that about a third of New Zealand fruit and vegetables are imported. A large proportion of that is bananas. New…

Netherlands: Fear causes the sales of niche products to drop by eighty percent

Before the Dutch government's corona press conference on the 13th of October, the amount of orders at PUURgroenten had been declining steadily for past weeks. With a decrease of as much as eighty percent recently, grower Han Lammers notices. He says it’s due to the fear that people currently feel. Anna Koster…

Ten biggest shipping companies in 2020

The slowdown in manufacturing and export orders worldwide has resulted in a moderate container trade growth in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic further impacted global demand in…

Autumn abundance in US stores this week

Autumn abundance was reflected in US stores this week as seasonal items became even more prominent. Cranberries, persimmons, and pomegranates adorned the fruit aisles, while cooking greens, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes freshened up the vegetable sections. Total ad numbers this week were 322,232,…

ACI Medellín

Colombia: Antioquia to increase agricultural production with state-of-the-art greenhouses

The appearance of the Coronavirus brought along a large challenge regarding the food sourcing of the department of Antioquia, showing the importance of the agricultural sector and the pride of a territory with agro-producers who are harvesting the best quality produce of the country. Antioquia is the…

Agricultural Trade Multipliers showcase the many ways agricultural exports affect U.S. economy

The Agricultural Trade Multipliers, one of many data products offered by the USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS), provide annual estimates of the effects of trade in farm and food products on the U.S. economy. These effects, when expressed as multipliers, reflect the amount of economic activity and…

US (MI): Over $1.9 million to support growers

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, announced $1,992,250 million to support Michigan specialty…

Modfos | Dreamstime.com

U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will stay closed another month

The U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will stay closed to nonessential travel for at least another month. Bill Blair, Canada's public safety minister, tweeted on Monday, "We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until November 21st, 2020. Our decisions will continue to…

Argentina starts blueberry export season 2020

Argentina has started its blueberry export season 2020. This year, the nation will continue being focused on preserving quality and ensuring the sweetness that makes its fruit stand out in the productions of the region. It will also focus on the production of organic blueberries and on increasing the sea…

First Arizona stores for ALDI

US: Southeastern Grocers makes IPO filing public over two years after bankruptcySoutheastern Grocers Inc, the Florida-based operator of supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, made its filing for an initial public offering public, more than two years after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Last month, the company…

Sensei Farms

US (HI): Billionaire’s greenhouse now exporting produce statewide

A pioneering hydroponic greenhouse farm on Lanai established by tech billionaire Larry Ellison has begun to export produce statewide. The enterprise, Sensei Farms, announced this month that it is now supplying all 32 Foodland Super Market Ltd. stores in Hawaii with “premium” leafy greens. The expansion…

"Demand for Spanish courgette, aubergine, and cucumbers skyrockets within a few days"

The Spanish greenhouse vegetable season wasn't yet in full production recently. However, there was unrest in the retail segment. Within three days, that ensured an enormous demand for Spanish products. These include courgettes, aubergines, and cucumbers. "That's pushed the price up quite a bit," says…

North Carolina growers learning about specialty vegetable opportunity

North Carolina A&T professor Chyi Lyi (Kathleen) Liang is heading a project that’s introducing specialty vegetables to North Carolina Growers, reports the Greensboro News &…

Ruletkka | Dreamstime.com

UAE and Israel cooperate in horticulture

An Emirati delegation, led by Khadim Abdulla Aldarei, Co-Founder and the Vice Chairman of Al Dahra Holding, has visited Israel upon an invitation from Netafim, under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel. During the visit, which is part of the recently signed peace…

Lipman Family Farms

US (VA): Migrant workers restricted to farms under one grower’s virus lockdown

Each spring, a thousand or more Mexican tomato pickers descend on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to toil in the fields of Lipman Family Farms, enduring long hours stooped over to pluck the plump fruit and then hoisting it on their shoulders onto a waiting truck. An adept worker will fill a 32-pound bucket…

Corona gives boost to Dutch greenhouse builder in China

The construction of a 17.5 hectare greenhouse near the Chinese city of Shanghai is in full swing. The delivery of the first phase is expected in spring. The greenhouse is a cooperation between Dutch company FoodVentures and Chinese real estate developer Evergrande. FoodVentures CEO Dirk Aleven: "Corona…

Kenya intends to grow horticulture exports by 10 percent

Kenyan agro experts have developed a one-year marketing strategy for its horticulture products with a 10 per cent exports growth target in 2020/2021. Export markets include…

Russian organic producers suspending their exports

Russian producers of organic products have suspended their shipments abroad due to new requirements from the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance…

Spanish and Dutch tomato sales in the EU fall while Moroccan sales grow

In the last campaign, Dutch and Spanish tomato sales in the European Union (EU) decreased while Moroccan tomato sales increased, according to data from Hortoinfo based on the…

Raining cats and dogs

When it's raining like this... No waterproof jacket or umbrella can save you!

EU leaders call for UK trade talks to continue

EU leaders have called for post-Brexit trade talks to continue beyond the end of the week. At a two-day summit in Brussels, they called on the UK to ‘make the necessary moves’…

“Our first season and successful production of raspberries and strawberries”

Since the beginning of this year, a farm belonging to a company specializing in the sale and distribution of fresh dessert soft fruits has been operating near the Polish Poddębice in Łódź province. The new investment focuses primarily on the production of high-quality berries. The 12 hectares that have…

Spain: "The prices in this campaign are not remunerative"

Hortofrutícola MABE SAT, the agricultural transformation society of Almeria, is made up of approximately 450 farmers who work with pepper, cucumber, aubergine, zucchini,…

Around the World in Fresh Produce: international challenges and opportunities

2020 has proved to be a year like no other and via the PMA’s Fresh Summit session, Around the World in Fresh Produce: An Update on International Challenges and Opportunities, here are some of the developments being seen around the world, discussed by Fernando P. Gómez Molina with Proexport, Nicolás…

Russian minister debates support for greenhouse industry

Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation D.N. Patrushev held a videoconferencing meeting with representatives of the Association “Greenhouses of Russia” and the Fruit…

Poland: Agricultural sector in statistics

Looking for statistics on crop production in Poland? Or the economic results, animal production, fruit production or location of production? You can find it all and much more in…

Building high-tech in Ghana

After a delay of more than 6 months due to covid-19 measures, the construction of the high-tech greenhouse in Dahwenya has started. This week the inventory of materials and the positioning of the greenhouse on the site will be started. The project is now in progress and a high-tech greenhouse will be built. It differs to the…

VertiVegies

Inside Singapore’s huge bet on vertical farming

Covid-19 has made food security a major issue. Now Singapore is investing heavily in high-tech farming as it tries to become more self-sufficient. A VertiVegies technician inspects leafy greens like bok choy, grown under LED lights at the company's vertical farm. From the outside, VertiVegies looked like…

European Union

European Commission publishes public opinion survey on EU food and farming

Nearly three out of four Europeans are aware of the common agricultural policy (CAP) and consider all citizens benefit from it, according to the latest EU-wide Eurobarometer survey of public opinion about agriculture and the CAP published by the European Commission. The survey was conducted from August…

PMA Fresh Summit: How the industry has proven to be resilient

Resilience. It’s a word you often hear to describe the agriculture industry. 2020 has truly given the industry a chance to prove that resiliency. This was discussed at the PMA Fresh Summit session, Resilience and Rebound. Here three industry leaders share their thoughts on how the industry showed this…

Chamaiporn Kitina | Dreamstime.com

5 key ways to improve the situation of female farmers and entrepreneurs

Today, women make up around 30% of the total number of farm owners or managers, in the EU, whilst around 80% are classified as a ‘farmers wife’. "More support is needed to motivate and to encourage women farmers to take a more prominent role in the agricultural sector, in order to enhance innovation and…

Burpee

Tomatoes are popular in consumer gardens

In the year of the new coronavirus, when new gardeners came out in droves to try growing their own vegetables, tomatoes were still king. And in a twist, the respect-seeking turnip actually turned some heads. Seed companies taking stock of what went well and what came out of the woodwork proclaimed the…

Rural Press Club of Victoria

Australian government looking to solve horticulture labour shortage in Victoria

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) welcomes the commitment from Agriculture Victoria at the Rural Press Club of Victoria seasonal labour webinar that it will work with industry to restart the Seasonal Worker Program in Victoria on 1 December 2020. “The commitment on today’s webinar that…

Corsican growers charter planes to get Moroccan seasonal workers

Corsican clementine producers have realised that the Covid-19 epidemic has really complicated the harvests. Normally, they would employ a workforce mainly made up of Moroccan…

Tomatoes hit $13 a kilo as shortage bites in New Zealand

Tomatoes are almost $4 a kilogram more expensive than usual, Stats NZ says. Tomato prices climbed 44 per cent in the year to September, hitting an average weighted price of…

USDA awards $27 million to support local food projects

Local food systems and direct-to-consumer marketing through farmers markets, farm stands, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) programs have flourished across the U.S.…

"EU agri-food promotion policy increases awareness of high standards of EU agri-food products"

Activities funded under the EU agri-food promotion policy contribute effectively to its general objective, have been implemented relatively efficiently, are generally coherent…

AREFLH welcomes EP’s adoption of report on European Recovery Instrument for Rural Development

AREFLH strongly welcomes the European Parliament Agriculture Committee’s approval on Tuesday of its report on the European Recovery Instrument for Rural Development. Adopted…

“Brexit deal needs to be done by start of November”

Last weekend, France’s European affairs minister Clement Beaune stated that the European Union and Britain must reach an agreement on their post-Brexit ties by the start of…

NZ: Courgette prices fall back to earth

Courgette prices were down 58 percent in September 2020 as the growing season resumed and more local produce arrived back on the shelves, Stats NZ said today. Courgettes…

UK and Ukraine sign post-Brexit free trade deal

On October 8, the UK and Ukraine have signed a Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the agreement as proof that Britain was Ukraine’s “most fervent supporter.” It marks a new chapter in UK-Ukraine relations and includes an ambitious free trade…

Uneven agricultural productivity growth raises concerns in a time of pandemics

The 2020 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report) — “Productivity in a Time of Pandemics” — released by the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences raises concerns about the resilience of our agricultural systems in the face of pandemic-scale outbreaks that afflict people,…

CAN (ON): Fruit and vegetable growers welcome additional cost-share funding for farm workers protection

Ontario’s fruit and vegetable growers are pleased with the joint federal-provincial government funding announcement of an additional $11.6 million to further support growers…

FarmTech Society

Erasmus + ECVET project PONICS VET Launch

PONICS VET: Hydroponics Technician is an Erasmus + project, focusing mainly on agriculture communities and future growers from outside the industry, which are the main target group. The project aims to provide elemental training and introduction into practice and technology that is currently not…

Pakistan: Greenhouse farming getting popular in Chitral

Greenhouse farming is bringing about a change in the lives of farmers in the high altitude areas of the Chitral district (Pakistan), where normal growing season is limited to…

Tomato fax report Volume XXVII – Number 199

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service periodically creates a fax report on tomato imports. The movement information is current as of the date of the report. Information is subject to revision. No reports will be issued on Monday, October 12, 2020 in observance of the Columbus Day holiday. The next…

Transition time means slim supplies of eggplant

Supplies of eggplant are tight currently and likely will be for the next few weeks at least. “We’re actually down in supplies because we’re starting to head into transition,” says Tony Incaviglia of GR Fresh. “We’re going to be very very lean here until we get going out west in Culiacán which will start…

"Questions remain over AHDB levy ballot"

UK growers have questioned why the official ballot on the horticulture levy of the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) will not take place until next year and warning that any attempts to use the timescale to promote AHDB’s activities will be viewed in a negative light by the industry. On…

HortNZ

New HortNZ video shows RSE scheme’s role in the Pacific

Horticulture New Zealand has released another Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) video, this time explaining the scheme’s importance to the Pacific.  ‘The RSE scheme is immensely important to the Pacific, providing thousands of people with the money and skills to change lives and whole communities,’ says HortNZ…

Canada announces funding under Indigenous Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative

Canada's Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and Member of Parliament for Bay of Quinte, Neil Ellis, announced funding worth a total of up to…

Sakata Seed America brings California field days to the customer

Traditionally, each year in August, Sakata Seed America holds its annual California Field Days. This year, instead of organizing a full-scale, in-person event, the company brought the field trials directly to customers by sharing two videos that showcase trial crops from the company’s Salinas and…

"Vitalicious is our out-of-home market brand"

Vitacress Real recently introduced a new herb brand for certain European food professionals - Vitalicious. In this interview, brand manager, Renée Peeters, tells us more. More about the new label's positioningn and about how the coronavirus is affecting herb sales. "With Vitalicious, we aim to get more…

Polish greenhouse tomatoes becoming more expensive

This week, greenhouse plants in Poland have been raising the price of tomatoes, according to analysts at the EastFruit project. The producers themselves say that the reason…

Western Australia's food supply could be in peril by Christmas

The Western Australian agri industry has warned the cost of fruit and vegetables could increase up to 60 per cent and food supplies could be under threat by Christmas if the…

European weighted average tomato prices at €84 per 100 kgs in September

The European Union publishes historical information on prices, stores and other trade figures from the main countries on a dashboard. For the fruit and vegetable sector these are tomatoes, apples, citrus, peaches & nectarines. In September of this year, the EU weighted average tomato prices per 100 kg…

TomatoesNZ formulates new fresh tomato strategy

This year the TomatoesNZ board undertook a review of the industry strategy. The new vision, purpose and priorities are available in a one-page graphic you can download here. A…

Daily train connection between Rotterdam, Antwerpen and Melzo-Milan

The collaboration between DistriRail and Hannibal, a subsidiary of Contship Italia Group, from February this year comes at a very good time to support the fresh fruit supply chain at a time of significant disruption. Since March, one-by-one, countries in EU locked down their borders and imposed…

IFA

"Budget has to support the horticulture sector"

At a meeting of IFA’s Horticulture Committee with Minister Pippa Hackett, IFA President Tim Cullinan called on the Irish government to increase support to develop the horticulture sector. “This must start in next week’s Budget, where the funding for the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the…

Tariffs, market access, and trade recovery: challenges and bright spots

This week’s PMA virtual town hall focused on fresh produce in the global trade market and the challenges caused by the unfamiliar waters of 2020. The panelists discussed the challenges for the produce industry beyond the pandemic, as well as some bright spots to look forward to in 2021. Challenges: Tariffs…

Vietnam: Connecting scientists with cooperatives and small businesses

The formation and promotion of cooperatives and enterprises and research institutes to actively participate in the Innovation Club will help cooperatives and enterprises sharing, receiving, applying and actively innovating & creating products, useful solutions, then continuously developing forward… by…

Nobel Prize in Economics Sciences awarded for auction research

It keeps raining Nobel Prizes in the industries related to food and agriculture. After the discoverers of CRISPR and the World Food Programme were already awarded a Nobel…

Multiple greenhouse tomato growing regions in production

Supplies of tomatoes in North America are good however demand is softening slightly. Windset Farms in Delta, BC is in good production with its three regions going: British Columbia (Abbotsford, Delta); California (Santa Maria) and Mexico. “Canada comes out in mid-November but production starts declining…

Alexandr Blinov | Dreamstime.com

Russian greenhouse projects struggling to find investors

Agricultural holding Eco-kultura have announced the launch of the second construction phase of a major year-round greenhouse complex, Krugly God in the Boksitogorsk area of the Leningrad region. The first phase, with an overall amount of investments of 31.6 million euros, was launched in April 2014. The…

'Presence of the Spanish and Polish peppers expanded'

The presence of the Spanish and Polish peppers have apparently expanded somewhat. As these were considerably cheaper than the Dutch lots, their turnover was quite brisk. In Berlin, however, the products from Poland left a few wishes unfulfilled with regard to their quality. The importance of the Dutch…

Wageningen University & Research

African horticulture sectors hit hard by COVID-19

The horticulture sector in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Rwanda is highly affected by measures taken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. Incomes fell as export came to a halt. The main bottleneck now is lack of finance to invest in upcoming seasons. However, the COVID-19 crisis might trigger positive…

Toronto wholesalers welcome government's proposed changes to Ontario Food Terminal Act

The Toronto Wholesale Produce Association (TWPA), the association representing the 21 wholesalers of fruits and vegetables at the Ontario Food Terminal, applauded the…

Vegetable prices in Nepal are skyrocketing

In Nepal, prices of vegetables have skyrocketed with as much as 300 percent in a month. And these skyrocketing prices have left the consumers deeply worried as this is happening at a time when many are losing jobs and sources of income due to the pandemic. According to Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable…

High-flavor tomatoes to stand out from the crowd

The number of highly-specialized tomato productions along the southern Sicily coast is increasing. They are often grown by medium-small businesses wanting to stand out from the commodities segment and maybe start commercializing with niche platforms or retailers in Italy and abroad. Gioacchino Russo…

National Hurricane Center

USDA encourages ag producers, residents to prepare for Hurricane Delta

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is reminding communities, farmers, ranchers and small businesses in the path of Hurricane Delta that USDA has programs that provide assistance in the wake of disasters. USDA staff in the regional, state and county offices stand ready and are eager to help. USDA…

Publix

Publix is helping people connect with their food through hydroponics

The following information is derived from an interview Agritecture conducted with Curt Epperson, Business Development Director of Produce and Floral at Publix Super Markets.  Publix Super Markets, headquartered in Florida, is the largest employee-owned grocery chain in the United States. Since opening in 1930,…

FDA and Mexican counterparts enhance food safety partnership

During a virtual ceremony, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and its regulatory counterparts in Mexico – the Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks…

Gourmet Garden

Indian 'naturoponic' grower bags funding to expand

Agricultural technology startup Gourmet Garden has raised a fresh investment round from Incubate Fund India and Whiteboard Capital. The company, which follows a patented naturoponic farming approach, was founded by Arjun Balaji, a former partner at McKinsey, and Vishal Narayanaswamy, who after consulting…

Australia: It will be a wet end to 2020

Experts say that an already challenging 2020 will end wetter than average for most regions. This will allow regions still suffering from water shortages to start to recover. However, rainfall events may cause disruption to farm operations.  Some regions might face warmer days, increasing crop water requirements.…

Ontario greenhouse grower launches three new strawberry offerings

In 2018, Mastronardi Produce launched a partnership with berry business BerryWorld® with the goal of changing expectations for how a berry should taste. Last year, Sunset® did…

"Government demonstrates support for vegetable growers and their communities in Federal Budget"

AUSVEG, the peak industry body for the Australian vegetable industry, has welcomed the Government’s support of the vegetable growing industry and the horticulture businesses…

USDA restricts PACA violators and files action against Oregon company

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and…

LGMA

US (CA): LGMA responds to Canadian import restrictions

Last week, the leafy greens community received notice from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) of their plan to enforce unprecedented import restrictions on all romaine produced in the California counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties. These measures go into effect…

Advancing indoor farming in Asia

Ahead of the virtual Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit, the summit's organizers caught up with David Farquhar, CEO at IGS about advancing indoor farming systems in Asia, new projects on the…

WUR

Webinar Series: Food in Challenging Times

From 20 October, a series of free webinars will be given as part of the Webinar Series: Food in Challenging Times. This is an initiative of the Agrotechnology & Food Sciences Group in collaboration with Wageningen Academy. The aim is to dive into the strategies and solutions for our food systems and…

Pakistan: Prices of tomatoes and onions hit new peak - despite imports

In Pakistan, thus far, arrivals of imported vegetables have failed to bring any relief as prices of tomato and onion hit new peaks of Rs200 and Rs80 per kg respectively.…

Shortage of fresh tomatoes at South Korean burger chains

South Korean burger chains are struggling to please their customers amid a nationwide shortage of fresh tomatoes. Burger chain Lotteria has even started to serve burgers…

Mexico and the United States sign a new alliance for food safety

The health agencies of Mexico and the United States have signed the Declaration of Intent to build an Alliance on Food Safety in order to strengthen the safety of food that is produced, marketed, and consumed in Mexico and the United States. This document will replace the Declaration of Intent signed in…

Philippines: ‘Vegetable garden city’ eyed in Tondo

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is set to convert a one-and-a-half-hectare idle lot in Tondo, Manila into a “vegetable garden city” for the benefit of residents in…

Mexican rail blockade continues to affect freight flows to the US

Maersk officials said blockades have interrupted connectivity to the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico. A railway blockade continues to strain commercial movements from the…

Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Government of Rwanda

Japan donates seed worth $950,000 to growers in Rwanda

The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) of Rwanda has signed a support agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan of the Rwandan government through the provision of quality vegetable seeds worth US $950,000 USD. This…

Australia: Funding for horticulture exports and seasonal workforce measures announced

The Australian Federal Government will invest $328 million to grow the nation's food and fibre exports, as part of the 2020 Budget, announced on Tuesday night. Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud, says it is part of the Economic Recovery Plan, aimed at driving jobs and economic growth, cementing…

Afghanistan: Women in Samangan trained in greenhouse management skills

Acted Institute, with the financial support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), trained 200 women under the alternative livelihood project in the production of greenhouse vegetables in Aibak and Hazrat Sultan districts of Samangan province, and launched irrigation and livestock in…

Government investment in the future of the Australian fresh produce sector

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) welcomes the Morrison Government’s 2020-21 Budget which provides a range of key measures to support the continued recovery and…

United Fresh releases Q2 2020 FreshFacts on Retail report

United Fresh Produce Association’s Q2 2020 issue of FreshFacts on Retail reports is now available, sponsored by Mucci Farms. Mucci Farms is a greenhouse grower, packer,…

"Radish trade is very tame"

"We have such good quality at the moment and yet the trade is not really looking for it," says John Grootscholten of Daily Fresh Radish. "It is not really a huge surprise, because the demand is always a bit lower in September and October and now that the catering industry has problems again due to the Corona measures, things…

Bangladesh: Vegetable prices keep going up

In Bangladesh, prices of vegetables shot up further last week. The department of agricultural marketing (DAM) recorded a 20-25 per cent hike in vegetable prices in a week.…

California sees ample red beets

Supplies of beets out of California are currently steady. “We have red table beets and we’re in excellent supplies,” says Frank Ratto of Modesto, CA.-based Ratto Brothers. “There are plenty of supply of bunch beets and also 25 lb. polybagged beets. We’re in really good shape on those.” He adds that sizing is generally medium…

Spanish tomato exports fall for the seventh consecutive season

According to a report prepared by Hortoinfo based on data from the Estacom statistical service (Icex-Tax Agency), Spanish tomato exports have decreased for seven consecutive…

Iran: market of 600 million people abroad for the export of greenhouse products

The director general of the Office of Greenhouses, Ornamental Plants and Edible Mushrooms of Iran said: "There is a market for our greenhouse products of 600 million people in Iraq, Qatar, Armenia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Russia, but this capacity has not been used properly yet." Gholamreza Taghavi, the…

Duplicate Australia breaks world record for heaviest blueberry

In September, the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that an Australian couple, who grew a blueberry that weighs 16.2 grams, are officially world record holders. Their names are David and Leasa Mazzardi. They are based in Western Australia and grow for Ozblu. Rfdtv.com quoted Ozblu's website as…

UK: Ballot confirmed on statutory levy for horticulture

AHDB has formally announced there will be a ballot on the continuation of a statutory levy in horticulture. It will be a yes or no vote on the future existence of AHDB…

"The European chains did not expect the tomatoes from Almería to arrive so soon"

Almeria's tomato campaign has started more than a month earlier than usual. Growers are seeking to produce earlier and earlier in order to avoid the stiff competition from Morocco and Turkey. For the time being, tomato prices in Almeria are higher compared to those at the start of the previous season due…

Queensland government backs agriculture projects to bring over 600 jobs

More than 600 jobs will be created in regional Queensland after the Palaszczuk Government allocated more $3.14 million in Rural Economic Development grants to 15 rural…

Opportunities for circular economy in intensive Almería agriculture

The use of intensive high-yield agricultural systems has proved to be a feasible alternative to traditional systems as they able to meet the objective of guaranteeing…

Collaborative research and tech development will transform modern agriculture

The James Hutton Institute and farming technology company Liberty Produce have been awarded UKRI funding to address the challenges of climate change and the food production…

How much does it cost to grow bell peppers in Spain?

Growing one hectare of California bell pepper has resulted in costs of 37,000 euros this season. This is a conclusion drawn from the data published by the regional authorities of Andalucía. With an average price during the 2019/2020 campaign of 0.79 euros per kilo and a yield of 8 kg/m2 (80,000 kg/ha),…

CAN (ON): Governments announce over $180,000 for agricultural equipment education

The governments of Canada and Ontario today announced they are investing in several projects that will support labour and training needs in the farming sector, including…

Prominent continues with Moroccan snack tomato grower QualiPrim

After a successful start last year, DOOR/Prominent has again been selling snack tomatoes from QualiPrim nursery, one of the best tomato growers in Morocco, since early September. ‘We’ve had a very positive experience with the partnership and the quality of the product in the past year, as have our…

Turkey: 3,000 hectares of greenhouse tomatoes are grown in Kumluca, Antalya

The growers in the Kumluca region of Antalya (Turkey) are preparing for the tomato production in 2020 – 2021 season. The growers have started planting 3,000 hectares of tomato production area in their greenhouses. The greenhouses cover around 5,500 in the region with around 65% of it used for tomato…

Outcry over dumped undersized Norwegian strawberries

In Norway, an outcry arose about a photo that recently surfaced on Facebook. It depicts a tractor container full of strawberries going straight into the bin. Bjarne Gerhard…

Kalera

Kalera engages financial advisors

Kalera AS announced its engagement of financial advisors. Kalera has engaged Bank of America Merrill Lynch International and Nordic banks ABG Sundal Collier and Arctic Securities as financial advisors to assist the Company with matters related to its financial strategy and in approaching equity capital…

"Personnel recruitment and Eurotunnel will face hardships if there's a hard Brexit"

Bleiswijk, the Netherlands, used to be home to the FloraHolland flower auction. Those old buildings have been demolished. New ones from other companies have taken their place - like the British transport giant, Gist's, Dutch division. With Gist Nederland, Dutch floriculture in the area is still somewhat…

New fly threatens Kenyan horti exports to the European Union

The Kenyan horticulture sector is on high alert following the discovery of a new pest that threatens the nation’s fresh produce exports. A fruit fly commonly called the…

More than 100 million food boxes have been distributed

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that more than 100 million food boxes have been distributed in support of American farmers and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program. Earlier this month, the…

"Covid-19 has caused us to look at the future challenges from a completely different perspective and plan our way forward accordingly”

For many years Afrex South Africa has specialized in marketing niche and high value products to the food service industry but the Corona crisis has changed that: since April 2020, they have begun marketing more basic products that are used in the food service industry, like fresh cut herbs, avocados,…

Spain leads the rebound in the value of fruits and vegetables in Europe with a 14% increase

In his recent participation in the 22nd AECOC Fruit and Vegetable Congress, Pedro Egea, the director of the retail area of IRI, stated that fresh food in mass consumption had…

€1.1mln grant to support protein-based bio-bactericides research

Biotalys NV, a transformative food and crop protection company, today announced that it has been awarded a €1.1 million research grant from Flanders Innovation &…

Greenhouse production areas increasing rapidly in Erzincan, Turkey

The Turkish city of Erzincan is known for its vegetable production, and the greenhouse production areas in the city are expected to surpass 50 hectares with recent investments. Most of the greenhouses are built through the state-incentive program which funds 75% of the greenhouses' construction costs.…

Dave Puglia speaks on how the outcome of the election can impact the produce industry

Yesterday, the Fresh Produce and Floral Council hosted a webinar to discuss what the effect the coming elections might have on the produce industry. Dave Puglia, CEO of the Western Growers Association, spoke on the different possible scenarios and outcomes this election might bring, and how specific…

Aldi pledges record £1.3bln investment as sales soar

Discounters & online the main retail growth drivers in Italy, says CoopDiscounters and the online channel were the top performers in the Italian large-scale retail distribution sector this summer, at the expense of hypermarkets, a new study has shown. In its annual report, Coop Italia highlighted 63%…

Namibia bans import of cucumbers to support local production

Namibia has put a temporary ban on imports of English cucumbers, effective 25 September. The Namibian Agronomic Board announced that this step was taken due to increased local…

"This isn't a narrow industry issue, this is a matter of food and national security"

A recently released report by EY details that the Australian fruit and vegetable industry is facing a workforce shortage of up to 26,000 people throughout the peak summer season. A shortage of workers will have a real impact on Australian consumers, with price increases and likely shortages of fruit and…

Oregon blueberry producers aim for direct sales - from farm to consumer

Even as recently as 2000, blueberries were only a niche crop in Oregon. The great bulk of production came from other states, such as Michigan and New Jersey. Today, the…

Mexico continues to increase its agricultural exports to the US

Mexico's investment and adoption of new agricultural technologies have helped the country's export sector to improve its production and increase the volumes it ships to one of…

US: Southern SARE creates equity and prosperity sustainable agriculture leadership program

Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) has created the Equity and Prosperity Sustainable Agriculture Leadership Program to champion the leader­ship…

US: Amazon bans sale of seeds from abroad

Recently, Amazon banned the sale of seeds from outside the United States. That could give American seed farmers a renewed chance at a growing market and an appetite for…

An in-depth look at Alberta's greenhouse industry

The latest Profile of the Greenhouse Industry in Alberta provides current benchmark data on greenhouse crop operations. "This report is of significance to greenhouse growers, researchers and agricultural financial institutions that rely on this information for business decisions," explains Emmanuel Anum…

"Have we arrived at the New Normal yet?"

The corona virus has a significant impact on one of the core elements of human social behavior: food. COVID moves all humans, world-wide: "Corona goes to our heart", says Hanni Rützler, food trend researcher at futurefoodstudio. In the area of food supplies, a lot has become clear in the last months:…

USDA restricts PACA violators in multiple states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and…

European growers concerned their situation is poorly taken into account within Green Deal

The European fruit and vegetable sector is expressing strong concerns about its future with the combined effects of the COVID-19 crisis and the announcements made in the…