Do not reply to this email. Send your response to info@freshplaza.com.

Thursday, February 18, 2021
ASIA

Our team

Sander Bruins Slot
Email

Nichola McGregor
Email

Nick Peters
Email

Annika Durinck
Email

Job Offers

Grower - Philippines

Assistant technical manager

Food Safety and Quality Director - South Bend (IN) USA

Commercial Manager - United Kingdom or The Netherlands

Tomato Grower, Chapais - Canada

Director of UbiGro Sales - California, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada USA

UbiGro Sales Representative - California, USA

Greenhouse Crop Specialist - Southwestern Ontario, Canada

Greenhouse Product Development Specialist - Leamington (Ontario) Canada

Sales Assistant - Europe Division

United Arab Emirates considers cap on food prices

As soaring crop prices affect countries across the world, United Arab Emirates officials are considering price controls on some foodstuffs. According to a United…

Cambodia requests EU market to import more agricultural products

Last Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon asked the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (EuroCham) to motivate European…

First report of atypical scab on apples in China

Apple cv. Huangtaiping (Malus pumila) is grown widely in northern China for the production of jellies, preserves, and cider. In 2018, atypical scab symptoms were observed on…

But many farmers worried about new farm laws

Sikkim: The world’s first organic state

fertile valleys in Sikkim are green all year-round. It became the state’s mission to become India’s first 100 per cent organic state in 2003. Growers changed…

India: Potato prices drop 80% from peak in November

Potato prices have crashed by about 80 per cent in various primary agricultural markets in major Indian producing states; they went from a peak of ₹2,750-2,900…

Chile declares an agricultural emergency for the provinces of San Felipe and Los Andes in the region of Valparaiso

Maria Emilia Undurraga, the Minister of Agriculture, declared an agricultural emergency for the provinces of Los Andes and San Felipe as a way to support the farmers affected…

Chai Yuen Di Vegetable

Singapore company fined for illegally importing fruits, vegetables and processed foods

The Chai Yuen Di Vegetable company was fined $6,000 on Wednesday February 17, for illegally importing fresh fruit, vegetables and processed foods for sale in…

Andhra Pradesh beats Mahashtra & Gujarat to become top Green Cavendish exporter

Andhra Pradesh has left Maharashtra and Gujarat behind, becoming India's top banana exporting state. Andhra Pradesh exported over 45,000 tons of banana in the…

Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage wants to curb imports

Sri Lankan government to boost 16 agriculture products output

The Sri Lankan government is stepping up food import substitution with a new program to boost local production of 16 agriculture products within the next four…

Scientists unlock potential to yield “diet” fruit

A new study has demystified sugar distribution in plants, paving the way to create low sugar or ‘diet’ fruits. The study, published in Proceedings of National Academy of…

Special Asia

Japan Export Trade Organization arranges food exhibition in Hong Kong to stimulate Japanese export

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Hong Kong office recently announced that they will organize a food exhibition and online trade summit in Hong Kong, the main…

Global Focus Organics

Week delay for start of Peruvian organic avocados, overall higher volumes expected

The avocado harvest on the north coast of Peru starts in March and runs through the middle of June. For Inkawald, the Hass avocado production is centered around organic…

BTM Produce

High table grape quality gives Victorian growers optimism despite market challenges this season

A Victorian table grape grower remains confident about the Australian table grape season despite the tougher market conditions in 2020/21. Tony Gervasi, from BTM Produce Pty…

Could this system make transporting goods between the EU and UK less complicated?

TIR, which stands for Transports Internationaux Routiers (International Road Transport), is the only global transit system. The TIR system is currently used in 64 countries,…

Seminis winter melon event 3rd edition goes 100% virtual

Seminis, (Bayer Vegetable Seed Division) organized individual and personalized meetings over two weeks with several players in the melon industry, with the objective of…

David Pearce, GF Marketing

A time to be cautious

Cape Town-based GF Marketing specialises in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, supplying their markets with predominantly citrus and topfruit. Last year there was…

Lualtek

LoRaWAN technology for remote greenhouse monitoring and management

LoRaWAN technology is at the service of agriculture. A solution to monitor and plan greenhouse activities featuring the LoRaWAN system - a wireless radio technology for the…

Simon Martin - The Food Heroes

"We are not looking to be the biggest brand supplier, but we want to be the best”

The Food Heroes has been in place for around three years and likes to do things a bit differently. “At the Food Heroes we are not looking to be the biggest brand supplier, but…

Jeff Watkin of Sev-Rend:

“We anticipate high demand for consumer-sized packaging to continue through 2021”

The packaging trends in 2020 took a turn from the trajectory they have been on in recent years. Jeff Watkin of packaging company Sev-Rend discusses the new trends they…

PMA virtual town hall

Addressing workforce and recruitment challenges during the pandemic

This week’s PMA Virtual Town Hall looked at the changes that have taken place in the workforce in the past year, and how the events of the pandemic have disrupted our work…

Dan Davis on North America’s shrinking apple supplies

“Everyone turns their eyes towards Washington”

Supplies of Washington apples are significantly lighter than normal and can’t keep up with the current demand. “Yields were down this season and about 15 to 20 percent below…

Greenyard

From fork to field:

How do fresh mangos end up on your plate?

Greenyard conducts sustainable business with all the parties in its supply chain, from farm to logistics. How do fresh mangoes end up on your plate? We guarantee the…

BASF enlarges its lettuce portfolio with more resistant varieties to cover the entire cycle

Between 15 and 19 February, BASF is holding a new Lettuce & Spinach Demo Field event at its facility in La Palma in Cartagena (Murcia) to showcase its new…

White paper

How postharvest interventions contribute to improving food systems

The white paper explores the potential of postharvest interventions in a food systems perspective. It is widely known that postharvest management contributes…

University of Toronto student team

Prize-winning team uses AI to beat banana blight

Fuelled by a changing climate, plant pathogens encounter increasingly favourable conditions to spread and wreak havoc on global crop yields. But could…

Ukrainian state-funded program on development of potato sector

The Institute of Agrarian Economics jointly with the Ukrainian Association of Potato Producers have developed a state-funded program for the development of…

While US potato exports continue to recover, numbers remain lower than previous years

U.S. potato exports continue to recover but remain behind previous year levels. Exports for the first six months of the marketing year, July – December 2020,…

US retail sales report

Fresh produce continues on strong growth path in January

“Early on in the pandemic, we saw shoppers indulging in more comfort foods,” said Jonna Parker, Team Lead Fresh for IRI. “But 64% of shoppers started 2021 with New Year’s…

Texas A&M AgriLife Research looks to guide future control methods

Global fight against Fall Armyworm gets Texas boost

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have declared war on the fall armyworm. Greg Sword, Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of…

Partnership between Driscoll's and Israel-based Consumer Physics

New technology measures and rewards berry sweetness

Berry brand Driscoll's announced yesterday a partnership with Israel-based Consumer Physics to leverage its SCiO technology to apply to Driscoll's quality measurement process.…

Total EU avocado supply (updated 12-02-2021)

Week 6 avocado shipments from Peru to Europe: 114,000 cartons of Greenskins, 13,000 units of Hass

In Week 6, the Hass supply to the EU was dominated by Spanish and Israeli shipments. Israel shipped 215,000 cartons of Greenskin avos and 445,000 cartons of Hass (total:…

Equity fund raises $69 million for SunGold kiwifruit

The purchase of three Gisborne properties as part of a new private equity fund’s multimillion investment into SunGold kiwifruit has been hailed as a “really good” boost for…

New Zealand 2021 new crop now shipping to ‘normal destinations’

Mike Blake with New Zealand Onion Co. recently provided a crop update on 2021, calling it “Onion Trading in a COVID World, Round 2.” Mike said, “We have…

Peru

Procitrus associates will export 6% more citrus this year

The general manager of Procitrus, Sergio del Castillo Valderrama, stated that the companies affiliated with the Association of Citrus Producers of Peru…

Turkey: Pepper exports increased by 55% over the past five years

Comtrade has stated that exports of Turkish peppers increased by 35.38% in 2020 when compared to the previous year amounting to 150,710 tons and increased by…

Kalettes and caulilini also in the public eye

Is broccolini going to be the new kale?

Is broccolini the new kale? For a while, kale was the must-eat food that was on every shopping list. The trendy green crossed over from being a healthy…

Blueberries may reduce age-related diseases

It's common knowledge that fruits and vegetables are very healthy for you. Certain fruits are in fact known as superfoods, due to their numerous health…

Retail

Dreamstime

Tata Group has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in BigBasket

Carrefour: Best sales performance in 20 years

Switzerland: Coop reports ‘stable profit’ in FY 2020Coop Switzerland has posted a ‘stable profit’ of CHF539mln (€499.2mln) in its financial year 2020 with sales amounting to…

FreshPlaza Funny

Family trait