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Tuesday, March 9, 2021
EUROPE

Our team

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Job Offers

Stone Fruit Sales Category Manager - Europe Division

Grower, Vine Crops - Richmond (KY) USA

Cultivation/Propagation Manager Young Plants - Australia

Assistant Head Grower - Mason City (Iowa) USA

Global Category Director for Cherries - Chile, North America, Australia or New Zealand

Head of Sales - LA (California) USA

Head of Agronomy: Research & Development - Berlin, Germany

Africa Fruit Export Sales Manager - South Africa

Grower - Philippines

Assistant technical manager

Snowstorm affects peaches and spring potatoes

Greek strawberry production increased by 15%

Greece dealt with an intense snow storm in February, the effects of which will decrease production for several Greek products. Both the early varieties of peaches as well as…

New organic wholesaler opens at Hannover wholesale market

"There is a potential for further development"

For several months now, the Hannover wholesale market has had a new company trading on its premises. Under the name Bio Großhandel Hannover, Jacqueline Schreiber offers a…

Important development for grapefruit and sweet potato importers

US and EU agree tariff freeze in Boeing-Airbus dispute

The European Union and the US agreed to suspend tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s products, easing a 17-year dispute over illegal aid to the…

Open letter to Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London - From Mike Parr, Managing Director, PML

Extension of Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) emissions standards from 1st March 2021

Dear Sadiq Khan As the Mayor of London and head of the executive of the Greater London Authority, you’ve taken the decision to extend the Low Emissions Zone…

Nigel Holliday - The Jersey Royal Company

Good demand for first Jersey Royals

The harvest of the famous Jersey Royal potato has started on the island, the initial volumes are small and are sold via wholesale markets in London and Southampton, before…

La Forcina Antonio

It is important to diversify in times of crisis

The first two months of 2021 have highlighted just how much fresh produce demand is affected by the current period of uncertainty. The drop in consumption following the…

Wanted: unresolved packaging problems

A TOP's team is always looking for unresolved packaging problems. A TOP develops sustainable and circular packaging innovations, especially for the fresh produce industry. The…

Happening in Cesena, Italy

A producer turned to summer pears in place of peaches

In three years, 22 hectares of peaches and nectarines have disappeared, to be replaced by hard fruit, stone fruit and other types of fruit. "I think this is the first year in…

The delay of Spanish asparagus and Mexico's logistical problems give a boost to the demand

The bad weather at the beginning of the year, in February, and earlier this month, with low temperatures in the producing areas of Granada, has delayed the asparagus campaign…

Egyptian garlic season underway

The Egyptian garlic season has started and the harvest has been relatively good this year. There are more smaller sizes available than larger sizes, and the past two months…

Special Australia / New Zealand

"Effectively we are trying to fill that void between conventional produce and the organic category"

The innovative frozen fruit range promoting the importance of sustainability in Australia

An emerging Australian frozen fruit supplier says it was not enough for him to just go organic, so he took the extra step and committed to creating sustainably certified…

Global Focus Bananas

India has great potential when it comes to bananas

India is the leading banana producer worldwide. In 2019, volumes almost reached 30.5 million tons, i.e. 26.02% of the global production. Quantities are mostly absorbed on a…

Detlev Köster: Asparagus is also in the starting blocks

"As soon as there are local cucumbers, we will start the changeover"

With the longer days and spring-like weather, the cucumber season is now officially starting in Germany. GBZ Papenburg has been supplying cucumbers from its own facilities for…

Ortogel Spa

Finally a national citrus fruit register is under consideration

It was not Covid-19, nor the closure of some sales channels due to the restrictions, nor the abundant quantities available that dealt a dramatic blow to the Sicilian citrus…

Jupiter’s Indian grapes filling supply gap

Global fresh produce grower Jupiter Group’s Indian grapes are ready to fill the gap caused by challenging weather across Chile and South Africa. Jupiter Group’s Indian grape…

Azienda agricola Russo is highly specialized in niche tomatoes

Specialty goods have an extra edge

The growing season at Azienda Agricola Russo in Marina di Acate in Sicily is in full swing. For years, the company has dedicated its efforts to the cultivation of specialities…

Ton van Dalen (Oxin Growers) considers the upcoming Dutch greenhouse vegetable season:

"For cucumber and loose tomato sales, especially, it's vital to reopen the hospitality sector"

The new Dutch greenhouse vegetable season has gotten off to a quiet start. Oxin Growers enters the season with expansions. These are in bell peppers (29 hectares), cucumbers…

Gonçalo Pereira, general director of VGT Portugal:

"When Spain has problems supplying vegetables, buyers look to Portugal as an alternative"

The snowstorms and frosts recorded in early January took a toll on a large part of the vegetable production in the Iberian Peninsula, although to a much lesser extent in…

Alec van den Heuvel, VDH Concept, Belgium

"SQ Paper and Bio Net are nice, sustainable alternatives to traditional onion packaging"

Onions have always been packaged in orange netting. But, due to the continued plastic discussion, this type of packaging is set to gradually disappear from…

Munich-based gastronomy wholesaler points out threatening situation

"The situation is extremely precarious"

In many places, wholesalers, and in particular the catering trade, are still suffering from the current Corona conditions. "For us, too, it continues to mean…

Erik Waterman, Waterman Onions, the Netherlands:

"The party's begun, but not everyone's joined in yet"

"We're usually at Fruit Logistica in Berlin or skiing. Now, we're sitting, staring at each other," jokes Erik Waterman of Waterman Onions in the Netherlands. That was in…

Giulia Castoldi, BCS Group marketing manageress

"We are the ones who determine our own self-worth"

Married and in love with her two little dogs, Giulia Castoldi (pictured aside), 35, is the marketing manageress of the BCS Group. But that's not all. She is also councillor of…

Food-safe sorting and packaging with GeoSort Ultimate Clean

How can one sort and package with food safety as a top priority? That question becomes increasingly important in the market, with consumers paying more and more attention to…

MSC

MSC reports another successful year for its reefer cargo services

Shipping over 1.9 million refrigerated containers (also known as ‘reefer’) in 2020 alone, topping its previous record of 1.8 million in 2019, MSC continues to successfully…

Wim Apeldoorn (Fonkels) about packaging with a long-term vision

Composting vs recycling

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused much misery. But, it's also created an ever-increasing awareness. Awareness of not only the environment, consumption, and CO2 emissions. But…

COEXPHAL and PROEXPORT request European funds to invest in the circular economy of the fruit and veg sector

The Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organizations of Almería (COEXPHAL) and the Association of Producers-Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables of the…

Gerard Hoekman, Mulder Onions, the Netherlands:

"Supermarkets split between those who import most of their onions themselves and those who let importers do the initial work"

The import season is almost upon Mulder Onions in the Netherlands again. "We're expecting the first New Zealand onions in the second week of March. New…

New transparent labels on imported produce

On LinkedIn, Lisette Holmberg, Category Manager F&V for ICA, shared the launch of the berrylift. She shares some of her proud moments, such as the fact there are now…

James Hutton Limited and Limgroup planting seeds of partnership

James Hutton Limited is delighted to embark upon two new and exciting projects with the Netherlands based, Limgroup. The exact details of the collaborations are confidential;…

Reflex launch Pack Plus: A more sustainable packaging solution

UK based packaging company Reflex Group have launched a lined board division to complement its existing packaging offering, and to provide a more environmentally friendly…

Tesco to sell unwashed potatoes in order to cut down on UK’s number one most wasted food

A move to cut down on food waste by selling unwashed potatoes – and in doing so potentially double their shelf-life - is being launched by Tesco. Until the…

UPA Huelva requests rethinking of the strawberry and berry insurance

Huelva's berry season hurdled; production falls below 50% compared to previous campaigns

The berry campaign is not going well in the province of Huelva. Although in December 2020 the production figures were good for that time of the season, the…

Average weekly wholesale prices of fruit and veg & bananas

Current avg week banana prices at £0.61 for fruit from Colombia

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…

German fresh fruit and vegetable imports keep growing

In 2020, Germany imported a record amount of fruit and vegetables. Quantity-wise, imports exceeded the nine million ton mark for the first time. This was one percent more than…

The Canary tomato faces new challenges

Even though the United Kingdom departed the EU, the aid for the Canary Islands to transport its tomato shipments to the UK -the main product it ships to the…

British berry industry grows 600% in 25 years

This year, British Summer Fruits is celebrating its milestone 25th anniversary of representing and supporting the UK berry industry. The last 25 years have…

Spain achieves a new pepper export record in 2020

Spain exported a record 878.03 million kilos of peppers worth 1,214.44 million euro in 2020, i.e. 71.4% and 99.42% more volume and value than 10 years ago,…

Concerns growing as 4,000 seasonal fruit pickers will arrive in Ireland over coming weeks

Experts are expressing their concerns about the possibility that the Irish government’s new quarantine system will come under serious pressure as fruit and…

The area devoted to stone fruits in Carlet has decreased by 42% in just two years

"We haven't been able to get back on our feet since the Russian veto"

Carlet, the main stone-fruit-producing area in the Valencian Community, has lost 42% of the area devoted to this production in the last two years, according to…

Pitaya continues to gain ground in Spain

In 2010 some Canarian producers accepted the proposal of the town hall of Tenerife to carry out a study on pitaya. "It was an unknown product and we were the…

Citrustech begins testing mechanized citrus harvesting with an olive grove harvester prototype

The Citrustech Operational Group, which was set up to modernize citrus farms through mechanization and incorporation of technology, has begun testing…

Lviv region, Ukraine

Waste-free potato processing facility to be built

The Central Plains Group Ukraine company and investors from the UK and Finland plan to build a facility in Glynyany village in Lviv Oblast, for the waste-free…

Think.ing.com

Five charts show the impact of Brexit on UK economy this year

Expect a 3-4% hit to UK manufacturing output in January, though the jury's out on how much was solely down to Brexit-related disruption. The pandemic, stockpiling, and…

"Mesh bag season is over in the northern hemisphere, but we are preparing for the potato harvest in the southern hemisphere"

The level of automation in the agricultural industry continues to rise every year. A growing number of packaging factories and farms are investing in automated packaging and…

There is a gap in the Chinese blueberry market

Chinese blueberry plantation in Yunnan is still expanding, and the price is better than last year

The plantation volume of Chinese blueberries is quite small. Every production area and every blueberry variety has its unique characteristics. Yunnan is warm throughout the…

“Volumes are ramping up now and prices remain strong”

Central American melon production has recovered from hurricanes

In November, Central America was hit by two hurricanes: Eta and Iota. These hurricanes hit very closely together and had a heavy impact on the melon production in Guatemala…

"The alternative of not harvesting our income source would have been untenable"

How New Zealand's stone fruit industry has tried to mitigate labour shortage effects during harvest season

New Zealand's peak stone fruit body says while the industry has suffered from labour shortages over the harvest season, there were a large number of students who helped with…

Harvest to start March 20th

Update on Florida’s rejuvenated blueberry industry

The start of Florida’s blueberry season is fast approaching. Around March 20th, North Bay Produce and its member grower H&A Farms will begin harvesting pallet volumes. “This…

Ark Foods’ Clean Label Salads

New salad line celebrates the unsung heroes of the veggie world

The consumer demand for healthy and convenient food options has been on the rise over the years, and with the onset of the pandemic – which was quickly followed by meal…

Migiva Group differentiates premium table grape offer

In line with its commitment to supplying the freshest, most fabulous and flavorful fruit, Migiva Group – a family-owned group of diversified companies in the Americas and…

Plenty to supply 17 new stores in Northern Carolina

Debuting Text-a-Farmer Feature to ask direct questions to farmers

Plenty, the flavor-first vertical farming company with a mission to improve the lives of people, plants, and the planet, today announced an expansion to 17 new Safeway stores…

Low prices complicate Argentine garlic sales

"There is still a lot of garlic left to market, almost 50% of the harvest up to January"

Last year, the coronavirus outbreak forced China to curb its garlic exports, causing a shortage in the international market. This led to an increase in garlic…

Russian Association of Food Sector Organizations - ASORPS

Logistical challenges for Uzbekistan to increase fruit and vegetable exports to Russia

According to the Russian Association of Food Sector Organizations (ASORPS), Russia and Uzbekistan could increase trade in agricultural products by creating…

Argentine blueberry export balance

This year, sales in Argentinian domestic market grew considerably

The export of blueberries in Argentina represents almost 80% of the production of the fruit in the three productive zones of NEA, NOA and Buenos Aires. In…

Trade Principal Secretary Johnson Weru:

‘You are safe from British farm goods’

Trade Principal Secretary Johnson Weru assured Kenyan growers that the government has listed over 1,000 items from the UK that will incur duties, allaying…

Foreign YouTubers air their views on Taiwan pineapple situation

Ag Pro Robotics

Ag Pro Robotics, California

Video StrawBot follows harvesters during strawberry picking

Ag Pro Robotics from Watsonville, California, has presented a semi-autonomous strawberry harvesting robot called StrawBot. The machine is designed to support human strawberry…

Lasko

New, fruit-shaped device to keep our fridges fresh

The new Fresh Slice Fridge Ionizer from Lasko is a battery-operated, watermelon-shaped device that functions as an air purifier, just for our fridges. It uses the brand’s…

Retail

Dreamstime

Auchan Portugal has joined Euromadi Portugal

Massmart plans to sell Cambridge Food, Rhino and Fruitspot

Serbian competition authorities clear Mercator’s transfer to Fortenova GroupFortenova Group has announced that the Serbian commission for protection of competition has…

FreshPlaza Funny

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