Research into hybrid pumpkins due to rising temperatures

Professor of vegetable science and breeding at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Alan Walters knows his pumpkins. The leading pumpkin producer in the United States,…

US grocery store expands offering of indoor grown lettuce

Springworks Farm announced that it is now the exclusive provider of whole-head romaine lettuce to Hannaford Supermarkets in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Springworks Farm’s certified organic lettuce travels just 34 miles from its aquaponic greenhouse facilities in Lisbon to Hannaford’s…

International banana convention to be held in Ecuador and virtually

The objective of the International Banana Convention, which this year celebrates its XVIII edition in hybrid mode, is to strengthen and expand trade relations between the…

Ecuadorian banana workers report bad wages and job security situation

Workers in the Ecuadorian banana industry have reported rapid downward pressure on wages and contractual conditions on plantations as result of the availability in the country…

'Potato harvest is in the final stages across Canada'

The potato harvest is in the final stages across the country. Most provinces (with the exception of British Columbia) have enjoyed excellent harvest conditions without cool…

“We’ve seen strong demand this year, especially from Central Europe”

The Turkish pomegranate harvest has started and according to one Turkish exporter should be finished any moment. Prices have increased slightly due to quantities being a bit lower than they were last season. This could also cause the season to be somewhat shorter. According to Sefik Can, senior account…

Pakistan's mango exporters desire larger share of US market

Pakistan’s mango exporters are aiming to take a bigger slice of the US market as shipments of Indian fruit have contracted due to the pandemic. One Pakistani company sold a…

Mango growers in southern Sinaloa expect a good harvest in 2022

Cyclones Nora and Pamela had a negative effect on southern Sinaloa's communities and vegetable crops, but they will favor the region's 2022 mango production, said Ismael Diaz…

Demand continues to grow for California organic kiwi

California organic kiwifruit production has kicked off and is anticipated to go until Thanksgiving next month. Travis Noland of Wild River Fruit Inc. in Marysville, CA says Wild River began harvest two weeks ago on time, unlike other recent commodities in the state. “Kiwifruit is much different than…

Mango crop update from Brazil and Ecuador

On October 15, the National Mango Board published a Mango Crop Report, including shipment projections, actual arrivals, variety and size availability, and other figures considered useful to the US mango market. Brazil and Ecuador are currently harvesting and packing. The Brazilian mango season began the…

Del Monte files appeal in case over illegally sold pineapples

After the district court ruled that Inversiones y Procesadora Tropical, S.A (INPROTSA) did not have to pay $39.7 million in disgorgement, appellant Del Monte International Ltd…

60,000 persimmons stolen central from Japanese orchard

Some 60,000 persimmons have been stolen from an orchard in a central Japanese city. According to Gifu Prefectural Police's Gifukita police station, a farmer in the city made…

South African kiwi industry has "a gift" in its early window into Europe

South Africa is still a net importer of kiwifruit, exporting about 550 tonnes annually, but the country has “a gift”, according to Lianne Jones, the PMA manager for Southern Africa, in the form of an opportunity to supply kiwis to the European Union at the end of February and into March, ahead of Chile…

Fresh fruit importer/exporter returns to in-person events

Two years after the last appointment, those who make up the market of exporting and importing companies, food producers and customers, met again in person at Fruit Attraction 2021, which took place in Madrid on October 5th, 6th and 7th and ANUGA, held in Cologne, Germany, from October 9th to 13th.For the…

PMA and United Fresh to announce new association live

Chief executives representing the new association being formed by the Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh Produce Association, Cathy Burns and Tom Stenzel, will…

Vertical farming’s role in non-fresh produce sector

“What we grow is often dictated by the problems in the existing supply chain. We’ve built our platform, the mechanical environment pulled together by the data science, to grow different plants,” says David Rosenberg, CEO and co-founder of AeroFarms. In September 2021, AeroFarms announced its partnership…

Record September at Port of Los Angeles

The Port of Los Angeles processed 903,865 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in September, the busiest September ever in the Port’s 114-year history.  Year to date, overall cargo…

Port Manatee and Del Monte extend import hub relationship

Port Manatee and Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. have reached an agreement to keep the company’s fruit imports coming into the fast-growing seaport until at least 2026, with options through 2036. “Continuing our decades-long partnership with Del Monte is good for Del Monte, good for Port Manatee and…

How has the pandemic changed consumer behaviour and the food supply chain?

On the final day of the 13th edition of the Cool Logistic 2021 conference, Andy Connell and Alfred Chung discussed how the pandemic has changed consumer behaviour and how it has changed technology in the logistical chain. Alfred Cheung, Founder, Green Society Association, Adjunct Professor, City…

Port of Oakland sees no backlog on docks, calls for cargo

Port of Oakland officials have called on shipping lines to route more cargo here midst supply chain calamities elsewhere. The Port said its marine terminals are…

Soft Robotics might tackle farm labor issues

A generation of new robots, developed in Europe, that use photonics to detect a fruit is coming into play. These type of robots are made of malleable materials such as…

Youtube.com

Quebec company wants to commercialize broccoli harvesting robot

Lapalme Mechanical Design is preparing to commercialize its SAMI (for système agricole multifonctionnel intelligent or intelligent multifunctional agricultural system) machine next summer. The device consists of a farm tractor pushing a machine where robotic arms are installed on both sides, picking…

Blueberry automatic multi-format filling machines that are more precise and take better care of the fruit

End consumers are paying more and more attention to the packaging used in the products they buy. For example, they prefer containers that are easy to transport or are self-sealing. These aspects can increase the value of a product in the market. As a great market connoisseur, MAF Roda can offer its…

US Senate approved extension of tariff preferences for Ecuador

The Ambassador of Ecuador to the US, Ivonne Baki, has stated that on October 20, 2021 the US Senate approved the extension of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) so…

China-Africa trade is bouncing back from Covid-19

China’s trade with Africa could be set to return to pre-pandemic levels, if recent momentum can be maintained. In the first eight months of the year, total two-way trade…

Jamey Higham named President & CEO of Idaho Potato Commission

Produce industry veteran Jamey Higham will become the next president and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission, effective in early 2022. He will replace the recently retired…

US block imports from two Mexican greenhouses

Effective Oct. 21, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at all U.S. ports of entry will detain fresh tomatoes produced by the tomato farm Agropecuarios Tom S.A.…

South Africa: Rising input costs a serious challenge for future food production

Rising input costs, such as direct materials, direct labour and other overheads, are posing a major challenge to food production in South Africa. “The costs of fertiliser, herbicides, packaging, diesel, electricity and labour, to name a few, are increasing rapidly, making it nearly impossible for many…

‘Digital dollar might overwhelm local currencies’

The introduction of a digital US dollar might aid in democratizing banking in poorer countries, but it could also pose a risk to local currencies if it were readily…

USDA

Table grape stocks October 15 lower than those of previous two seasons

According to the latest cold storage report of the US Department of Agriculture, the table grape stocks registered on October 15 in the US market were lower than those of the previous two seasons. The bimonthly report stated that as of a few days ago, 10.6 million boxes of grapes had been registered in…

Ontario apple producer invests $4 mln to expand sales

A family-run apple farm near Aylmer has spent $4 million to upgrade with a new packing line and storage facility. These investments are said to help them expand sales across…

FAO / AMA

European fruit harvest slightly down, Asia up

Global fruit production amounted to around 883.4 million tons in 2019, an increase of around 1.4% on the previous year. While Europe recorded declining yields of - 8.7%, Asia further expanded its supremacy as the world's largest fruit producer with a 2.6% growth. This is reported by AgrarMarkt Austria…

‘Peruvian blueberry projections could not be more optimistic’

Projections for the Peruvian blueberry industry by President Fernando Cillóniz Benavides of consulting firm Inform@cción, could not be more optimistic. According to some…

G-Berries and Dole PLC: a partnership for Mexico

Molari Berries & Breeding launched G-Berries at the beginning of 2021. The newly established company is focused on breeding, applied research, and IP Management. It's a fully independent company, with a dedicated investment plan and clear and ambitious objectives for the future years to come. Luca…

Les Herbes Gourmandes: $11.7M in financing from BDC and FCC to double production area

Fresh herb producers Les Herbes Gourmandes (Serres Coulombe) of Saint-Norbert, Quebec received $11.7 million in non-dilutive financing from BDC and Farm Credit Canada (FCC).…

Experts from the United States, South Africa, Italy, and Brazil will participate in the international Microbioma 2 conference

The technical program of the International Microbioma 2 Congress has already been published on the event's official website. Experts from the United States, South Africa, Italy, Poland, Argentina, and Spain will present the latest advances in the use of microorganisms applied to agriculture on November 3…

“We’ve seen an increase in volumes for grapefruit and lemons”

There are more volumes for both grapefruits and lemons, says one Polish fresh produce trader. Sizes for Star Ruby grapefruits aren’t the largest, but the upcoming Rio Red grapefruits should fill the gap for larger sizes when the season starts next week. The Polish fresh produce trader Fresh Point is in the…

US organic fresh produce sales continue outpacing conventional growth

Total organic fresh produce sales for the third quarter of 2021 saw a continuation of year-over-year growth, increasing by three percent from the same period last year and nearing $2.3 billion for the quarter, according to the Q3 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report released exclusively by Organic…

Scientists recommend doubling dose of vitamin C

According to a recent study, the recommended dose of vitamin C people have been advised to take should be doubled. At present, the NHS and World Health Organization both…

Agritech company's offering heavily oversubscribed

Hectre, the New Zealand based orchard management and fruit sizing software company, has just completed a funding round which will see both its team and its product innovation capability expand significantly.The NZD$3.5m pre-series A funding round was heavily oversubscribed, testament to the value…

Naïo Technologies unveils plans for international expansion in agricultural robotics market

Naïo Technologies, a company in agricultural robotics for nearly 10 years, is accelerating its international development strategy, moving beyond the context of technological innovation in order to consolidate its worldwide growth and launch a new RAAS business model. Oz, the versatile farming assistant…

A-INSIGHTS

Global trade volumes of frozen potato products stabilizing

Analysts at Market and consumer data analytics company A-INSIGHTS report that global frozen potato trade volumes have stabilized in July, with the year-to-date volume remaining 0.5% above the pre-COVID levels of 2019. Compared to July 2019, the monthly trade volume was down 0.3%, driven mainly by a 7.6%…

"This type of freezing is much quicker and results in higher product quality"

OctoFrost has come a long way in the frozen food processing industry by listening to its customers’ needs and working together with experts in the food industry. OctoFrost manufactures and offers equipment for the thermal treatment of food products such as blanching, cooking, chilling and IQF freezing.  According…

Prosource Produce LLC voluntarily recalls whole raw onions shipped from Chihuahua, Mexico

ProSource Produce LLC of Hailey, Idaho, is voluntarily recalling whole raw onions (red, yellow, and white) shipped from Chihuahua, Mexico, between July 1, 2021, and August 31, 2021, because they may have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The products are whole raw onions (red, yellow, and…

Pistachio brand celebrates National Nut Day

To celebrate National Nut Day, Wonderful® Pistachios reports pistachios are the biggest and fastest-growing snack nut category in terms of annual retail revenue followed by cashews, mixed nuts, peanuts and almonds, according to recent Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) 52-week data. The data indicates…

NORMA's proprietary brand ERNTE KRONE optimizes potato nets and saves 50% on packaging

In addition to the potatoes of the NORMA brand BIO SONNE, customers now also save on resources when buying the ERNTE KRONE brand. Thanks to the new and optimized CLAF® carry-fresh nets, up to 50 percent of the packaging material will be saved. In addition to this, just one type of material is used for…

First recycled folding trays go into circulation

Euro Pool System started using the first recycled folding trays last week. This is part of an extensive recycling programme in the Benelux countries, which will see millions of new folding trays going into circulation. The used blue trays are granulated to create the main raw material for the new trays.…

Chilean fresh fruit supplier commits to 100% clean energy supplies

Copefrut, a Chilean company with over 65 years in the production and export of traditional and organic fresh fruit, signed a contract to commit to 100 percent clean energy…