Wednesday, March 25, 2020
NORTH AMERICA

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Farm Manager - Queensland Plants & Flowers, Australia

Teeltspecialist (Proeftuin & Veredeling) - Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands

Farm Manager - Riana, Tasmania, Australia

Industry Development Manager - Rocklea, Australia

Sales Manager

Commercial Manager | Huelva, Spain | Soft Fruits

Farm manager / Senior grower seeking for his next role

Fruit Export Junior Sales Manager (Europe Division)

Crop Team Manager Hydroponics - USA

Plant Production Scientist - Brooklyn (New York) USA

Rick Chong with Sutherland, S.A. on exporting to Asia

“We continue to look at viable alternatives such as renting air charters”

The world we live in has turned upside down in just a few short weeks and social distancing is also starting to have an impact on the continuity of produce supply and exports.…

Plant and shed capacity is becoming a concern

Demand for potatoes switches over to retail

Potatoes are proving to be an in-demand item at the retail level as COVID-19 continues to permeate North America. But is the demand for potatoes being felt at retail enough to…

Using secondary-grade artichokes from local growers and giving them a new life

California production of artichokes accounts for 98% of overall artichoke production in the United States. While there are high and low seasons for artichoke production in…

Chilean Blueberry Committee celebrates February's National Heart Month

Chilean blueberries promoted at Port of Los Angeles

The Chilean Blueberry Committee celebrated and promoted Chilean Blueberries on a Port of Los Angeles tour with H Mart this past February. H Mart is the largest Asian retailer…

Today's important COVID-19 news in the fresh produce sector

Corona-update: 'US & Europe already in recession'

In the US, potatoes are a hot item across the nation. Unfortunately, in other news, the US & Europe already seem to be in recession. On a lighter note, UK farming leaders have…

Berry companies donate fresh fruit to schools and hospitals

Multiple companies have reached out to do their part in the communities they work in. Berry companies such as Bobalu Berries and Driscoll's have provided berry donations to…

The US confirmed it will inspect 100% of Mexican tomato exports

The manager of the IACHR, Mario Haroldo Robles Escalante, stated that despite the exceptional restrictions that the US government has imposed to stop the expansion of the…

109,000 tons exported

Chilean blueberry exports decreased, but only by 1.5%

As highlighted by the latest report of the Blueberry Committee, during the 2019/2020 season the country exported 109,291 tons of blueberries, i.e. 1.5% less…

Event set for today, March 25th at 12pm ET

PMA to host first virtual town hall meeting for members

Produce Marketing Association announced they will host a Virtual Town Hall for members on Wednesday, March 25, at 12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (U.S. and…

Rainier Fruit moves toward formal EFI Certification

Rainier Fruit has partnered with Equitable Food Initiative to begin training and move toward formally certifying their largest farm of over 2300 acres. This will include a…

Special Australia / New Zealand

The AHEIA – a voice for Australian horticultural exporters and importers

There's never a dull moment for Australian horticultural exporters and importers. By its nature, the sector is at the frontline for all issues impacting the value chain…

Global Focus Grapes

Australian grapes to be on sale in new stores in Japan

Australian grape producers, Budou Farms will have fruit displayed as part of the opening of new stores at two supermarket chains in Japan; Y’s Mart and Ito-Yokado, from this…

Retail

C&S Wholesale Grocers and US Foods partnered to combat job and food insecurities

FreshDirect: partnership with all 5 New York City Borough Presidents

US: Mercato, SPINS launch attribute-powered grocery ecommerce solutionMercato, a grocery ecommerce fulfillment platform for independent grocers and specialty food stores, and…

Global airfreight rates continue to rise

Airfreight rates continued their rapid ascent last week, breaching the $5 per kg mark on the transpacific trade lane for the first time in years. The latest figures from Tac…

Virginia State University blueberry program delivered via Facebook Live

The faculty of Virginia State University are offering their first online-only public program this Thursday through Facebook Live. The annual Blueberry Field Walk will be…

USDA International shipping point trends

Guatemalan blackberry imports via South Florida expected to remain about the same

The movement of Guatemalan blackberry imports through South Florida Imports via air are expected to remain about the same. This is also the case for goods…

Purple sprouting broccoli: Profitable new crop for US growers

Purple sprouting broccoli is a real eyecatcher on the produce shelves. The vegetable — only available in later winter and spring — has provided consumers with…

US nectarines obtain permission to enter Chinese market

According to the 'Treaty between the General Administration of Customs China and the US Ministry of Agriculture with regard to inspection and quarantine of US…

No movement at the ports, no drivers for containers

India in lockdown, trade comes to a halt

India has taken its next step in fighting the coronavirus, as the Indian Prime Minister announced a 21-day lockdown, ending the 15th of April. The country was already on a…

'Blueberry used to be an extensive crop, but is becoming more and more intensive"

“The blueberry cultivation is growing rapidly around the world, and together with it the demand for coco substrate”, Wim Roosen from Dutch Plantin says. Blueberry used to be…

"We still don't know how the European markets will react, we may need alternatives"

The Spanish stone fruit harvest begins in Huelva, two weeks early

The harvest of the first Spanish protected-cultivation nectarines started two weeks in advance in Huelva. In the coming weeks, peaches, apricots, plums, and doughnut peaches…

Hoarding effect on tomato prices over, extra early fall for Moroccan tomato imports

Greenhouse vegetable cultivation is gradually feeling the impact of the coronavirus too. Until last week, it seems that tomato growers were still reasonably safe. However, the…

Coronavirus having a huge impact on Huelva's berry sector

Spanish berry producers have started abandoning their crops

The lack of laborers in the province of Huelva and the restrictions on the mobility of people, both European and from third countries, caused by the health crisis of COVID-19,…

Two million cartons of lemons already shipped from South Africa

The South African citrus season in underway with an estimated record export of 143.3 million cartons, an increase of 13% on last season. According to Justin Chadwick CEO of the…

Leonard Kampschoer, FruitMasters:

"It is our duty, along with our buyers, to maintain the food supply"

"This corona crisis is a tragedy for everyone. It is up to our sector to keep the food supply going. Even in these uncertain times, during this virus outbreak, people must be…

Fastfood chain and retail group join forces

Personnel partnership between McDonald's Germany and ALDI

McDonald's Germany supports ALDI Nord and ALDI SÜD during the Corona crisis. Employees who are affected by limited restaurant operations are quickly referred…

Philip van Geest (VGI): Good demand from the United Kingdom for open field vegetables

"Greenhouse vegetable prices fell sharply after run on supermarkets in past two weeks"

During the last trading days, the prices of greenhouse vegetables such as bell peppers, tomatoes, aubergines and cucumbers have fallen sharply. "For cucumbers,…

Wilf Whittle - James Hall & Companies

Demand for core veg increased virtually overnight

Local retailers have seen a spike in demand for fresh produce as more people start to shop locally, this combined with supply issues across the continent has caused a few…

The lettuce industry has certainly seen better days

For about three weeks now, lettuce prices have been on a downward trend. They have certainly seen better days. "With regard to the assortment of lettuces, the situation has…

Alanar on their 365-day-fig project, the coronavirus and the implications for the cherry season

“I believe the virus will not affect the cherry season as much”

Offering figs year round has been a challenging but satisfying project for Turkish exporting company Alanar. Rather than just export figs from Turkey, they have growers in…

Christian Befve, Befve & Co:

“We still have hope that the asparagus consumption will increase”

In the context of a crisis, when the demand neglects certain seasonal products in favor of products that can be stored, asparagus farmers are trying to delay the usually…

Matthias Kinzel, Strauss Verpackungsmaschinen LLC:

"Weather and yields have been a problem for some time - the virus is something else entirely"

Labour shortages already were a major issue; now the coronavirus is exacerbating the situation. "In the asparagus sector, border closures and the fear of the harvest workers,…

Fokke Dullaart (Harvest House): "Also trials with yellow brown and orange-red variety"

Area of Dutch Monterosa tomatoes doubled again

The Dutch Monterosa tomatoes are available again at Harvest House. Last Friday, the first tomatoes were harvested at tomato nursery Van Kester-Weijs, which doubled the area of…

The hose reel can also be useful

Anti-frost system that really works against frost

Severe night frosts are expected throughout Italy, but there are those who have been using anti-frost irrigation since 2003. This is the case of Stefano Rivalta, a farmer in…

New technologies for salad washing

Food safety is the most important thing that everyone cares about. But during vegetable processing, cleaning is often accompanied by damage. How to achieve thorough cleaning…

Spanish firm offers its ozone generators to help tackle COVID-19

The Valencian company Agrozono, leader in the application of ozone through localized irrigation for the regeneration of agricultural soils, has offered public…

"Taiwanese pineapple supply reaches peak this year"

The pineapple is an important fruit in Taiwan. This is the time of year when Taiwanese pineapple export to China would normally reach a peak. However, since the outbreak of…

"Chinese export of W. Murcott mandarins proceeds as usual"

"The isolation measures in the last few weeks had a definite impact on our sales conditions, but we continued nonetheless. The sales did not smoothly proceed, but we are happy…

Chinese apple reserves remain high

Delivery speed of Chinese apples slows down

The sales volume of Chinese apples has declined in the last two months since the outbreak of COVID-19 around Chinese Spring Festival [25 January, 2020]. The…

Jamaica: Tru-Juice introduces locally grown pineapple

Tru-Juice, the flagship brand of Trade Winds Citrus Ltd, has introduced its newest offering of locally grown pineapples. Inspired by the high demand of…

Chile will maintain current export conditions with the UK after Brexit

According to Ignacio Fernandez, the Commercial Director of ProChile in the United Kingdom, the bilateral association agreement with the United Kingdom approved by the Chilean…

Koppert launches Dismipar®

The first solution for the biological control of mealybug in banana trees is now available

For the first time, it is possible to carry out the biological control of the pest that harms the Canarian banana the most. Koppert Spain has made the first releases of…

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