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

Thursday, March 18, 2021
NORTH AMERICA

Our team

Marieke Hemmes
Email

Annika Durinck
Email

Astrid van den Broek
Email

Sander Bruins Slot
Email

Job Offers

Crop Inspector - San Jose (CA) USA

Assistant Grower - Snowflake (AZ) USA

Grower - Snowflake (AZ) USA

Head Grower - Snowflake (AZ) USA

Chief Agronomic/ Head Grower

Agronomist / product expert fertilizers

Managing Director - Staff Position & Operational Business

Senior Grower Manager | Soft Fruit | California

Product Manager - Hann. Münden, Germany

Full Time Sales Representative - New York, Pennsylvania, Maine & Connecticut, USA

March Madness and foodservice add to increasing avocado demand

Supplies of avocados are strong right now and demand continues to build. Gary Caloroso of Los Angeles, CA-based Giumarra Companies says there are currently promotable supplies…

Job Offers:

Crop Inspector - San Jose (CA) USA

PMA town hall

The potential of AI technology in solving problems in agriculture

This week’s PMA town hall looked at the developments in AI and how the technology can be applied to solve problems in agriculture. Vonnie Estes, PMA’s Vice-President of…

Jorge Argüello, the Ambassador of Argentina to the US:

“Port of Philadelphia is Argentina’s main port-of-entry for fruit exports”

On March 16th the Port of Philadelphia and the Embassy of Argentina hosted a webinar to highlight the relationship between the port and Argentina’s produce industry. A panel…

Event can't take place due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic

Fruit Logistica Special Edition 2021 canceled

It's been confirmed that Fruit Logistica Special Edition 2021 has been canceled. The event was to take place on 18-20 May of 2021. The organization states the event had to be…

FDA partnership with Mexico’s regulators strengthens Food Safety Protections

As the food supply becomes increasingly global, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s partnerships with our regulatory counterparts and food producers in other nations are…

Elects 2021 board of directors

CFFA awards John Giumarra posthumously

The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) kicked off its new fiscal year with its annual March board of directors meeting in Fresno Tuesday. The meeting…

Initial Texas agricultural loss estimates from Uri exceed $600 million

AgriLife Extension estimates citrus crop losses of at least $230 million

Winter Storm Uri, which swept through the entire state of Texas from February 13 to 17, caused at least $600 million in agricultural losses. This number is…

Mission Produce and California Avocado Commission jointly ship first container full of avocados

China opens market for California Avocado Commission

The Chinese government, the California Avocado Commission, and the United States Department of Agriculture have been in negotiations for years to realize the export of…

Viva Fresh Open adds second course

The Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) announces that due to extraordinary interest in this year’s sold-out Viva Fresh Golf Open, it has secured a second course to…

Will Peru overtake Chile as the main blueberry supplier for the Chinese market?

Most of the blueberries currently available in the Chinese market come from Chile and Peru. But the supply volume of Peruvian blueberries is actually already quite small. This…

Global Focus Bananas

Global Alliance for Cooperation in the Fight against Fusarium R4T

The banana sector is threatened by the Tropical Fusarium Race 4, which is also known as the Panama disease. The fungus is lethal for plantations and renders…

Special Australia / New Zealand

Rockit

Mark O’Donnell - Rockit

“Volume is up 65% on 2020 and the quality is excellent"

It is all go at New Zealand miniature apple grower Rockit, the apple harvest is underway with a brand new packhouse. Mark O’Donnell who joined the company as CEO in early…

Retail

Dreamstime

Save Mart Companies: One-year mark of offering frontline workers weekly hazard pay

Imperfect Foods is applying its sustainability mission inward to its operating model

US: Smaller shopper base pulls down February online grocery salesU.S. online grocery sales in February fell from a prior-month peak due to a decline in participating…

Fuel prices are a factor

US food prices rising

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices continue to rise after a 3.9% increase in 2020 from 2019, a full year into the pandemic. The USDA expects another…

Market and Crop Update for March 18, 2021

Texas: Demand for yellows and reds this week is good

MARKETIdaho-E. Oregon/Washington:Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce reported from his office in Nyssa, OR, on March 17. “We are super busy this week,” Jason…

Formosa, Argentina

"More and more producers are abandoning the plots dedicated to banana cultivation because of their lack of profitability"

Panfilo Ayala, director of the Argentine Agrarian Federation and a reference for the Laguna Naineck subsidiary, stated that many banana producers in the…

Argentina

Producers of the Upper Valley seek to provide fruit and vegetables to the prisons and hospitals of Rio Negro and Buenos Aires

The Federation of Producers is looking to sign an agreement with the Compañía Integral de Alimentos Royal Chef, the company in charge of supplying fruits and…

Dominican Republic

Ministry of Agriculture denies accusation of massive carrot imports

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Agriculture rejected the accusation of the National Union of Agricultural Producers (Unaproda), claiming that the current…

Peruvian citrus exports grew by 37% in 2020

Peruvian citrus exports set a new record in 2020 after the country shipped 244,783 tons of citrus worth 262 million dollars, a value that is 37% higher than in…

Larger sizes still available

Grapefruit season in Israel coming to an end

The grapefruit season in Israel is coming to an end soon. As availability slows down, demand shoots up. At the moment, most of the grapefruits still being shipped are the…

Pink Lady® drives penetration and growth with brand-led retailer activity

Pink Lady® is celebrating a fruitful northern hemisphere season so far, following a series of retailer-based activations to help drive growth and brand penetration, which…

Kenneth Meyer (Natural Tropic):

"Spanish avocado season to end early"

The Spanish avocado season is nearing its end. "That means the season will end much earlier than in other years. We usually continue until April or May. But now, we'll keep…

Peter Parms, Rotom Tomatoes, Belgium:

"Huge demand for cherry vine, cocktail, and snack tomatoes"

“The tomato market has been completely upended. At the end of February, a kg of TOVs was selling for under a euro. That price almost doubled to between €1.80 and €2," says…

Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-Lloyd publishes annual report and confirms significant earnings growth for 2020

Hapag-Lloyd published its annual report with audited business results for the 2020 financial year today. In the reporting year, Hapag-Lloyd’s earnings before interest, taxes,…

Edgar Günther (SuezFruit) on the current Egyptian season

"Fresh garlic in high demand among wholesale markets and packers"

The Egyptian garlic season has been in full swing for just under a month. Every week, several containers with fresh goods are arriving at various seaports in Europe, says…

Egyptian garlic season started with an early harvest

“I expect garlic exports this season to increase by 30%”

There was an early harvest for the Egyptian garlic this season, which has led to smaller sizes this year. Demand is relatively high though, and one exporter feels the early…

Southern African citrus to reach new heights as 2021 export estimate is released

The Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA) is excited to announce that the South African citrus industry will likely break all previous export…

Moroccan scientist discovers mushroom with anticancer properties

Moroccan scientist, Ahmed Chadli, has just discovered a mushroom with anticancer properties. A biochemist at the Department of Medicine of the Georgia Cancer…

Chinese pear exports recovering, but domestic market remains slow

Chinese pear exports gradually increased after the Chinese Spring Festival [12 February, 2021]. As the global pandemic is slowly brought under control, the…

Chinese JD Fresh officially opens the tangerine festival in Pujiang, Sichuan

Tangerines from Pujiang in Sichuan supply the Chinese market between January and March. JD Fresh officially opened the online Pujiang tangerine festival on the…

Baptiste Geoffray, Mylord:

“With the Swing Bio, we are developing the orchard of the future”

It is the second year on the market for the Swing Bio. This apple is produced exclusively organically in France by a group of 35 producers. Baptiste Geoffray, development…

Paul van der Linde, Van der Linde:

"European carrot market is dead quiet"

"The carrot market is as dead as a doornail," says Paul van der Linde of Van der Linde in the Netherlands. He's also not very optimistic about its…

Northern Ireland potato growers are in need of Covid support

The UK potato industry might be the sector to have been most badly hit by the Covid pandemic. First of all, they grow crops that are bespoke for the catering…

FreshPlaza Funny

Pumping out the tunes