Photo report: Fruit Logistica 2024

Fruit Logistica 2024 is done and dusted. Three days of networking, walking around and, in our case, taking pictures, has come to an end. Exhibitors were generally positive. Protests and st…

California broccoli crown supply stays steady

The supply of broccoli crowns continues to be fairly abundant in California. “With this rain that came through California, that’s kind of lightened up…

Hard squash supply down due to Western Mexico’s weather issues

The supply of hard squash is down from last year. “The production across all vegetables is down out of Western Mexico and little hard squash remains in…

Canadian greenhouse grower takes home two Global Packaging Awards

Nature Fresh Farms was honored for its expertise in packaging design at this year’s PAC Global Awards Competition, receiving Best in Class for its…

Colombian Hass avocado shipments to U.S. surged ahead of yesterday’s Big Game

Colombia Avocados’ Hass avocado shipments have had a growing presence in the U.S. over the last five years. That growth is highlighted by the shipment…

Jaguar mangoes anticipated to be available by mid-March

Jaguar mangoes made a strong debut last mango season and they are back and ready to make their way to retailers across the country with the rollout of…

US February apple storage shows storage up 33 percent over 2023

According to a monthly survey, the total number of apples in storage on February 1, 2024, was 137 million bushels, 33 percent more than last February’s…

USDA

U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement seasonal perishable products weekly update

Florida to contribute sizeable amounts of fruit for Valentine’s Day

Strawberries are very popular during Valentine’s Day, but this year’s supply is yet to be determined for California strawberries. Heavy rains due to…

FirstFruits Farms expands sales team

Following FirstFruits Farms’ recent acquisition of Michigan’s Applewood Fresh Growers and a record apple crop, the Washington-based grower brought on…

Ecuadorian Banana Cluster asks for fair pricing amidst EU retailers’ price pressures

The Ecuadorian Banana Cluster represented by AEBE and Acorbanec, supported and accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture of Ecuador, Franklin Danilo…

NASDA members urge US agencies to collaborate on strategies to address agricultural labor shortages

Today at the 2024 Winter Policy Conference, members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture encouraged federal agencies to develop…

USDA

National Retail Report - Specialty Crops

A wide variety of winter citrus, apples and grapes were advertised

This weekend, a wide variety of winter citrus, apples and grapes for eating and gift giving was well-advertised. Asian vegetables like bok choy,…

Mexican avocado takes center stage at the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl, America's largest sporting event, is a prime time for avocado consumption, with the Mexican avocado taking the lead. It's estimated that on…

Standard Fruit Company in Costa Rica shuts down banana farms due to dollar decline

The Standard Fruit Company has announced the closure of two banana farms in Costa Rica, leading to the dismissal of 111 workers. This is due to the…

WAPA 2024 season forecast:

Southern Hemisphere apple production to grow by 1.1%, while pear crop to decrease by 2.3%

The World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) has released the Southern Hemisphere apple and pear crop forecast for the upcoming season in Berlin.…

Emergent Cold LatAm opens a new refrigerated warehouse in Panama

Emergent Cold LatAm now offers the largest temperature-controlled food storage capacity in Central America and the Caribbean. Emergent Cold Latin…

Is avocado cultivation exacerbating Morocco's drought crisis?

As Morocco faces its sixth consecutive year of drought, water-intensive agricultural projects are under scrutiny. Climate change poses a major threat…

Justin Chadwick, Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa:

'New shipping service is good news for citrus exports'

The Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA) welcomes the announcement that a leading global liner shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd, is now…

Fhumulani Ratshitanga:

'Sustainable transformation produces tangible economic development'

Transformation is a strategic pillar of Fruit South Africa, alongside market access, strengthened relations with government, and information management…

Kenyan avocado exports to China saw a tenfold increase in 2023

In 2023, a year after initiating exports to China, Kenya's avocado exports to the country surged nearly tenfold. According to Chinese data, the Asian nation…

SONA 2024: AgriSA echoes sentiments shared on public-private partnerships

AgriSA, representing South Africa's agricultural sector, acknowledges President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, which underscored the…

"Uganda's president allocates land for avocado cultivation and industrial park"

Uganda's President Museveni has authorized investors to utilize part of the land housing Kyaaka One and Kyaaka Two refugee camps for avocado…

Mulitvac at Anuga FoodTec -

Sealing trays closed without a packaging machine

Using the Mulitvac TopCLOSE process on a labeller, trays can be sealed closed simply, sustainably and attractively by means of self-adhesive labels –…

Angus Soft Fruits Ltd.:

Commercial production of two Mediterranean AVA strawberry varieties to start in 2024

Angus Soft Fruits announced the commercial production of two new strawberry varieties, bred to produce delicious fruit throughout the winter season.…

Balanced organic top fruit market makes for good prices

"The organic fruit market's supply and demand are well balanced. There's a little shortage. That's good," begins Robert Elshof of the Dutch company…

Belgian company sees organic as a step toward the future

"We want to be a pioneer in the organic segment"

Organic is more than just a farming method for Vegobel. It is a business practice that the Belgian company wants to incorporate in all its facets. This…

Rene Bouman, FMI:

"We are currently experiencing a calm lime market"

"After a surprisingly stable last quarter of 2023, the lime market currently is calm, which is normal for this time of the year. In recent weeks, a lot…

Ricardo Mendes, Trust Green Trading:

"A few years ago, you rarely found papayas in Dutch supermarkets"

Last summer, Carlos Henrique Ferreira and Ricardo Mendes started Trust Green Trading. Ricardo says this fledgling Dutch company has a distinctive…

New organization and new AI-powered solutions

Tomra Food has unveiled its new organizational structure, showcased its sorting, grading, and packing solutions, and launched three new AI-powered…

‘Eat Them To Defeat Them’ -

TV campaign improving UK children’s vegetable consumption returns

Veg Power, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Media announced today that their multi award-winning Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign is returning to TV screens and…

Drewry's

World Container Index - 08 Feb

Drewry’s World Container Index dropped by 1% this week

Drewry’s World Container Index dropped by 1% to $3,786 per 40ft container this week. The composite index dropped by 1% to $3,786 per 40ft container this week and…

A.P. Moller - Maersk delivered solid 2023 financial results in a difficult environment

A.P. Moller - Maersk delivered solid financial results for 2023 in line with our financial guidance for the year. While volumes were up across most…

Italian apple consortium's new structure brings results

VOG, the home of apples confirms its status as an apple category benchmark with reorganisation for ever-greater efficiency, product specialisation and…

Pro Food -

EU packaging regulation, negative impacts on food waste and CO2 emissions

The proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has reached its final stages with the confrontation between the two positions expressed in…

Hong Kong sets new record for Chilean cherry containers discharged from a single vessel call

The arrival of ITAJAI EXPRESS operated by Hapag-Lloyd at Modern Terminals on 4 February marked another record for Hong Kong; the ship brought 1,941…

Carrot lady' who has 35 carrot tattoos

Zizi Howell, known as the "Carrot Lady," has an extraordinary obsession with carrots. She proudly owns 35 carrot tattoos and over a thousand pieces of…

Artist makes scale model of Ayodhya Ram temple from pumpkins and carrots

Yellareddypet-based Shyamanthula Anil, a 40-year-old artist, made a scale model of the Ram temple in Ayodhya with pumpkin and carrots on the eve of the…

Dried out 285-year-old citrus fruit sells for £1,400 after sparking bidding war

A 285-year-old dried lemon, found in the bottom drawer of a 19th century chest during a house clearance, surprisingly sold for £1,400 at auction. The…

New Zealand's digital orchard project blends consumer preferences with scientific modeling

The digital orchard project in New Zealand is not just about technical aspects like imaging, modelling, and mapping. The ultimate goal is to map an orchard…