Tuesday, December 24, 2019
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Job Offers

Territory Sales Manager

General Manager Poland

Compost and Mushroom Technology Specialist

Territory Sales Rep for expansion in Western United States (OR, WA, ID, MT, UT)

Commerciale Italia – Settore frutta e verdura

Nursery Supervisor, Saanich Forestry Centre - Victoria (BC) Canada

Growing Systems Specialist

Technical Sales Position - Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, USA

Sales and Procurement Manager - Arizona, USA

Grower - Kearny (NJ) USA

We will be back January 2

Season's Greetings!

As another year draws to a close and we look forward to a new decade with all of the new opportunities it will bring, FreshPlaza is taking a break for the Christmas period. We…

Job Offers:

Territory Sales Manager

David Posner - Awe Sum Organics

“Our first organic grapes from Peru will arrive in the US in the first week of January"

As Awe Sum Organics ramps up their imports of Chilean blueberries with the first arrivals from their main Organic Blueberry Farm located in Southern Chile, which are due to…

Don Roper of Honeybear:

“The Pazazz apple will really shine in the New Year”

The Pazazz apple variety is hitting the markets in strong volumes in January for its third commercial year. Don Roper, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Honeybear…

New Purple Fire garlic variety grown in the Peruvian highlands sees high demand

A large proportion of the garlic grown in Peru is grown in the southern region of the country. This is also where White Lion Produce grows their garlic, and their main export…

Agricultural exports stand out as they increased by 224%

Trade between Peru and the US has doubled in the last ten years

Trade between Peru and the US has doubled since the commercial agreement between both countries entered into force ten years ago, amounting last year to 17.8 billion dollars.…

Sinclair releases statement on sustainability practices of fruit label

In response to negative comments in the news about produce labeling, Sinclair issued the following statement: We take our approach to our environmental responsibilities seriously…

Imported fruits most loved by Americans

Bananas -excluding plantains- avocados and grapes, are the US’ three most popular imported fruits. Collectively they represent 44.6% of the value of all fresh or dried fruits…

Canada:

Requirement to include lot code on prepacked fruits into force on January 15

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has provided detailed timelines concerning the application of preventive control plans, preventive controls, and…

P.E.I. Potato Board elects new executive

During the board of director’s Nov. 20 meeting, it was decided that Jason Hayden will continue in the role of chairman. Hayden has been on the board for five…

Mexico: Avocado cultivation could cause an ecological collapse in 50 years

Several specialists have warned that the environmental cost of cultivating avocados, one of the most popular fruits in the world, was so high that it could cause an ecological…

Christmas lists to Santa Claus, ask for Mini Munchies

Kids of all ages are making their Christmas lists for the holidays but one item that Santa Claus keeps seeing on these lists only comes from Pure Flavor®.“This holiday season,…

Special Year Overview

The Year Overview Wrap-Up

For the past few weeks FreshPlaza has looked at several major events that took place in 2019. In case you have missed any, here is the list of subjects we took a closer look…

Global Focus Exotic/Tropical Fruit

Queensland researchers developing red skin custard apple variety

A new red skin custard apple selection has the potential to expand export markets and promote the traditional green skin varieties both domestically and internationally,…

Retail

Ahold Delhaize is closing Bfresh grocery store in Allston, Massachusetts

Giant Food Stores: Berenstain Bears childcare center

US: Lee Delaney to become CEO of BJ’s Wholesale ClubBJ’s Wholesale Club will have a new CEO at the helm early next year with the promotion of President Lee Delaney. Effective…

New agricultural robots and sector challenges addressed at FIRA 2019

As the need for task automation increases exponentially in the agricultural world, FIRA must support this change in progress. The 4th edition of FIRA, the International Forum…

UN declares 2021 to be international Year of Fruits and Vegetables

Last Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution to declare 2021 the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. The resolution says the UNGA considered…

US: Little Leaf Farms doubling hydroponic, greenhouse-growing operations in MA in 2020

For many business owners, Paul Sellew has a good problem to solve. The founder and chief executive officer of Little Leaf Farms is producing one million boxes of fresh…

USDA Foreign avocado report

Mexico avocado annual

As global avocado demand continues to grow, Mexican producers are looking to increase yields to meet that demand, particularly in the US 2019/20 Mexican production and export…

Gareth Edgecombe - T&G Global

"We're actively future proofing the business, investing in new genetics and diversifying product offer"

While T&G Global experienced improved trading in Asia and Australia, strong results in the Pacific Islands and a positive performance in the US market, the company says its…

Bjorn Thumas - TOMRA Food

“Investment is a risk for companies at times like these, but we have seen that people can be very creative"

The machine sector in the fresh produce industry is becoming more and more competitive, so how can companies keep ahead of the game with new technologies, which still making…

Lemons lead Argentina's citrus exports

Although in 2019 Argentine citrus exports fell to the lowest levels of recent years, lemon continues to lead international citrus exports accounting for 70% of…

Hugo Castro of Ginafruit:

“Ecuadorian banana exports to Europe decreased 12-14% in 2019”

Ecuador produces and exports bananas year-round. While there is a high season and a low season, the volumes during the low season are only about 30% lower than those during…

Cameron Carter - Seeka Australia

"We will see a steady increase in volumes over each season ahead as more production comes online"

Seeka Australia are looking forward to a good kiwifruit season despite the very hot and dry conditions. "We are delighted with the kiwifruit fruit set in Australia. The early…

Murray McCallum - Freshmax

A big year of business integration sets up Freshmax for future international growth

2019 has been a busy year for Freshmax, focusing on consolidating and integrating the different arms of the company as it sets itself up to grow stronger in the global market,…

Efko sees great potential for Austrian calettes and expands production capacity

"The biggest challenge is still the promotion of the product."

After the first marketing season last year, local calettes have been back on the vegetable shelves of the Austrian food retail trade for about four weeks now. The eye-catching…

Despite quiet Christmas sales Brussels importers look back at a good year

The Christmas sales at the importers of the European import centre in Brussels is no longer like it used to be. Last Wednesday it was remarkably quiet in the centre. "It might…

Annie Lebleu, Verdigro, in Belgium

"On 6 January, Verdigro gets two new owners"

“It is was very quiet in the trade market," says Annie Lebleu of the Belgian wholesaler, Verdigro. "I suspect it was the calm before the storm. Everything in our sector must…

Leon van den Hombergh, Frankort&Koning:

"Seamless transition between Brazilian and Central American melon supply"

"At the moment the weather conditions in the production areas of Brazil, Panama, Honduras and Costa Rica are fine for the melon cultivation there," according…

Egyptian exporter Stars of Export on the spring onion season

“Thanks to investments made in the past, we are ready to expand our production”

The year for Egyptian spring onions was full of surprises, but was successful overall for one Egyptian exporter. Weather did pose some challenges, but thanks to investments…

Béatrice Chauffaille, Perlim:

“We are launching packaging that integrates the CSR dimension”

Since the beginning of October, it is possible to find the Golden Altitude from the Limousin in trays made of 100% cardboard mainly from the recycling industry. For Béatrice…

Greek kiwi season comes with large sizes

The kiwi season in Greece is in full swing, and according to one exporter it has been a steady season so far. Despite a shortage in smaller sizes, there is enough volume…

IG International will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary in 2020

“We will reveal new products and expansion during Fruit Logistica”

With the Denghu fever no longer being an issue in India, demand for kiwifruit has dropped. The apple market has also slowed down, as stocks are plentiful and prices are quite…

Dr. Avi Perl on their grape varieties

"East-West crosses have led to unique new grape cultivars"

The earlier the grape variety, the better the profits that are to be made. This is the philosophy of an Israeli scientist, who has been working on new cultivars. One of the…

"2019 was a good year for us"

"2019 was particularly good for Cooperativa Sole, we grew a lot: +16% in quantities and +22% in value. We are pleased with the result and hope we can go on like this," reports…

Pro Agri

Pachino PGI tomato packaging company sums up 2019

"2019 will be remembered as an intense and rewarding year for the results achieved and for our numerous initiatives, but above all, for the value of the marketed production".…

Ortogel Spa

Blood orange prices extremely low

Ortogel confirms the difficulties that affected the 2019/20 citrus fruit campaign caused by the weather and market dynamics and reports a 520% drop in volumes. "Unfortunately,…

Interview with Salvatore Consoli

The challenges for Italian table grapes

CO.RA Srl from Mazzarrone (CT) is located in one of the most interesting territories for table grape production in Italy with around 12,000 hectares in total. FreshPlaza…

2019 was the year of the citrus fruit campaign for Donnalia

A good product performance is guaranteed only through a sustainable approach

"Quality, value, respect for the environment and for the consumers are the elements we focus on every day in our work, by implementing all the information we receive from our…

Drying process improves the nutraceutic value of perilla leaves

Fresh leaves of Perilla frutescens (perilla) are used as a culinary herb in East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and China. Perilla is an annual…

Maas Fruit Quality Inspection

How do you measure curved bananas?

Crooked bananas? How does one go about measuring these? You can soon see the answer to this and similar questions on Maas Fruit Quality Inspection (MFQI)…

John Rombouts, Joined Resources:

“There are still huge chances to score in the Russian retail sector”

The Russian market may well be closed to European fresh produce, but there are still ample opportunities to trade non-European fruits and vegetables there. There is an…

Gerard Hoekman, Mulder Onions:

A disproportionate amount of red onions in the first half of the season "

In recent weeks, export volumes of Dutch onions have yielded good figures. "Exports are doing very well. Africa took the lead and the Far East followed closely as did…

Tracey Davies, - CEO Halls

"Currently the business is transitioning towards a majority Hass production"

The Halls' commercial team is geographically located across the UK and the European continent, Africa and now China. This team has had many knowledgeable years in the avocado…

Wouter le Roux, It’sofresh

Airfreight company diversifying into sea freight of apples, citrus & avos

It’sofresh is a South African company that specialises in air freight of exotics to Europe and the Middle East, like papaya and pineapples to the latter or passionfruit and…

Circular economy of mushrooms: health and quality guarantee

Haute cuisine boosts mushroom consumption

“The upward trend in the consumption of 'new' cultivated mushrooms, such as the portobello, shiitake or Pleurotus eryngii, is clear. The rise in their popularity is due in…

Maritime Terminal of Zaragoza, connecting Spain to Europe and Asia:

The Spanish hub specialized in perishable products

“For logistics operators working in the agro-food and perishable sector in Spain, the Maritime Terminal of Zaragoza (tmZ) has become an efficient solution to gain access to…

Uberization: the future of agriculture without producers

Business concentration in agriculture, as well as its "uberization", is not a recent issue. “It has been going on for years, and it is actually getting worse. In the current…

Koppert also advises the use of blue colored traps

Orius and Cucumeris stop thrips in pepper crops in winter

The pest known as thrips (Frankiniella occidentalis) is becoming increasingly present in greenhouses in the winter. This is mainly due to the fact that the cold slows down the…

Enrique de los Ríos, director of Unica Fresh, analyzes the challenges for 2020

"As a leader in production, Spain should try to unite the main cooperatives"

With 11 years of history, Unica Fresh has not stopped growing and expanding outside Almeria, where it started and where it has its current headquarters. In the last year…

Swedish herb grower Spisa Smaker focuses on sustainability

“Our new packaging aims to eliminate plastic in favor of paper”

On November 1st, 2019, new sustainable herb packaging was released in Swedish ICA stores. Spisa Smaker, a greenhouse herb growing company with the goal of providing locally…

Cornell research

'Locally grown' broccoli looks and tastes better

In blind tests conducted by Cornell researchers, consumers rated a California broccoli tastier and better-looking than a pair of varieties grown in New York.…

New members appointed to U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the appointment of 13 members and 11 alternate members to serve on the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. The…

St Louis University

A look at the karela in relation to cancer research

Recent research seems to indicate that the Asian fruit known as the karela or bitter melon shows promise in slowing the progression of cancer. It has…

Report shows 98% of US farms are family farms

The 2019 edition of the America’s Diverse Family Farms report indicate that 90% of all farms in the United States are family farms, which represents 88% of…

Mice fed plant-rich diets less susceptible to E.coli gastrointestinal infections

The EHEC strain of E.coli is very dangerous and causing an extremely harmful inflammation in the colon which can end up being deadly. This strain of E.coli is…

How much can Florida growers spend on caretaking processed orange groves?

Citrus growers are presented with challenging decisions due to the lower prices for processed oranges this season. Projected prices, forecast by the Florida…

Cornell researchers develop Listeria risk assessment tool

The Frozen Food Foundation has funded a new study, developed by Cornell researchers. One of the researchers is Martin Wiedmann, an expert in microbial food…

Blueberry exports week 51

Chile: North Zone finishes with 21% more volume than previous campaign

The harvest in the North Zone (Coquimbo and Valparaíso) is almost finished with 21% more fruit than the previous campaign. The central zone volumes are decreasing and exports…

Looking back on the Chinese apple market in 2019 forward to 2020

The overall surface area devoted to apple plantations in China is still growing. The centre is currently moving from Shandong to Shaanxi. The overall surface…

"Vacuum cooling is essential to maintain leafy greens’ quality"

Leafy greens vegetables are increasingly grown through hydroponics, sometimes under protective structures, said Mr. Arvin Lau from Vegfor Cooling Technology Limited. After…

"New platform to provide better cold chain logistics services"

On December 15th, 2019, the official launch ceremony of the Asia Global Fresh Food Import & Export Platform 2.0 was held in Shenzhen. The entire top management of Asia Global…

A 30.000 square meter orange sorting factory with only 10 employees

"We automated a whole orange sorting plant"

When you think of an orange sorting plant, most people will think about many workers on the floor, constantly moving back and forth. However, that image of a labor-intensive…

Costa Rica's year-round crops are exported to 53 countries globally

Costa Rica is determined to continue being an exporter of agricultural products with good quality quality and taste which are produced under sustainable…

January 14th-16th, 2020, at the Exhibition Center of Angers:

SIVAL highlights not to miss

The Fair for specialized plant productions will take place from January 14th to 16th, 2020, at the Exhibition Center of Angers. The highlights not to miss are: The inauguration…

Stella Rasmussen on the first full financial year

"There are many opportunities to further exploit Kenya's export potential"

Every year, there are a lot of insolvency applications and new registrations in the German fruit and vegetable trade. For Stella Rasmussen - a young, passionate entrepreneur…

AVI introduces a new punnet for cut fruit packaging

For cut fruits stored in a refrigerator or carried on the go, falling prey to unhygienic conditions is a common challenge. Recognizing the need for cut fruit plastic packaging…

Optimum water content: a blueberry case study

To optimize the irrigation strategy growers must have a clear understanding of the moisture, drain and EC levels. Last week we published about how to improve the irrigation…

FEM identifies 17 pear chromosomes

Yet another success for Fondazione Edmund Mach: as it established the complete sequencing of the 17 chromosomes of the pear genome, Bartlett cultivar. FEM coordinated the international…

Today, every seventh apple in Switzerland is a club apple

Club apples - a successful marketing concept?

With annual sales of approx. 60,000 tonnes, apples are among the most popular fruits in the Swiss retail trade. Club apples emerged as a production and…

Rare golden skin watermelon goes on sale in time for Christmas

Rare golden skinned watermelons - instead of the usual green - are being launched for the first time ever in Britain. The melons will be exclusively sold by Tesco in time for…

Overview of EU trade with Latin America and the Caribbean

The 33 countries forming the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) taken together have remained the EU's fifth largest trading partner and constitute a…

Dudley Mitchell from HCMS Pty Ltd

Nuffield scholar explores global avocado production

The Australian avocado industry has an opportunity to bolster productivity and profitability by moving beyond conventional growing and canopy management…

USDA GAIN report

Warm temperatures and below-average rainfall cut Brazilian orange production

The Brazilian orange crop for MY 2019/20 is forecast at 370 million 40.8-kg boxes (MBx), equal to 15.1 mmt, a decrease of 22 percent relative to the current season, due to…

Chile plans to export more than 158,000 tons of fresh plums in the 2019-2020 season

According to the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX), the Chilean plum export season began in week 48, in which 32 tons were exported. Up until…

Visualizing 30 years of Chinese economic growth

China’s economy has grown significantly faster than every measure on our visual. It’s grown 14.12 times in size since 1989. The Euro area and other high income countries,…

"You may have losses in transport because of these errors"

Fresh produce is not an easy business. You are always reliant on the weather conditions and how well the crop performs that year. Then, if you transport it to other…

First pop-up shop of Chilean cherries opened in Shanghai

December is a month of cherries. The first pop-up shop of Chilean cherries opened on Tianshan Road in Changning, Shanghai, and has been deluged with festive…

Dominican Republic wants to increase avocado exports

The Dominican Republic is strategizing to become the world’s largest exporter of green skin avocados – which they have recently re-labeled as tropical avocados…

Bengaluru's first zero-waste cafe

Indians use fruit shells as cups

While the Indian city of Bengaluru produces over 5,000 tonnes of garbage every day, and the city administration has attempted to impose no-plastic and segregation-at-source…

Twinkle Khanna was gifted onion earrings

Onions getting more and more valuable?

Sky-rocketing onion prices have made the vegetable, once considered basic, a luxury. Memes mocking the vegetable have been floating on social media, in addition to the debates…

Irish scientists: Mushrooms are the superfood of the future

In County Monaghan, Ireland, stands one of the world’s biggest mushroom producers. The BioRescue project partner has its own laboratories where 40 scientists…

USDA Citrus Annual

Citrus production Republic of Korea projected to increase 645,000 tons

South Korea’s total citrus production for Marketing Year 2019/20 (October – September) is projected to increase six percent to 645,000 tons from 607,638 tons in MY 2018/19.…

Central Otago fruit expansion causes housing shortage

A recent Southern DHB report found a lack of housing availability was driving up housing prices in Central Otago, forcing some to live in crowded homes or even sleep…

Waikato, more known for its green pasture than green kiwifruit is now home to almost 600ha

People looking to invest in horticulture in New Zealnd typically look to Northland for avocados, the Bay of Plenty for kiwifruit, and Hawke's Bay for apple orchards. But…

Kiwifruit, apples and pears drive increasing export revenue

The country's horticulture boom is rolling on, with the sector poised to overtake forestry and become the third most valuable primary industry. The latest SOPI report (Situation…

How to peel dozens of bananas in seconds

The video of a young man peeling dozens of bananas in seconds with an ingenious trick has become hugely popular on YouTube and other social media. In fact, it…

Peruvian agro-exports to reach US$ 7,500 billion by end of 2019

According to a spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri), Peruvian agro-exports would reach 7,500 million dollars in the current year o…

Report of the Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries

Europe is the world's second-largest importer of dried chili peppers

According to a report by the Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries, CBI, the main importer of dried peppers in Europe is Spain.…

Peruvian banana exports exceed $137 million dollars in 2019

According to a report published by the National Superintendence of Customs and Tax Administration (Sunat), Peruvian banana exports between January and November…

Peruvian grape exports up 14.5% in October

Grape exports increased by 14.5% until October of this year and amounting to 72 million 375,883 dollars, said the Association of Exporters (Adex). "That amount…

Spain was the world's largest exporter of lettuce in 2018

In 2018, Spain dominated the world export of lettuce, both in terms of volume and value, as revealed by the data from the Statistics Division of the United…

Worldwide vegetable exports have almost doubled in the last ten years

During the last ten years, the global export of vegetables has multiplied by 1.79, going from 35,458.15 million euro in 2009 to 63,295.7 million in 2018, i.e.…

Prof Julie Lovegrove - University of Reading

Eating two apples daily for eight weeks can lower 'bad' cholesterol

Eating two apples a day may reduce people's risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, experts found. When 40 people with slightly high cholesterol ate two large apples a day…

Study finds climate change could reduce fruit and veg yields by a third

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have found that the yields of certain fruits, such as soft fruits, grapes, and bananas, are at risk of…

How do carrots affect your vision?

Carrots being good for the eyes is a well-known fact. It is something we have grown up learning, and there is even scientific evidence to back this claim. But,…

Fighting child obesity

Could eBooks help encourage children to eat vegetables?

Concerned parties, hoping to encourage children to eat their vegetables, have not been idle. Based on the evidence that children who are exposed to pictures of vegetables are…

An International Guide to Fair Trade labels

In an international collaborative effort between four joint partners -Commerce Équitable France, Fair World Project, FairNESS France and Forum Fairer Handel-…

United Nations - Expected population levels in 2100

...not gonna witness that.

Food Trends Watch 2020: Beets, mushrooms and fermentation

Each year, Produce Processing visits international trade shows around the world to get a handle on the next big food trends. Some trends spark consumer…

Food needed to feed global population to rise by 80% by end of century

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Gottingen in Germany found that as the average Body Mass Index of individuals increases, to do the amount…

A very special Christmas tree

The Halls Christmas tree of avocados

FreshPlaza Funny

Decorating?