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Tuesday, March 9, 2021
NORTH AMERICA

Our team

Marieke Hemmes
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Annika Durinck
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Astrid van den Broek
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Sander Bruins Slot
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Job Offers

Stone Fruit Sales Category Manager - Europe Division

Grower, Vine Crops - Richmond (KY) USA

Cultivation/Propagation Manager Young Plants - Australia

Assistant Head Grower - Mason City (Iowa) USA

Global Category Director for Cherries - Chile, North America, Australia or New Zealand

Head of Sales - LA (California) USA

Head of Agronomy: Research & Development - Berlin, Germany

Africa Fruit Export Sales Manager - South Africa

Grower - Philippines

Assistant technical manager

“Volumes are ramping up now and prices remain strong”

Central American melon production has recovered from hurricanes

In November, Central America was hit by two hurricanes: Eta and Iota. These hurricanes hit very closely together and had a heavy impact on the melon production in Guatemala…

Ark Foods’ Clean Label Salads

New salad line celebrates the unsung heroes of the veggie world

The consumer demand for healthy and convenient food options has been on the rise over the years, and with the onset of the pandemic – which was quickly followed by meal…

Harvest to start March 20th

Update on Florida’s rejuvenated blueberry industry

The start of Florida’s blueberry season is fast approaching. Around March 20th, North Bay Produce and its member grower H&A Farms will begin harvesting pallet volumes. “This…

Adds Hazel® for grapes

Migiva Group differentiates premium table grape offer

In line with its commitment to supplying the freshest, and most flavorful fruit, Migiva Group – a family-owned group of diversified companies in the Americas and owner of…

Important development for grapefruit and sweet potato importers

US and EU agree tariff freeze in Boeing-Airbus dispute

The European Union and the US agreed to suspend tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s products, easing a 17-year dispute over illegal aid to the…

United Fresh Women in Produce nomination period open

Nominations are now being accepted for United Fresh’s 2021 Women in Produce Honoree. Celebrated each year in conjunction with the United Fresh Convention &…

US imports of Peruvian asparagus went up in 2020

The Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association (PAIA) reports a three percent increase in volume year-over-year for 2020 imports. According to the United States Department of…

Ag Pro Robotics

Ag Pro Robotics, California

Video StrawBot follows harvesters during strawberry picking

Ag Pro Robotics from Watsonville, California, has presented a semi-autonomous strawberry harvesting robot called StrawBot. The machine is designed to support human strawberry…

Specialty apple grower announces 2021 staff promotions

Okanagan Specialty Fruits® (OSF), developer and grower behind the non-browning Arctic® apple, is pleased to announce a line of staff changes and promotions in 2021 at the…

Consumers can now visit Avocado Nation

Avocados From Mexico recently unveiled Avocado Nation, a multi-area platform powered by Artificial Intelligence that allows AFM to leverage its consumers'…

Global Focus Bananas

India has great potential when it comes to bananas

India is the leading banana producer worldwide. In 2019, volumes almost reached 30.5 million tons, i.e. 26.02% of the global production. Quantities are mostly absorbed on a…

Special Australia / New Zealand

"Effectively we are trying to fill that void between conventional produce and the organic category"

The innovative frozen fruit range promoting the importance of sustainability in Australia

An emerging Australian frozen fruit supplier says it was not enough for him to just go organic, so he took the extra step and committed to creating sustainably certified…

Retail

Dreamstime

The Fresh Market celebrates women-owned and -operated food companies

Target: Groundbreaking ceremony in Yonkers, New York

US: Walmart Board of Directors adds former AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall StephensonWalmart Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Randall Stephenson, former…

Category of "super” avocado shoppers is growing fast

Avocados have found their way onto the tables of an increasing number of U.S. households as the category continues to develop. A recent study by the Hass…

Not all players benefit equally

Idaho potato crop brought in record revenues in 2020

Despite the pandemic, the potato industry in Idaho eventually performed well in 2020. According to economists at the University of Idaho, the industry has set…

Portmanatee.com

Port Manatee is crucial hub for Southwest Florida and beyond

For consumers in Southwestern and Central Florida and other regions, Manatee Port is a vibrant channel for a variety of commodities, providing access to all important supply…

Florida strawberry farmers rebound after Covid lockdown caused financial devastation

Tampa Bay growers are rebounding, one year after the Coronavirus lockdown left many of them financially devastated. According to Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale…

Hot pepper production New Mexico saw increase in 2020

The year 2020 wasn’t all bad for chillies as New Mexico growers reported increased production and yield levels for the state’s most famous crop, despite Covid…

Prime-Ark® Horizon offers growers new option for primocane-fruiting blackberries

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station releases new Primocane-Fruiting Blackberry

Prime-Ark® Horizon, a new primocane-fruiting blackberry from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, offers growers a new option with an extended…

USDA

U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement Seasonal Perishable Products Weekly Update

Mexican asparagus movements expected to remain about the same, at lower prices

The past week was a time for growers and shippers across the country to catch up from the delays and losses of the past several weeks. With the passing of extreme weather in…

Lasko

New, fruit-shaped device to keep our fridges fresh

The new Fresh Slice Fridge Ionizer from Lasko is a battery-operated, watermelon-shaped device that functions as an air purifier, just for our fridges. It uses the brand’s…

There is a gap in the Chinese blueberry market

Chinese blueberry plantation in Yunnan is still expanding, and the price is better than last year

The plantation volume of Chinese blueberries is quite small. Every production area and every blueberry variety has its unique characteristics. Yunnan is warm throughout the…

"Mesh bag season is over in the northern hemisphere, but we are preparing for the potato harvest in the southern hemisphere"

The level of automation in the agricultural industry continues to rise every year. A growing number of packaging factories and farms are investing in automated packaging and…

Egyptian garlic season underway

The Egyptian garlic season has started and the harvest has been relatively good this year. There are more smaller sizes available than larger sizes, and the past two months…

Snowstorm affects peaches and spring potatoes

Greek strawberry production increased by 15%

Greece dealt with an intense snow storm in February, the effects of which will decrease production for several Greek products. Both the early varieties of peaches as well as…

Alec van den Heuvel, VDH Concept, Belgium

"SQ Paper and Bio Net are nice, sustainable alternatives to traditional onion packaging"

Onions have always been packaged in orange netting. But, due to the continued plastic discussion, this type of packaging is set to gradually disappear from…

Munich-based gastronomy wholesaler points out threatening situation

"The situation is extremely precarious"

In many places, wholesalers, and in particular the catering trade, are still suffering from the current Corona conditions. "For us, too, it continues to mean…

Food-safe sorting and packaging with GeoSort Ultimate Clean

How can one sort and package with food safety as a top priority? That question becomes increasingly important in the market, with consumers paying more and more attention to…

Erik Waterman, Waterman Onions, the Netherlands:

"The party's begun, but not everyone's joined in yet"

"We're usually at Fruit Logistica in Berlin or skiing. Now, we're sitting, staring at each other," jokes Erik Waterman of Waterman Onions in the Netherlands. That was in…

Gerard Hoekman, Mulder Onions, the Netherlands:

"Supermarkets split between those who import most of their onions themselves and those who let importers do the initial work"

The import season is almost upon Mulder Onions in the Netherlands again. "We're expecting the first New Zealand onions in the second week of March. New…

Citrustech begins testing mechanized citrus harvesting with an olive grove harvester prototype

The Citrustech Operational Group, which was set up to modernize citrus farms through mechanization and incorporation of technology, has begun testing…

"The alternative of not harvesting our income source would have been untenable"

How New Zealand's stone fruit industry has tried to mitigate labour shortage effects during harvest season

New Zealand's peak stone fruit body says while the industry has suffered from labour shortages over the harvest season, there were a large number of students who helped with…

Nigel Holliday - The Jersey Royal Company

Good demand for first Jersey Royals

The harvest of the famous Jersey Royal potato has started on the island, the initial volumes are small and are sold via wholesale markets in London and Southampton, before…

Jupiter’s Indian grapes filling supply gap

Global fresh produce grower Jupiter Group’s Indian grapes are ready to fill the gap caused by challenging weather across Chile and South Africa. Jupiter Group’s Indian grape…

MSC

MSC reports another successful year for its reefer cargo services

Shipping over 1.9 million refrigerated containers (also known as ‘reefer’) in 2020 alone, topping its previous record of 1.8 million in 2019, MSC continues to successfully…

New transparent labels on imported produce

On LinkedIn, Lisette Holmberg, Category Manager F&V for ICA, shared the launch of the berrylift. She shares some of her proud moments, such as the fact there are now…

Reflex launch Pack Plus: A more sustainable packaging solution

UK based packaging company Reflex Group have launched a lined board division to complement its existing packaging offering, and to provide a more environmentally friendly…

Low prices complicate Argentine garlic sales

"There is still a lot of garlic left to market, almost 50% of the harvest up to January"

Last year, the coronavirus outbreak forced China to curb its garlic exports, causing a shortage in the international market. This led to an increase in garlic…

Foreign YouTubers air their views on Taiwan pineapple situation

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