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Friday, March 5, 2021
EUROPE

Our team

Sander Bruins Slot
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Nichola McGregor
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Job Offers

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

Food Safety and Quality Director - South Bend (IN) USA

OVERVIEW GLOBAL MELON AND WATERMELON MARKET

The melon supply is currently shifting from Brazil to Senegal. The Central American melon season has started much too late. Normally, the first volumes arrive in early to…

Logistics UK responds to Northern Ireland grace periods extension

In response to the news from March 3, 2021 that the UK government will extend the grace periods relating to border checks on some agri-food goods – also known…

Tim Struckman, Exotic Roots:

"With our packaging line we want to bring consumers into contact with exotics they never buy"

Starting your own business in the export of exotics during COVID times sounds like a challenge. Nevertheless, according to Tim Struckman of Exotic Roots, it is…

André Vois (Project Service & Production LLC) on environmentally friendly packaging

"The market was just waiting for our eco-banding system"

The people at Project Service & Production LLC are focused on product packaging of the future, even in today's times of crisis. FreshPlaza spoke to André Vois, Product Key Account…

Jan Marc Schulz, SFI Rotterdam, the Netherlands

"The Chilean grape season ended abruptly, but no shortages on the European market"

The Chilean grape season literally ended up in the water. "For the growers, it's tragic. They had a perfect growing season. Everything was going their way until the last…

The Navarrese company Endinava, specialist in endives and live lettuces, becomes a fig grower

"There is a boom in the consumption of figs"

From selling endives and live lettuces to also betting on a fruit that is becoming increasingly popular in the countries of central and northern Europe: figs. The Navarrese…

When commodities are sold as premium, confusion grips the market

"For more than 10 days now, the situation in the vegetable market has been very heavy, especially for basic products, which are struggling to be sold, although there were some…

Georg Thalhammer on the current organic pumpkin season

"Egyptian import volumes can probably be doubled"

The import season for organic Hokkaidos is currently in full swing. "By the end of the month, the total volume from Egypt, our main sourcing country, will be around 900 tons.…

Harro van Dam, Carsol Europe, the Netherlands

"Our large-scale pot and substrate blueberry cultivation in Portugal makes us unique"

Carsol Europe's blueberry season in Portugal is about to start. In recent years, the Dutch cultivation company has invested heavily in two Portuguese cultivation sites. One is…

Industrie Montali

Single-dose pouches excellent to avoid logistic problems due to the pandemic

"Next month, we will introduce two innovative products we called Linea Chef, proof that it is possible to create high-end ready-to-eat dishes that are healthy and easy to use.…

Special Australia / New Zealand

"There are stories being told about you - but who is telling that story?"

Melbourne fruit retailer believes that embracing a digital strategy is the future of fruit and veg marketing

When a local Melbourne grocer was getting tired of the "same old advice" that was constantly being given to him on how to sell fruit and vegetables, he decided to think…

Global Focus Bananas

Thomas Hug (Bananen+Frucht AG) on the global banana market

"Importing bananas yourself is a risk that doesn't pay off"

Bananen + Frucht AG is a modern service provider with its own ripening facility at Zurich's Engrosmarkt. "We sell around 3,500 tons of bananas per year," says Thomas Hug, the…

Natar Group: 'We will reach the peak very soon'

Italian strawberry season in full swing

"We are less than halfway through the strawberry season, but consumption and sales are going quite fast now, partly due to the mild and sunny weather. The peak will soon be…

Karlheinz Meier, Meier Pilze LLC:

"We now only offer German instead of Korean King Trumpet mushrooms"

The edible mushroom industry continues to suffer from the ongoing lockdowns and gastronomy closures. "Mushroom consumption is shifting noticeably from gastronomy to food…

Colombia: First Orange Export lime grower gets Demeter certified

Germany is desperate for Colombian Demeter-certified limes. Now, Orange Export SAS can start supplying them. It took three years of intensive training and conversion. But last…

Eurostat, Comext

DG agri dashboard - Citrus fruit

Current EU weighted average orange price €5 above 2019/2020 average

2019/2020 EU imports of saw a new high regarding oranges, at about 950,000 tonnes. the same was true for small citrus fruits, with imports coming in at about 410,000 tonnes. The…

The Italian Pieve di Rivoschio Association asked the authorities for help in dealing with the emergency

Chestnuts and marrons are now facing the threat of the chestnut tortrix

A small consortium, the Associazione Marrone dolce di Pieve di Rivoschio (Sarsina) in the province of Forlì-Cesena, has asked the local and regional authorities for help in…

Half of Sicilian companies report Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus infections

A convention discussed the spreading of ToBRFV in Sicily. TBRFV symptoms on leaves "It is difficult to detect the disease, as symptoms are almost invisible, so it is important…

HM.CLAUSE

The weather affects fennel crops

Over the past few years, fennel crops have been going through many crises in the various cultivation areas - the planning schemes operators (producers, traders and…

European potato market (week 9)

Germany: Consumption increases but producer prices do not evolve

European physical markets Price summary €/t (source: NEPG): Belgium Fiwap/PCA market message: Potatoes for processing: the market is sustained with limited offer and low demand. Bintje,…

Central warehouse EDEKA, Nieder-Olm

Employees protest comprehensive structural changes

On Wednesday, 03.03.2021, the works council of Kaiser's Verwaltungs- und Beteiligungsgesellschaft - an EDEKA subsidiary - held a workers meeting. At the beginning of 2017, the…

FiBL survey 2021

Hungary in the top 10 fastest-growing organic producer countries

Report shows Hungary is one of the top 10 most dynamically developing organic producers. The Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi) recently reported that…

AR Packaging fibre-based barrier tray for fresh vegetables and fruit minimises use of plastics

Fresh vegetables and fruit are food categories with high waste levels throughout the supply chain. To meet the move to packaging with less plastics while not sacrificing…

Ferrante Fragole is looking forward to the start of the strawberry campaign in about 15 days

PGI certification is still a long way off for the Favetta strawberry

The PGI label (Protected Geographical Identification) would be an extra boost for the Favetta strawberry and would mean greater recognition on the national…

Domestic market update – March 2021

'Throughout February, free-buy and contract demand remained quiet across the board'

Throughout February, free-buy and contract demand remained quiet across the board. Cold and snowy weather at the start of February, combined with the national…

France: Containers to grow fruit and vegetables in La Courneuve

In the French department of Seine-Saint-Denis, an urban production of fruit and vegetables is being grown in 12-meter long containers. The products grow…

Russia: Onion prices already 1.5 times higher than in early March 2020

According to analysts of the project APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits, there is a rapid rise in prices for high-quality onion in the Russian market. The…

Michael Franks - Seeka

"SunGold 7-10 days advanced, Hayward same as last year"

The New Zealand kiwifruit harvest is about to begin and grower and post harvest company Seeka have been harvesting kiwiberry for a few weeks now and are on the home straight…

UK retailers delighted by Mzansi's stone fruit

British shoppers are quite enamoured by Mzansi's delicious stone fruit. So for the 13th consecutive year, Hortgro has embarked on a campaign to introduce UK…

Norfolk, UK

New potato store saves time and cost for British farming family

A new potato store is saving huge amounts of time and cost for a the Poortvliet farming family in Norfolk, UK. The Poortvliets, who farm at Bannington Hall…

ASAJA Alicante warns of millionaire losses in the Fino lemon campaign

"Daunting scenario in the lemon fields of the Vega Baja region"

ASAJA Alicante has warned of the serious crisis that is affecting Fino lemon farmers in the province of Alicante, who are facing millions in losses that have…

Non-EU participation in Spanish fruit and vegetable imports consolidated

According to data from the Customs and Excise Department processed by FEPEX, Spain imported 3.4 million tons of fruits and vegetables worth 3,118 million euro…

Sila Louw with Oppy in South Africa

“Our strength is to sell produce from Africa directly to North American retailers”

Oppy recently opened an office in South Africa and discusses the journey of setting foot on the African continent, combined with the immense opportunities the country offers.…

Lechelle Earl - Onions Australia

Good domestic demand for Australian onions

While the northern and eastern states of Australia have finished the onion harvest the south is in full production. South Australian and Tasmanian onion harvests are in full…

"Retail prices are expected to remain high for this financial year and into the next"

Forecasts show that there is no short term end for Australia's horticulture labour shortages

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) says while the horticulture industry will suffer significantly from labour shortages, there are…

Tessara Berrisys: Big difference in arrival quality of blueberries

Tessara’s launch of their Berrisys product for blueberries came at exactly the right time, when many blueberry exporters from South Africa were looking at a sea freight…

Supplies of iceberg lettuce exceed demand

Iceberg lettuce volume remains high thanks to a few factors. Sam Christopherson of Salinas, CA-based Markon notes that ample supplies of iceberg are currently being harvested…

Crop update South American mango growing regions

The National Mango Board (NMB) projects the total volume of mangoes shipped to the United States over the next two months to be 34 percent higher year-over-year. The 2021…

Mission Produce enters the mango category

Mission Produce, Inc., well-known for sourcing, producing, and distributing fresh Hass avocados, has announced its year-round mango program. The program will incorporate…

Bringing automation to nut harvesting

The macadamia market is constantly growing: indeed, the nutritional virtues it provides makes the macadamia nut a fruit very much in demand. "The success is such that today…

Exsa Exports lives up to their slogan “the Best of the Bunch”

The South African table grape harvest has passed the halfway mark and is proceeding extremely well for Exsa, one of the only South African fruit exporters that specialises in…

Sri Lanka

German Industry and Commerce organisation presents simplified exporters guidelines

The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Sri Lanka) and the United National Industrial Development Organization (United National Industrial Development…

March 8-12

Tomato Week covers e-commerce trends, COVID-19 and more

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas has opened registration for Tomato Week 2021 which takes place March 8-12. The event is open to all who have an…

Private online trading platform for fresh produce launches

Fresh produce can ‘trade smarter’ through the release of the industry’s online marketplace. ProduceIQ is a business-to-business platform for qualified growers and buyers to…

Ivory Coast: the mango sector is waiting anxiously

After seeing mango exports drop by 30% last year due to the pandemic, Ivory Coast is looking forward to the launch of the new season of the Kent variety in…

Russia lifts ban on tomato imports from two Uzbekistan regions

Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Rosselkhoznadzor has again permitted imports of tomatoes from six Uzbek ventures, starting March…

"Sales of delicate tomatoes remain unaffected by the pandemic"

Delicate tomatoes can be used in cooking as a vegetable, but also eaten as a snack. These small tomatoes contain 1.7 times the vitamins of regular tomatoes. The outside is…

Retail

Dreamstime

Deliveroo plans to list in London

Jerónimo Martins has posted a 25% drop in fourth-quarter net profit

Romania: Retailer Profi adds 31 new stores to its chain in Jan-FebRomanian supermarket and convenience store chain Profi, controlled by the investment fund Mid Europa…

FreshPlaza Funny

A beer that goes down well