"There's never a dull moment in the fresh produce sector, but the current weather conditions are creating some truly unique situations," explains Leon van den Hombergh from the Dutch company Frankort&Koning. "Take, for instance, open-field vegetables that have been trading at record high
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How can we help create value in fruit and vegetables through corrugated packaging, how can we tell its story, how can we better communicate its quality, its beauty, its uniqueness? How to facilitate a more cohesive, promotional and competitive approach in the sector? read more

Albert Bartlett, a prominent cultivator and distributor of Jersey Royal potatoes, is in talks to be acquired by an international corporation. The company, which operates farms in the UK, Ireland, and France, confirmed it has initiated discussions with an investment group to buy The Jersey Royal
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In northern China's Hebei province, the Taihang Wuzhishan Scenic Area's job listing for a person to dress as the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, and interact with tourists has gone viral. For 6,000 yuan (850 usd) a month, the chosen individual will wear a costume and stay in a cave at the mountain's
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The Egyptian potato campaign kicked off at the beginning of the year. It is not yet clear how much volume will be harvested and exported, as growers' opinions differ and the pressure of the local market's needs will dictate the volumes available for export. read more

The Court of Appeal of Catania ratified the 15,000 euro fine and one year in prison sentence imposed on a tomato producer for the illegal breeding of a protected tomato variety. The conviction is based on the crime established in the second paragraph of article 517ter of the criminal code,
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Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and The Ohio State University (OSU) have been working to investigate how tomatoes may be imparting health benefits in a recently published study. read more

An extended-life packaging concept that preserves the quality of fruits and vegetables for several days - between one and six weeks, depending on the type of fruit or vegetable - has been launched by the Italian company Sfregola Materia Plastiche. It was on display at the Marca 2024 trade show. read more

The harvest time has come for the earliest Turkish blueberry variety, says Gizem Büyükkeskin, operations manager for Turkish blueberry producer and trader Qualitas Berry: “Keplerblue performs very well under tunnels or in a greenhouse. Among the varieties we have now, Venture, Suzi, Atlas,
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Israel’s avocado harvest is in full swing with good demand and high prices seen in Europe. According to Yonatan Meron, Export Manager of Granot Fresh, “Israel is in full swing with more than 5,000 tons a week harvested.” read more

South African exports to Saudi Arabia and Jordan are affected by the situation in the Red Sea. While some exporters still use Red Sea ports like Jeddah and King Abdullah Port (necessitating a US Navy escort and “hectic” insurance premiums when entering Red Sea waters), various others have
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Although Ukrainian farmers harvested nearly 29 million tons of vegetables in 2023, Ukraine continues to import significant quantities of basic vegetables, including tomatoes, onions, carrots, beets, and cabbage. read more

The Belize government is looking to rejuvenate the declining citrus and banana sectors. Recent data from the Statistical Institute of Belize indicates a drop in output for both commodities. Despite this, in November 2021, banana earnings increased to $5.6 million from $4.6 million in 2022, while
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From late autumn until the early days of the year, the United Kingdom was hit by violent storms and floods that put a strain on winter vegetable harvests. The worst affected areas were Lincolnshire, East Anglia, Cornwall and
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Drewry’s World Container Index increased by 23% to $3,777 per 40ft container this week. read more

Bashkortostan has experienced a significant 75% drop in fruit and vegetable imports. read more

The Vietnam Trade Office in Spain has cautioned local businesses to tread carefully when entering into contracts with Spanish firms, particularly ISASA Export Company in Malaga, Spain. This advice follows reports of payment delays from Vietnamese cashew and pepper exporters. read more

The ramifications of the war in the Middle East and the freight crisis it has caused in the Red Sea are severely disrupting the flows of agricultural exports and threatening the campaigns in many countries. Mourad Erraguragui, vice-president of the Moroccan Association of Intercontinental Road
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While Spain in general has seen a 20% increase in its apple production for the 2023/2024 season, the province of Girona is supplying about 15% less due to the impact of drought and the limited availability of water for irrigation. The prices of Spanish apples are benefitting from the widespread
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Increasingly unpredictable climatic trends, such as those that characterised the 2023 chestnut campaign, with an overly rainy spring and a too-dry autumn, affected the harvests but, even more seriously, resulted in quality variability on the
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