On May 22, about the same time as last year, Lower Rhine horticultural company Hoffmann could offer the first blueberries of this year's season. The home-fresh produce from unheated glasshouses is marketed mainly in direct marketing, as Managing Director Stefan Hoffmann tells us. "We offer the
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Last week’s jump in temperatures in Washington was welcomed by Pacific Northwest cherry growers. In turn, this also means that the back end of the cherry crop is likely to be a more moderate crop. read more

A disaster for the entire region, a real tragedy for agriculture, in an area with a very strong agri-food vocation, the second largest regional export item after mechanics: a wealth that risks being partly compromised by this catastrophe. read more

"There are dates that should be in every calendar," says Dr Christian Weseloh, Managing Director of BVEO. And on 19 and 20 September it's that time again. The German Fruit & Vegetable Congress opens its doors in Düsseldorf. Just like the event business as a whole in Germany
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In week 20, Bienek Fruchthandels began selling Spanish cherries this year. "The season started with smaller fruits, each carrying a diameter of about 26-28 mm. However, since the middle of this week, we also have larger calibers with 30+ available. Due to the fact that the weather in Spain has
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"Thank you to the president who wanted to come to Emilia to see the situation that the region and the entire nation is facing," she said. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this in Bologna, after flying over the flooded areas with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
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Drewry’s composite World Container Index has decreased by 2% this week, and has dropped by 78% when compared with the same week last year. The latest Drewry WCI composite index of $1,685 per 40-foot container is now 84% below the peak of $10,377 reached in September 2021. read more

Seaborne reefer trade is on the brink of returning to growth in 2023, with volumes set to increase by 2.1%, outpacing the wider dry cargo trade, to reach 140.5 million tons this year. Probably, reefer shipping will continue to outgun other cargo types as the perishables trade proves more
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Due to Whitsun on 29 May, Fruchthandel Magazine is taking a break. On Tuesday, 30 May, we will be there for you as usual with fresh news about the fruit and vegetable sector. The Fruchthandel Magazine team wishes all readers a wonderful long weekend. read more

Up until May 23, only 728,000 boxes of Mexican grapes were harvested compared to 2,957,000 boxes harvested by May 23 of last year, a difference of more than two million boxes. Although harvest started about ten days ago, very little volume is available at the moment. “The start of the Mexican
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Following the successful introduction of their Akorn Natural™ coatings for mango and avocado in South America, Akorn Technology announces the expansion of their business in Africa. read more

In Germany, vegetables were grown on around 126,000 hectares in 2022 - a decline of around four percent compared to the previous year. This is according to the report of the "National Dialogue on Food Systems". Asparagus, onions, lettuces and carrots grew on more than half of the land. read more

Perla Nera, the dark-skinned, low-seeded midi watermelon, particularly sweet and crunchy, produced exclusively by O.P. Francescon, Peviani S.p.A. and O.P. La Mongolfiera, has just started its 2023 marketing campaign. Archived production in Senegal, which has
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Amenduni Nicola Spa will attend the Second International Africa Avocado Congress, scheduled from 31 May to 3 June 2023 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Amenduni is a company that designs machinery for the extraction of comestible oil, and is a partner of the Valbruna Group, one of the
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The South American Rojo Brillante kaki campaign is gaining momentum and the fruit is becoming a good alternative for consumption also in the spring and summer months. The Valencian company The Natural Hand, specialized in shipping this fruit over long distances, has already become the largest
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At Royal, blueberries and raspberries are giving way to the stone fruit season. "Our biggest concern this year is the drought," says Macarena Garcia Otero Reina. "The situation on availability here in Andalusia is slightly better than in Murcia, but we still have about 20% less stone fruit
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In this week’s “Shipping Number of the Week” from BIMCO, chief shipping analyst, Niels Rasmussen, looks at the fact that despite a 70-80% fall in freight rates, and worsening of the supply/demand balance, liner operators have been able to keep rates higher than pre-pandemic levels. read more

Flooded fields, broken riverbanks, damaged infrastructure. The scenario seems very similar to what we have experienced in recent days in Emilia Romagna, but we find it in the Valencian community in Spain (in particular Alicante and Valencia). read more

After almost three decades in the retail market of agricultural products, around the year 2000, Djalma Santana, founder and CEO expanded it`s area of operation, and began the commercialization of Ginger root in the state of Espirito Santo, which today is the leading state in the national
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The campaign for Barbera's premium seedless ARRA Sugar Drop™ (ARRA 30) grapes is about to start: around the beginning of June, the picking will begin. Very thin skin, which melts in the mouth; crunchy pulp, which crunches in the bite; high sugar level
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