The pressure from the food chain has paid off. The VAT reduction on basic foodstuffs will be maintained. For how long? It is not yet known. The First Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Social Affairs, Nadia Calviño, has confirmed it and has avoided putting an expiry date on it.
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Immediately after the end of the presidential election in Turkey, which was won by the incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish currency has suffered another 14% slump, which continues. According to EastFruit, this will have a big impact on the fruit and vegetable trade in the
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Maersk has signed a contract with Dutch manufacturer OCI Global to supply green1 bio-methanol for the maiden voyage. The 21,500 km voyage from Ulsan, South Korea, to Copenhagen, Denmark - more than halfway around the world - will provide real-world operational experience
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David Markowski took up the new position on 8 June. He has already been a board member of The Greenery Growers for three years, the company says. read more

Koppert Cress introduces Sansho Leaves. "A fresh flavor reminiscent of citrus, yuzu, and kaffir lime. That is combined with peppery and spicy notes. When eating these leaves, you experience a gentle tingle similar to Sechuan Buttons. These leaves taste sensational," the Dutch cress company
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The National Agricultural Marketing Council hosted a workshop on South Africa’s fresh produce chain today in which economist Thabile Nkunjana provided an overview of recent broad trends in international trade and its impact on South African fresh produce. The fresh produce sector has been at
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Italy is grappling with the weather that is turning the entire country upside down, with the summer still to come; we are still licking our wounds, after the violent floods that destroyed some areas of Emilia-Romagna, that the bad weather is returning to strike with the same
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According to EastFruit analysts, after a bad year for sweet cherries in 2022, Uzbek farmers again note problems with the harvest of this most important stonefruit for the country. read more

Akorn Technology is excited to announce a strategic collaboration with Cutri Fruit to extend the shelf life of its produce. read more

In the Filipino House of Representatives, a bill providing for an Onion Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (OCEF) has been proposed. House agriculture and food panel chairperson Mark Enverga of Quezon, House appropriations panel chairperson Elizaldy Co of Ako Bicol party-list, and House
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Due to the weather, the supply of asparagus in March and April was lower than usual, so that the purchase quantities were limited. In May and June, the market was sufficiently supplied. In pre-summer temperatures, asparagus fans once again made a determined effort to buy home-grown asparagus, which this year was
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New plantations exported 330,000 trays of the red variety to Japan, China, Singapore and Taiwan this season. While this is a tripling of exports, the calibres were smaller, reports stuff.co.nz. read more

"At this moment in history, we are forced to redefine the concept of normality," began Federico Boscolo, Cultiva's CEO. read more

In 2022 alone, the State Office for Agriculture, Food Safety and Fisheries (LALLF) examined almost 600,000 samples of various kinds, including about 38,600 samples from the plant protection service and almost 15,000 samples from food and feed monitoring. This goes
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New Zealand-based apple brand Rockit Global has championed the first memorandum of understanding (MOU) in its category, signing a 12-month deal with Lulu Hypermarkets across the Middle East. read more

AC Goatham & Son has signed a new £30m deal to supply the UK’s fourth largest supermarket Aldi. Founded in 1947, and run by Clive Goatham and his son Ross, the Kent-based company has supplied Aldi with a variety of apples and pears since 2016, including Royal Gala apples, Braeburn apples
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Logistics giant Maersk has announced that it is expanding its use of Microsoft Azure as its cloud platform, as it aims to digitise its processes further on the path to decarbonisation. read more

Summer favourites including spinach and watermelon are among 200 products having their prices cut by Waitrose in a £100m investment by the retailer. read more

At the Freshfel Europe Annual Event, Salvo Laudani, President of Freshfel Europe, called on the sector to join forces in reinforcing the role of the sector as essential and address the misperception on health, prices, and environmental and safety aspects around fresh produce. Fresh produce is
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South Africa saw a slight fall in its volumes of apples, pears and grapes in 2022/23, due mainly to stagnated production area and a return to normal yields following record production for all three crops. A USDA report highlights that apple and pear producing regions experienced hailstorms in
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