The home secretary Suella Braverman will argue in a speech today (15 May) that there is “no good reason” Britain cannot train its own fruit pickers and lorry drivers, the BBC reports. read more

A record 15 students from developing countries were welcomed to Harper Adams University this week (15 May) by vice chancellor professor Ken Sloan. read more

South Africa’s membership of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) seems to be on the line. read more

Defra ministers, farming and retail leaders will meet the prime minister in Downing Street tomorrow (16 May) for emergency talks about the British horticulture sector, the Guardian reveals. read more

Defra ministers, farming and retail leaders will meet the prime minister in Downing Street tomorrow (16 May) for emergency talks about the British horticulture sector, the Guardian reveals. read more

Lidl has called on other British supermarkets to follow its lead and introduce packaging design changes to help make fruit and veg more appealing to children. read more

British lettuce and herb growers Madestein (UK) Ltd and Fresh Willow Ltd have gone into administration after a substantial investment, combined with rising energy costs, inflationary pressures and labour challenges, left the companies unable to meet their financial obligations.  read more

Fruit Logistica, the leading trade show for the global fresh produce business, has opened exhibitor registrations for its 2024 edition. Companies have until the end of July to register for next year’s show. read more

Spread has surpassed 100m sales of its indoor leaf lettuce brand Vegetus while adding new products to its range in the process. read more

A Queensland University of Technology-developed, genetically modified (GM) variety of Cavendish banana, that is highly resistant to Panama Disease TR4, has been submitted for regulatory approval to the Australian government. read more

Kristian Moeller has announced that he will leave GlobalGAP on 1 June after more than 20 years at the farming certification organisation. read more

Mango exports from Pakistan are due to start on 20 May, in accordance with the government’s strictly timed export policy. read more

It is vital that labelling issues resulting from the Windsor Framework are resolved before an October deadline, the British Retail Consortium has stressed. read more

Philip Booth has been appointed finance director by logistics and supply chain solutions provider PML. read more

A new inquiry has been launched into fairness in the food supply chain. read more

Freshfel Europe has warned the European Commission on the far-reaching implications of its draft proposal on marketing standards, if rules on mandatory country-specific origin labelling are maintained for pre-cut fruit and vegetables. read more

The government has met with retailers to discuss the issues around UK food prices at a time of a cost-of-living crisis. read more

The volume of Colombian avocados shipped to the US is up 104 per cent so far this season compared to the year-earlier period according to the Colombia Avocado Board (CAB). read more

Limoneira has announced a new exclusive licensing relationship with Apeel Sciences that will see its lemons protected across the supply chain with Apeel’s coating technology. read more

Australian researchers have reached a milestone in their search for a solution to citrus greening after mapping the genome of a native lime species. read more