Over the course of 2023, developments in the organic specialist retail sector resembled a race to catch up: in the first quarter, sales were down by an average of eight per cent on the previous year. However, the recovery began in the second quarter. After an initial increase of 0.5 per cent, there was a recovery from the middle of the
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Since the start of the trial in September 2022 in 35 shops, more than two thirds of customers surveyed said they had not noticed the subtle change to electronic shelf labels (ESLs), which highlights the benefits of the paper-saving switch.
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Portugal’s fresh produce industry is riding a wave. Exports of fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants reached a record €2.3bn in 2023, an increase of 11.4 per cent on the previous year, despite contracting 4.9 per cent in volume. Nevertheless, trade association Portugal Fresh
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Specifically, it is about human rights, fair prices and contracts, workers' social rights and the right to a decent standard of living for small farmers. Gender inequality within the food chains is also addressed. read more

Agrovision has signed an agreement with the Longhua Residents Committee, Midu County, to introduce large-scale berry farming operations to the Yunnan province of China. The initial deal, for a 33ha berry plantation, is the first of several planned agreements covering a total of 2,000ha. read more

For this reason, the crisis committee of the Andalusian O+G umbrella organisation HORTYFRUTA decided at the end of week 7/24 that from 17 February, 00:00, long black aubergines Cat II from conventional cultivation may no longer be marketed throughout Andalusia. Compliance with the standard
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Aldi has announced it has lowered its prices on a range of fruit and vegetable products in the UK, including berries, grapes, tomatoes, apples and ready-to-eat salads. read more

Dutch Organics specialist Eosta has announced a new development in the world of Natural Branding: Inverted Natural Branding. read more

South African table grape growers are expected to finish their harvest earlier than last year, when the last grapes were packed in week 14. read more

IFOAM Organics Europe expressed its welcome for this week’s EU vote on green claims, which highlighted the limitations of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology for some product categories including organic. read more

Accordingly, requirements that, for example, only prohibit plastic packaging or require it to be reused, or exclude fibre-based composite packaging from the recyclate use quotas, would very likely violate the principle of equal treatment because there are no objective criteria for determining the recyclate use quotas.
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Russia’s Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control Service has lifted its ban on banana exports from five Ecuadorean companies. The announcement was made by Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry on Friday. read more

Koppert has secured a strategic investment of €140m in preferred share capital from HAL Investments. The company said the funding will be instrumental in accelerating its global expansion and fostering innovation in the field of biological pest control, pollination, disease management, and
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A newly published study in Osteoporosis International shows that postmenopausal women who ate prunes daily for a year preserved certain measures of bone structure and estimated bone strength as compared to women who didn’t eat prunes. read more

UK banana importer and ripener SH Pratt Group has announced the acquisition of the commercial arm of Ripe Now, a mango and tropical fruit supplier to major British supermarkets and food manufacturers.  read more

Shorter transit times and improved logistics are set to drive exports of Chilean cherries to the Indian market in the coming years, says Frutas de Chile. The South American country is targeting India as a future growth market. So far this season, Chile has shipped 444 tonnes of cherries to
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Three online seminars from the QS Academy explain in detail what is important in the preparation and follow-up of audits in the wholesale fruit, vegetables, potatoes, meat and animal feed sectors.  read more

Syngenta Vegetable Seeds has inaugurated what it has called a modernised and expanded R&D facility in Almería, Spain. read more

Sysco GB has partnered with foodservice technology specialist Nutritics to introduce a carbon labelling system for UK food businesses. read more

The Terminator franchise turns 40 this year! Where does the time go? In case you’re not familiar with the original: disguised as a human, a cyborg assassin, known as a Terminator, travels from 2029 to target the unborn John Connor who will lead the fight against the machines in the future.  read more