A word of advice: if you are ever invited to a midday meeting at UK foodservice supplier Fresh Direct, don’t eat lunch first. Or even breakfast. Hospitality – this journalist discovered on a recent visit to its Bicester HQ – is more than a customer base to the go-to produce wholesaler for
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An intensely powerful portrait, The Candy Man, by UK photographer Jon Enoch, has won the overall prize of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2023, the world’s leading celebration of the art of food photography and film. read more

As an MP proudly from a farming constituency - that I didn’t grow up in but came to love and know much more about - I know that farming is more than just a job, it’s a vocation, it’s a way of life. read more

World leading berry brand Driscoll’s celebrated its ten-year anniversary in the China market with a special banquet in Kunming Yunnan on 6th May. More than 300 guests including Yunnan government bodies, growers, clients and Driscoll’s executives attended the lavish event read more

Peak industry body Melons Australia will target opening access to emerging markets in South-East Asia as part of its strategy to grow its export share from 8 to 20 per cent over the next five years. read more

We can be more optimistic now about the challenge of feeding the world than would have seemed possible 30-40 years ago. read more

British organic food and farming body, the Soil Association, has urged participants in today’s (16 May) ‘food summit’ to be “bold in their thinking” and called on Defra to reinstate its commitment to a horticulture strategy in order to save the sector and bolster national food security. read more

Syngenta Vegetable Seeds has launched a ‘ToBRFV Resistant’ seal to indicate Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) resistant varieties. read more

A team of researchers from the University of Córdoba in Spain have made a major breakthrough in understanding what gives strawberries their characteristic red colour when ripe. read more

One of the biggest breakthroughs in tomato breeding this decade has been the ability to develop varieties that are resistant to ToBRFV,a highly destructive virus that was first discovered in Israel in 2014. Because it spread easily through mechanical transmission and has an incubation period of
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UK growers will benefit from a commitment to protect their interests in future trade deals, support to boost domestic fruit and veg production and new investment in technologies, says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing a package of industry support ahead of the food summit hosted at
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Tomato suppliers across Europe face major challenges to their long-term sustainability from continued cost inflation, climate change, and new EU policies designed to protect the environment. read more

Linda Flegg, chair of NZ Avocado Growers’ Association has announced the resignation of New Zealand Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular after 12 years in the role. read more

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has announced the appointment of Jolyon Burnett as the next chair of the Horticulture Council. read more

US officials visited Chile last week to advance various matters related to the bilateral trade of fresh fruit. The topics discussed included US blueberry exports to Chile, the approval implementation process of the Systems Approach for Chilean table grapes, the application of irradiation
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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