After a sharp drop in Germany's import of fresh fruits and vegetables in 2022, that shrank slightly again this year. In 2023, imports will amount to about 8.38 million tons, compared to 8.54 million last year and 9.2 million tons in 2020 and 2021. This trend can be entirely attributed to fewer
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Early November registered the umpteenth consequence of a climate no longer in line with the Italian latitude as a flood hit Tuscany. "This means we need to rethink the territory based on a climate that causes unprecedented disastrous effects," reports the Lusia fresh produce market (RO). read more

The cherry harvest is underway in Central Otago, New Zealand and exports have already started for Pure Pac who grow over 75 hectares of cherries in the region. read more

Farmind Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation concluded a business partnership agreement on December 14, 2023, pertaining to sustainable supplies of fruits and vegetables. read more

The simple average price for apples of the 4 major EU producers (in € per 100 kgs) stood at €90 in November. That is €20 above the 5-year average. read more

On December 18th, Casino, Intermarché and Auchan announced that they have entered into exclusive negotiations for the “sale by the Casino group of almost all Casino hypermarkets and supermarkets to Groupement Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail, based on a fixed enterprise value of 1.35
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The situation of the new Spanish citrus season that is currently underway, with an overall production that, according to official projections, will be in line with that of last season, although with a sharp drop of Andalusia's orange production, will have a clear impact on the processing and
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Using computer vision, feedback control and learning, “Foodly” is an RT Corporation robot that is able to adapt to various challenging and novel environments. The robot is the focus of Yi Zhang’s PhD research project titled Data-driven autonomous robotic food handling. read more

According to EastFruit analysts, in connection with attacks on civilian ships, allegedly by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the world’s largest shipping company, Maersk, has suspended all shipments through the Red Sea. Vessels already on their way are waiting to continue their movement in roadsteads
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UK: Asda reveals higher finance costs as boss defends debt structure read more

Christmas time is herb time: in week 51 in particular, weekly markets, restaurants and supermarkets are trying to stock up on fresh cut herbs from all over the world, says Ahmed Bouklata, Managing Director of Kräuter Express and herb trader at Cologne's wholesale market. "It was still
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On Monday, the pound rallied as the dollar struggled against most currencies except the yen. Currently, it seems like more and more investors are seeing the Sterling as a good prospect for next year. Britain's currency was last 0.71% higher against the dollar at $1.2737. The euro was down 0.19%
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According to Svetlana Plotean, marketing coordinator for OctoFrost, the year 2023 has been important for the confidence in frozen fruit and vegetables: “The consumption and interest in frozen foods is growing strongly. We see that the need for convenient, high-quality food and aspiration to
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The blueberry market is currently led by Peru in this period of supply to the UK soft fruit industry, however, due to poor weather conditions in Peru over the growing and harvest period, exports have been down between 40-60%. This development has enabled South Africa to firmly establish a
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The current very high demand for Medjool dates will continue into about next year in April, 2024. Israel as one of the main Medjool dates producers and exporters, has finished packing with export volumes being shipped now in the peak period until the end of December says Gal Twig, from the
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Producers in Huelva have devoted a total of 11,243 hectares to berry production for the 2023/2024 campaign. That is 4.75% less than the 11,802 hectares of berries planted last year. read more

This winter, more Coöperatie Hoogstraten growers are growing TOVs under lights. Last year, there was hardly any lit cultivation due to high energy costs; this year, the lights have been switched on again in many places in Belgium. "It's certainly not at the level it was before the energy
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The new FD Berries US Farm in Sebring, Florida has started with their first harvest to supply a market in high demand. The new US farm of 100 acres (40 hectares) of blueberries and strawberries was started by Sam Ahilan, CEO of FD Berries and his team following successful farming operations in
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The Apulian clementine campaign is now in full swing, and the positive trend in sales has so far brought together operators and producers, after years in which discouragement seemed to have prevailed. read more