In a ground-breaking move, Latvia's parliament has enacted a ban on the importation of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, positioning itself as the first European Union member to enforce such a prohibition. This legislative action, aimed at penalizing Russia for its aggression
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The National Potato Council is gearing up for a significant virtual media roundtable on February 26, 2024, to present a groundbreaking report, "The Current and Potential Impact of Expanded Potato Exports," crafted by esteemed economists from Michigan State University. This comprehensive analysis
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Uzbekistan's banana imports dropped by 5% in 2023, reaching 133.5 thousand tons, compared to 140.2 thousand tons in 2022. Ecuador continued to be the main source of bananas for Uzbekistan in 2022-2023. read more

Westfalia Fruit, a multinational supplier of avocados and a range of fresh vegetables and fruit is leading a unique effort in Colombia to care for a nationally protected area on its land in the Sonsón municipality, north-west of the capital Bogotá. read more

Next to the Red Sea crisis, the apple export from Poland is more difficult at the moment due to a lack of containers, says Jakub Krawczyk, export manager for Polish apple exporter Appolonia: "There was big movement in the orders for Polish apples in the last two months, especially from Asian
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In 2023, Kyrgyzstan experienced a notable downturn in its potato exports, as revealed by recent data from the National Statistical Committee. The figures indicate a substantial decrease of 29.5%, with total export volumes amounting to 42,200 tons for the year. read more

In a notable exploration of packaging sustainability, Metsa Board and Narpes Grönsaker, a Finnish vegetable cooperative, embarked on a study to assess cherry tomato packages made of paperboard against those crafted from recycled PET plastic. This investigation delves into aspects such as
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The attacks on Moroccan fresh produce trucks in Spain and France betray a major misunderstanding between professionals from the two shores, as well as an unease that cannot be ignored and that must be remedied, declares Mostapha Mohattan, CEO of Fructimoor. read more

Irish markets continue to hold steady with upward pressure on prices reported as the availability of prepack quality material continues to tighten. Trade for the peeling market is very strong. To date it is not shaping up to be an early year as ground remains very wet in many areas. read more

"Abnormally high" temperatures in January and February have given a boost to the cauliflower production in the Spanish region of La Rioja. Specifically, cauliflower producers in Calahorra are facing an unusual season. The weather conditions have led to unexpected growth in the size and quantity
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As the last containers of Chilean cherries are still arriving by ship over the next few weeks the season is being hailed as excellent by exporters. This is despite a slower start mainly due to rain, which was partly offset by a later Chinese New Year. "The Chilean cherry export season ended very
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Fruit Logistica, a notable trade fair in the fruit and vegetable industry, took place from February 7th to 9th and Salix Fruits reflects on their participation. read more

For more than four years, ProExport Papaya has led education, training, research, advisory and supervision actions in the implementation of contamination risk reduction systems in the Mexican Papaya Industry. The members of the Association have adopted measures beyond the national and foreign
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This year's strawberry harvest has been delayed "by at least 25%," says Manuel Alfaro from El Pilonar. "The delay has, in fact, been building up since the planting phase. The nurseries took about 10-12 days longer to deliver the plants to us this year, which translates into at least a month's
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Food processing machines up for auction in Emmeloord (NL). Industrial Auctions organizes this auctions for potato, fruit, and vegetable machines such as peelers, slicers, washers, and centrifuges. There are from renowned brands like Eillert, Kronen, and FAM. Curious buyers are invited to visit
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This year, Lesage Champignons began marketing its own products under a new identity. With André Champignons, a tribute to CEO Michel Lesage's grandfather, the Belgian company wants to gain more recognition for its product. "We're proud of our product. It deserves a name, not just to be called
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In Malta, the agricultural community faced a significant challenge when the traditional intermediaries at the Pitkalija market had their licenses revoked. Despite the dire predictions, the Malta Youth in Agriculture Foundation (MaYA) observed a commendable level of cooperation among farmers,
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Last Friday, the Junta de Andalucía published a decree law with a controversial article that would grant amnesty to the farmers who had unlawfully cultivated berries in forest soil next to the reserve and other crops in different areas of the region. This was a surprise and less than three
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With a brief squeeze, you know whether an avocado, peach, or tomato is ripe. This is what a soft robot hand also does, for example, during automated harvesting. However, up until now, such a gripper needed sensors in its 'fingers' to determine whether the fruit was ripe enough. Shibo Zou and Bas
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