The Egyptian potato campaign kicked off at the beginning of the year. It is not yet clear how much volume will be harvested and exported, as growers' opinions differ and the pressure of the local market's needs will dictate the volumes available for export. read more

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and The Ohio State University (OSU) have been working to investigate how tomatoes may be imparting health benefits in a recently published study. read more

An extended-life packaging concept that preserves the quality of fruits and vegetables for several days - between one and six weeks, depending on the type of fruit or vegetable - has been launched by the Italian company Sfregola Materia Plastiche. It was on display at the Marca 2024 trade show. read more

The harvest time has come for the earliest Turkish blueberry variety, says Gizem Büyükkeskin, operations manager for Turkish blueberry producer and trader Qualitas Berry: “Keplerblue performs very well under tunnels or in a greenhouse. Among the varieties we have now, Venture, Suzi, Atlas,
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Israel’s avocado harvest is in full swing with good demand and high prices seen in Europe. According to Yonatan Meron, Export Manager of Granot Fresh, “Israel is in full swing with more than 5,000 tons a week harvested.” read more

South African exports to Saudi Arabia and Jordan are affected by the situation in the Red Sea. While some exporters still use Red Sea ports like Jeddah and King Abdullah Port (necessitating a US Navy escort and “hectic” insurance premiums when entering Red Sea waters), various others have
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Although Ukrainian farmers harvested nearly 29 million tons of vegetables in 2023, Ukraine continues to import significant quantities of basic vegetables, including tomatoes, onions, carrots, beets, and cabbage. read more

The Belize government is looking to rejuvenate the declining citrus and banana sectors. Recent data from the Statistical Institute of Belize indicates a drop in output for both commodities. Despite this, in November 2021, banana earnings increased to $5.6 million from $4.6 million in 2022, while
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Drewry’s World Container Index increased by 23% to $3,777 per 40ft container this week. read more

Bashkortostan has experienced a significant 75% drop in fruit and vegetable imports. read more

The Vietnam Trade Office in Spain has cautioned local businesses to tread carefully when entering into contracts with Spanish firms, particularly ISASA Export Company in Malaga, Spain. This advice follows reports of payment delays from Vietnamese cashew and pepper exporters. read more

The ramifications of the war in the Middle East and the freight crisis it has caused in the Red Sea are severely disrupting the flows of agricultural exports and threatening the campaigns in many countries. Mourad Erraguragui, vice-president of the Moroccan Association of Intercontinental Road
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While Spain in general has seen a 20% increase in its apple production for the 2023/2024 season, the province of Girona is supplying about 15% less due to the impact of drought and the limited availability of water for irrigation. The prices of Spanish apples are benefitting from the widespread
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Growing and shipping 1,3 million boxes of cherries in some 300 containers from Chile to China may sound likes the easy part. Building a brand, marketing and selling it to consumers in China is where the trick lies for Greenvic and their partner Agrovision. Through the Viconto label they market
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Tomato prices have escalated sharply in recent years and are projected to surge further. This is concurrent with inflation ticking up to 4%, contrary to predictions of a downtrend. Unlike other commodities where price hikes are decelerating, tomatoes are forecasted to get pricier. read more

The European Commission is reportedly drafting a resolution to continue the duty-free mechanism for Ukrainian exports until mid-2025, despite opposition from European countries surrounding Ukraine. This information comes from an interview with Polish Minister of Agriculture, Czeslaw Siekierski. read more

China takes the lead as the world's largest producer of walnuts in shells, with an impressive annual output exceeding 705.8 thousand tons. The United States secures the second position, contributing over 405 thousand tons annually. Iran completes the top three, with an annual production
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Romanian farmers and hauliers obstructed a key Romanian-Ukrainian border crossing on Thursday, according to Ukraine's state customs service. The protestors, using tractors and trucks, are demonstrating against elevated diesel costs, insurance rates, EU environmental protection measures, and the
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The harvest of Greek organic citrus fruits got off to a relatively late start last year. Another factor was the extremely high orange juice prices, which in turn posed a significant competition for the fresh market, reports George Stergiou, CEO of the Greek export company ANYFION. The company
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Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted supplies along a crucial global trade route, prompting businesses to rethink their logistics. The situation has been exacerbated by a drought impacting Panama Canal shipping and retaliation from a US-led coalition, adding to the region's instability.
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