Experts predict a 15 percent decline in Costa Rica’s marketing year 2023/24 orange crop, driving production down to 250,000 metric tons on suboptimal precipitation – associated with an El Niño weather system – during the critical fruit development period in 2023. Higher international
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On December 15, a total of 865,917 packages - bags, clamshells, plain packs, wrapped and other packages - of grapes were held in cold storage in California. This is about 75 percent less than the number in storage one year ago. A fortnight ago, the number equaled 3,360,750 packages. read more

The second prototype of the harvesting robot from Floating Robotics is much more precise, moving faster between the rows of tomatoes this fall than last year. According to its creator, Salman Faraji, the device is set to replace 3.5 workers in the future. read more

In response to rising thefts, supermarkets are increasing security measures, including sealing grape bags to prevent customers from sampling before purchasing. This change has sparked frustration among some customers, as highlighted by an Australian TikToker, @breakfastshirts, who shared his
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A Musang King durian was sold for no less than astounding $40,000 at a charity auction in Raub, Malaysia. The event was held last Sunday; it saw bidders drive the price of the fruit, with the highest bid made by Huang Qi Wen. Another variety of durian, the Black Thorn, also fetched a significant
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As of January 1st, 2024, NNZ Scandinavia ApS has successfully acquired the industrial division of the Finnish family-owned business Jubilo, marking a significant expansion within the Nordic packaging market. This acquisition doubles NNZ’s market share in Finland. read more

“We are planning to expand the company by opening new vertical farms, adding new products, and entering various organic supermarket chains in the area. Additionally, it’s a dream to cross borders and open new Farmbrots facilities in other countries, and potentially continents,” says Oscar
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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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