New Zealand-based apple brand Rockit Global has championed the first memorandum of understanding (MOU) in its category, signing a 12-month deal with Lulu Hypermarkets across the Middle East. read more

South Africa saw a slight fall in its volumes of apples, pears and grapes in 2022/23, due mainly to stagnated production area and a return to normal yields following record production for all three crops. A USDA report highlights that apple and pear producing regions experienced hailstorms in
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The weighted average orange prices in the EU in May 2023 came in at €106 per 100 kgs. This is €26 above the 5-year average and about €30 above the number from last year. read more

Lebanese organic apple growers and exporters are gearing up for this year's campaign. According to Rudolph Elias, CEO of Agreen Organics, the campaign is shaping up to be satisfactory, and both quality and demand will be on the rendezvous. read more

Summer has arrived in Belgium. Temperatures are soaring, and the days are getting sunnier—the perfect time for strawberries. And according to Guy De Meyer of Demargro, it shows because summer strawberry sales are going very well. "Prices are high, but still, there are currently many local
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Floods and weather damage in large parts of Italy have certainly affected the Swiss market, an important outlet for the Italian export industry. "The extreme weather is known to have left deep scars, particularly in Emilia-Romagna, where kiwifruit and stone fruit, in particular, are grown.
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A string of General Rate Increases (GRI) starting in March-April hasn't helped the container spot rates. The Shanghai Composite Index which had a momentary upside to US$1,028 slipped back to,979 even as its longer-term counterpart in the Chinese Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) fell further to
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In recent weeks we have talked about the resurgence of certain plant diseases caused by the 'anomalous' climate that has put Italy under water; incessant rain and humidity have created the ideal habitat for fungal attacks. Like Downy mildew (read more in the article), also
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The sweet cherry season in Moldova has just begun. Despite poor pollination for medium and late varieties of cherries in some regions of the country, the overall harvest looks promising and Moldovan sweet cherry producers are looking forward to establishing partnerships with importers from all
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The Cypriot cherry production is valued at €1.6 million. Cherries are an important crop in Cyprus, especially for mountain and semi mountain communities. Under the right circumstances, these fruits can offer in a good source of income for the producers. read more

The Egyptian exports of dates to South-East Asia will drop in the MY 2022/23, as reported by EastFruit. Nevertheless, their volumes will still be among the highest ones over the past few marketing years, and Egypt will remain the leading exporter of dates to the region. read more

Last week in Conversano (Bari) the traditional cherry festival was held, during which the 50 heaviest Ferrovia cherries are awarded. The winner with 883 grams of cherries, for an average of about 18 grams per cherry, was the cherry grower Francesco Mansueto.
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The farmers in Georgia have completed the harvest of local strawberry varieties from the Kakheti region. Now the market is left with only the remontant varieties from open fields and greenhouses available. Following the end of the harvest of local strawberry varieties, the average wholesale
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The world's most expensive mango, known as 'Miyazaki' and priced at around Rs275,000 per kg (€3,000) is now being showcased in a three-day-long Mango Festival in India. Farmers in the state of West Bengal grow the expensive variety, named after a city in Japan. Although the variety was first
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Recently, Smart Oasis, a Ukrainian vertical farming company, has successfully launched its products and is now piloting 'a commercially promising business model' for sales of living herbs under the brand name Localista with one of the largest Ukrainian Food chains, SILPO. read more

In the Netherlands, BayWa r.e. and its subsidiary GroenLeven have begun construction on Europe's largest "Fruitvoltaic" project. The plant, which involves mounting PV modules over raspberries, has a record-breaking output of 8.7 MWp, according to the
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Generally, this time around all of the watermelons in Georgia are imported. The local harvest is in full swing in July. Moving towards July, some early local varieties do start to show up on the market. However, June is still the month for importing. Actually, watermelon imports peak in June. read more

Drought played a key role in the development of the onion season. "Last year, production in Europe suffered enormously. There were issues in the Netherlands, Europe's leading onion producer, Germany, France, and Spain," stated Fermin Utrilla of Biodiversa, a company that specializes in the
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Against the high cost of groceries, a card is on the way for about one and a half million families. This was said a few days ago by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Francesco Lollobrigida, in the programme 'Dritto e Rovescio' on Rete 4. read more

According to Belarus' Agriculture and Food Minister Igor Brylo, his country is striving for long-term cooperation in agriculture with Zimbabwe. Brylo: “We count on long-term cooperation. We will fulfill all agricultural mechanization agreements with Zimbabwe. You could see with your own eyes
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