Summer fruits -such as watermelon- are starting to take center stage as temperatures rise. The market is currently facing low product availability, which, together with high production costs, has triggered sales prices. read more

Norwegian police officials have made the largest-ever cocaine seizure in the nation when they discovered 800 kilograms of the drug in boxes of fruit in Oslo. According to Norwegian news agency NTB, the drugs were found this week following a tipoff from German police. Police didn’t disclose the
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For Dutch onions, the 2022-2023 export season will undoubtedly be remembered as a historic one, says the Holland Onion Association. It will not reach a record, volume-wise, but in terms of value, Dutch onion export sales could well, for the first time ever, top €500 million. read more

Plant-based diets are becoming more and more popular and, as a result, the consumption of pulses, a source of iron and protein, is also increasing. The product range can thus also be expanded to make it more attractive and tasty. This is the case with Mr. Beans, the new 100% Italian legume snack
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In view of the complex situation for organic apples in Europe, representatives of the associations of apple producers in France and Italy agreed in a meeting to set up a working group. read more

Protests and demonstrations against the pension reform proposed by President Emmanuel Macron, which provides for an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64 years, are still rampant in France. The French are experiencing difficult weeks, with major disturbances, clashes and violence in
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The international avocado industry has converged on Auckland, New Zealand for the 10th World Avocado Congress. read more

The rumour that Denny Mushrooms, South Africa’s largest mushroom producer, is closing its doors, is not true. The mushroom grower, South Africa’s largest with farms in various provinces, is still supplying retail but it has reportedly decided not to rebuild its facility in KwaZulu-Natal
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After more than 40 years in business, Patricia and Roland Gugger have decided to hand over their wholesale vegetable business called Gugger-Guillod SA. Eight vegetable producers from the region are jointly taking over the management of the Sugiez-based company. These are Adam Gemüse from
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This month FreshPlaza will focus on all things South African. read more

"The late spring is strongly fueling Brussels sprout demand. It even snowed in Scandinavia. That always benefits sales,"  says Dutch company Fresh2You's Menno Molenaar.  read more

“The last stretch of this citrus fruit campaign, which has been affected by various problems (fewer volumes, weather anomalies, drop in consumption) will be characterized by considerable prices due to the reduced availability of fruit. The pigmented variety campaign ended with demand exceeding
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CIV's latest strawberry innovations were presented at the recent North American Strawberry Symposium (NASS) held from 07-10 March 2023 in San Louis Obispo, California. CIV President Mauro Grossi explains: "During the Symposium our partner Idris
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Blueberry supplies out of Mexico are very tight currently. “In December and January, the market was really low so a lot of the people who grow them got discouraged and didn’t want to invest the money in their crop and they pruned their fields,” says Fernando M Garcia of Berry Sunny
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For 25 years now, Selin Frucht Ltd has been dedicated to the procurement and distribution of high-quality fruit and vegetables, to a large extent from its own production in Turkey. The internationally active company with locations in Herne and Antalya focuses on a wide range of products, whereby
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Like other Mediterranean countries, Tunisia is facing a severe drought that has compelled the Tunisian government to implement water-use quotas, increasing the price of water for agricultural use, and even restricting household access to tap water. read more

Spain is Brazil’s fifth-largest export market. The Iberian nation held a 2.9% share of Brazilian exports in 2022, the highest percentage since the start of the historical series in 1997. But according to Xiana Méndez, secretary of Spain’s commerce and head of ICEX España Exportación e
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Costa’s African Blue business has been operating in Morocco since 2007 and now has circa 465 hectares of farms coming from both own farms and third-party growers. read more

According to official information, the phytosanitary protocol for the export of Spanish almonds and persimmons to China was signed during the visit of the Spanish government president Pedro Sánchez to Beijing (week 13). read more