Ecuador’s banana exports were up by just over 6% in March compared to a year previously. The shipments, totalling 96.03m boxes were mainly sent to the EU (31.2%), Russia (24.6%) and the Middle East (11.9%), according to the latest AEBE data. Europe’s total imports of Ecuadorian bananas were
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The World Apple and Pear Association (Wapa) has said that following last year’s successful return as an in-person event, Prognosfruit 2023 will take place in Trentino, Italy, from the 2-4 August. read more

Ireland is renowned as the land of potatoes, and nowadays also, a great part of the sweet potatoes eaten in Europe have Irish roots. From their greenhouse and propagation laboratory, Beotanics creates plant material that is used in their own sweet potato propagation company in Portugal. “By
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Sicily's production of harvested melons is now in full swing. The situation is still critical for tomatoes, with high prices for cherry tomatoes in particular. Strawberry prices are also on the rise, with demand on the rise due to the high temperatures; asparagus prices are stationary. read more

At a press conference last week, the presidents of SAB-Almendrave from Spain and the Centro Nacional de Competências dos Frutos Secos (CNCFS) unveiled a collaboration - an EU-funded project to promote more almond production from Europe, with a focus on the Iberian Peninsula. read more

According to EastFruit analysts, the situation on the strawberry market in Eastern Europe is non-standard in 2023. Cold and mostly cloudy weather in Ukraine leads to a delay in the ripening of berries, which affects prices. read more

After two well-attended days, the organisers of the Southern French trade fair for fruit and vegetables concluded this year's presence event with satisfaction at the end of April. Compared to the previous year, a lot has changed: With 3,397 visitors, there were 7 % more, 16 % of whom came from the
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The Prognosfruit Conference is Europe’s annual event for the apple and pear sector, gathering growers from across Europe and beyond. Following last year’s successful return as an in-person event, Prognosfruit 2023 will take place in Trentino, Italy, from the 2nd to the 4th of August 2023. read more

India, one of the top five fresh apple importers in the world, on Monday, May 8, 2023, introduced new changes to the import procedures for apples. The move is viewed as an effort to limit access to its market for suppliers of cheap apples. Now it will be impossible to ship apples to India at a
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Sales of Fairtrade products in Germany increased by 11% to €2.36bn in 2022. Sales of Fairtrade bananas increased to 117,000 tonnes in 2022 (+8%), against a declining overall banana market. "The consequences of war and the climate crisis are clearly felt in the growing countries.
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Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable and natural production from agriculture, minimising the use of pesticides. Not an easy challenge also due to climate change that favours the proliferation of various pest species native to the area
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This year's Belgian pear season has exceeded all expectations. "We had high hopes last season because of the small harvest, but things went wrong because of the Ukraine situation. There were significantly more pears in Europe this season, but as summer approaches, prices remain excellent. Even
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Belgium: Colruyt Ledeberg reopens on 10 May read more

Zerbinati,Italy's leading producer of fresh vegetables and tasty ready meals, presents a series of references perfect for the summer season: a meal ready in 3 minutes without ever giving up the taste and all the nutritional characteristics of fresh ingredients and
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Grup Serban Holding, a Romanian agriculture group listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange’s AeRO market, has signed a contract with Intersnack to supply potatoes for the Chio chips range in Romania. The initial agreement is valid for three years and can be extended afterwards. read more

Various agricultural associations are reporting a significant decline in the acreage devoted to watermelon production in southern Spain. Last April, Asaja Almeria estimated that as much as 2,500 hectares had been abandoned in the province. And similar issues are reported in other places. read more

The trade magazine Primeur has published an international magazine in collaboration with FreshPlaza this month. In addition to the Dutch-language edition, the German-language magazine in print was sent in a circulation of more than 3,500 copies to all German, Austrian and Swiss fruit and
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In Spain, the price of fresh vegetables increased by 27.8% in March compared to the same period last year and by 5.7% compared to last month. In addition, vegetable preparations, such as IV gamma, also increased by 15% compared to the same month last year.
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Serbia’s blueberry industry is hopeful and expects a positive 2023 blueberry harvest season, that starts next month (June), with a 15% production increase predicted. This follows a spring with no significant frost damage and with a normal upcoming season anticipated. read more

Even if the medFEL trade fair in the south of France is not (yet) as well known internationally as its big sisters from Berlin, Madrid or Rimini: among the visitors and exhibitors there were definitely also non-French representatives who presented their innovations to the trade fair audience. read more