Europe

A violent hailstorm hit the La Ribera region on Monday, November 17, causing extensive damage to around 5,000 tons of fruit in the municipalities of Carlet and Massalavés, as reported by Portalfruticola.com. These are the initial estimates provided by the Valencian Farmers Association. read more

Growers across the United Kingdom are facing more and more unpredictable weather patterns, with a dry spring and summer this year followed by one of the wettest Septembers on record. Producers are experiencing alternating drought and flooding conditions, which are impacting crop yields and feed availability. read more

Ahold Delhaize focuses on AI projects with impact

After completing several projects involving artificial intelligence across various areas, Ahold Delhaize is now turning its attention to a few key business processes. The company aims to become a "smart follower" in the realm of AI, according to CEO Frans Muller. Source: retaildetail.eu read more

The International Nut and Dried Fruit Council has released updated 2025/26 hazelnut production estimates, indicating a decrease in expected volumes in Turkey and Italy, and an increase in output in Chile and the United States. Turkey, the largest hazelnut producer globally, is forecasted to harvest 500,000 metric tons. read more

Do 20 listopada 2025 roku Mołdawia wyeksportowała ponad 30 000 ton winogron deserowych z bieżącego sezonu, generując 32,52 miliona dolarów amerykańskich, zgodnie z informacjami Stowarzyszenia Producentów i Eksporterów Winogron Stołowych (APESM). Średnia cena eksportu wyniosła 1,08 USD/kg, nieznacznie poniżej ubiegłorocznych 1,13 USD/kg. read more

The discount channel has found fertile ground in Italy, and fresh produce has now become one of its main competitive advantages. Almost a quarter of total sales in the retail sector now come from this format (23.8%), a figure that rises to 26.2% when considering only the products. read more

A legal case in Belgium is testing whether a single energy company can be held responsible for farm-level climate impacts. Belgian cattle farmer Hugues Falys, based in Hainaut province, has taken TotalEnergies to court, arguing that extreme weather events that damaged his crops are linked to the... read more

In a bag of pre-packaged and ready-to-eat small salad leaves, there is a story of the evolution of taste, a method of cultivation, and selling to the general public that until a few years ago seemed completely improbable. Especially in Italy, where innovation and read more

Kraft Heinz Poland is expanding its regenerative agriculture program and investing in climate-resilient tomato production, following a season marked by extreme weather across Central Europe. To identify varieties best suited to increasingly unstable conditions, the company trialed 100 tomato varieties. read more

Higher hourly yields mean: Reduced manpower and plants with ±3% weighing accuracy. These are just a few of the features of the vegetable processing plants designed and implemented by Bulltec in Italy, specifically in Sicily. "We focused on minimum weight tray packaging." read more

Earlier this month, California-based companies Gem-Pack Berries and Reborn Materials participated in a Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The companies are partnering on the introduction of Full Cycle Hybrid Plastic Packaging. "Together with berry grower Gem-Pack, we aim to..." read more

During a visit to the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir had the chance to learn about the latest developments in horticulture. In a discussion with Kieran Lavelle, Senior Horticulture Policy Adviser at CAFRE, the Minister was able to gain insights into the field. read more

Long cane raspberry seedlings are increasingly popular in the cultivation structures established in tunnels. Mariusz Jurczyk, the production manager at Poland Plants, informs about the agrotechnical process in this company located there. read more

The Italian agricultural sector continues to show signs of vitality. According to data shared by the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forests Francesco Lollobrigida, the number of employees in the sector now exceeds one million, showing an increase. read more

The Pachino IGP Tomato "lands" in the ITA Airways Lounges in Rome and Milan. This is announced by Sebastiano Fortunato, President of the Consortium for the Protection of Pachino IGP Tomatoes, which has joined the initiative "Journey into Italian DOP and IGP excellences", born from the collaboration with ITA. read more

Continental Farmers Group, one of the larger potato growers in Ukraine, has completed its 2025 potato harvest across over 2.1 thousand hectares in the Lviv and Ternopil regions, as reported by agronews.ua. The company harvested 1,270 hectares for chip varieties, 496 hectares for food potatoes, and... read more

Aldi reported that they have sold approximately 30,000 tons of British apples in the past year, accounting for one in five apples sold in the United Kingdom. The retailer is now projecting sales of 32,000 tons for 2026 as a part of their long-term sourcing strategy. This increase is due to favorable growing conditions. read more

"We observe a consistent shift from open field strawberry cultivation to covered cultivation, particularly here in Germany. This was the primary motivation for us to participate, as many soft fruit growers traditionally attend the event in Karlsruhe," shared the team from Looije Agro Technics when asked about their reason for participation. read more

According to the German BLE, tomato deliveries from Belgium and the Netherlands continued to dominate the market but lost overall market share. Spanish deliveries increased significantly, and there was also a rise in supplies from Morocco and Turkey. Deliveries from Italy and Croatia were more supplementary in nature. read more

The transition of the brassica and leafy vegetable season from northern Europe to Spain hasn't been fully completed yet due to the influence of warmer-than-usual weather. The area planted with cauliflower has been reduced due to the difficulty in producing it and the market's demand. read more