Asia Fruit Logistica honours four fresh produce companies with awards

Four standout fresh produce companies from across the globe were honoured Thursday at the three-day Asia Fruit Logistica in Bangkok for their outstanding work and innovations in helping grow the sector. South African citrus marketer ClemenGold, Chinese distributor Goodfarmer, Thailand’s wholesale chain Makro and the Paramount Export Company earned this year’s Asia Fruit Awards for […]

Freshfel launching Environmental Footprint methodology for fruits and vegetables

Sourcing sustainable bananas for foodservice and wholesale markets

Freshfel Europe is developing what it calls a “a state-of-the-art, standardized methodology” in hopes of improving sustainability across the fresh produce industry. Under its Freshfel Environmental Footprint Initiative, the group and its members plan to launch the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for fruit and vegetables. The goal is that more transparency, better communication […]

Driscoll’s finalizes acquisition of Berry Gardens in ‘good move for all parties’

LPS19: How Fresh4cast is helping the fresh produce industry get smarter

Berry company Driscoll’s has completed the acquisition of UK-based Berry Gardens Limited (BGL), the sales, packaging, and distribution entity of Berry Gardens Growers Limited (BGG). Berry Gardens Limited, the UK’s largest supplier of berries, has grown, distributed and marketed Driscoll’s varieties on an exclusive basis in the UK for more than 20 years. General Manager, […]

South African table grape industry forecasts 8% decline in exports in 2022-23

South Africa forecasts lower table grape crop for 2017-18

The South African table grape industry expects 2022-23 season volumes inspected for export to decrease by approximately 8% in comparison to 2021-22 season figures. This estimate was released Oct. 31 by SATI, the South African Table Grape Industry Association, headquartered in Paarl, South Africa. A crop estimate of approximately 71.7 million cartons (4.5kg equivalent) is […]

Westfalia Fruit growing avocados on Portugal reserve using ‘minimal’ water

In a one-of-a-kind ‘farming with nature’ initiative, multinational supplier Westfalia Fruit Group has successfully launched and is maintaining a highly sustainable avocado orchard on protected land in the Alcácer do Sal region of Portugal. Within a Site of Community Importance and under regulations from the Portuguese government and European Union law, it is currently growing […]

Westfalia Fruit using insect plan to control pests, protect fruits in Chile

In an effort to be more sustainable in its pest control methods, Westfalia Fruit Group is turning to insects over pesticides in a project in Chile to help protect its crops from Mealybugs and White scale. At its facility near Santiago, they are cultivating beetle predators to limit White scale in avocado and Red Scale […]

Fairtrade plans banana price increase to help farmers cope with inflation

Fairtrade Foundation applauds duty-free commitment for poorest countries post-Brexit

Because of inflation and increased costs of shipping, global certification group Fairtrade has announced a pending 20% average rise in banana prices to help farmers struggling financially. A robust 15% will go toward offsetting the expenses being incurred by producers who export directly. The other 4.5% will go toward the rising costs at farms in […]

Asda further embraces convenience with new Express stores

Asda announced it is opening its first two of 30-plus Asda Express stores in Sutton Coldfield and Tottenham Hale, each of which will offer a range of more than 3,000 items. With the launch of all of the new branded stores, Asda says it will be hiring 500 people as it tests out the smaller […]