Drought clips Catalan apple and pear production
Catalonia’s apple and pear crop will be 15-20 per cent lower than originally expected this coming season due to drought, according to fruit association Afrucat. General director Manel Simon said

Spain set for big rise in Fino lemon production
Spain is anticipating a significant increase in production of Fino lemons for the forthcoming season, reaching levels last seen during the 2020/21 campaign. Releasing its preliminary forecast for

Puglia project puts grape production on the map
Buyers from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates are set to take part in Regina di Puglia, a series of initiatives designed to raise awareness of

Turkish figs wait on weather
The Turkish fig crop is looking good this year, according to Akin Söyleyen of Aksun, although he warns that the unpredictability of the climate in recent years will make accurate forecasting

Drought clips Catalan apple and pear production
Catalonia’s apple and pear crop will be 15-20 per cent lower than originally expected this coming season due to drought, according to fruit association Afrucat. General director Manel Simon said

Enza Zaden kicks off Vitalis facility project
Vegetable breeding company Enza Zaden has given the green light to the construction of its sustainable 8ha production location in Luttelgeest, in the Dutch province of Flevoland. Enza Zaden

Italian apple producers demand GlobalGAP ‘simplification’
Large-scale producer groups can play a more central role when it comes to ensuring the safety, sustainability and ethical soundness of fruit and vegetable supply, but certification schemes must be

Karastergiou Bros braced for harsher climate
As large parts of Greece swelter under 40C-plus temperatures, and as wildfires rage in the south of the country, it’s easy to neglect the continuing impact of the spring’s hailstorms, not

Italian apple producers demand GlobalGAP ‘simplification’
Large-scale producer groups can play a more central role when it comes to ensuring the safety, sustainability and ethical soundness of fruit and vegetable supply, but certification schemes must be

Pink Lady sales remain steady in Europe
Pink Lady has said that its sales have been holding up well amid the “unprecedented context” of double-digit inflation in the food sector throughout Europe. Sales of Pink Lady and PinKids

Taylor Farms to acquire stake in Foodiverse
Taylor Farms has agreed to buy an undisclosed stake in Spanish salad and prepared food specialist Foodiverse. In a statement, Foodiverse said both companies will become partners through a capital

AgroFresh beefs up post-harvest portfolio with Tessara acquisition
AgroFresh Solutions has acquired post-harvest solutions provider Tessara from global investment firm Carlyle. The deal, which remains subject to clearance by the South Africa competition

Two South African categories predict export drop
The South African avocado export crop has been reduced by around 2.5m cartons as the season reaches its halfway point. At the same time, the country’s citrus industry has announced that its

Full scope of Western Cape flood damage still unknown
The Citrus Growers’ Association of South Africa (CGA) has asked the country’s National Disaster Management Centre to act with urgency and declare the recent floods in the Western Cape a

ICTSI named as equity partner in Durban Container Terminal
South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority has selected International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) as its equity partner in the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2. DCT Pier

Cosco to launch ESE2 Europe-South America service
Cosco Shipping is to launch a new weekly service connecting Northern Europe and the Mediterranean with the East Coast of South America. From September, ESE2 will including the fastest transit time

New vegan recipes released to mark start of Picota cherry campaign
Vegan and plant-based recipe developers Nourishing Amy and Gina Burgess have released two new vegan recipes to celebrate the start of the European Picota cherry season – Picota cherry bakewell

Market ripe for Belgian Conference
The impact of last summer’s record heat in Europe continues to be felt in the world of pears, but this time to the benefit of growers. Stocks of last year’s heat-affected crop had all gone a

Bonnysa expands value-added offering
A few years ago, Bonnysa took the decision to refocus its core tomato business on premium varieties with high added value to futureproof the company in the face of ever-increasing competition from

Wooden packaging stands out, says Fedemco
Ecoembes, the company responsible for the integrated waste management and recycling system that covers light household packaging in Spain, has published its 2024 Punto Verde recycling centre rates

Guillem Export and Frutas Tono to merge
Guillem Export and Frutas Tono, two family-run citrus companies from Valencia, have agreed to merge. The new group will own more than 3,000ha of citrus plantings generating an annual output of

Wooden packaging stands out, says Fedemco
Ecoembes, the company responsible for the integrated waste management and recycling system that covers light household packaging in Spain, has published its 2024 Punto Verde recycling centre rates

Ann Celen named CEO of Special Fruit
Belgium’s Special Fruit has announced that Ann Celen will become the new CEO of the company, following Bert Barman’s decision to leave. Celen has years of experience in the food industry,

Huelvan berry exports dip in 2022/23
Huelva exported 243,310 tonnes of strawberries in 2022/23, a fall of 10 per cent on the previous season according berry association Freshuelva. It said the campaign was plagued by bad weather,

Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd partner with Ifco
Reusable Packaging Container (RPC) specialist Ifco completed the European roll-out of RPCs for Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd at the beginning of May 2023. Ifco is the exclusive provider of RPCs for