West Africa: Creation of the largest industrial laboratory for in vitro culture
Vitropic, a CIRAD subsidiary and European laboratory of in vitro culture specialized in tropical plant propagation, has joined forces with La Compagnie Fruitière, the main fruit producer in

Pistacchio di Bronte products not able to meet demand
“We just got back from Biofach in Nuremberg, although I believe the 2023 edition did not see a lot of visitors or buyers. I ask myself if, considering the significant demand for

“We have more requests for onions than we could possibly fill"
Tasmanian onions have started shipping to Europe to meet the huge demand there created by a heatwave and drought last summer. The prices in Europe are very high at the moment. “Tasmania has had

UK shortages? "Enough iceberg lettuce to sink the Titanic"
While consumers run into empty shelves or are limited when buying fresh produce, UK wholesalers deny the produce shortages and say it's simply a matter of money. "We have enough iceberg lettuce to

Seasonal workers ‘guaranteed 32 hours and living wage’
Government farming minister Mark Spencer confirmed changes to conditions for 2023 seasonal worker visas in a speech at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference on Tuesday (21 February).

Smart packaging design from Norway to save costs, cut emissions
The shape of the cups, whether they are filled with berries, fruit or salad can cut major costs related to transport and logistics, storage and cooling, packaging and emission of greenhouse gases.

Watercress from Spain: Salad leaf still in good supply in the UK
In Spain, where many winter vegetables and salad crops are grown for the UK market, bad weather and transport disruption have resulted in widely reported shortages of fresh produce. But one crop,

“Promoting asparagus boosts consumption!”
At the beginning of the 2023 asparagus season, Astrid Etèvenaux - director of the French Association of Asparagus Producers - gives an update on the harvest forecasts, the evolution of surface

UK is ‘missing opportunities’ to import from Uganda
The UK and other European countries are missing opportunities to import fresh produce from Uganda as the East African country turns its focus to export markets and invests in new cold storage

Seeka reports on challenging 2022
Listed New Zealand produce company Seeka has posted a net profit (after tax) of NZ$6.5m for the 2022 calendar year (12 months to 31 December). The performance was down 56 per cent on the NZ$14.9m