Fruit & Vegetable Hub June 2016 Edition

for fresh produce

MAGAZINE ON FRESH PRODUCEJUNE 2016

VALUE CHAINFRUITS VEGETABLES NUTS FLOWERS ORGANIC HUB SUPPLY CHAIN

Fruit& Vegetable Hub

ThePOST HARVEST

MANAGEMENTthe region is howeverfar from satisfactory

take yourfresh

produce business

to the nextlevel!

www .Beh lMed i a . n e t

Editorial

Marketing is important to all farm enterprises, regardless ofsize. It is strongly recommend that you identify and researchyour market before you become a fruit and vegetablegrower.

Some farmers, such as cash grain farmers or dairy farmers,have large, well-established markets. They can use existingorganizations to perform the marketing function for them,or they can band together, form a cooperative, and markettheir products jointly. Small-scale fruit and vegetablegrowers generally have more difficulty finding establishedmarkets; therefore, they usually develop marketing systemstailored to their unique situations.Fruits and vegetables are produced seasonally, but themarket requires products throughout the year. For manydecades, this problem of matching product availability withconsumer demand was solved in two ways:- Selling fresh products during harvest and shortly thereafter- Processing the rest to meet demand during the rest of theyear.

As technology improved and consumer incomes increased, itbecame possible to provide fresh produce year-round.American consumers now expect fresh tomatoes,strawberries, and sweet corn every month of the year. Inaddition, a strong demand remains for processed fruits andvegetables. As a small-scale fresh fruit and vegetable grower,you may consider selling directly to retailers. Although somechain stores and independent retailers have buy-localprograms for fresh produce, such stores and programs arenot common. You must develop your own marketingsystem. In effect, you must become the grower, packer, andwholesaler.

Must develop your OWN MARKETING SYSTEM

Editor

3 Fruit & Vegetable Hub June 2016

BEHL MEDIAVENTURES

Publisher of"Fruit & Vegetable Hub"

No. 285, Moti Nagar, Ist Floor Near Raj

palace, Karnal132 001 (Haryana) India

Phone: +911846541152

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.BehlMedia.net

Editor

Priyanka Gupta

Content Manager

Swati Arora

Media Manager

Amit Kumar

Designer

Sameer Gulati

Legal Advisor

Sanjay Hans

Circulation Incharge

Manoj Gupta

Owned, Edited & Published by BEHL

MEDIA VENTURES, published at No.

285, Moti Magar, 1st Floor, Near Raj

Palace, Karnal132001 (Haryana) India

All efforts have been made to ensure

authenticity of editorial material that is

correctly attributed. The management/

publishers will not bear any liablility arising

out of any inadvertent or

incidental error

(s)

Disclaimer

June 2016

behl

12 13 18

16 09

14 06

table of contents

05 News: Asia-Pacific

12 Packaging

14 Dry fruit Supply Chain

20

Fruit Logistics16

Horticulture Trends

18 Post HarvestManagement

22 Global Banana Trade

24 Global Scenario

28 Event Review

31 Event Calendar

China to increase its inspectionlevel on imported Taiwanpineapples

PAKISTAN'S MANGOESHIT THE UAE MARKETS

As of May 20, Taiwan will have a new president onboard, and this change of political power structure hasled to the uncertainty in cross-strait relations. Accordingto the report of Chinese language United Daily News onMay 19th, Taiwan's agricultural exports to China hasshown signs of slowing down. Mr. Wu, a pineapple traderfrom Yunlin County, says that Chinese authorities seemto have increased the standards of pesticides residualson imported Taiwan pineapples.

He claimed that over 100 tons of Taiwan pineappleswere rejected to enter Mainland China territory due tothe high level of pesticide residue. He added that, in thepast, Chinese customers only irregularly checked theimported Taiwan pineapples, but now they implementone by one inspection standards on imported Taiwanpineapples.

J

30 May, 2016Pakistan's first mango shipment arrived in Dubaifrom Karachi on Thursday 26 May. Two varieties,the Sindhri and Almas were exported.According to the importers, the mangoes sold outwithin two days of their arrival. With the advent ofsummer, Indian mangoes Kaser, Rajaputri, Dasheri,Badami and premier brand Alphonso have alreadycaptured the fruit shelves of major supermarkets inthe UAE. After Sindhri, Dasheri, Anwar Ratol,Chaunsa and Kala Chaunsa dominate in the UAEuntil September.

During the three-month mango season Dubai-based traders import 2.5 million crates throughmore than 130 ship trips. A crate of Pakistanimangoes weighing eight-10kg comes for Dh25-30in the wholesale market. UAE-based tradersimported Pakistani mangoes worth 6 million withan approximate share of 32 per cent in the totalPakistani mango exports in 2014. In 2015, export ofPakistani mangoes to the UAE and other Gulfcountries dropped significantly when the Pakistangovernment banned the use of wood packagingincluding crates, boxes and cases for storing fruitsand vegetables.

Pakistan's Ministry of National Food Security andResearch, said the decision was taken amidconsidering phytosanitary measures. Exportersclaimed that the sudden ban on wood packagingwas the cause of an almost 50 per cent decline inmango exports to the UAE and the GCC countrieslast year. They said since the orders for woodencrates had already been placed, it was impossiblefor them to repack mangoes in corrugated cartonswithout raising the prices.

India: Scientists come across rareorange species

In Manipur’s Tamenglongdistrict a team ofscientists have stumbledacross a rare wild orangespecies. The teamchanced upon the speciesduring a trip aimed atinspecting a village in the

News: Asia-Pacific

5 Fruit & Vegetable Hub June 2016 www.behlmedia.net

30 May, 2016

district in order to declare it an important biodiversityheritage site. The newly discovered endangered citrusfruit is probably the “most primitive” one in the world,a DDK Imphal news report said. All varieties oforanges found in the world could possibly be fromthis orange, it added. Earlier, scientists believed thisorange species was found only in Meghalaya’s GaroHills. Tamenglong, which is located about 140 kmfrom Manipur capital Imphal, is the centre of orangesof the state. About 80% of oranges produced in thestate are from Tamenglong. The district is situated atan altitude of 1,260 m above the sea level.

The climate and the soil of the hill district are wellsuited for the production of oranges using 40% of thetotal landmass.

UAE WARNS INDIAN MANGO, VEGEXPORTERS

Filipino banana growers wantresearch institute

THE Pilipino Banana Growers and ExportersAssociation (PBGEA) are hoping that the newgovernment to be led by President-elect RodrigoDuterte will make the banana industry one of thepriority industries for development andsupport. “We are hoping that a banana researchinstitute will be established to develop diseaseresistant varieties of bananas,” Stephen A. Antig,executive director of PBGEA said. “This has beenproposed since the former president GloriaMacapagal Arroyo and there was a follow throughduring outgoing President Benigno Aquino’s termbut it seems that it (bill) was being overlooked as itwas not considered a priority bill before,” Antig said.

He added that there is a pressing need to put up abanana research institute for scientific research,analysis and development to further develop thebanana industry in the country. Outgoing Davao delNorte, second district representative AntonLagdameo and the Trade Union Congress of thePhilippines (TUCP) party-list Rep. RaymondDemocrito Mendoza are the authors of House BillNo. 5478 which seeks to establish the NationalBanana Research Center in the Philippines.

Indian mango exports to the UAE are under threatafter the UAE authorities have said that pesticideresidues in consignments are higher than prescribedlimits. Pests and diseases have also been found insome vegetable deliveries. The UAE’s ministry ofclimate change and environment issued a warningconcerning higher than the prescribed limit ofpesticide residues in chilli, pepper and cucumberconsignments. “We have issued an advisory to theexporters concerned. We’ve also started mandatoryregistration of all exporters of agricultural products,”said a senior official of the Agricultural & ProcessedFood Products Export Development Authority (Apeda).

There have, in fact, been quality issues for India’smango export over four years, hitting the volumes.From 63,594 tonnes of fresh mango export in 2011-12,the shipments of this seasonal fruit fell to 43,191tonnes in 2014-15. The UAE ministry asked Indianexporters to send a pesticide residue analysis reportwith each consignment. And, warned it might stopimports if shipments don’t come up to standard.Apeda has repeated the warning to exporters. And, thedepartment of agriculture has advised issue ofphytosanitary certificates for fruit and vegetablesexported to the UAE only after production of the testreport on pesticide residues by an Apeda-recognisedlaboratory. Apart from the UAE, some Europeancountries have also discovered presence of pests anddiseases in some mango consignments.

“There is no major threat of a ban. We are exportingmango to high quality-conscious countries likeAmerica and Japan. Indian exporters need to be littlemore cautious about the quality of the mango theyexport,” said the Apeda official.

Thai customs seize almost100 tonnes of oranges

26 May, 2016At Laem Chabang deep-sea port, 96 tonnes oforanges worth around four million baht have beenseized by customs officials. The oranges are saidto have come from Spain and Egypt but werefalsely declared of originating from China to evadeimport taxes. The citrus fruits were found in sevencontainers belonging to Nine Enterprise andTrading Limited Partnership and WatchamonCompany. Customs officials said that the fruitswere declared to originate from China which willexempt the two importers from paying importtaxes under the Free Trade Area agreementbetween Thailand and China.

However, it was discovered that the sevencontainers of orange actually came from Spainand Egypt. Customs officials said that the twoimporters would be charged 30 percent importtaxes for the 96 tonnes of orange. CustomsDepartment chief Kulis Sombatsiri said thatofficials would look back into the record ofprevious orange imports by the two firms to findout whether they had cheated in falsifying theorigin of the orange they imported into thecountry. He also said that the two firms might beblacklisted.

News: AsiaPacific


ARMENIAN FARMERS WANTTURKISH IMPORT BAN

YUEXI COUNTY SEEKS NEW SALESOPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR GINGER

The head of the Union of Domestic ManufacturersVazgen Safaryan, told journalists that the ban on importsof Turkish vegetables into Armenia could lead tounjustified price increases.

May 2016

Yuexi County, located in Anhui province, has arich history in ginger plantation, and in theprocess of cultivation, the local farmers never useincreasing agents, which better preserves theoriginal spicy flavor of their gingers. Next to this,Yuexi County is a national ecologicaldemonstration city in China, which is verybeneficial for cultivating good quality smallturmeric. "In the past, due to inconvenienttransportation connections with Dabie Mountain,our ginger sales were not that promising. Nowthe highway has been built in the county, whichbrings a lot of conveniences for our gingergrowers, followed by more businessopportunities, because more and more clientscan have easy access to our county and check ourginger quality before placing their orders,"Explained Mr. Liu, the manager of Jiuhui GingerPlantation Professional Cooperatives in XuexiCounty.

"Our cooperativeswere registered on March 26,2015, with an annual yield of more than 200 tons.Our small turmeric is listed in the markets everyOctober. Currently the majority of our customersare from wholesale markets, and we offer bothhome delivery and long distance logistics servicesto our clients. Generally speaking, our ginger iseither purchased directly after harvest, or arestored in warm cellars, which enables a longerstorage period of time and offers a qualityguarantee. We look forward to establishingbusiness cooperation with more new customers."

Shaanxi nectarine quality betterthan last year

May, 2016Recently, Zhouzhi County'snectarines have come to theharvest season, and growerscan start the picking processonce the clear weatherarrives. Zhouzhi County islocated in Shaanxi Province,and Lan Mei Yuan villagethat is located in ZhouzhiCounty is renowned for its

News: AsiaPacific


nectarines. It is reported that the early ripe nectarine varietyis 518, followed by Zaohong, Zhouyou varieties. Judging bythe current situation, their skins are smoother with a highsweetness level and the overall quality is better than lastyear, which can be attributed to the sufficient sunshineweather. According to Mr. Wong, a nectarine grower fromZhouzhi County, the early wholesale price can reach 2-3Yuan/kilo, followed by more harvest volumes in the market,its price will be adjusted accordingly. The nectarine harvestvolume from Mr. Wong's cultivation base can reach 10,000kilos, with a supply season from late May to the end of June. He welcomes new nectarine wholesalers.

In early spring Turkishgreenhouse vegetablesappear on the Armenianmarket, includingtomatoes, thesesuccessfully compete withlocal products, which inspite of the

lack of transportation costs, are more expensive thanTurkish goods. The situation causes dissatisfaction amonglocal producers, who were forced to reduce prices, and arethus demanding a ban on the import of Turkish goods toArmenia. According to Safaryan, a ban on the imports ofTurkish vegetables could undermine competition allowingArmenian producers to raise prices, of tomatoes inparticular. He noted that the imports of these productsplays a stabilising role on prices.

Azerbaijan cutsbanana imports

China-Kyrgyzstan's agcooperation blossoms

In the first quarter of this year Azerbaijan imported4,371 tons of bananas from Ecuador. This is 35 percent less than in the same period in the year before.Although an official reason for the reduction has notbeen disclosed, experts are putting it down to adecline in weddings. In January- March 2015, 17,000wedding took place, and in the same period this year,the number fell to 14,200. Bananas are an integral partof the fruit dessert at Azerbaijani weddings.

The purchasing power of the population also declinedand this may have contributed to the drop in imports.Bananas are selling today for around 3 manat per kg atretail. According to the State Customs Committee, inthe first quarter about $4 million was spent on bananaimports, 2.4 million less than for the comparableperiod of2015. In 2015, the volume ofimports ofbananas toAzerbaijan amounted to 19,600 tons ($ 18.3 million).

May 2016

Kyrgyzstan's deputy minister of agriculture,Zhanybek Kerimaliev, states that agriculturebetween China and Kyrgyzstan has been booming inrecent years, and the main areas for cooperation aretraditional cultivation and the trade of agricultureproducts. "We export vegetables, leather and wooland import mainly meat products, such as chicken,pork, eggs," he said, adding that Kyrgyzstan'saccession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) lastyear will not hinder its trade with China, hiscountry's main partner.

"The Chinese side has been rendering a lot of aid toKyrgyzstan," having helped Kyrgyzstan trainprofessionals and promote technical innovation inagriculture, where Kyrgyzstan has longed for China'sinvestment and assistance, Kerimaliev said. "TheXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China isworking closely with us and rendering assistance inthe construction of greenhouses," one of thecountry's priorities in agricultural development,Kerimaliev said. The official also said the two nationsare discussing the establishment of logistics centersin Kyrgyzstan to promote the sale of its ecologicallyclean products. "We want to export potatoes, andfruits like cherry, peach and dried fruits too," hesaid. Agriculture is one of the most importantspheres in the Kyrgyz national economy,contributing 14 percent of the nation's GDP last yearand absorbing some 65 percent of its population.The government has included agriculturaldevelopment in the National Strategy of SustainableDevelopment of Kyrgyzstan for 2013-2017.

Sargodha's new dry port willboost fruit exports

On 26 May, a decision was taken to build a dry port inSargodha, Pakistan, to facilitate fruit and mineralexports from the region. The Ministry of Commerce isset to fund the project. This was decided at themeeting of the Board of Administrators of the ExportDevelopment Fund (EDF) there. The details presentedin the Board meeting stated that citrus was a majorexportable item of the region and there are about 250kinnow processing units operating there. All the exportconsignments of the region have to be cleared atKarachi due to the unavailability of a dry port in thearea. The construction of a dry port will greatly facilitatethe export process as all the consignments will becleared and sealed at the dry port and dispatched tothe destination country without having to apply forclearance at the sea-port. This will provide greatconvenience to the exporters, save considerableamounts of time.

News: Asia Pacific


JIALEBAO ANNOUNCE THEACQUISITION OF YUMMY 77

Vietnam's 2016 cashewexports exceed US$1 billion

Vietnam's Cashew Association chairman, Mr. Nguyen DucThanh, has reported that in the first five months of this year,the cashew industry exported more than 118,000 tons ofcashew nuts, bringing in about US$1.1 billion, exceeding theexport plan in terms of both volume and value. The US wasthe biggest importer of cashew from Vietnam. Theassociation said that this year’s plan to process and export350,000 tons of cashew nuts was feasible and might bring in$2.5 billion.

The two current main issues for the cashew industry are thechaotic competition in exporting cashew to Africancountries, especially to the Ivory Coast, and food safetywhen processing cashew nuts. The current price of rawcashew is fairly high, above VND30,000 per kilogram, due toprolonged drought in countries with large area of cashewtrees, including Brazil. However, local farmers’ income is notas high as expected because of low productivity. Accordingto the association, production of raw cashew has fallen by20 percent compared to the same period last year.

May 2016

Recently, E-commerce platform Jialebao held itsmedia briefing in Shanghai, during which itannounced the acquisition of the brands andassets of Yummy 77. If everything goes well, theacquisition is expected to be completed in thefirst half of June. Currently, former executivesfrom Yummy 77 have started working in JialebaoE-commerce Co. Ltd. Meanwhile, it also reached apreliminary employment intention with nearly100 former employees from Yummy 77. In earlyApril, due to the sudden withdrawal of theacquired party, Yummy 77 faced serious cashflow problems, and it was forced to hastilysuspend its. After that the suppliers tookcommodities from their warehouse, ascompensation for their overdue payment. Overall6 million Yuan worth of consumer prepaid cardscan't be used, and Yummy 77 failed to offer asatisfactory solution to this, which madeconsumers extremely disappointed.

It is reported that Jialebao E-commerce Co. Ltd,established in late 2014, is an O2O generalproduce platform that is owned by Dahan TricomHolding Group. Its product range covers itemsfrom fresh produce and seafood to dailyconsumptions such as grain, oil, eggs and milk. Ithas built its own warehouse and cold chainlogistic system, which so far covers the wholePudong region in Shanghai city. The founder ofJialebao expressed his intention to thisacquisition the moment he saw the closureannouncement from Yummy 77. After mutualnegotiation and agreement, they finally reachedthe current acquisition plans. According toJialebao E-commerce Co. Ltd, they will manageand work closely with Yummy 77 to complete theacquisition as soon as possible, so that theirbusiness can be restored to normal operations.

Indonesia developssustainable ag scheme

A new scheme, which aims to improve the income of 1million Indonesian farmers by 2020, has been drafted by theIndonesian Economist Association (ISEI) and the IndonesiaChamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

PISAgro, which stands for Partnership for Indonesia'sSustainable Agriculture, aims to reach more than 445,000farmers in 2016 who manage more than 350,000 hectaresof land. In 2015, only 83,000 farmers with areas of 67,000 haparticipated.

ISEI chairman Muliaman Hadad said farmers were currentlyexperiencing stagnant productivity from inadequate accessto finance, as well as good quality seeds and fertilizers.PISAgro was designed to formulate an action plan andsynergize institutions and stakeholders to solve the issues.

The pilot project of this program had been successfullyapplied since 2011 in maize, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, rice,soybeans, potatoes, and rubber. Under the scheme, farmers’productivity and income increased on average by 25percent.

News: AsiaPacific


Armenia increases tomato, cucumberexports

ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICAINCREASINGLY POPULAR WITHFRESH PRODUCE INDUSTRY

27 May 2016

Hong Kong, Asia’s gateway to China, will againplay host to the Asia Fruit Logistica expo andconference, to be held Sept. 7-9 at theAsiaWorld-Expo Center.

Attendance this year is expected to exceedthat of the 2015 event, which drew a record9,200-plus trade visitors from 70 differentcountries.

Kimdell Lorei, account manager for MesseBerlin North America, the officialrepresentative for the United States andCanada, told The Produce News thatparticipation from both countries hasconsistently increased year over year.

“The show is held close enough to China andthe rest of Asia to garner increased interestfor importers and exporters alike,” explainedLorei. “A lot of North American companies areinterested in accessing the Chinese market,and this show offers a lot of opportunity.Some companies use the event to meet withpotential distributors in Asia, and once theyhave a distribution agreement, thatdistributor will typically represent thecompany at the show.”

Messe Berlin North America also representsthe Fruit Logistica expo in Berlin, held inFebruary, and it endorses the U.S. pavilion atboth events. It has over 35 years ofexperience organizing North Americanpavilions across several industries at majortrade events around the world. Fruit Logisticaand Asia Fruit Logistica are the two largesttrade events in the produce industry.

Supply gap causespotato price increase inKolkata

In Kolkata, India, a drop in potato production has caused theprice of the commodity to increase; yet the farmers are notbenefiting from this. A kilo of the Jyoti potato variety cost Rs24 for consumers, but farmers are being paid only Rs 5-8,suggesting that it is the middlemen who are profiting.

Last year, Bengal, the second biggest potato producer afterUttar Pradesh, saw a bumper harvest at 11 million tonnes.

This year, the production has just touched 9 million tonnes."But this plunge should not have made the potato costlierthan Rs 18 per kg at Kolkata markets. It shows that themiddlemen are having a greater slice of the profit," saidApurba Roy, an agricultural expert. "Apart from the demand-supply gap, which is burning a hole in your pocket, personalgreed has also prompted systematic hoarding by powerfulmiddlemen and that is hitting you hard," Roy added. Withprices soaring steadily over the past few weeks and nowstabilizing at Rs 24 and again threatening to soar, there areconcerns over hoarding.


News: AsiaPacific

Over the past few years Armenia has been increasing itstomato and cucumber exports, thanks to the increasedacreage of hothouses and hence a rise in production. Newssite Hetq alleges that some Armenia exporters are getting afavourable deal due to their governmentconnections. According to the statistics of Armenia’s Ministryof Agriculture (Food Safety Service), tomatoes and cucumbersare mainly sent to Russia, Georgia, Belarus and the CzechRepublic. According to the ministry, 1,178 tons of tomatoesand 4,029 tons of cucumbers were exported to thesecountries in 2015. Deputy Minister of Agriculture RobertMakaryan told Hetq that during the past two years, some 120hectares of hothouses, using modern technology, have beenput into operation, and that another 70 hectares are plannedfor this year.

According to the agricultural ministry, the main exporters oftomatoes and cucumbers are: Mavas Group, Mak-Agroexport, Spayka, Fresh Fruit, Madar-Mar, AlternativeEnergy, Foodarm and Progress Agro. One of the largeimporters of tomatoes and cucumbers to Armenia is an outfitcalled Aknadzor Ltd. Founded in 2008, it’s wholly owned byNarek Sargsyan, the son of President Serzh Sargsyan’sbrother Aleksandr.

DURIAN SUPPLIES TOSINGAPORE DELAYED India: No compensation for fruit

growers after 2014 floods25 May, 2016Drought in Johor, southern Malaysia, hashit durian production, meaning thatgrowers are struggling to deliver the fruit intime for the traditional start of the peakseason in Singapore.

Plantation owners and suppliers thatChannel NewsAsia spoke to said the firstbatch of durians harvested in Johor thisyear has been much smaller than normal. Afurther problem is that the quality isinconsistent, and some are looking furthernorth to compensate. Top Fruits has about3,000 durian trees in its orchard in Johor,making it one of the largest plantations inMalaysia.

27 May 2016

On 27 May, the Indian Government admitted that orchadists andfruit growers who lost their crop as the result of water logging fromthe September 2014 floods, had still not been paid compensation.

“No compensation has been paid to the orchadists/fruit growersexcept Rs 1 million in Ramban district,” Minister for Horticulture,Ghulam Nabi Hanjura said in the ongoing Budget Session of theAssembly.

“Crop loss estimated by the revenue department in horticulturesector due to incessant rains and floods of September 2014 in thestate was of the order of Rs. 15.68 billion and ex-gratia relief to theextent of 50% (Rs. 7.84 billion) has been projected to thegovernment of India by the state government,” Hanjura said.

The government also admitted that the state has inadequate coldstorage facilities for storing apple.

“At present the cold storage facilities account for 0.63 LMTs underthe private sector against the total requirement of 3.83 LMTs,” theminister said.

Asked about the crop insurance scheme, the minister said that inorder to make crop insurance simpler and cheaper for the farmersand to provide them with better insurance services, a Central SectorScheme of Pradhan MantriFasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has beenapproved by the government.

China: Local economyboosted by bayberryproduction

"Our cooperative was established in2011. Our main varieties are the XianjuBiqi and Xianju Dongkui bayberry. After 5years of product innovation, we haveregistered our own trademark, which iscalled 'Junlang'. We now have a stableconsumer base,“ explains Mr. Ying Jun,responsible for the Junlang PlantationProfessional Cooperative in XianjuCounty. "Xianju bayberries will beavailable on the market from June the10th. The season lasts approximately 4week until July 5th. Important factors forbayberry production are the climate andthe soil. Xianju County has a subtropicalmonsoon climate and the geographicallocation offers adequate sunshine forbayberry production."

News: AsiaPacific


Packaging that keeps fruit andveg fresh

ackaging fresh fruits and vegetables is oneof the more important steps in the long andcomplicated journey from grower toconsumer. Bags, crates, hampers, baskets,cartons, bulk bins, and palletizedcontainers are convenient containers forhandling, transporting, and marketingfresh produce. More than 1,500 differenttypes of packages are used for produce inthe U.S. and the number continues toincrease as the industry introduces newpackaging materials and concepts.Although the industry generally agreesthat container standardization is one wayto reduce cost, the trend in recent years hasmoved toward a wider range of packagesizes to accommodate the diverse needs ofwholesalers, consumers, food servicebuyers, and processing operations.Packing and packaging materialscontribute a significant cost to the produceindustry; therefore it is important thatpackers, shippers, buyers, and consumershave a clear understanding of the widerange of packaging options available. Thisfact sheet describes some of the many

types of packaging, including their functions,uses, and limitations. Also included is a listing, bycommodity, of the common produce containersstandard to the industry.The Function of Packaging or Why packageProduce?A significant percentage of produce buyer andconsumer complaints may be traced to containerfailure because of poor design or inappropriateselection and use. A properly designed producecontainer should contain, protect, and identify theproduce, satisfying everyone from grower toconsumer.ContainmentThe container must enclose the produce inconvenient units for handling and distribution.The produce should fit well inside the container,with little wasted space. Small produce items thatare spherical or oblong (such as potatoes, onions,and apples) may be packaged efficiently utilizinga variety of different package shapes and sizes.However, many produce items such as asparagus,berries, or soft fruit may require containersspecially designed for that item. packages ofproduce commonly handled by hand are usuallylimited to 50 pounds. Bulk packages moved byfork lifts may weigh as much as 1,200 pounds.

P

"Packing andpackaging materialscontribute asignificant cost to theproduce industry;therefore it isimportant thatpackers, shippers,buyers, andconsumers have aclear understandingof the wide range ofpackaging optionsavailable"


ProtectionThe package must protect theproduce from mechanicaldamage and poorenvironmental conditionsduring handling anddistribution. To producebuyers, torn, dented, orcollapsed produce packagesusually indicate lack of care inhandling the contents. Producecontainers must be sturdyenough to resist damage duringpackaging, storage, andtransportation to market.Because almost all producepackages are palletized,produce containers should havesufficient stacking strength toresist crushing in a lowtemperature, high humidityenvironment. Although the costof packaging materials hasescalated sharply in recentyears, poor quality, lightweightcontainers that are easilydamaged by handling ormoisture are no longertolerated by packers or buyers.Produce destined for exportmarkets requires that containersto be extra sturdy. Air-freighted produce may requirespecial packing, package sizes,and insulation. Marketers whoexport fresh produce shouldconsult with freight companiesabout any special packagingrequirements. Additionally, theUSDA and various state exportagencies may be able to providespecific packaging information.Damage resulting from poorenvironmental control duringhandling and transit is one ofthe leading causes of rejectedproduce and low buyer andconsumer satisfaction. Eachfresh fruit and vegetablecommodity has its own

requirements for temperature,humidity, and environmentalgas composition. Producecontainers should be producefriendly - helping to maintainan optimum environment forthe longest shelf life. This mayinclude special materials toslow the loss of water from theproduce, insulation materials tokeep out the heat, or engineeredplastic liners that maintain afavorable mix of oxygen andcarbon dioxide.Packaging that keeps fruitand veg fresh TWICE as longto bring about dramaticreduction in food waste• Revolutionary film slowsdown rate of decay keepingfood fresh for longer• Packaging is bio-degradableand compostable• Allows moisture and gasesproduced by ripening produceto escape • Average familydumps food worth £680 everyyear

And it’s that freshness—as wellas the convenience associatedwith fresh cut and preparedproduce packaging—that

national and private-label brand ownersare banking on. Front-of-pack messagingtouting the ease of product preparation andpackage reseal features that keep producefresher longer are enabling brands toovercome consumer objections to risingproduct prices. As prices continue to climbfor fresh produce no matter the source,nearly 30% of consumers say they wishmore bagged salads came in resealablepackaging, while nearly 25% say theywould like more fruits and vegetables insingle-serve packaging—both options thatpresent new marketing opportunities forbrands and retailers.Close to two in 10 respondents reportbuying precut, prepackaged fruit andvegetables for the added convenience.These types of step-saving innovations arelikely to drive sales in the coming years asconsumers look for ways to save time inmeal preparation. In the U.S., 73% ofrespondents report eating bagged orpackaged salads in their households. It’slikely the combination of freshness andconvenience factors drive the majority ofthose sales.


Packaging

he improved production of dryfruits and more aggressivemarketing these days are sure toboost their exports, say officialsand market players.Market inquiries reveal thatexporters have been marketingdry fruits in foreign marketsquite aggressively for the lastfew years, taking advantage ofweb portals and expandingtheir supply networks

The bulk of the country’s dryfruits output comes fromKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, AzadJammu Kashmir, Balochistanand the northern areas.Production in parts of theseregions had remained affectedand the supply-chain brokenfor years owing to the rise ofmilitancy and extremism. Butthe security situation has nowimproved, impacting positivelyon the supply chain, outputlevels and exports.“Another reason for the higherexport is that we are alsocapturing part of [the globaldry fruit] markets that wereonce served by Afghan

exporters, who are now eitherfocusing more on theirdomestic market or at timesfacing supply shortages or failto compete with us in internetmarketing,” The exports of dryfruits have risen over time intraditional markets such as theMiddle East and the country hasmade inroads into new marketslike Far Eastern and Africancountries, say exporters.Meanwhile, exports to thetraditional Indian market haveremained stable despite issuesin trade via the land route, asmany sellers now cater to theirIndian buyers via Dubai.And demand for Pakistani dryfruits has also surged inBangladesh and Sri Lanka.While Iran and Afghanistanproduce a lot of dry fruits,Pakistani almonds, walnuts,pistachio and raisins are alsoexported to the two countries.“In the European market,exporters are competing wellwith their Indian counterpartsby reaching out to largenetworks of chain stores andtaking advantage of the ban on

Dry Fruit Supply Chain


Dry FruitSupplyChain

"Gone are the days whenwe used to ship almondsand other dry fruits in 5-

10kg bags at low prices.Now, dry fruits are

dispatched in cardboardand plastic crates "

T

Iranian exports during the last few yearsThe production of some major dryfruits, like almonds, pistachio, apricot(which is processed to make driedapricots), walnuts and figs has gone upin the last three years after witnessing adeclining trend earlier.But whereas increased output has helpedexporters earn more foreign exchange,supply for local market consumptionhas remained lower than the demand,which is why local prices remain high.

Meanwhile, the fancy packaging of dryfruits, both for local and foreignmarkets, has also helped improveearnings.“Gone are the days when we used toship almonds and other dry fruits in 5-10kg bags at low prices. Now, dry fruitsare dispatched in cardboard and plasticcrates that contain smaller boxes andcontainers neatly packed with 0.5-1kgbags of a particular fruit and get muchhigher value.This fancy packaging can also be seen inmost domestic superstores, bakeries anddedicated shops selling dry fruits, whereone can easily find 100-500gm packets.The sellers get a high profit margin onsales of such packets. The globalmarkets for nuts and DF are supportedby the health awareness of consumersand this is anticipated to continue withsteady growth in the future. Europe inparticular is the world’s largest singlemarket and has the potential for stronggrowth.

RetailingToday, there is a larger effort on the partof manufacturers to develop nationalbrands for nuts and dry fruits, similar towhat happened to Basmati Rice 20 yearsago. Hence, more and more productsthat are coming into the market arebetter packaged, have consistent quality,and come with a longer shelf life. With

the advent of modern retail,especially in urban markets, it hasbecome relatively easier tocommunicate their range, variety,price, and origin to consumers.Supermarkets and grocery storesare also innovating with attractingdisplays and placement of theirNuts & Dried Fruit products onshelves. The category is also beingpositioned as a healthy snackoption, and is being placed in thesnacks aisle. The fact that theseproducts are now coming inattractive reusable jars and tins,also lure customers.

GrowthA combination of factors such asincreasing awareness of healthneeds, increasing disposableincome levels, better availability,right packaging, consistent quality,adequate product communication(labeling), newer products such asHazelnuts, Pecan Nuts, etc, are leading to a healthy growth ofmore than 10 per cent year on yearfor the Nuts and Dry Fruitsindustry in volume terms.

PopularityEase of storage, long shelf-life,easy portability, minimal

Dry Fruit Supply Chain


seasonality issues, and natural

resistance to spoilage are making

nuts and dried fruits a popular

snacking option. Removal of water

content during the drying process

makes dried fruits less perishable,

easiertohandle, and cheaper to

transport. Moreover, these

naturally sweet and flavoured

foods can either be consumed

directly or used in cooking without

any loss in texture or form. This

makes dried fruits and nuts an

ideal food ingredient, and they are

increasingly being used in

production of processed foods

such as mithais, chocolates,

energy bars, etc.

AwarenessRising consumer awareness over

the benefits offered has been

instrumental in boosting demand.

Presently, nuts and dried fruit are

serving as marketing strategies to

enhance the appeal of food

products to highlyfocused

consumer segments. That is, food

companies are increasingly using

nuts and dried foods as key

ingredients in their premium food

ranges.

FRUITLOGISTICSFRESH PRODUCE CAN BE SHIPPED BY SEA, AIR, ROAD, OR IN SOME CASES, BYRAIL. IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT THE DELIVERY PROCESS FOR FRESHPRODUCE ON ITS WAY FROM FARM TO POINT OF SALE IS ADAPTED TO THERESPECTIVE MODE OF TRANSPORT

rogress in fruit logistics requires anincreasing number of measurements tobe performed in refrigerated chambersand during transport. Wireless sensornetworks (WSN) are a promisingsolution in this field.Fruits and vegetables are submitted to avariety of risks during transport andstorage that are responsible for materialquality losses. Among them are intrinsicbiological and chemical processes that

fresh produce undergoes after harvest,related to a lack of appropriate control onduration, temperature and humidity,which causes senescence and rot. As aconsequence, effective cold-logisticsmonitoring is fundamental for ensuringproduct quality along the supply chain.Wireless sensors networks (WSN) is avery promising technology in this field.A wireless sensor network is a systemcomprised of radio frequency (RF)

P

transceivers, sensors, microcontrollersand power sources. Instrumented with avariety of sensors, such as temperature,humidity and volatile compounddetection, WSN allow transportmonitoring of perishable food productsto be accomplished in a distributed way.Supply chains are becoming longer andmore complicated, sometimes spanningseveral continents. The right choice oflogistic services can determinewhether or not a fresh produceconsignment can be sold. Fresh producehandling and logistics are essentially twosides of the same coin. If costs areunclear, it is impossible to set a price.'Time to market' is a practical way tomeasure logistical efficiency, but there ismore to it than that. Fresh produce can beshipped by sea, air, road, or in somecases, by rail. It is important to ensurethat the delivery process for freshproduce on its way from farm to point ofsale is adapted to the respective mode oftransport.In the Latin America and Caribbean(LAC) region 50% of the fruits andvegetables and 37% of root and tubersare lost before they reach consumers.Improving logistics systems andmanagement is considered an efficientapproach to reduce food losses across thesupply chain. Failures in logisticsoperations including product handling,storage, transportation, and inappropriateinfrastructure, are among the mostcommon reasons for the high quantitiesof food losses.A discussion is provided on interventionsin logistics systems to scale up reductionof produce losses.Fruits and vegetables, and roots andtubers, are the food subsectors in whichthe highest losses are encounteredworldwide. In the LAC region themajority of the produce losses occurbefore they reach consumers. In order tocombat losses of horticultural


Fruit Logistics

commodities, and their impact onthe well-being of the societies,efficient logistics systems need tobe established to deliver the rightproduct at the right time. Logisticsare fundamental for horticulturalproducts as their high perishabilityrequires complex planning,including short-term decisions ontransportation modes, handling,packaging and storage. However,integrated planning models in thefood supply chain and in particularof fresh produce, are still laggingbehind other manufacturing supplychains such as electronics andvehicles

When we look at the entire logisticsfrom harvest to consumption, thereare lot of ‘pits and holes’ to accountfor the losses and lot of other looseends where efficiency can beimproved manifold. Poor handlingincludes losses during sorting andgrading. It also includes pilferagesand losses due to improperpackaging. Sometimes fruits andvegetables are packed in gunny bagsand plastic bags. This kind ofpacking leads to the wastage ofvegetables. Though they are usingcarton boxes, wastages arehappening due to poor finishing ofpacking and careless handling.Vegetables are getting more

damaged than the fruits basedon their type of packing. Thereis no standardization inpackaging methods and norms.The corrugated fiber boardused for packaging is of poorstrength. Inadequate handlingspace amplifies the high costincurred for sorting andgrading. There should be astandardized and efficientpacking and grading systemthroughout the country toavoid the loss by introducingorganized players in the valuechain.High investment ininfrastructure is required forefficient logistics of highlyperishable products like fruitsand vegetables. The storage andhandling conditions need to beenhanced to bring down post-harvest losses and indirectlypromote productivity.Transportation is another areaof concern. Goods like onionsand highly perishable productslike oranges and tomatoes aretransported in open top trucksup to a distance of 850 km.Lack of ventilation andtemperature control, directexposure to sun etc. areaccelerating the decompositionrate.

Post harvest Management of Fruit andVegetables in the Asia-Pacific Region

ecent regional economic growth andchanges in dietary patterns havemade both the production andconsumption of fruit and vegetablesincreasingly important. The fruit andvegetable sector has a vital role infarm income enhancement, povertyalleviation, food security, andsustainable agriculture in Asia,especially in developing countries.This sector, however, suffers greatlyfrom postharvest losses. Someestimates suggest that about30–40% of fruit and vegetables arelost or abandoned after leaving thefarm gate. Huge postharvest lossesresult in diminished returns forproducers. International marketsreject fruits and vegetablescontaining unauthorized pesticides,with pesticide residues exceedingpermissible limits, and withinadequate labelling and packaging.Similarly there have been increasing

Post Harvest Management


R concerns over food-bornediseases and poisoning suchas Escherichia coli orSalmonella outbreaks.Obviously, postharvestmanagement determines foodquality and safety,competitiveness in the market,and the profits earned byproducers. The postharvestmanagement of fruit andvegetables in most developingcountries in the region is,however, far from satisfactory.The major constraints includeinefficient handling andtransportation; poortechnologies for storage,processing, and packaging;involvement of too manydiverse actors; and poorinfrastructure.CAUSES OF POSTHARVESTLOSSES Postharvest losses arecaused by both external and

"The post harvestmanagement of fruit andvegetables in mostdeveloping countries inthe region is, however, farfrom satisfactory. Themajor constraints includeinefficient handling andtransportation; poortechnologies for storage,processing, andpackaging; involvement oftoo many diverse actors;and poor infrastructure"

internal factors. ExternalFactors Which Lead toPostharvest Losses MechanicalInjury Fresh fruits andvegetables are highlysusceptible to mechanicalinjury owing to their tendertexture and high moisturecontent. Poor handling,unsuitable packaging andimproper packing duringtransportation are the cause ofbruising, cutting, breaking,impact wounding, and otherforms of injury in fresh fruitsand vegetables. ParasiticDiseases The invasion of fruitsand vegetables by fungi,bacteria, insects and otherorganisms, is a major cause ofpostharvest losses in fruits andvegetables. Microorganismsreadily attack fresh produceand spread rapidly, owing tothe lack of natural defensemechanisms in the tissues offresh produce, and theabundance of nutrients andmoisture which supports theirgrowth. Control of postharvestdecay is increasingly becominga difficult task, since thenumber of pesticides availableis rapidly declining asconsumer concern for foodsafety is increasing. InternalFactors PhysiologicalDeterioration Fruit andvegetable tissues are still aliveafter harvest, and continue theirphysiological activity.Physiological disorders occuras a result of mineraldeficiency, low or hightemperature injury, orundesirable environmentalconditions, such as highhumidity. Physiologicaldeterioration can also occur

spontaneously owing toenzymatic activity, leading tooverripeness and senescence, asimple aging phenomenon.

IMPROVINGPOSTHARVESTMANAGEMENT ANDMARKETING IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION: ISSUESAND CHALLENGESThe Asia-Pacific Region accountsfor approximately 30% of theworld’s land area. Threecountries of that region: China,India and Indonesia are amongthe four most populous nationsglobally. The Region ischaracterized by a gradient ofdevelopmental levels which bearsa strong correlation toachievements in postharvestmanagement and capacity foragro industrial development in itsmember countries. The fruit andvegetable sector across region isincreasingly shifting toward theadoption of a market-orientedfocus. This shift in focus withinthe sector must be facilitated andsupported by enablingtechnologies and infrastructure,postharvest handling skills,proper logistics and organization,as well as proper marketing andmanagement skills and asupportive policy and regulatoryenvironment.

GENERAL TRENDS IN THEREGION Countries of theAsia-Pacific Regions show widevariation in their incomeclassificationHigh income countries such asJapan, the Republic of China, andthe Republic of Korea have, to alarge extent, been successful inimplementing postharvest


management systems whichminimize losses in perishables,while middle income countriessuch as the Philippines,Thailand, and Malaysia areputting in place systems andstrategies designed to upgradepostharvest capacities. Manylow and middle incomecountries continue to focus oncapacity building in order tominimize losses in fruits andvegetables as they struggle toovercome technical,infrastructural and managerialconstraints and maintainquality and safety. Risingincomes, consumer demand forsafety, quality and convenience,increasing levels of fruit andvegetable imports, increasingrates of urbanization, scientificand technologicaldevelopments, and the growthof fast food chains andsupermarkets necessitate thatcountries across the region putin place appropriate policies,regulatory frameworks andinfrastructure, and buildcapacity in postharvestmanagement and marketing, iftheir fruit and vegetable sectorsare to remain competitive.

Post Harvest Management

TRENDS INHORTICULTURESECTOR

HORTICULTURE

THERE ARE MANY HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY FRUITS, THAT FETCH HIGHPRICES IN WORLD TRADE. THUS THE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION OF HIGH-VALUEHORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS ON SMALL FARMS CAN HELP ALLEVIATE RURAL POVERTY

he horticulture sector is perhaps the most profitable venture of all farming activities. Itprovides ample employment opportunities and scopes to increase the income of thehorticulture crops growers in India. Horticulture crops occupy an important position in termsof providing livelihood options, mitigating to some extent the excess demand for cereals andcontributing to food and nutritional security. The major share of horticulture crops are fruitsand vegetable. These are major exports from India to Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, UK andMalaysia etc. The fruits and vegetables had grown visibly owing to the recent growth indemand and in the international market over a period of time. The demand for fruits and

T

vegetables increases due toimproving the quality of livesof the people in rural and urbanareas in world. This is a smallevident from the rapidlyincrease in the share of thesecrops in the total net exports inthe country.

Need for the StudyThe horticulture sector plays asignificant role for economicdevelopment in world. It iscontributing to agricultureGDP and mostly throughforeign exchange in countries.The demand for fruits andvegetables are increasing due toimprovement in the quality oflives of the people in rural andurban areas in countries of theworld. Keeping this view, thereis a need to know the trends inhorticulture sector andinstability of all horticulturecrops.

Horticultural crops provide abetter alternative fordiversification of agriculture inview of higher returns availablefrom them. Horticulture sectorhelps in improvingproductivity of land, generatingemployment, improvingeconomic conditions of thefarmers and entrepreneurs,enhancing exports and foreignexchange earnings and aboveall providing nutritionalsecurity to the people.Horticultural products have ahigh income elasticity ofdemand. As income goes up,demand rises rapidly, especiallyin the middle and high-incomegroups in developing anddeveloped countries. Indeveloped countries, the

growing concern for health andnutrition has caused consumerpreferences to shift from high-fat,high-cholesterol foods, such asmeat and livestock products, tolow-fat, low-cholesterol foods,such as fish, fruits and vegetables.Also, there is an increasingtendency in developed countries todiversify the diet by consuming awide variety of fruits andvegetables, a change partlystimulated by the increase ininternational travel andcommunications. This, in turn, hasled to and is facilitated byincreasing Imports of new and non-traditional horticultural products,especially from the tropicaldeveloping countries.Conditions for increasingproduction of horticultural cropsare very favourable in the country.This is partly because production ofhorticultural crops in general islabour-intensive. Horticulturalproducts not only have goodpotential for generatingemployment in cultivation but alsoin processing, marketing, and

Horticulture Trends


distribution. And they arefrequently produced on smallfarms, thus providing an importantsource of additional income forpoor farmers in developingcountries. There are manyhorticultural products, especiallyfruits, that fetch high prices inworld trade.Thus the efficient production ofhigh-value horticultural productson small farms can help alleviaterural poverty. The growing interestin horticultural exports in thecountry also reflects the search fordiversified non-traditionalagricultural exports in order toexpand foreign exchange earningsso that the country can meet risingimport requirements foraccelerated economic growth andmounting debt service payments.

GLOBALBANANA TRADE

ver 81 percent of the total bananasexported globally come from 10 countries.The banana export trade is a huge industry,with exports totaling over $14 billion in theyear 2014 alone, which saw an increase of8.1% from the previous year.

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits inthe world, and due to the fact that they do notrequire very specific conditions to be grownin, are grown all over the world, withplantations being present in at least 107countries.

The primary use of bananas is, of course,consumption by people, as it is famous for itssweetness, while to a lesser extent, it is alsoused to make banana wine, banana beer,fiber and ornamental plants as well. In fact,bananas are mostly grown in tropicalcountries where they are considered to be anintegral source of starch for the populationliving there. Not only is the inner part of thebanana eatable, its skin can be consumedtoo.

Bananas are used in a variety of dishesworldwide, from being fried to being madeinto jams and also baked into pancakes.India, unsurprisingly, is the largest producerof bananas in the world, producing nearly afifth of all the bananas produced in the world.However, it does not feature on this list asnearly all of the bananas produced areconsumed locally. The second biggest

produced or bananas is the Philippineswhich produces 7% of the global bananaproduction. Some of the largest producersof bananas are also some of the largestexporters of bananas and are included inboth lists, such as Colombia, Ecuador, andthe Philippines.

Exports of bananas have dominatedCentral American history, along with theexport of coffee as well. Some countries,such as Honduras, Costa Rica, andPanama have been called bananarepublics due to the fact that theireconomies were significantly dependenton the export of bananas.

Most of the countries from South Americatend to export their bananas to Europe.Since the European climate is notreceptive to the growth of bananas, theyhave to import the fruit which is why youwill only find 2 countries from Europe onthis list.

Despite the continued importance ofmultinational companies in the globaltrade of bananas, their involvement inbanana production has fallen dramaticallyover the past three decades, shifting theirsphere of action to favor other areas in thesector and opening the door toopportunities for other companies.The competition among bananaproducing countries is fierce and many

O

Global Banana Trade


have struggled to remaincompetitive, but there are alsonew opportunities, as the marketis no longer dominated by bigplayers - and new buyers areentering the market,Trading placesThe information note shows thatthe scope of operations of thebig multinationals has alsoundergone a significant shift,away from plantation ownershipand production, and moretowards post-productionlogistics, including purchasingfrom producers, transportation,facilities to ripen the fruit, andmarketing.Major supermarket chains in theUnited States and the EuropeanUnion, meanwhile, havebecome "important players inthe global banana trade as theydominate the retail market in themain banana-consumingcountries and are alsoincreasingly purchasing fromsmaller wholesalers or directlyfrom growers," the noteunderscores.This shift of market power awayfrom the major banana brandstowards retailers was facilitatedby the establishment of directcontainer liner services frombanana producing regions to themain destination markets.Moreover, there is a paralleltrend towards less concentrationamong the exporting firms inthe major banana producingcountries, for example inEcuador.Support for smallerproducersAs banana markets becomemore fragmented and newplayers continue to enter thefray, there is an important

message for banana producers."In order to seize opportunitiesin an increasingly competitivemarket, banana producers needto be better informed and betterprepared, including smallholderproducers and any cooperativesor other organizations thatrepresent them.

Improved banana ripeningresults in 25-33% more salesat retail: find out howPalletized banana boxes aremostly ripened in pressurizedripening rooms, wheretemperature is controlled andethylene applied to triggerripening. This process, called"the ripening cycle", takes 4-7days, with a ripening cycle of 5days being the most commoncycle.Unfortunately, somewholesalers deliver bananaswhich are too green at retail,expecting to have more shelflife and less shrink. The result isthe opposite, with fruitstayimng too long in the shelf.Finally these bananas turn darkbefore they are ripe, and have tobe is discarded unsold.

By balancing the right elementsof the ripening cycle, fruit canbe delivered at color 4 or 5 andstill have good shelf life atretail.

Key factors to control are:- fruit temperature in theripening room- ethylene application and- relative humidity

Global Banana Trade


RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT SAYS FRUIT IMPORTS FROMUZBEKISTAN INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD

Organisers of Fresh Business ExpoUkraine expect a strong growth ofthe exhibition in 2016!

23 May 2016

The organisers of Fresh Business ExpoUkraine, which will take place from 29November – 1 December 2016 in Kiev,Ukraine, are expecting an increase of theexhibition of at least 30%. Fresh BusinessExpo is the only trade event in Ukraine thatexclusively targets the complete chain ofFresh Produce. The market situation isgetting more favorable and for this year, forthe first time in years, the Ukrainianeconomy is forecasted to grow by some 2%.The Free Trade Agreement between the EUand Ukraine is giving a further boost to theeconomy. With the Free Trade Agreementnow in place Ukraine is able to expand itsexports to the entire European Unionopening up a huge new market andpossibilities.

Ukrainian producers will need to investheavily in the coming years in newequipment and machines in order to havetheir production meet European standards.Because of these combining factors TheDutch Bank ABN Amro awarded Ukrainewith the first place on most promisingAgricultural markets worldwide. Financiersfrom ABN AMRO noted that Ukraine is oneof the most important agro- industrialregions in the world. Kuno Jacobs, theinternational organiser states: “Even thoughthe times were difficult last year wemanaged to organise a very successful 2015edition with an exhibitor satisfaction of 84%.Basically all companies that haveparticipated with us last year will re-book forthe 2016 edition, on top of that we see a lotof interest among new companies becauseof the changing market situation. These arethe main factors for the expected growth in2016.”

The volume of Uzbek agricultural imports since the start of theyear have increased by 10% with citrus fruit having increased by afactor of 54, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “Total suppliesfrom Uzbekistan increased by 10%, and for several other items thejump in volume was significantly more. For several vegetablevarieties import volumes increased by 10 times as much; forgrapes – 20 times, and for citrus fruits – 54 times more,” he saidTuesday during a meeting with the President of Uzbekistan IslamKarimov. Putin said that the overall dollar equivalent of the volumeof bilateral trade dropped, but in rubles, it increased. “Growth wasalso seen in physical volumes, and this growth was during the firstquarter of the year.”

A sharp increase in grape and lemon imports from Uzbekistan wasrecorded in 2015. From 2014 to 2015, grape imports increasedfrom 339 tonnes to 13,432 tonnes. Lemon imports increased from14 tonnes to 621 tonnes. As of January 1 of this year, Turkishproducts including citrus, grapes, apples, apricots, peaches,including nectarines, plums and sloes, strawberries (including wildstrawberries), tomatoes, onions, shallots, cauliflower, broccoli,cucumbers and gherkins were placed under Russian sanctions,prohibiting their entry into the country as imports. Subsequentrestrictions enacted on March 17 excluded Turkish peppers andgrenades. Then on April 25, Rosselkhoznadzor placed restrictionson Turkish eggplants.

May 2016

Global Scenario


TURKISH DELEGATION FAILS TO GET VISAS; UNABLETO VISIT MOSCOW TO DISCUSS VEGETABLE EXPORTSRepresentatives of Turkey will not be visiting Moscow on April 26to discuss the situation regarding sanctions on exports to Russiabecause officials were unable to obtain visas, the deputy head ofRussia’s Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service(Rosselkhoznadzor) Alexey Alekseyenko told RIANovosti.“Negotiations were carried out for technical reasons, theysimply failed to get a visa,” he said adding that Turkey is interestedin visiting Moscow. “It’s hard to say when negotiations willcontinue.”As of January 1 of this year, Turkish products including citrus,grapes, apples, apricots, peaches, including nectarines, plums andsloes, strawberries (including wild strawberries), tomatoes, onions,shallots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers and gherkins wererestricted under Russian sanctions, prohibiting their entry into thecountry as imports.

Global Scenario

S. AFRICAN TOP FRUIT COMPANIESINVEST IN TECHNOLOGYKENYAN FRUIT

FARMERS COMPETINGWITH IMPORTS

Fruits like oranges, grapes and apples are being bought fromKenya's neighbouring countries, especially Tanzania, creating stiffcompetition for Kenya's own fruit farmers in Nyeria. Farmers inhigh altitude areas where oranges do well, are not supplyingenough of the fruit, a problem attributed to climate change.

Mr John Wambugu, an agronomist at Wambugu farm, saidfarmers should adopt new methods to maximise yields.

"Farmers should ensure they have enough water for their cropsin instances where there is low or no rainfall and also spray theircrops against pests and disease," he said.

Traders, however, said they were making good profits from theimported fruit. They said they buy a 70kg sack of oranges forSh2,000 and sell the fruit for Sh50 a kilogramme.

Ms Margaret Wangui, a trader at Whispers Park market, said sheis making huge profits from pawpaw that she buys from Meru.

"I sell a kilogramme of pawpaw for Sh70 after buying them forSh35 a kilogramme," she said. However, supply of watermelons ispoor due to the heavy rains that have been pounding the area..

Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing and its parentpackhouse, have invested in new technologywhich is set to improve their final product andreduce quality-related claims, which cost thetwo companies millions of rand. The newtechnologies will make it possible to look insidethe fruit to test elements such as the amount ofsugar in the product and check for defectsincluding internal browning, which could not —until now — be determined without cutting intoeach piece of fruit. The company did notdisclose the amount of money it had invested inthe new technology. Tru-Cape marketingdirector Conrad Fick said on Thursday 19 Maythe newly installed Greefa 10-lane sorter canprocess eight pieces of fruit per second per laneat Two-a-Day in Grabouw, and was the largest inthe southern Hemisphere. "Combined with thenew iFA light technology that ‘sees’ into theheart of each apple or pear that is processed,we can now deliver a better final product withfewer issues," he said.

"Our packhouses have had camera-scanningequipment — which increased productivity by25% (and) sorted faster and more accuratelythan before — for a while now, and the 1GBDigital GigE camera, which captures a full, high-definition image of 1900 x 1024 pixels to makecorrect colour selection more efficient, while nolonger new, remains current." Fick said that asconsumer tastes and demands become ever-more exacting, Tru-Cape’s packhouses’ ability toadd algorithms that sort to ever-higher colourand blemish-free standards becomesessential. He said the investment will savemillions of rand as Tru-Cape will be improvingproductivity

20 May, 2016

www.behlmedia.net25 Fruit & Vegetable Hub June 2016

Uganda's new, improved disease-resistant Irish potato variety

A new improved Victoria type of potato has been developedat the Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and DevelopmentInstitute (KaZARDI) of the National Agricultural ResearchOrganization (NARO) near Kabale. The disease-resistant Irishpotato variety was produced via biotechnology and is said to beable to ensure high yields for food security and incomegeneration. KZARDI director, Dr Alex Barekye and the projectinvestigator, Dr Andrew Kiggundu said the new variety has beentested for two years. It can be planted until harvest without theuse of any fungicide in between. The development comes at a timewhen farmers are counting losses due to late bright disease, whichdestroys their potato gardens while others are spending a lot oftheir hard-earned money on fungicides to fight the disease.According to the research carried out by the institute, Irish potatois grown by more than 300,000 smallholder households,producing a total of 800,000 tonnes on 112,000 hectares. By 2015,the demand for Irish potato was up to one million metrictonnes. But potato late blight is one of the most devastatingdiseases causing up to 60 per cent yield loss in the sector. Ugandalosses are up to $128m annually due to the disease.

20 May, 2016

26 May 2016

Spain: Cherry season kicks offlater than usual in Zaragoza

“German lorry ban onSundays and holidays hitsfresh produce trade hard”

Trade, commission, storage, transfer and transport:Peter Hendriks has been active in all thesedisciplines from the Fresh Park Venlo site for years.“It is the combination that makes it interesting. I donot know if I would have lasted if we only didtransport. Now I can tell from the ZON clock whichorders I can expect, for example, from ourcustomers in the Westland in themorning.” Hendriks’s logistical activities take placemainly in the Netherlands and Belgium, and to alesser extend in Germany. “Our lorries drivebetween Brussels, Mechelen and Roeselare everyday. We do not drive farther than 100 kilometersinto Germany,” Hendriks explains. He does not seea major role for his company there. “I would like tokeep our company this size, so that it remainssurveyable, and we can continue using theadvantages of a small organisation.”

he location at the Fresh Park Venlo is important toHendriks. “I do not believe that there are freshproduce companies here that we do not work for.The auction site is just an important hub for theexport to Germany. That is why it is quiteworrisome for the fresh produce trade that sales inGermany are not rising, it just dampens growth,”says Hendriks. He is personally satisfied with theamount of work. “We are not the most expensive,nor the cheapest. We just have correct prices andprovide great service to our customers.” Winterbecoming increasingly longer Over the years,Hendriks has learned to keep a low profile duringthe winter. “We always sell a few lorries duringautumn, and in summer we buy or rent a few extra.We now have 22 lorries, but in winter that numberis down to 12. Efforts to get a lot of work in thewinter did not produce much above the line in thepast, that is why we prefer working a little harder insummer and keep a low profile during the winterperiod.

After many day's delay, has marked the start of the harvest ofthe early cherry varieties at the Zaragoza-based cooperativeCosanse. "The changing weather conditions throughout thewinter and early spring have taken a toll on the flowering andfruit setting, causing a slight delay of between 5 and 7 dayscompared to previous campaigns. However, we have prospectsfor a larger harvest and optimum quality," explains SergioAlonso, of Cosanse's commercial department. "We've been luckyto escape the severe hailstorm that affected several towns inthe province, such as Alfamén and Almonacid. It did not reachour farms for very little," he affirms. Currently, Cosanse hasalmost 180 hectares of own production in various locations inthe region of Valdejalón, in the province of Zaragoza, with over120,000 cherry trees of different varieties andcharacteristics. The first varieties to be harvested are the Burlatand Early Bigi, which will be followed shortly by harder ones,such as the Frisco, Prime Giant, Sommerset, Chelan, Sonata andLapins. The season will close with the Skeena and Sweet Heart."We have a marketing calendar that will last until mid-July andwill allow us to distribute our cherries both in the domestic andsome major export markets, with special attention to thetraditional European destinations," points out SergioAlonso. Lower production of apricots, nectarines and plumsAs in most other Spanish producing areas, this year Zaragozawill have less stonefruit as a result of the impact of frosts and apoor fruit setting. This will especially be the case for apricots,nectarines and plums. "It seems we'll keep the peach volumestable thanks to the entry into production of new plantations. Asfor Paraguayo peaches, the volume will grow."

May, 2016

Global Scenario


European potatoes: 3-4%increase in acreage in 2016Members of the NEPG have estimated that potato acreage inthe 5 main producing countries (UK, the Netherlands, Germany,Belgium and France) could reach 546,500 hectares (+19,500hectares/2015), i.e. back to the levels reached in 2010 and 2014with an increasing industry demand.

Acreage will be the same in the UK but Belgium will increase, up6% compared to 2015. However, at the end of April, 40% ofacreage across the EU-5 zone still had to be planted (even morein some zones such as Belgium). Due to cold weather andrainfall, there is a 2 to 3 week delay compared to an averageyear. Therefore, it is not certain if there will be a bigger harvestthan last year. The NEPG says that it will all depend on the latestplantations and growing conditions.

Canada : Yukon’s first hydroponicvegetables

US: Mexican garlic startsbringing down prices

After last year's season, when short crops aroundthe world made for a strong garlic market in theU.S., shipments of garlic from Mexico havestarted to chip away at current prices. While theCalifornia season is still at least a month fromsignificant volumes, prices should keepdecreasing until then. “Everything was short lastyear, so garlic prices started off a little high,” saidKian Fattahi with Global Farms Enterprises in LosAngeles, California. “But there's now moreMexican garlic available, and shippers will want tomove that product before California garlic isready, so we're expecting a price adjustment.”When California product becomes available,consumers tend to prefer that over Mexicanimports. As a result, the Mexican crop doesn'tmuch affect the California crop.

Garlic prices have been high this year becauseChina, Argentina and Spain all had short cropscoming into 2016. China is still selling off its oldcrop, though they are transitioning into new cropsupplies. Mexico is ramping up production, soMexican imports should bring prices downheading into the summer months. Whether thattrend continues through the summer dependson how the California season pans out.

“Acreage planted in California this year is similarto that from last year,” noted Fattahi. “It was justthat yields were bad last year because of theweather. In my experience, demand for garlicstays the same, so prices are just a function ofsupply. Last year was unique in that everythingwas short, so we'll see if the weather cooperatesand leads to good yields in California this season.”

Yukon’s first hydroponic vegetables are being grown in agreenhouse in Whitehorse. Lorne Metropolit, owner ofYukon Gardens, says that “We have gone into lettuceproduction and we produce four or five varieties”. Theyexpect production to be good, despite the fact that theirgreenhouse is small- which is important due to heatingcosts in the winter. Lorne’s daughter, Kelsey is enthusiasticabout the idea of offering products with their roots and thefact that they stay fresh longer. The owners have beenfaced with challenges, notably the high cost of equipmentand manual labour. “Trying to find solutions is part of theexperience of growing (vegetables) in the North. There isalways the unexpected” and Lorne Metropolit says that“We thought we could do it for $3,000 to $4,000. We are at$25,000." The first harvest will be at the end of May andthe products should be available in shops in Whitehorse.They plan to produce vegetables in their greenhouse allyear round.

26 May, 2016

Global Scenario


19 May 2016

US: Turnkey fresh produce supplysolution launched

On May 25, McLane Company Inc., a supply chain servicescompany providing grocery and foodservice supply chainsolutions, announced the rollout of McLane Kitchen’snationwide Fresh Produce + supply chain solution. FreshProduce + is a turnkey solution that provides top qualityproducts, operational best practices, merchandising units,information on suggested retail pricing and best-in-classcustomer service to help operators establish their locationsas destinations for fresh produce. Because choice inpricing is a key factor in creating a solution that works forevery retail customer, Fresh Produce + offers mark upoptions associated with varying levels of productguarantee. Fresh Produce + is also fully compatible withMcLane’s Premium Ordering Management Suite (POMS)and smart handheld technology, giving operators theability to order fresh items just like any other SKU. Over thecoming months the solution will integrate seasonal itemsand category management to ensure operators continueto grow their return. According to an independent study,close to half of the nation’s population visits a conveniencestore each month.

The London Produce Show &Conference

8-10 June 2016 | London

The New York Produce Show and Conference

A world-class event December 5-8, 2016, in Manhattan and

the ONLY produce show and conference in NYC.

- Presented by EASTERN PRODUCE COUNCIL and PRODUCE

BUSINESS

- Panels, expo, reception, opening keynote breakfast, hosted

by Perishable Pundit Jim Prevor and featuring the Northeast

region’s top retail “Thought Leaders.”

- Superior Location: Jacob K. Javits Center (34th Street and

West Side Highway)

- Tours of retailers, wholesalers, foodservice distributors and

urban farms

- Over 400 companies exhibiting

- Chef Demonstrations & Culinary Student Education

- Sports celebrity autograph session

- Unparalleled networking and entertainment opportunities

The Amsterdam Produce Show and

Conference is a brand new event

that will bring the international

fresh produce and flower

communities together in Holland –

at the very heart of the global

produce industry. Organised and

hosted by the creators of the

award-winning New York Produce

Show and Conference and London

Produce Show and Conference, the

Amsterdam event will take place on

November 2-4, 2016 at the iconic

Westergasfabriek. Join your industry

colleagues to celebrate Holland’s

position as an innovative world

leader in fresh produce and floral

production, research and

development, science, logistics and

trading. A boutique trade exhibition

will give Dutch and international

trade exhibitors direct access to a

wide range of produce buyers from

the retail, foodservice and

wholesale sectors. A series of

networking events, Holland-focused

seminars and chef demonstrations

with some of the country’s top

culinary minds will run around and

alongside the exhibition.

The Fresh Produce Consortium and Produce Business

magazine are proud to present this unique event, held in one

of the world’s iconic cities for the fresh fruit, vegetable and

flower industries. The boutique exhibition gives trade

exhibitors direct access to a wide range of international

produce buyers from the retail, food service and wholesale

sectors. A series of networking occasions, seminars and chef

demonstrations run around and alongside the exhibition,

delivering every participant the opportunity to meet, share

and learn with their counterparts from around the world. If

you work in the fresh produce industry and you’re looking to

expand your business and discover new opportunities, then

this is the show for you.

Event Review


The Amsterdam Produce Show& Conference

2-4 November 2016Amsterdam

The New York Produce Show& Conference

5-8 December 2016New York

Fresh Produce AfricaExpo 2017

25-27 April Nairobi, Kenya

BOOSTING THE FRESH PRODUCE INDUSTRY

AROUND THE WORLD

THE WORLD’S LEADING TRADE EVENT FOR THE

GLOBAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INDUSTRY.

THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN

FRESH PRODUCE

- Fresh fruits and vegetables

- Fresh cut and catering products

- Nuts

- Chilled, frozen and dehydrated

- Processed fruits and vegetables

- Organic Hub

- Flowers and live plants

- Organisms and associations

- Other

AUXILIARY INDUSTRY

- Services’ suppliers

- Seeds

- Solutions and equipment for harvest and post-harvest

- Transport & logistics

- Stock management and storage

- Packaging & labelling

Originally planned to take place in April next

year, it was concluded that although the

interest on the exhibiting side was much

higher than initially expected, more

preparation time would be needed to attract

and secure a good number of international

buyers to attend.

For this reason FPA will now take place one

year later from Wednesday April 26 to Friday

April 28 in 2017, at the same venue as was

planned for 2016, namely The Oshwal Center in

Parklands, Nairobi.

We trust you will all understand the

rescheduling of this important trade event, as

it is in everybody’s interest that the first edition

will become a great success. The dates for the

expo just came too quick and the international

visitor’s promotion efforts came under

pressure and would have affected the

outcome, if continued for coming April.

Event Review


Fruit Attraction 20165-7 October

Madrid, Spain

pmaFRESH SUMMIT

CONVENTION + EXPO14-16 October, 2016

Orlando, FL

TUTTOFOOD 2017 awaits you with 2 more pavilions

than the 2015 edition, 2 new product sectors, and

more in-depth initiatives as the show gets closer in

order to bring together supply and demand.

Fruit Innovation – exhibition of fruit and vegetables,

which brings together products and technologies. It

is to become a part of TUTTOFOOD, completing the

show with products from the fresh food industry.

TUTTOHEALTH will meet the needs of Italian and

foreign buyers who are ever more interested in

neutraceuticals. Thanks to a qualified partner, we

will be able to increase the base of manufacturers

and visitors by involving nutritionists, physicians,

biologists, dieticians and pharmacists.

The idea behind the 2017 show sees TUTTOFOOD

transforming into an active role as a specialised

“consultant” for exhibitors and visitors, with a menu

of services that offer great value-add.

Connect with more than 20,000

attendees and 1,000+ exhibitors from

over 60 countries. Meet with experts,

leaders and decision makers from every

link of the supply chain. And see how

today’s bright ideas are reshaping

tomorrow’s produce and floral

landscape.

Fresh Summit Attendees Come to Meet:

- Grower-shippers and processors of

fresh floral and produce

- Suppliers of flowers and plants

- Sellers of value-added commodities,

organics and natural foods

- Solution providers for packaging, food

safety, traceability, labeling,

transportation and more

- Associations, government agencies,

universities and more

Fruit Innovation 20178-11 May

Milan, Italy

Event Review


EVENT CALENDARU p c o m i n g F r e s h P r o d u c e e v e n t s

23 September

MCC Mazurkas, Poland

www.freshmarket.eu

Fresh Market 2016

pma FRESH SUMMIT CONVENTION+ EXPO

The Amsterdam Produce Show & Conference

2-4 November, 2016

Amsterdam

www.amsterdamamsterdamproduceshow.com/

Fruit Logistica

8-10 February, 2017

Berlin Expo Centre City, Berlin

www.fruitlogistica.de/en

Fruit Attraction

5-7 October, 2016

Madrid, Spain

www.ifema.es/fruitattraction01/

Fresh Produce Forum China31 May-2June, 2016

Chengdu, China

www.fpf-china.com

Macfrut14-16 September, 2016

Rimini Expo Centre

www.macfrut.com/en/

WOP DUBAI 2016

4-16 October, 2016

Orlando, FL

www.pma.com/events/freshsummit

The New York Produce Show

5-8 Dec, 2016

New York

www.nyproduceshow.com/

Fresh Produce Africa 25-27 April, 2017

Nairobi, Kenya

www.hppexhibitions.com/horticulture/2017/fpa

Asia Fruit Logistica 2016

7-9 September, 2016

Asia World Expo, Hongkong

www.asiafruitlogistica.com

The London Produce Show8-10 June, 2016

London

www.londonproduceshow.co.uk/

13-15 November, 2016

Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai

www.wop-dubai.com

a few notes

Fruit & Vegetable Hub (Magazine) is an International Magazine thatpurveys information on Import-Export of Fresh Fruits & VegetablesIndustry in Asia & Globally.

Regular features include ‘Trade News & Notes’ (Asia & Global),‘Company News’, ‘Product Reviews’, ‘Asian & Global Trade Fairs &Exhibitions’, Development’ and ‘Book Reviews’ along with interviewswith top personalities in the Global Supply Chain of Fresh Fruits &Vegetable Sector.

a simple list for you

www.BehlMedia.net/subscribe

Date post:	04-Aug-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	behl-media-ventures
View:	243 times
Download:	2 times

Fruit & Vegetable Hub June 2016 Edition

Documents