Spain anticipate fresh asparagus sales to multiply 5 times

The president for the Regulating Council of Navarra Asparagus as Protected Geographic Indication, Martín Barbarin, signalled yesterday that they're ready to multiply the sales of fresh asparagus by 5, in two years time. This means that if in the last campaign consumers bought almost 100,000 kilos of it, the amount should reach 500,000 in a short period of time. "If each person from Navarra eats a kilo per year the solution would be already there", he indicated.

He believes in the "continuity of this white gold, but not as in the 80's". The president bets in diversifying the way the product is presented to consumer, so competitiveness is kept. They're looking to encourage the consumption of fresh asparagus; and encourage peeled asparagus in small bags that go straight to the pot; but not forgetting the canned asparagus" even if there's a strong competition in that market", he added.

Barbarín classified the present situation as "transitory", since "we have the tools to make this cultivation profitable for farmers: we just have to keep working".

The Council's president said this in the tasting trip organized by UAGN and Fundagro in the Castillo Plaza, in Pamplona. An action supported by the Government of Navarra. The organization prepared a stand to inform people about the difference between canned asparagus brands coming from the community and the ones imported, mainly from China and Peru. "Only the can with Navarra asparagus has a tag from the Regulation Council, with a code bar to certify that it was cultivated and canned in Navarra, together with the certification stamp. These two stamps are not on the cans of other products", he clarified.

Ukraine 'becomes net apple exporter'

Reports reveal the country's apple exports are outweighing imports for the first time in its independent history

Analysts at the Fruit-Inform Project have noted this week that Ukraine's apple imports have fallen fivefold through the first seven months of the apple season, as the country swings towards net exporter status for the category.

Throughout the seven-month period, Ukraine's apple exports were 70 per cent higher than its imports, Fruit-Inform project revealed.

"For the first time in its independent history, Ukraine was a net exporter of apples over the first seven months of a season," said Andriy Yarmak, head of the project. "This was due to last year's domestic production growth with simultaneous decreases in most production countries of the world.

"This is a result of serious efforts in apple production development and huge investments made by Ukrainian entrepreneurs over the last 6-7 years," he added.

UK organic sales fall

Sales of organics in the UK market dropped by 5.9 per cent in 2010, but signs of a recovery are clear

UK sales of organic products fell by 5.9 per cent to £1.73bn (€1.96bn) in 2010, according to the Organic Market Report published by the Soil Association, with the rate of decline slowing significantly throughout the year.

The Soil Association described the outlook for 2011 as "cautiously optimistic", with the report showing positive signs of resilience and recovery for the organic sector in general.

According to the report, 86 per cent of UK households now buy organic products, and fresh fruit and vegetables now account for 23.2 per cent of sales.

Although sales through the main retailers fell by 7.7 per cent, to £1.25bn (€1.41bn), Waitrose and Marks & Spencer anticipate modest growth for 2011.

Meanwhile, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and the Co-operative predict level sales year on year.

Organically farmed land decreased by 0.6 per cent to 738,709ha and now represents 4.2 per cent of UK farmland.

Over the same period, the number of UK organic producers reportedly fell by 4.2 per cent to 7,567 in 2010, from a record high of 7,896 in 2009.

Roger Mortlock, deputy director of the Soil Association, commented: "There is powerful evidence that consumers who care about the diverse benefits of organic will stay loyal, even during these tough economic times. Given the current uncertainties in the UK and global economy, it would be rash to make any predictions for the future organic market. But the instability caused by climate change, population growth and resource depletion mean that business as usual in food and farming is not an option."

Apple imports on the slide in Russia

A year-on-year import volume dip of 7.3 per cent has been noted by market analyst Fruit-Inform Project for January and February 2011

Russia has reported on a decrease in apple imports heading to the country through the early months of 2011, with shipments in January and February falling by 7.3 per cent on the same two months of 2010.

Analysts at the Fruit-Inform Project attributed the drop to price growth and an overall shortage of high quality apples from Poland and the EU.

"Russia lowered apple imports due to the growth of prices being sharper than last season, and an overall shortage of high-quality apples from Poland and the European Union," confirmed Andriy Yarmak, head of Fruit-Inform Project.

"However, decreasing apple imports were compensated for by growth in imports of bananas, oranges and mandarins, which grew by 7 per cent, 26 per cent and 14 per cent respectively over the first two months of 2011," he added.

Poland continued to lead the way in terms of export volumes with 37 per cent market share, followed by China, Serbia, Germany Moldova, Belgium and Ukraine.

NZ kiwifruit from Zespri arriving to Europe

Zespri Europe confirms 6 May as first new-season consignment's expected arrival date in the Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium

Kiwifruit picking and packing in New Zealand is in full swing, with marketer Zespri confirming that the first vessel carrying fruit for Europe has already left the port of Tauranga and is expected to arrive in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge around 6 May.

The volume of fruit anticipated during the 2011 season will be similar to last year's, with around 100m trays of kiwifruit set to be exported from the country.

Growing conditions have been described as "fantastic", with more rainfall and higher temperatures on average compared with last season.

"We are expecting a great crop as a result," said the group's European marketing manager Jean-Louis Warnimont.

Zespri's supply chain general manager, Sally Gardiner, confirmed the anticipation was building as the season got underway.

"With the start of the season there is always a real buzz in the industry as the hard work done through the growing season starts to deliver, as all those working in the industry prepare themselves for the very busy months ahead and the anticipation builds in our offshore markets for the arrival of new season fruit," she explained.

"We are confident that there will again be strong demand for Zespri's premium kiwifruit in overseas markets despite ongoing global economic uncertainty and the still-to-be determined impact on demand in our key market of Japan from the devastating earthquakes and subsequent tsunami."

Medlar season started in Alicante, Spain

Medlar campaign has just started in the province of Alicante and this year it has excellent expectations with fruits of excellent taste, color and size, and the.

The winter cold and the lack of rainfall have meant that the fruit has had a slower development and that it stays longer in the tree, to reach larger size and flavor. Thus the 2011 season of this fruit is presented with great expectations, also in terms of production; it is expected to be around 13,400,000 kilos.

Metro moving on India

German retailer Metro has signalled it will join the race to corner India's burgeoning cash and carry sector with plans to open 50 wholesale outlets in the country

Germany's largest retailer Metro intends to open as many as 50 wholesale outlets in India in the next five years as part of an expansion push in Asia, as sales at home stagnate.

Metro chief executive Eckhard Cordes told livemint.com India, along with China and Russia constituted the company's top three markets for the coming years.

Metro currently has six wholesale outlets in India since introducing the format to the country in 2003.

It will be in competition with the likes of US retail giant Walmart, which plans to open up to 12 cash and carry outlets in the country this year, and UK-based retailer Tesco, which opened its first cash and carry outlet in New Delhi in January.

"Our target of 50 stores by 2015 won't be the end, we definitely see a potential for a three-digit number for our stores here," Cordes told the website without specifying any details. "I think the market potential for cash-and-carry business in India, if you do it right, is huge."

"In the years to come, we will not distribute our investments for store openings evenly across the globe, there will be a clear focus on Asia plus comparable countries," he added.

The development of cash and carry outlets in India is attractive to retailers as it would position them to develop multi-brand retail outlets there should the government decide to remove current restrictions on foreign ownership in the sector.

Excessive nitrogen use is harmful

The Soil Association says that a new study revealing the cost of excessive nitrogen use shows the need for organic agriculture

A major new study has found that nitrogen pollution is costing each person in Europe approximately £130-£650 (€150-€740) a year, according to the UK's Soil Association.

The first European Nitrogen Assessment (ENA) was due to be launched at a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, this week.

The study, carried out by 200 experts from 21 countries and 89 organisations, estimated that the annual cost of the damage caused by nitrogen use across Europe was £60bn-£280bn (€70bn-320bn), more than double the extra income gained from using nitrogen fertilisers in European agriculture.

Isobel Tomlinson, policy and campaigns officer at the Soil Association, commented: "Organic farmers are not allowed to use artificial fertilisers so they avoid many of the environmental problems caused by the vast quantities of synthetic nitrogen used to produce food in non-organic systems, that this report highlights.

"By growing legume crops such as beans and clover that fix nitrogen naturally, organic agriculture avoids the greenhouse gas emissions from both the manufacture and use of artificial nitrogen. Further, organic agriculture uses nitrogen more efficiently and has lower nitrogen surpluses, meaning that less nitrate is leached out of the soil where it can cause damage to the wider environment."

Costa Rica banana exports fall below 2010 expectations

Costa Rica's banana exports fell to US$109 million in January and February, compared to a result of US$123 million in the same period last year.

The data was released by the Central American country's Foreign Trade Promotion office, explaining the 2010 result was a recovery from poor 2009 figures of US$96 million.

National Banana Corporation (Corbana) general manager Jorge Sauma, told Nacion.com the recent result was due to the effects of Caribbean weather conditions.

He said temperatures fell during the two months, affecting the performance of banana crops due to the fruit's sensitivity, the story reported.

While Corbana's result for January and February was around 8% lower than in 2010, Sauma told the website he expected a rebound in the coming months.

Bananas are Costa Rica's main agricultural export product, accounting for US$702 million in sales last year, the story reported.

China: Chinese garlic prices likely to go down

Despite the high prices of Chinese garlic, Hengfeng Fresh Produce is optimistic that prices will continue to decrease. One of the main reasons is due to the new garlic season. This garlic is coming from the provinces of Yunan and Henan.

The Henan early garlic will be harvested at the beginning of May while Yunan has already been harvested.

"The new garlic season will begin at the end of May and the earliest estimated disposal will be week 23. New crops are growing in the field and there is an estimated 25% increase in the planting area. As a result, we are estimating a 10% increase in the first yield." says Karen Shen, sales manager of Hengfeng Fresh Produce.

Karen also said that the Chinese garlic prices have greatly decreased since March. For example, loose normal white garlic 5.5 cm in 10 kg carton was FOB Qingdao $2390 per metric ton and now, it is only $2175 per metric ton.

Meanwhile, it was reported that there are still 90,000 tons of garlic in the cold storage which Karen believes a sign of less demand in Chinese garlic from both domestic and foreign consumers.

HengFeng Fresh Produce offers high quality garlic bulbs. The company is now offering solo garlic for the European market. The company is also exporting ginger, apple and carrots. Products are also being offered to Middle East, Russia, SouthEast Asia and other parts of the world.

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