Organic sales drop in 2011

According to the Soil Association, the fall in sales of organics is down to retailer cutbacks on own-brand organics

Sales of organic products fell by 3.7 per cent in the UK last year, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper, as the economic crisis forces consumers to continue tightening their budgets.

According to the latest statistics, the decline was due principally to a 5 per cent drop in supermarket sales, which account for 71.4 per cent of organic food sales, following cutbacks on own-brand organic ranges.

The UK's Soil Association said in its annual report that committed organic consumers were increasingly visiting specialist retailers in response.

Overall, organic product sales declined from £1.73bn (€2.07bn) in 2010 to £1.67bn (€2bn) in 2011 – a smaller slump than the previous year's 5.9 per cent – with fresh fruit and vegetables accounting for 23 per cent of sales.

Chief executive Helen Browning expressed confidence that the organic market would rebound. "Many consumers are clearly looking for a deeper connection to the production values behind their food," she said, "as support for farm shops, markets and independent retailers suggests."

Internationally, organic sales have fared better, growing by 8 per cent in 2011 and global sales now stand at €44.5bn.

Fairtrade products have also grown, by 12 per cent in the last year, according to the Fairtrade Foundation, from £1.17bn (€1.4bn) in 2010 to £1.32bn (€1.58bn) in 2011

US (FL): Increased citrus production will lower juice prices

It seems that, after a tumultuous few months, orange juice fans may at last be able to relax - the price is stabilising.

The cost of orange juice was rising even before the carbendazim scare, but worry amongst consumers certainly didn't do prices any favours.

The average retail price from October to Feb. 18 was 7.4 percent more than a comparable period a year earlier and total orange juice sales dropped 10.4 percent in the same time frame.

However, with the USDA report that more oranges are expected to be harvested in Florida this season should allay any fears about a shortage of juice on the shelves in stores.

As soon as the increased prediction was issued the markets responded accordingly.
Orange juice for May delivery ended down 3.1 cents at $1.857 per pound on Monday. The price has fallen about 11 percent since Jan. 10, the day after the fungicide issue was made public.

Spencer Patton, founder of the hedge fund Steel Vine Investments LLC, expects futures prices to continue to fall because of the higher crop production estimate.

However, this will not necessarily make for lower retail prices just yet, as retailers are likely to hold on to the increased prices for a time.

Source: www.miamiherald.com

India: Calls for waste water collection for growing produce

Hazardous water is being used for the cultivation of vegetables in various suburbs of Karachi and other cities. This has been known for a long time, but recently the media has started to focus on the matter.

Urban waste water flowing towards the sea can be utilised for useful purposes such as growing of vegetables and other produce.

In Australia, since water is costly, waste water is collected and used for growing vegetables.

It has been suggested that the government of Sindh should install urban waste water plants by segregating textile processing and tanneries' waste water from urban waste water. Currently the waste water is being dumped into the sea where it is environmentally hazardous.

Urban waste water plants should be installed in all districts of Karachi. It should be made sure that the water coming out of these plants does not contain any hazardous pollutants like cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel and arsenic. Then vegetables and fruits produced with this water would be suitable for human consumption.

Checking of waste water effluents and also fresh water being supplied to the urban population is one of the must important activities in all developed countries. Neither the Sindh Environmental Agency has any system to check the parameters of waste water from textile mills and tanneries headed for drains nor does the KWSB have any system for testing of fresh water.

It is suggested that the KWSB should regularly start doing microbiological tests on fresh water for waterborne organisms that could potentially cause diseases.

Source: www.dawn.com

Spanish tomato and pepper manage to have profitable costs

Peppers and tomatoes have manage to keep their quite profitable selling prices until now. Pepper, in the varieties California and Lamuyo are almost ending their season and a bigger volume of Italain pepper has been seen on the market.

Regarding quotations, prices are similar to those of seven days ago. The Italian green pepper is being sold between 0.90 and 1.20 Euro per kilo and red peppers are being quoted between 0.70 and 0.90 Euro cents per kilo. The green Lamuyo pepper registers its first prices at 1.20 Euro and ends at 0.90 cents, while red lamuyo reaches a first cut at 1.30 and ends around 1 Euro per kilo. The yellow California pepperis priced at 1.70 Euro to 1.10 Euro per kilo, while red california varies between 1.40 and 1.10 Euro per kilo. As for the green california it's being sold between 1.45 and 0.95 Euro per kilo. The bunch of tomatoes varies between 0.80 and 0.73 Euro per kilo, while the large tomato is at between 0.63 Euro and 0.50 Euro. The sweet tomato registers its first cuts at 1.20 and ends at 0.55 Euro per kilo.

Courgette price dropped down to 0.50 and late prices of 0.40 Euro per kilo. It's the product with the biggest drop during the last week. As for stripped eggplant, it registers prices from 1.40 Euro to 0.75 Euro, while large eggplant dropped to 0.40 and ended at 0.26 Euro per kilo.

Large cucumber managed to keep last week's prices without big changes. It started selling at around 0.95 Euro and ended at 0.70 Euro. The French cucumber varies between 1.05 Euro and 0.87 Euro per kilo. The dark short cucumber registers prices between 1.25 Euro and 1.00 Euro per kilo. As for large perona beans, there's a first cut of 4.30 Euro to at 2.20 Euro per kilo. Regarding emerite beans it varies between 3.80 Euro and 2.30 Euro per kilo, while white strike beans, it has an exit price of 5.60 Euro and final prices of 3.70 Euro per kilo.

Source: Junta de Andalucía

AU: Growers still counting the costs of flooding

Fruit and vegetable growers on Queensland's Sunshine and Cooloola coasts are still assessing the damage to crops from recent flooding.

The water is still draining away and some farmers will not know the full extent of damage until harvest time.

Glass House Mountains' pineapple farmer Murray Pike says the flooding has caused problems with both planting and harvest.

"Well it's affecting both because we've got plants in the ground from planting right through till ready to harvest, so it's affecting all plants because of the wet feet in the plants ... but ... if you don't get plants in the ground you actually don't get a crop in two years' time.

"So that's the problem, we've got some plants in but we were still about 150,000 short of where we needed to be."

Pineapple grower Peter Buchanan says his family is losing confidence in farming.
"We have been looking at our options but this on top of it now - there's no margins for error in farming any more in any way whatsoever ... to go and repair our roadways and everything could cost anything up towards $50,000 and there's just not that sort of money to put back into something with uncertain futures," he said.

Source: www.abc.net.au

More new exhibitors at Asia Fruit Logistica

There has been an impressive  25 per cent increase in registered exhibitors and a 23 per cent increase in demand for stand space at this year's Asia Fruit Logistica compared to the same time last year.

Asia's leading fresh produce trade show is taking place on 5-7 September 2012 at its new home, the AsiaWorld-Expo, to accommodate not only the show's strong growth, but the limitless opportunities this exciting market has to offer.

Besides a growth in size, Asia Fruit Logistica is also attracting interest from all the main global markets. Companies from 25 countries across all five continents have already registered to exhibit at the show.

This increasing enthusiasm is a clear indicator of the increasing value that the global fresh produce trade sees in Asia Fruit Logistica as the best place to do business in Asia.

For more information:
Ms. Sinenart Baramirattanachai
Tel: +66 294 146 00
sinenart@gp-events.com
www.asiafruitlogistica.com

Prison for Irish garlic scammer

Begleys boss who labelled Chinese garlic as apples to avoid import duties jailed for six years

Paul Begley, who avoided paying €1.6m in customs duties on more than 1,000 tonnes of garlic, has been sentenced to six years in prison by a judge at a criminal court in Dublin.

The boss of family distributor Begleys had balked at paying garlic import duties of up to 232 per cent, choosing instead to describe the produce as apples on importation documents.

Judge Martin Nolan decided to impose a lengthy prison sentence for the "huge" tax evasion scheme that would serve as a deterrent to others.

He said the import tax on garlic "may or may not" be too high, but that was for the government – not individuals – to decide.

The scam was uncovered by a customs and revenue investigation that revealed email exchanges between Begley and his Chinese supplier about falsifying the garlic's paperwork.

Tesco to expand in Malaysia

UK retail giant Tesco plans to expand its network across Malaysia and renovate existing stores

British retail giant Tesco is planning to spend US$20m on opening new stores across Malaysia and refurbishing many of its existing 45 outlets, reports www.insideretail.asia.

The firm also plans to open new shops in Sabah and Sarawak, Tesco Malaysia CEO SungHwan Do told the publication.

"Prices of some goods there are often higher than those in Pensinsular Malaysia and we hope to narrow the price gap," he is quoted as saying.

Tesco Malaysia was founded in 2001 as a 70:30 alliance between Tesco UK and local conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad, according to the report. 

In a separate development, Japanese retailer Aeon is to rebrand all its Jusco Malaysian stores.

In a statement, Aeon said its stores will undergo a facelift consistent with the new Aeon corporate identity while still retaining the familiar Jusco feel.

All Jusco stores will be renamed Aeon. 

Austrian buys Serbian raspberry harvest (50,000 tones)!

The Austrian businessman Michael Wally made an 80 million Euro deal though his company CWS Best Food with the association of Servian raspberry producers. They decided on a kilo price of 1.6 Euro for 50,000 tonnes of raspberries, which will be harvested this year, reported Serbian media.

In Serbia 350,000 people are involved in growing raspberries, says Dragisa Terzic, chairman of the producers association. Due to the deal with CWS Best Food another 50,000 extra season workers jobs will be created. For the producers the deal also has the benefit that the price they will get for their raspberries is known before the harvest, which is a first.

Last year raspberry growers from Servia protested against the purchase prices they were offered by cooling houses. The producers wanted one Euro per kilo. The buyers only wanted to pay 60 cents. This has caused the production to decrease by 30% in recent years, says Terzic.

Italy (Sicily): Serious damages as result of hailstorm

Damages in fields are incalculable, not only for the product, as a result of the cloudburst and the heavy hailstorm which happened on 7th March, 2012. The whole Sicilian area from Catania to Siracusa was affected by a hailstorm unprecedented in history, for an hour about 50 centimeters of hail that flooded citrus orchards.

Damage to the fruit hanging on the tree was 100%, no citrus fruit is on the branches now. Damages are recorded also for tree and leaves, quite integrally torn-off.

The current citrus campaign undergoes the last mortal blow, resulting in the worst campaign ever: climate changing, truck drivers' strike, snow and frost in late January, volcanic ash and wind in February and now this hailstorm.

Companies ask for timely and appropriate measures for citrus cultivation and agriculture in general. Otherwise a collapse is possible with the consequent abandonment of agricultural activities.

In the central-eastern area of Sicily, 100 km per hour gusts of wind and torrential rain affected greenhouses, arboreal plants and open field crops ready for harvest. Huge damages are recorded in the nursery sector and rural building; there is also a lack of electricity. In many cases access roads to farms were destroyed due to landslips and landslides.

Sicilian Confagricoltura is already trying to quantify the damage. From first notifications, especially in the province of Ragusa, damages amount to several million Euro.