Italy is host country of Medfel 2012

Italy is one of the major stakeholders in the Mediterranean basin's fruit and vegetable industry both in terms of production and trade.

The main producer regions based on production (in tonnes) are: Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Trentino Alto-Adige, Campania and Lazio.

In terms of trading activities, in 2009 Italy exported 3.4 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables with a value of 2.9 billion Euro, a slight fall compared with the year before; it imported 2.8 million tonnes, with a value of 1.9 billion Euro, a slight rise on the previous year.

The main fresh fruit exports are: apples, table grapes, kiwi fruit, followed by peaches and nectarines, and citrus fruit.

The main vegetables exported are: carrots, lettuces, potatoes and tomatoes.

In terms of imports, the main products are:

• Fruits - bananas, pineapples and tropical fruits
• Vegetables - potatoes, tomatoes and peppers.    

Italy's trade balance remains positive, even though figures are more restrained than in previous years, both in values and volumes.

India: Elephants go bananas

Five elephants have strayed into villages in Yasalur hobli in the taluk last week, causing damage to crops, including bananas.

As well as damaging crops the animals have also destroyed irrigation pipes.

The farmers have complained to forest officials, but they have stated tat they are helpless to do anything. Taluk APMC committee president H H Uday stressed the government to look into the matter seriously and hope to provide a permanent solution to their problems.

Source: www.deccanherald.com

Euroasper 2012: Growth prospects for asparagus in Europe

The Vice-president of the AREFLH Luciano Trentini expresses his great satisfaction for the success of the 2012 edition of the biennial Symposium on asparagus. Mr. Trentini chaired this event, organised by Asociafruit in partnership with the AREFLH.

The asparagus leaves its seasonal product niche
The presence of more than 160 participants, coming from 10 Countries of the world shows well the interest for the culture of the asparagus, long considered to be a culture niche. The production is in light growth and the possibilities in terms of consumption are large. Since 2000, the Europeans produce and consume more and more asparagus, but competition remains strong.

Among many of the topics discussed during the two-day work, there was focus on the discussion on the future of this culture which leaves its seasonal statute for positioning itself as a product to be consumed all year long. "We have a world production whose two hemispheres become complementary during the whole year. In Europe, thanks to the use of the forced farming techniques, we produce almost the totality of asparaguses in the first 6 months of the year."

The tradition of the European asparagus culture is consolidated and supported by many recognitions of Protected Geographical Indication obtained in Italy, France and Spain (Reg.Ce 510/2008).

The origin  and the territory are determining factors for the European asparagus consumers who tend to privilege the local source.

The key points to develop the production and the market shares of this important culture were fixed at the time of the conference and include:

• the cost cutting of production and safeguard of the environment, considering that the culture is likely to decrease in front of the difficulty in finding labor.
• The genetic improvement whose objective is to determine the most productive varieties and most suited to automated harvest.
  

Mr. Trentini pointed out that "the asparagus is undoubtedly a culture able to economically satisfy the producers. Its possibilities are enormous. We can hope that a production associated with adequate marketing strategies and advertising will assert the growth of this sector".

For more information, please visit: www.areflh.org

India: Arid conditions push prices higher

Some vegetable prices have been rising sharply this week. Traders have blamed this on arid conditions in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu from where bulk of the produce is imported.

Beans shot up to Rs 48 per kg in the retail markets on Wednesday. Vegetable trader N.H. Shameed said that production of beans had been hit hard by a long dry spell in the neighbouring states, with Tamil Nadu also experiencing protracted spells of power supply disruptions.

This time last year beans were retailing at Rs16 per kg and only a month ago they were lower at Rs 36 per kg.

Mr Shameed said that there was shortage in supply of vegetables generally. Ordinarily, he said, there were 25 deliveries per day, but this had recently shrank to just 20 loads per day.

The dry weather has caused production to drop by between 30 and 40% in some of the traditional vegetable producing areas of Tamil Nadu.

On top of the falling productivity, there was also a large demand from exporters pushing up prices.

However, the situation is expected to change soon as the vegetable season is going to be gathering pace.

Source: www.thehindu.com

Chile: Table grape market report in Europe

Low prices for table grapes in the European market were registered. This is the result, in some cases, of the poor quality and condition of the fruit, and over supply.

White Seedless Grape Market:

Decofrut pointed out that the situation for the Sugraone variety is difficult, since it has shown greater quality and
condition problems than the Thompson Seedless. However, this last variety does not report dynamic sales, but achieved
better sales rate. Given this situation Chilean Sugraone prices, during week 11, tended to be at a low, concentrating their FOT prices around  €10.88 / 8.2 kilos (size L), which is 22% lower in relation to the average price in the same week of last season.

Meanwhile, the average value of the Thompson Seedless variety is € 12.88 for 8.2 kilos.

 

On the other hand, Decofrut notes that while the South African grape season is coming to an end, there is still presence of this fruit, in a significant volume in the market.

 

England: In this part of Europe, the demand for table grapes remains moderate, while the price range is very wide due to heterogeneity in the quality and condition of the fruit.

Red Seedless Grape Market:

As for red varieties, Decofrut notes that both the Continent and in England, the market remains very complicated due to high presence of Flame Seedless volumes and the various problems of quality and condition observed this season in the South African and Chilean supply.

Regarding prices, Chile reached for the Flame Seedless variety prices around €6.5 for 4.5 kilos format (size L) and €7.5 for the punnet (5 kilos) format. This last value is 43% lower compared to last season.

On the other hand, in England, despite low prices at which Flame Seedless is being offered, dynamism does not increase considerably. Meanwhile, the Crimson Seedless variety FOT prices reached £6-£7 / 4.5 kilo box.

 

Finally, as for the market trend for red seedless table grapes, Decofrut notes that although no major changes are foreseen for Flame Seedless, in the near future it is expected for Crimson Seedless to achieve better results.



Market for Red Globe and other varieties:

Like the previous weeks, Decofrut states that Red Globe sales were quiet, with prices according to quality and condition, having mainly, Peruvian and South African offer.

For the XL size, the price for the Peruvian Red Globe spun between € 1.59 and € 1.67/kilo, while South Africa´s Red Globe was around €6.5 to €7 the 4.5 kilo box.

 

Finally, with regards to this variety´s tendency, it is expected that in the coming weeks Chile will begin to take more strength and market share.

Source: Decofrut-SimFRUT

Spain: Mercabarna barricaded in protests

A syndicalist sets up a barricade of burning tires at the main entrance of Mercabarna, the biggest wholesale market in Barcelona, on March 29, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish workers staged a general strike to protest the governments new labour reform. (Zimbio.com)

Spanish unions are holding a general strike to protest against labour reforms which the new government hopes will help cut unemployment.

Road, rail and air transport were all affected.

Unions claimed strong support at industrial sites but Mariano Rajoy's conservative government played down the action.

It plans to unveil measures on Friday to save tens of billions of Euro.

The strike is the government's first big challenge since taking office.

Scientists could turn oranges red

UK researchers identify gene that makes blood oranges red, believe they could create varieties to be grown around the worl.

Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England, say they have identified the 'ruby' gene that turns Sicilian blood oranges red.

The gene is believed to be the source of health benefits that make blood oranges a potent weapon in the fight against obesity and heart disease.

The fruit is currently more expensive for consumers than its 'blond' relatives because it requires a cold period during ripening and as a result is largely grown commercially only on the Italian island of Sicily.

Professor Cathie Martin, the leader of the research team, said: "Our improved understanding of this trait could offer relatively straightforward solutions to growing blood oranges reliably in warmer climates through genetic engineering."

Prof. Martin told a press conference it should take seven years to genetically engineer blood orange varieties that could thrive in other orange-growing areas such as Brazil and Florida.

The study is published in the latest issue of The Plant Cell journal.

Abnormal formation on a Valencia

Jim Ellis, Fresh From Florida, found something strange on an orange and asked Dr. Fred Gmitter, at the University of Florida Citrus Experiment Station in Lake Alfred Florida, what it was. He had never seen this before. "The abnormal formation is possibly a genetic mutation", he said about the green Valencia.

Searching for disease resistant banana variety

In the 80s a disease named black Sigatoka became a great threat to the banana plantations. This fungus is very difficult to control because it affects a number of varieties and it becomes very quickly resistant against pesticides. Together with the Panama disease it forms a great threat for the banana cultivation worldwide. Especially for the smaller traders there had to be something done to make sure that the food security was not compromised. The people saw the need to keep all varieties safe and search for disease resistant bananas. The worlds biggest and most extensive banana collection is in Leuven (Belgium).    

The collection in the Laboratorium Tropische Plantenteelt (Laboratory for Tropical plants) is managed by Bioversity International, and consists of about 1400 varieties from around the world. The active collection is preserved in vitro, in test tubes, in a room with light at a temperature of 15 C. From of every variety about 20 plants are kept. However, contaminations and mutations may occur. To avoid this the laboratory in Leuven has come up with a method that the plants are kept in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 °C, which stops the development. "This the  safest and most sustainable method and the only one of its kind", advises Ines Van der Houwe of sector biological plant technique.                 

The laboratory is working to get an as complete collection as possible. "With the present collection we represent a significant part of the biodiversity of the banana, but the real purpose is to develop more," says Ines. She is hoping that in the future she will bring more wild varieties back. "Besides disease resistance we are also looking for bananas that are resistant against drought, because with the climate changing we will need them in the future." This gene bank is part of an organisation with a worldwide network of banana scientists, that has supported the creation of this unique extensive collection.      

Each year, samples from the collection of 800 different species are spread worldwide to different research institutes, amongst others to create resistant banana varieties. The material also gets sent to developing countrys for the smaller growers. "The living conditions of the locals have been improved by giving them suitable varieties to offer them food security and a source of income, that is a important focus point of the organization."         

In the laboratory, located at the University of Leuven, people are working hard on using genetic modification to create a banana variety which is no longer affected by harmful fungus. Ines indicates that the classic breeding with bananas is very difficult because an edible banana doesn't have any seeds. Through some interventions people are succeeding in producing seeds with the positive features of the cross breeds.      

The bananas that are consumed in Europe are mainly the variety Cavendish. Because there is a monoculture the banana disease could become a serious problem for the banana. Now breeding products have been developed that are immune to the sickness, but these plants are, according to Ines, much more use to the local growers. "We're working hard to discover new genes that are resistant, to make sure that even here we still keep eating bananas.           

 

Direct sales for Greek potatoes

As producers and consumers suffer the effects of Greece's economic collapse, a new scheme has been devised that is beneficial for both Greek potato growers are finding new ways to reach cash-strapped consumers as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in European history, the Guardian has reported.

Christos Kamenides, professor of agricultural marketing at the University of Thessaloniki, is facilitating direct sales, which he says allow consumers to get "good quality food for a third of the price they would normally pay".

Moreover, he says, "the producers get their money straight away".

Basically, a town hall announces a sale, locals say what they want, the town hall informs Kamenides of the volume needed and his students call farmers to find a supplier, whereupon a collection time and place are arranged.

Kamenides told the Guardian: "Today, we have one truck here, and two in another municipality up the road. Tomorrow we have a sale with four trucks – that's 100 tonnes of potatoes, straight from the producer to the consumer, with nobody in the middle pushing up prices."

The movement appears to be extremely popular. One shopper Elisabet Tsitsopoulou commented: "Salaries here are so low now, and still falling, but the price of everything seems to stay just as high as it ever was. This is much cheaper, much less than half price."

And producers are equally enthusiastic. Apostolos Kasapis said: "I get paid straight away. The profit is not very high, just a bit above the production cost, but I get the money immediately, which in this crisis is very important."

The movement has been enthusiastically taken up by local mayors, and Kamenides is reportedly working on a wider scheme for unified cooperatives involving both producers and consumers.