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Morocco’s citrus exports on the rise

The USDA post in Morocco forecasts a 5% upturn on the previous year for the country’s orange production for a total of 918,120 tons from a planted area of about 55,804 ha. It anticipates orange exports of about 135,000 tons.

Rejuvenation of citrus orchards, improved irrigation, and increases in harvested areas are big factors in expected increases in Morocco’s citrus output and exports for the 2015/16 marketing year.

And the country’s citrus exports are also set to rise, mostly due to high demand in Russia market, as tensions mount between Moscow and Ankara, the USDA says in its 2015 Morocco Citrus Annual Report.

“The Moroccan citrus industry is planning to continue its strong focus on the Russian market this season, but warns coordination will be needed to avoid poor prices,” the report says.

The USDA post in Morocco forecasts a 5% upturn on the previous year for the country’s orange production for a total of 918,120 tons from a planted area of about 55,804 ha. It anticipates orange exports of about 135,000 tons.

Tangerine/mandarin exports are in line for a 10% boost to about 380,800 tons on the back of a 5% production increase to 1,055,241 tons from 62,181 ha.

Exports of lemons and limes should come in at about 7,200 tons. Morocco’s lemon and lime production is forecast to expand 8% to 35,500 tons on a planted area of 3,750 ha.

Source: USDA GAIN 2015 Morocco Citrus Annual Report

Image of box of Maroc brand clementines sold in Canada: “يوسفي مغربي” by عمرو بن كلثوم – Own work. Licensed under LGPL via Commons

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Spain works on accessing American and Asian markets

Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Peru and Thailand are among the markets that Spain’s fresh produce sector is actively exploring for new export opportunities.

Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Peru, Thailand and the United States are among the markets Spain’s fresh produce sector is actively exploring for new export opportunities.

Work on accessing these countries was discussed this week in Madrid by a special fruit and vegetables working group set up as part of the Spanish government’s internationalisation plan.

Fepex, the Spanish federation of associations of producers and exporters of fruit, vegetables, flowers and living plants, said in a press release that the 7th meeting of the working group saw further analysis of problems in accessing non-EU markets requiring phytosanitary protocols, as well as the receipt of updates on work underway to secure market access.

New proposals for opening up markets were also put to the meeting and Fepex said in this context it conveyed, among other proposals, the Spanish sector’s interest in access to Peru for stone fruit.

Priority markets and products

Fepex said among the priority markets and products being analysed by the working group regarding export opportunities are:

  • Argentina: onions, cherries, strawberry plants, apples, peaches, plums, stone fruit trees;
  • Brazil: strawberries, blueberries, strawberry plants, watermelon plant seeds, and aubergine (eggplant) seeds;
  • China: peaches, plums, grapes;
  • Japan: persimmons and tomatoes;
  • India: pip fruit and persimmons;
  • Thailand: stone fruit,
  • United States: Fepex said Spain can now export apricots and avocados to the US under an agreement between the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Fepex. A requirement of the US was that Fepex set up a Trust Fund. Work continues on agreements with the US for the export of Spanish peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, strawberry plants, pears and apples.

The fruit and vegetables working group, one of various groups established under the framework of the Spanish government’s Internationalisation Plan for the Agro-food Sector, includes representatives from the government, including the Spanish foreign trade office, and organisations representing the sector, such as Fepex.

Image: courtesy of Fepex

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Meet the finalists for the 2016 Fruit Logistica Innovation Award

From a field of 60 applications, ten products have been singled out as contenders for the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award (FLIA) for 2016.

From a field of 60 applications, ten products have been singled out as contenders for the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award (FLIA) for 2016.

Hailing from Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, South Africa, France, Israel and Germany, their innovations will be showcased at Fruit Logistica – being held February 3-5 – in a special exhibition area between Halls 20 and 21 of Berlin ExpoCenter City. Visitors to the show will be able to cast their vote there for the Innovation of the Year. It’s also where the winner will be announced on February 5 at 2.30pm.

A panel of experts representing every segment of the industry selected the following ten candidates:

“Automato” – Stoffels, Belgium: A dispenser for the point of sale: different cherry tomato varieties are dispensed from three boxes directly into paper bags

“Enjoya” – Terra Natura International, Netherlands: Unique: a yellow and red striped sweet pepper.

“Genuine Coconut” – World’s Coconut Trading, Spain: Easy enjoyment: an organic coconut with a patented opening and a drinking straw.

“Harvest Automation” – Hortiplan, Netherlands: A machine for the fully automated harvesting of salad varieties.

“Kitchen Minis® Tomato” – Northern Greens, Denmark: A cherry tomato plant for the windowsill, yielding up to 150 tomatoes.

“Outspan Sam” – Capespan, South Africa: An initiative for children, including videos showing the journey citrus fruit takes on its way to the dinner table.

“Parmentine’s Cup” – Parmentine, France: A container with 250g of baby potatoes to be cooked in the microwave. Available in two varieties: with basil and tomato or fresh cheese and chive sauces.

“Pearl Herbs” – 2BFresh, Israel: Ideal for garnishing dishes: tiny fresh herbs in ten varieties

“QualyCheck” – HortKinetix, Germany: An app that can generate and send a quality control report from a smartphone.

“WOW! Colourful Perupas®” – HZPC Holland, Netherlands: Different new potato varieties based on ancient varieties found in the Andes. They differ from each other in taste, texture and colour.

 

“The FLIA is regarded as the most important award in the industry,” said Fruit Logistica’s global brand manager Wilfried Wollbold. “It attracts considerable media attention and honours new products and services that will have a positive impact on the international fresh produce sector.”

source: Fruit Logistica 

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How fruit symbolises the change in North Korea

A symbol of the recent change in North Korea is that tropical fruit and imported products, which used to be sold at stores only for high-ranking North Korean government officials or foreigners, are on sale all year in jangmadang (marketplaces) where commoners usually go to buy daily necessities.

A symbol of the recent change in North Korea is that tropical fruit and imported products, which used to be sold at stores only for high-ranking North Korean government officials or foreigners, are on sale all year in jangmadang (marketplaces) where commoners usually go to buy daily necessities.

So reported University of North Korean Studies professor Yang Moon-soo in a speech on the implications for agriculture from the marketisation of North Korea which has been published as a USDA GAIN report.

“Ordinary North Korean people have a new custom, it is said, setting rare fruits, such as pineapple and banana, on the table for a wedding feast or birthday party,” Yang also said.

Other signs of the country’s move to more of a market economy are streets teeming with cars in downtown Pyongyang, car sales ads plastered all over the city and fast food franchises and Italian restaurants increasingly popping up, he said. Also the number of cell phone subscribers has soared from around 1,600 in 2008 to more than 2.4 million in the second quarter of 2014.

Yang said another example is the intercity bus terminal in Pyongsong, where the largest wholesale market in North Korea is located. The number of intercity bus routes from the terminal rose to 49 as of the end of 2013 and is reportedly still increasing, with individual investors, not the North Korean government, running the bus businesses.

“These recent enormous changes in the North Korean economy and society are closely related to the phenomenon called ‘marketization,’” he said.

North Korea’s Food Supply and Demand

The above table provides an estimate of North Korea’s food supply and demand situation, but does not reflect the situation in North Koreans’ real lives, Yang said. “The problem is that the official food supply and demand in North Korea is different from what North Koreans actually experience; they have access to informal markets to supplement official supplies. This gap between the (estimated) official situation and the true situation tends to get bigger as time goes by and free markets develop.”

The report is an abstract by Professor Yang, an invited speaker at the 4th annual Roundtable on DPRK Agriculture hosted by FAS/Seoul, presented a paper entitled “Marketization in North Korea: Implications for Agriculture,” which describes the steps being taken toward an unofficial market economy in North Korea and its future prospects.

Image of Mansudae Art Studio. Pyongyang, North Korea by (stephan) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Egypt develops GM tomato varieties resistant to leaf curl

Despite a moratorium on the commercialisation of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Egypt, biotechnology research and development continues there and tomatoes and potatoes are among the crops being focused on.

Despite a moratorium on the commercialisation of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Egypt, biotechnology R&D continues there and tomatoes and potatoes are among the crops being focused on.

According to the USDA GAIN report ‘Egypt: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual’, tomato varieties have been engineered that are resistant to tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). The disease has spread to all of the main vegetable-producing regions of Egypt where it has become the limiting factor for tomato production, causing up to 100% yield loss, the report says.

But TYLCV-resistant tomato varieties have been engineered through collaboration between Cairo University, the Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI) – which is Egypt’s premier biotechnology research organisation – and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. They used the “siRNA strategy to block the viral life cycle in the plant and prevent it from spreading, thus acquiring virus resistance.”

“If successful, the plants will enable the economic production of high quality tomatoes while reducing the need for chemical protection methods,” the report says. Approval to conduct field trials on the tomato varieties is needed from Egypt’s National Biosafety Committee (NBC). On September 7, 2014, the former Minister of Agriculture Dr. Adel El Beltagy issued a decree to re-establish the committee, but it has yet to convene a meeting. Also, a biosafety bill has been drafted in Egypt and awaits submission to Parliament for ratification.

On potatoes, the report said there has been work on the following:

  • Genetic transformation of potato cultivars for resistance to bacterial pathogens Ralstonia solanacearum,
  • Overexpression of potato β-1, 3 glucanase gene to enhance resistance to late blight disease,
  • Insertion of chitinase gene to attenuate early blight disease in some potato virus resistant lines.

Image: “Vallee fertile du Nil a Louxor”. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

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Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Aldi gain share in UK grocery market

Kantar use this

“Not much festive chair for supermarkets collectively this month with growth falling to a feeble 0.1%.” That’s how Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, began discussing the company’s latest data on grocery share in the UK, covering  the 12 weeks to December 6.

Furthermore, like-for-like prices had fallen by 1.9% in the previous month, he said.

But in among the gloom, Sainsbury’s was the stand-out performer. It boosted sales by 1.2%, growing across its convenience, supermarket and online businesses and increasing its market share to 16.7%.

Meanwhile it was a familiar story of falling sales and shrinking share for Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, but for Aldi and Lidl, one of double-digit growth and they “are surely looking forward to a record Christmas market share,” McKevitt said.

Listen to his analysis and read more here: http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/en/Press-Releases/Sainsburys-stands-out-in-the-run-up-to-Christmas

 

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Waitrose plans to open 14 new branches in 2016

Waitrose expects to create 1,500 jobs in new branches and its e-commerce grocery depot in 2016.

Waitrose is to open 14 new shops across the UK from spring next year, including five new supermarkets and nine new little Waitrose convenience shops.

It will also create up to 200 roles in its e-commerce fulfilment centre in Coulsdon, South London, to service its expanding number of branches.

In a press release, the UK supermarket chain said the supermarkets already confirmed include High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire), Uttoxeter (Staffordshire) and Solihull (West Midlands), which will all open in spring, and Truro (Cornwall) and Worcester, which will open in summer.  

It will also add new little Waitrose shops in the South Bank Tower in central London and Leatherhead in Surrey during the summer and has plans for seven more convenience branches in new locations throughout next year.

Juice bars, areas for grazing and informal dining, wine bars and welcome desks are among the concepts Waitrose said it aims to introduce more of in the new stores, “to deliver the modern Waitrose shopping experience.”

It already has eight shops with a juice bar and five shops with a wine and beer bar and recently became the first national supermarket to install a counter for freshly made sushi in its shops with the launch of sushi counters in its Battersea Nine Elms and Bath branches (in partnership with Kelly Deli).

Waitrose director of development, Nigel Keen, said many of the new shops will “go beyond the traditional supermarket, delivering exciting modern shopping experiences, which tap into the growing demand for grazing and casual dining.”

“At a time when many retailers’ estates are contracting, we are delighted to be opening new shops around the country,” he said.

The new outlets will give Waitrose almost 200,000 sq ft more selling space.

Its 80,000 sq ft e-commerce grocery depot in Coulsdon opened in 2015 to allow the supermarket to build its online capacity. The multi million pound centre will eventually fulfill 20,000 orders a week or over 1 million orders a year for Waitrose customers living within the M25. It already employs almost 400 people and once fully operational expects to employ more than 700.

Waitrose currently has 346 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 62 convenience branches.

Its omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, through which customers can choose to have their shopping delivered direct to their home or collect items from their local branch with a Click & Collect service.

Read more articles about Waitrose: https://www.eurofresh-distribution.com/tags/waitrose

Images: Waitrose

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Carrefour opens 4th distribution centre in China

December 2, 2015, the grand opening ceremony of Carrefour supply chain in China-North-West China distribution center is held in Wuqing Economic Development Area, Tianjin municipality

Carrefour has consolidated its supply chain in China with the December 2 grand opening of its North-West China distribution centre in the Tianjin municipality.

The centre is intended to be a bridge for Carrefour China’s supply chain in northern China, radiating out to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration economic cycle and Shandong, Shanxi and other provinces’ logistics and distribution network. It is also designed to increase distribution efficiency, support the business of stores, and boost regional economics.

Located in ProLogis modern international distribution park, Wuqing economic development area, in the Tianjin municipality, Carrefour’s northern distribution centre covers 39,000 m2.

It will use the Voice Picking System, achieving 99.997% in its picking accuracy rate. The trays utilise 100cm*120 standard operating procedure to reduce packaging and labour costs and improve efficiency; moreover, the centre is equipped with professional temperature controlled room which sustain temperatures of 18-22 degrees for the storage of alcohol, chocolate and milk powder.

The northern China distribution centre will cover more than 30 stores in northern China, greatly improving the company’s northern China supply chain system to provide more high-quality, convenient products and services for numbers of consumers, Carrefour said in a press release.

After the establishment of the distribution centre in Eastern, western and northern region, it plans to set up 2 new distribution centres in North-East Territory and South Territory of China.

By the end of 2016, Carrefour estimates it will have completed the establishment of 6 modern distribution centres in China, covering more than 200 hypermarkets in China to fully support its emerging businesses such as its e-commerce operations and “easy Carrefour” convenience stores.

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New partnership between ports of Antwerp and Guangzhou

The Port of Antwerp said the twinning agreement also dovetails perfectly with the ‘One Belt One Road’ philosophy announced by China in 2013 which aims to improve connections between the main Chinese industrial cities and trade centres elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe, and Guangzhou, number 8 in the world, are to collaborate more closely under a twinning agreement signed on December 10 in the Chinese port city.

The two cities had already had a close relationship as under an agreement signed in 2010 between Guangzhou and the Port of Antwerp training centre APEC, various groups of shipping professionals from the Guangzhou port  have attended tailor-made courses at APEC. The twinning agreement will take the relationship between the ports to a new level and, among other things, include commercial collaboration.

For instance, there are currently two shipping services between North-West Europe and China calling at Guangzhou and Antwerp. “By developing a joint marketing approach the respective port authorities aim to get both ports included in several more loops,” the Port of Antwerp said in a press release.

Also, in collaboration with APEC and three other partners, a joint training institute under the name of Guangzhou-Antwerp Port Training & Consultancy Co. Ltd will be set up to offer courses in port operations for professionals from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Other action points in the twinning agreement include the exchange of information on port development and best practices for sustainable enterprise in a port environment.

The Port of Antwerp said the twinning agreement also dovetails perfectly with the ‘One Belt One Road’ philosophy announced by China in 2013 which aims to improve connections between the main Chinese industrial cities and trade centres elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

It also said there are strong similarities between the ports of Antwerp and Guangzhou, both of which are located quite a long distance inland and multifunctional ports with excellent trimodal connections with a rich hinterland.

With an annual freight volume of 510 million tons including 16.63 million TEU, Guangzhou is one of the main container ports in China, acting mainly for transshipment of fuel stuffs, raw materials and commercial goods.

Image of Guangzhou skyline by jo.sau (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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Entries open for 2016 Gulfood awards

Gathering 5,000 food and beverage exhibitors from over 120 countries, the Gulfood show is billed as one of the world’s most important annual food and hospitality shows and an unrivalled chance to source and select from an incredible global product showcase.

Entries close on January 29 for the Gulfood Awards, which are designed to celebrate excellence and innovation across every category of the global food industry.
Now in their seventh successful year, the awards are being held as part of the Gulfood show, taking place at the iconic Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from Sunday February 21 to Thursday February 25, 2016.
The finalists and winners in the 2016 awards will be announced during a special gala dinner in Dubai on the first day of the show February, February 21.
The 22 award categories include:

  • Best new functional food or drink
  • Best new Halal food
  • Best new fast food product or innovation
  • Best new frozen or chilled food
  • Best artisan or local food
  • Best health education initiative
  • Best new foodservice innovation
  • Best environmental sustainability initiative
  • Best consumer marketing campaign
  • Best trade stand
  • Gulfood Outstanding achievement
  • Best foods company, and
  • Best newcomer brand or business

Gulfood show a global product showcase and trade platform

Gathering 5,000 food and beverage exhibitors from over 120 countries, the Gulfood show is billed as one of the world’s most important annual food and hospitality shows and an unrivalled chance to source and select from an incredible global product showcase. As one of the largest fairs in the Middle-East, it is very popular among importers and exporters of agro products and a crucial trade and business platform in a region with ever increasing demand – exhibitors and visitors from almost every country in the world meet at Gulfood to conduct cross-border business and establish international contacts in the trade arena.
Last year Gulfood attracted 84,642 total trade attendees, 64% of whom came from non-United Arab Emirates (UAE) countries, with a total of 156 countries covered, and 83% of visitors were looking to purchase within the next 6 months.
From specialty and fine food, to the widest range of organic food and drink, it is the opportunity to discover unique products from hundreds of specialist producers and over 110 international pavilions. Specialty areas covered are artisanal products, children’s products, ethnic food, fair trade, gift packs/hampers, gourmet & fine food, Halal products, health/wellness products, organic products, private label, ready meals and special diet products.

Safeguarding the UAE’s food security

The show venue, the Dubai World Trade Centre, is within the business hub of Dubai, the city which is itself a hospitality, trade and tourism hub for the Middle East. A majority of UAE imports are traded through Dubai, its biggest city.
And according to UAE Minister of Economy Sultan Al Mansouri, food imports into the UAE – which buys in 85% of its food – are poised to rise from $100 billion (Dh367 billion) in 2014 to $400 billion in the next decade. Due to the lack of arable lands in the UAE, the government plans to develop farmland in other countries to help to secure food supplies amid increasing demand and it is also urging diversification of the sources of imported food so as to hedge against any crisis.
The UAE has already invested in agro-food initiatives in Namibia, South Africa and in several Arab countries including, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan and Egypt, Al Mansouri said.
Within the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – food consumption is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% between 2014-2019 to reach 51.9 million tons by 2019 and food retail in the GCC is forecast to be worth $155 billion by 2018.

Gulfood 2016