Contact Us
Site icon

    If you are a candidate looking for a new role, a business looking for a recruitment partner or a recruitment professional looking for a career with Henderson Brown please fill in the below for a confidential conversation with one of our team:

    Freshuelva urging producers to destroy fruit rather than sell it at below-cost prices

    Spanish strawberry producers are facing another disastrous season, with many being forced to discard fruit and dismantle farms two months before the end of the season due to plummeting prices, according to Huelvan grower-exporter association Freshuelva.

    The organisation’s president, Alberto Garrocho, told F&H Hoy that the season so far had been worse than last year which was itself one of the worst in recent years. “Two weeks ago, prices were down 20% on 2013, but now it is closer to 40% ,” he said.

    With prices barely reaching €0.30 per kg – well below the cost of production – Freshuelva is advising growers to take the necessary course of action to ensure that losses are kept to a minimum. However, Garrocho claimed businesses had a responsibility to destroy fruit rather than marketing it at below-cost prices, which would have negative repercussions for the entire industry.

    Garrocho claimed that the collapse in prices had led to a “significantly high volume” of fruit being thrown away and many producers opting to take down farms in order to save on the cost of labour and harvesting.

    Growers in the province of Huelva, where around 96% of Spain’s strawberry production is concentrated, were banking on a positive 2014 campaign to make up for the poor returns they received last year. In 2013 the sector saw a 10 per cent fall in output and 20% drop in prices compare with the previous year, ending the campaign with a production total of 274,800 tonnes and sales of €315m. In spite of the poor season, Huelva’s strawberry acreage increased by 2% this year to 6,980ha.

    Garrocho pointed out that although a small proportion of discarded fruit is being used for processing, the factories are unable to deal with the high volume currently available and the bulk is therefore going to waste.

    Price collapse hits Huelva’s strawberry producers

    Tesco customers are set to make massive savings on their shopping as the supermarket has cut the price of even more food products and is slashing online shopping charges – including FREE Click & Collect for groceries.

    From Tuesday 22 April, prices will drop on over 30 products including bacon, baked beans, broccoli, peppers, sugar, lettuce, cucumber portions and lines from Tesco’s bread ranges.  

    Like the food price cuts, the new prices for home delivery and Click & Collect are down and staying down, with one hour home delivery slots now available for £1 and Click & Collect Grocery now free across all locations. Tesco.com now offers more £1 slots than any other UK retailer.

    The price cuts mean that Tesco.com customers could save up to £130 a year, while Click & Collect customers could save up to £111 a year. And the 200,000 customers already signed up to Delivery Saver could save up to a whopping £252 per year.*

    David Wood, UK Marketing Director at Tesco said: “I’m absolutely delighted we can do this for our customers.  We never stop thinking about how to make their lives better and easier, and these new lower prices on every day products will really help families on a budget.  Together with £1 home delivery or free Click and Collect for food shopping, our customers are going to make real savings.

    “I’m especially pleased that we’ve been able to make the traditional English cooked breakfast cheaper just in time for St George’s Day on Wednesday.  By cutting the price of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, bread, butter and baked beans, a family of four who like a cooked breakfast once a week will save around £96 a year.”**  

    In addition to prices coming down and staying down and the lower online shopping costs, Price Promise continues to give Tesco customers peace of mind that they’ll never lose out on price at Tesco, and the new Fuel Save offer rewards them with money off petrol, simply for shopping at Tesco.

    Tesco cuts price of everyday items

    Suppliers and retailers heading for European Vegetable Strategies in Brussels as fall in consumption raises concerns

    European Vegetable Strategies, the region’s first ever conference and networking event dedicated to the fresh vegetable business, will attempt to identify new ways to boost demand and improve the range of products and merchandising found in the EU fresh vegetable sector.

    The event, which takes place in Brussels on 4-5 June, has been organised by Eurofruit, Fruchthandel and Fresh Produce Journal (FPJ) in response to a growing need for ideas, information and insight within the European vegetable sector.

    Vegetables are a key part of the European fresh produce market, with around 40m tonnes worth approximately €250m produced every year in the EU, yet consumption of fresh vegetables in the region continues to decline.

    “Changing this trend is a major challenge for all of us,” commented Chris White, managing director of Eurofruit. “With European Vegetable Strategies, we want to develop new and innovative marketing solutions that will boost demand for fresh vegetables.”

    The congress, which includes a one-day conference on 5 June, will be tailored precisely to the vegetable sector, according to Fruchthandel’s Kaasten Reh.

    “Experts from all parts of the supply chain, from production to the European retail sector, will analyse the market and discuss innovations and ideas that could give the business an additional boost,” he explained.

    Programme highlights include:

    • Innovation – new ideas to boost sales
    • Consumption in Europe – figures, trends, facts
    • The vegetable market in Europe – challenges and opportunities
    • Tomatoes – varieties, presentation, packaging
    • Convenience – potential for growth
    • New media – which channels work best?
    • Sustainability – optimising processes, cutting costs

    In addition to plenary and break-out sessions, the organisers also plan to give delegates the option of joining study tours to a fresh vegetable production and marketing facility in the greater Brussels area, as well as to retail centres to focus on how fresh vegetables and salads are merchandised and marketed to shoppers.

    During the evening of 4 April, there will be an informal get-together for all delegates, speakers and guests at De Ultieme Hallucinatie, a beautiful Art Nouveau-style brasserie-restaurant in the centre of Brussels – a unique opportunity to meet and network with leading players in the European vegetable business.

    “We are expecting delegates from across the entire value chain to be in Brussels, from seed suppliers to retailers,” added Reh. “The event will provide the right environment to develop new strategies for fresh vegetable production, trade and marketing with some of the most important market partners at an international level.”

    European veg event to offer new ideas

    New water and waste initiatives lead to Branston becoming the first firm in the food sector to get a trio of Carbon Trust honours

    The UK’s leading supplier of potatoes has just been awarded the Carbon Trust Waste Standard by the Carbon Trust, making it the first company in the food and agriculture sector to have achieved the standard in all three areas: carbon, water and waste.

    In 2008, Branston became the first company in the food and agriculture sector to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard. It has since been reaccredited, affirming its commitment to focus on long-term sustainability and continuous improvement.

    The latest accreditation from the Carbon Trust is in waste management, and Branston was the first company in its sector to receive it, thanks to small-scale waste reduction programmes for staff, and larger initiatives including utilising waste on site. Waste wood is used to fuel a biomass boiler, and outgrade potatoes generate electricity in the anaerobic digestion plant at the Lincoln site.

    2013 saw Branston take part in the pilot of the Carbon Trust Water Standard, and it was one of the first four companies to be awarded the new standard. Its water recycling facilities at both the Lincoln and South West sites enable the company to recycle over 60 per cent of its water, as well as reducing the quantity and improving the quality of the effluent leaving the sites.

    Vidyanath Gururajan, projects director, is responsible for building sustainability into all Branston’s developments. He said: “We’re delighted to have received the latest standard from the Carbon Trust. We’re proud of our extensive environmental management systems and we do everything we can, at all our sites, to reduce waste. It’s all part of our commitment to our low cost = low carbon strategy, looking after all our resources to improve long-term sustainability.

    “The Carbon Trust undertook an extremely thorough assessment of our waste management processes and our achievement of the Carbon Trust Waste Standard gives us reassurance that we’re continuing to make good progress.”

    The Carbon Trust is an independent company aimed at accelerating the move to a sustainable, low carbon economy. It provides guidance and advice as well as measuring and certifying a company’s environmental footprint.

    Carbon first for potato giant

    A European Union official has announced plans to visit Morocco on April 23, following outrage in the North African nation over slated EU rules that would restrict produce exporters’ abilities to sell on consignment.

    The new rules would give the European Commission the power to calculate fixed import values, as part of a change to the Entry Price System for Fruits and Vegetables that was agreed upon by the European Parliament on April 7, and put to discussion Monday by the Council of Europe. Tomatoes

    The Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) has reported the European Union Director General of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jerzy Plewa, has expressed his readiness to follow up on technical level discussions relating to the amendment.

    Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Aziz Akhannouch, told the agency the decision to modify access price mechanisms for Moroccan fruits and vegetables in the EU was both “astonishing and incomprehensible”.

    “Moving to modify the access price system for Moroccan fruits and vegetables is a step backward on the negotiations that mobilized for a long period of time Moroccan and European officials,” Akhannouch was quoted as saying.

    “We were satisfied over the fairness and balance of the agreement [signed in February, 2012 between Morocco and the EU]. But this measure risks to disrupt the balance, because of an action that totally contradicts the agreed upon conditions.”

    Agricultural consultant Hassan Benabderrazik told Medias24.com the new measures required exporters to use a “standard import value” for their produce, which would often be well below entry prices; a fact that would effectively penalize growers of high quality products like cherry tomatoes.

    The consultant calculated the measure would immediately affect the tomato industry, with 30-50% of exports penalized by the new rules.

    Akhannouch told MAP a relationship of confidence and sustainable partnership was being jeopardized, and that the move was a particular threat to Morocco’s tomato growers whose system was at risk of collapse under the new rules.

    “We cannot even imagine the consequences on a Moroccan sector and operators which have invested and believed in serious outlets for fruits and vegetables,” he was quoted as saying.

    Moroccan counterparts to meet EU official over produce pricing backflip

    A project between Vitacress and the University of Southampton produced some surprising results for improving lettuce shelf life

    A new breeding project is underway that could lead to longer shelf life for leafy salads.

    Researchers at the University of Southampton have been working with Vitacress to understand what keeps salad leaves fresh for longer, and they discovered that using less water when growing salad actually improves its shelf life.

    Scientists are now running a breeding programme in which crop breeders are selectively breeding plants with the genetic material responsible for leaves with a longer shelf life.

    “We were able to show that if you reduce water use in intensive salad production by about 20 per cent, you actually develop smaller, tougher leaves with stiff cells walls, which is what we’re interested in,” said Professor Gail Taylor from the University of Southampton. “And at the same time, the company can reduce its water footprint.”

    “So we’ve used fundamental biological knowledge and applied it both through the genetic route and through crop production techniques to help the company [Vitacress] improve the quality of its product,” she adds.

    Taylor and her colleagues, together with Vitacress, used funding from an Industrial Partnership Award (IPA) from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to work out the genetics of processable salad leaves so that this information could be used by industry in salad crop breeding programmes.

    First, they identified what it was about certain salad leaves that gave them a longer shelf life. They found that smaller, tougher leaves, with lots of small cells packed closely together, lasted longer. They then worked out which regions of the lettuce genome were responsible for these desirable characteristics.

    Dr Steve Rothwell from Vitacress said: “The results open the door to exciting further studies across a wider range of crops and geographies aimed at driving down the use of water while improving crop quality and shelf life.”

    Following the success of their IPA project, the partnership between the researchers and Vitacress has grown to include a seed company in the USA, which is using the results of the project in its breeding programmes, and Sainsbury’s, which sells many of Vitacress’ products. Sainsbury’s and the seed company have jointly funded two of Taylor’s PhD students.

    Research brings longer shelf life for salads

    Pakistan has implemented compulsory hot water treatment for mangoes destined for the EU to avoid being banned from the market

    The Pakistan government has made hot water treatment compulsory for mangoes destined for the EU to avoid being barred from the market, reports Pakistan website www.dawn.com.

    The decision to implement this treatment, which eliminates fruit flies, was made at a meeting between the Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) and the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, the report said.  

    The quarantine department will inspect hot water treatment facilities in the Punjab, it said. “An approved government facility is up and running in Karachi.”

    Pakistani fruit exporters proposed the new measures to prevent a similar fate to Indian shippers, whose mangoes were banned by the EU in March due to repeated quarantine breaches.

    But PFVA chairman Waheed Ahmed recommended alternative post-harvest treatments needed to be found, since many exporters do not have hot water treatment facilities. In the meantime, subsidies are needed to fund the treatment, and the Karachi facility needs to slash its costs by at least a 50 per cent, he told the publication.

    Pakistan steps up mango treatment to avoid EU ban

    Retailer squeezing 7.1 tonnes of sugar from its chilled juice range, and adding new lines including Pink Lady juice

    Waitrose is squeezing the sugar out of its chilled juice lines by removing 7.1 tonnes of sugar from its assortment over the next 12 months.

    Starting at the end of March, Waitrose began refreshing its existing lines of juices and smoothies, as well as creating a new range of premium juices, all with lower sugar levels compared to previous offerings.

    Waitrose has also introduced the Reduced Calorie Orange and Apple Juice Drinks which contain 30 per cent less calories than standard fruit juice. This has been achieved by sweetening the drinks with extracts from the leaves of the Stevia plant, a native South American plant that has been used for centuries to naturally sweeten food and drink.

    Four new LOVElife smoothies will join the range, each with added vitamins and minerals to boost their nutrient intake. These will include:

    • Yogurt-based Peach and Raspberry for bone health;
    • Superberries for skin and radiance;
    • Orange, Pineapple and Mango for immune support;
    • And an Apple and Beetroot drink which contributes to two out of the 5 A DAY target.

    Three new juices with innovative ingredients will be added to the premium juice range:
    • Apple, Kale and Lime;
    • Pink Lady Apple (now 750ml size);
    • And Apple, Guava and Baobab.

    Sicilian Blood Orange Juice will also be available as part of the Waitrose own-brand range.

    Chloe Graves, chilled juice buyer, said: “Fruit juices are very popular with our customers and an easy way to get one of your five a day, but can have high levels of naturally occurring sugars. This revamped range reduces the sugar content and still delivers great taste.

    “Our aim is to make good food even better as part of our Waitrose Way Living Well commitment and continually bring our customers exceptionally delicious, healthy foods as we reduce sugar, salt and saturated fats.”

    Sugar not the daddy at Waitrose

    UK-based firm will source new product from Ecuador, with plans to enter the US, New Zealand and Maltese markets

    BanaBay has expanded its portfolio to include pineapples.

    The BanaBay pineapples will be of MD2 Golden variety and will be sourced from plantations in Ecuador, where the company will have its own dedicated hectares.

    The move will give BanaBay more control over size, colour, brix and acidity of fruit, while delivering the same direct sourcing advantages to customers.

    Birmingham-headquartered BanaBay made the decision to source pineapples following its launch in the US, where, according to president of North America operations Tom Burke, there is high demand for the fruit.

    Commenting on the move, BanaBay managing director Mark O’Sullivan, said: “We are very excited about the start of our pineapple business; the introduction of this new line was initially driven by our commitment to supporting Tom Burke and his team in developing the US market, but the news has also been positively received by customers around the world, including New Zealand and Malta.”

    An initial container is due to arrive in New Zealand and will be trialled by leading supermarket chain Countdown, which already stocks BanaBay bananas.

    A further container is heading for the United States, and O’Sullivan confirmed that there is also an opportunity to supply pineapples to wholesale partner Mafimex in Malta.

    BanaBay pineapples currently have Global GAP status, with further ethical and sustainable accreditations in the pipeline to bring them in line with the other BanaBay produce.

    An interview with O’Sullivan is set to appear in the May issue of Eurofruit.

    BanaBay joins the pineapple market
    Submit Your CV