SOURCE: The Star Avocados, mangos, bananas and passion fruit — a wealth of exotic produce is growing under the shadow of Sicily’s Mount Etna, as the Italian island’s farmers adapt to global warming. In a setting more akin to the Tropics than Europe, fields of mango and avocado trees, punctuatedContinue Reading
PHOTO: Gabriel Malheiros, Datamar Brazil and Chile have completed the procedures related to opening the Chilean market to fresh papaya (“carica papaya”) for domestic consumption, following the review of certificates and on-site audits that informed the analysis and establishment of phytosanitary requirements. Brazil ranks second among the world’s leading exportersContinue Reading
SOURCE: Thi Ha China is expanding the cultivation of red-fleshed dragon fruit, which sells at lower prices than imports from Vietnam. Last year, it said it grew the fruit on 67,000 hectares and produced 1.6 million tons, which exceeded Vietnam’s output. The People’s Daily newspaper reported that farmers in CixiContinue Reading
SOURCE: Agatha Ngotho, The Star Farmers in Taita Taveta county have been trained on better agronomy in banana farming. The move seeks to help farmers increase crop yield, boost food security and improve their income. Scientists from Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) in Kenya trained the smallholder farmersContinue Reading
SOURCE: Rebecca Speare-Cole, Independent UK retailers are being urged to join a Fairtrade initiative that would ensure banana workers earn their country’s living wage as a minimum. Fairtrade International is launching the new action aiming to achieve living wages, living incomes and resilient banana supply chains on plantations across theContinue Reading
SOURCE: Alessandro Parodi, Reuters Mango farming in Italy is becoming more widespread as hotter temperatures and the prospect of higher profit margins lead growing numbers of farmers to quit traditional crops in favour of exotic fruit. As the harvest season begins, Italian mango crops covered 1,200 hectares this year, comparedContinue Reading
SOURCE: The Sun Daily The “contract farm” model for pineapple cultivation improves youth skills and generates income in a challenging economic climate, said the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (MPIB). Its chairman, Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said close collaboration with the private sector will be intensified to ensure economic spillover ofContinue Reading
SOURCE: Juan Carlos Rivera, Laprensa Bananas, one of the agricultural products most affected by storms Eta and Iota in November 2020, generated $419.4 million between January and July 2023, showing with this figure a clear recovery of plantations and growth compared to the resounding decline recorded in 2021. After theContinue Reading
SOURCE: Liam O’Callaghan, Fruitnet West Australian avocado growers have successfully shipped a verification shipment of Hass avocados to Thailand after gaining access in May. Peak industry body Avocados Australia welcomed the news of the next step towards supplying the Asian market, and applauded all those involved in the shipment. “IContinue Reading
SOURCE: Eric Weinert, New Food Magazine President of the Hawaiian Papaya Industry Association Eric Weinert explains why the sector has recovered significantly in 2023. This year is shaping up to be a huge boon for Hawaii papaya growers as demand for the only American-grown papaya is increasing among mainland tropicalContinue Reading
SOURCE: Lee Ying Shan, CNBC Some say it’s sticky-sweet, others say it smells like socks. Love it or hate it, the appetite for durians is growing voraciously — especially in China. Global demand for polarizing fruit soared 400% year-on-year, according to HSBC which said it’s largely bolstered by a “craze”Continue Reading
SOURCE: The Hindu The recent spell of scorching heat will have an adverse impact on pineapple cultivation for a long time, affecting both the health of plants as well as production in the coming season, driving away hundreds of small farmers who cannot afford to continue spending money on wateringContinue Reading