India has matured into a tropical fresh fruit consumer market and nowhere is this more manifest than in the country’s love for pears from South Africa. Speaking at the yearly IFPA Southern Africa, Shubha Rawal of fruit importer IG International, noted India’s overwhelming reliance on South Africa supplies. In an Agrifocus Africa story of August 12, 2024, Rawal...
Despite recent agricultural growth, food in Croatia is dearer than the European Union (EU) mean and this is encouraging cheap imports. Research on over 2,000 foods and services across Europe now puts prices in Croatia at 22% above the EU bloc’s average. According to Total-Croatia News on August 10, 2024, families in the southeast European country allocate high...
As the world population grows and food demand increases, food processing technology is turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to predict production and improve sustainably. AI is also helping food processing machines in controlling the drying process of packaged food. Besides, AI integration in cleaning, packing, sorting and grading are all gaining traction. The food processing industry is therefore increasingly...
It might be the middle of Australia’s March-September olive season. but consumers here are ruing doubling prices of olive oil. Customers say that branded 750 ml olive oil that cost A$12 ($7.87) in 2021 has risen to A$24 ($15.74) in 2024. Likewise, premium bottled brands have shot up in price by 44.3% from 2023 to date, from A$18...
Lobster fishing on the Gulf Coast of the United States is in full gear after the Florida main season began August 6, 2024. Given its lengthy period ending March 31, 2025, the season is eliciting dive flag advisories similar to those from the outgoing mini-season. A dive flag is a bright colored cloth that fishermen raise on a boat...
Sicily, home to livestock, olives and such Sicilian diets as wild fennel, has been battling drought effects for months. Though this has prompted Italy to declare a regional emergency, the region is still an agricultural center. First of all there are the region’s cattle riches which constitute 6% of Italy’s total cattle production in a good year. A...
American stocks fell by 6% between July 31 and August 5, 2024, triggering trade fears of a looming economic recession. This could therefore be a good time for farmers in the United States to contemplate how historical recessions have impacted their income. In the current scenario, Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) was the first...
Uptick tomato prices in Jordan have brought a temporary export ban to boost imports and make the vegetable affordable. On August 5, 2024, Petra news agency, courtesy of Ammon News quoted the Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat calling for a phased export restriction. Hneifat hopes that the gradual ban on outbound shipments will encourage imports, which currently...
Chocolate could have more lead than previous estimates, according to a new scientific study at George Washington University. The researchers found that almost 50% of dark chocolate and cocoa products could contain more lead than is safe. While “safe” is a relative word when describing various scientific measures, it can mean much when it applies...
Of late, the Egypt potato market has been recording high demand amid low supplies, making the staple expensive. A part of the demand owes to customer switch to potatoes as a cheaper alternative to inflated fruits, fish and meat. Hatem El-Nagib, vice president of Vegetables and Fruits Division at the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce attributes the crisis...