September 2012

FRUIT and veggie prices are set to fall as summer nears and vegetables from Queensland become more available, AusVeg says. Peak industry body AusVeg said the price drop would come from an increase in supply. AusVeg’s public affairs manager William Churchill said consumers would see a markedly reduced price inContinue Reading

by CHUKWUMA MUANYA Can chewing the leaves of guava plant be the novel cure for infertility in men? THERE is hope in the horizon for a local cure for infertility in men. New findings by Nigerian researchers suggest that the extracts of the leaves of Psidium guajava possess beneficial effectsContinue Reading

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), an agency attached to the Agriculture department, will conduct next year commercial testing of a mango drying system that is expected to cut costs for makers of processed mango products.   “Based on research by PhilMech, the local mango industry isContinue Reading

New regulations threaten to entangle U.S. fruit exports to an important Asian market. While the Indonesia government did recently rescind its intention to close the port of Jakarta to imported produce, another regulation set to go into effect Sept. 28 could cause problems for U.S. produce exports, said Mark Powers,Continue Reading

The Tri-State Fruit Fly Committee says the South Australian Riverland’s fruit fly-free areas will be at risk if the Victorian Government scales back its fruit fly program. The Victorian Government says combating fruit fly has become a lost cause and it has declared the pest endemic across the state, exceptContinue Reading

Kate Middleton was “wowed” by a tropical fruit display on day three of her Diamond Jubilee tour. The Duchess and husband William viewed the spectacular fruit selection at the Malaysian Prime Minister’s house. The couple were greeted by Najib Razak and his wife Roshmah Mansor at the entrance to theirContinue Reading

Passion fruit, pineapple and plantain, which are the main non-traditional fruits in the Ecuadorian export trade, reduced shipments in the first half of this year compared with the same period of 2011.   Lower production in the agriculture sector and the fall in external demand are some of the reasonsContinue Reading

TOKYO — Dole Food has said it is in advanced talks to sell its packaged foods and Asian fresh fruit businesses to the Japanese trading house Itochu. Dole, the world’s largest fruit and vegetable company, said in a news release on Wednesday that it was negotiating with Itochu over aContinue Reading

Food exports from Chile to China saw a strong increase of 35 percent year-on-year to $438 million in 2011, according to Chilean government figures underscore the South American country’s position as one of the major fruit suppliers to China. Chilean fruit take up a substantial share of China’s fruit imports.Continue Reading