March 2013

Source: The Standard   CHIPINGE — More than 200 small-scale irrigation farmers in Mutema and Chibuwe villages are set to benefit from a banana plantation project financed by Matanuska, a farming concern controlled by Malaysian investors. The company last year gave villagers inputs such as fertilisers and suckers to startContinue Reading

Source: Science Daily Humans aren’t the only species with a sweet tooth. Research from North Carolina State University shows that the invasive spotted-wing vinegar fly (Drosophila suzukii) also prefers sweet, soft fruit — giving us new insight into a species that has spread across the United States over the pastContinue Reading

Source: Pakistan Today   ISLAMABAD – Chief Executive Officer Harvest Tradings, Ahmad Jawad has said that Russia can be the biggest fruit market for Pakistani exporters. Speaking in a seminar here, Jawad noted that the size of Russian fruit market is around $5.77 billion of which imports account for 80 percent. However,Continue Reading

Source: Fresh Fruit Portal   The Philippine banana industry has had its fair share of difficulties over the last 12 months, but a major company has given a vote of confidence in the sector with plans for expansion. AgriNurture Inc (ANI) recently spent PHP1 billion (US$24.585 million) on a bananaContinue Reading

Source: Inter Press Service   DOUALA, Cameroon, Mar 14 2013 (IPS) – The fruit farmers in Njombe, a small town in the coastal Littoral Region of Cameroon, learned a life lesson about “making lemonade out of lemons” – or rather “dried fruit out of fruit” when their land was takenContinue Reading

Source: The Grocer   Fresh fruit and veg could be contaminated with viruses such as norovirus if it has been exposed to water used to dilute pesticides, a new study has warned. “Water containing hNoV [human norovirus] used to dilute pesticides may be an important source of infectious hNoV in freshContinue Reading

Source: Philippine Information Agency   A durian summit will be held in Davao City, Philippines on March 13 to 14 to tackle issues that hinder durian production in the region. durian growers in the country are lagging behind Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of production per hectare, said Larry Miculob,Continue Reading

Source: Afrol news   Cape Verde authorities have invested large sums to diversify the arid country’s agricultural sector. Now, the dragon fruit, originating in tropical America, is being introduced for the first commercial production in Africa. In Cape Verde, the exotic dragon fruit will probably go under its Brazilian names,Continue Reading

Source: Tuoitrenews   Vietnam pocketed US$119 million from shipping fruit and vegetable abroad in the first two months of 2013, up 16% against the same period last year. This year, fruit and vegetable export is expected to fetch US$1 billion, making it possible to join the US$1 billion club ifContinue Reading

Source: Fruitnet   Tesco has cancelled its Thai exotics UK campaign this year because of availability problems UK retail giant Tesco has pulled its annual Thai exotics drive this year due to quality and availability constraints. Sarah Mitchell, Tesco assistant technologist – exotic fruit, kiwi & rhubarb, told Fruitnet itsContinue Reading