MALAYSIA: MAHA show aims to net USD 600k

About 374 entrepreneurs have joined the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro-tourism (MAHA) under the agro-based cluster, with products ranging from food and drinks to herbs and frozen items.

PHILIPPINES: Banana buying price drops

The buying price for bananas exported to China has dropped in the recent months to less than (USD 3), an industry leader said.

AUSTRALIA: Exploratory varieties breathe new fire in dragonfruit crop

The dragonfruit crop in south east Queensland is starting to flower, and when the fruit emerges it's sure to catch your eye.

INDIA: Techies turn horticulturists to develop model guava farm

Three engineers and a textile chemist have come together to create a horticulture farm that is turning out to be a model for farmers. Striking a balance between traditional and modern farming, they have reaped a rich harvest of guavas in less than 18 months.

AUSTRALIA: Light crop to drive up Christmas lychee prices

Good yield of guava in Nesarabad upazila under the district fails to make growers happy as prices of the popular fruit remains unusually low in the local wholesale market.

PHILIPPINES: Banana growers still struggling 2 years after typhoon

Two years after supertyphoon Pablo devastated vast plantations, the banana industry is still struggling to recover, the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) revealed.

INDIA: Japan comes calling on mango imports

In a significant change in the sentiment post Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Japan, the Japanese authority has expedited procedural obligations to step up mango import from India.

AUSTRALIA: Mango exports set to double

Australia is aiming to double its mango exports. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce will announce a three-year plan to achieve the goal in Darwin on Friday

PHILIPPINES: Banana needs help

Remigio Garcia, chairman of the Mindanao Banana Farmers and Exporters Association (MBFEA), said small and medium scale banana growers are at higher risk of losing the business in the face of climate change coupled with dreaded Fusarium Wilt.

INDIA: Dengue pushes up price of vitamin C-rich papaya

The wholesale rate of papaya has risen from Rs 15-18 (USD 0.24-0.29) to Rs 18-22 (USD 0.29-0.36) per kg at the Vashi-based APMC Market as more people are opting for the fruit as a measure to prevent dengue. The retail rates of papaya are higher at Rs 27-30 (USD0.44-0.48) per kg.

NIGERIA: Guava, Bitter Leaf Protect Against Diabetes Complications

Tomorrow is World Diabetes Day! Although there is no cure yet for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Nigerian researchers and their foreign counterparts have identified local plants such as guava, bitter leaf, Egusi melon and figs that will not only reduce blood sugar levels and improve the function of the insulin but protect the body against common complications of diabetes.

VIETNAM: UK firm tours longan plantations in search of suppliers

A British fruit company has recently sought Vietnamese exporters of longans by visiting plantations which grow the tropical fruit in two of the country's southern provinces.

INDIA: Kokum, the Malabar tamarind

Kokum is a native of the Western Ghats and for this reason is known as Malabar tamarind. It has culinary as well as industrial uses, while also having remarkable therapeutic values.

MEXICO: Rain damage won't affect Mexican papaya exports

Increased plantings will help offset some of the impacts of rain on papaya volumes in the Mexican state of Colima, where one fruit company expects exports will remain in line with last year.

ASEAN: Integration to affect durian farming

The economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015 might threaten the local durian farming industry, a small Philippine-based company said over the weekend.

PERU: World's fourth main avocado exporter

Peru is the fourth main avocado exporter in the world having close deals worth US$307.9 million in a period from January until September this year. It means a 67.4% increase, confirmed Peru's Exporters Association (ADEX).

CAMBODIA: Online sales spur China calls for more fruit

Chinese officials have called on Cambodia to increase fruit exports amid an expected rise in domestic demand for fresh produce fuelled by online sales.

THAILAND: New species of pomelo discovered in Phrae province

Agricultural experts have headed down to Phrae province to study a new kind of pomelo that has a coconut-like fragrance. The group is ready to name it the “Viroon Pomelo” after the orchard owner.

PARAGUAY: Banana exports to Argentina to resume

The efforts of Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the National Chancellery, and Banana Producers Associations have allowed the recovery of banana exports to the Argentine market.

MADAGASCAR: Lychee season set to start

The lychee season in Madagascar has started already, and growers are confident that this year's crop will have a good quality. They'll look to capitalize on that good crop by maintaining traditional market and expanding their presence in one new market.

USA: A new generation of jackfruit includes smaller varieties

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a tropical tree native to western India that has been cultivated in Florida for more than a century. But now, with superior varieties available and growing techniques updated, it's time to take advantage of its potential for production.

KENYA: USD 332k fruit processing plant to be put up in Mpeketoni

The Lamu government will spend Sh30 million to build a fruit processing plant in Mpeketoni. Deputy Governor Eric Mugo said the plant will employ more than 2,000 fruit farmers.

USA: South Carolina watermelon production up 64 percent over 2013

Aided by good weather, South Carolina's 2014 watermelon crop recorded a robust gain of 64 percent over last year's total, according to a National Watermelon Report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As production ended in early August, the state had shipped almost 81 million pounds of seeded and seedless watermelons.

BRAZIL: Emergency plan carried out to eradicate fly carambola

The Ministry of Agriculture is closely monitoring the southern region of Roraima, which has registered the presence of carambola fruit fly pest.