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| ISSUE 57: APRIL 2020 |  |
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| TFNet welcomes the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) as its latest Associate Member | |||||||
| With over 50 years of productive research contribution in Malaysia, MARDI is a leading agricultural research agency that has been mandated to conduct research and development in agriculture, food, and agro-based industries. | |||||||
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The global fruit trade has been coming into terms with the crippling effects of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 with fruit market channels and supply chains severely disrupted. These have direct implications on the purchasing behaviors of consumers and diets of the masses. |
FAO REPORT - COVID-19: Channels of transmission to food and agriculture FAO is analyzing and providing updates on the emerging COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on agricultural markets—effects that are still largely unknown. Most current assessments generally foresee a contraction in both supply of and demand for agricultural products, and point to possible disruptions in trade and logistics. |
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| UPCOMING TFNET ACTIVITIES | OTHER TROPICAL FRUIT EVENTS |
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Workshop on Banana Fusarium Wilt 2020 International Symposium on Tropical Fruits & 14th TFNet Board of Trustees Meeting National Fruit Symposium (Malaysia) |
X International Pineapple Symposium International Symposia on Vocational Education Asian Conference on Plant Pathology 2020 IX International Postharvest Symposium |
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Membership Reminder |
TFNet 20th Anniversary Special |
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Conference Proceedings: International Conference on Tropical Fruit Pests and Diseases (TROPED 2018) Print*: USD 10 (TFNet Members), USD 20 (Non-members) Digital: USD 8 (TFNet Members), USD 15 (Non-members) To order, contact hariyatul@itfnet.org. *Shipping cost not included |
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TROPICAL FRUIT NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD |
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VIETNAM: Room for fruit exports to Singapore amid COVID-19 |  |
INDIA: After huge sale of fruits, e-thottam to become app | ||||
| Vietnamese enterprises shipped around 500 tonnes of goods, including coffee, instant noodles, sweet potato, cabbage, pineapple, watermelon, and dragon fruit, to Singapore in March. | Having ramped up vegetable and fruits procurement and sale from 300 tonnes to 3,500 tonnes, the horticulture department now plans to make its e-thottam platform a full-fledged mobile app. | ||||||
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MALAYSIA: Durian traders now selling eggs as sales plunge |  |
PAKISTAN: Mango harvesting in limbo as laborers stranded | ||||
| Durian traders in Klang have seen sales of the “king of fruits” plunge, and have now switched to selling eggs during the movement control order period. | Mango traders and growers are worried over labour shortage in orchards due to lockdown-led transport unavailability as harvesting is just around the corner. | ||||||
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CAMEROON: Banana exports dropped by over 6,000 tons in 2020 |  |
AUSTRALIA: Papaya demand returning to normal for the autumn season | ||||
| In March 2020, the two banana producers still operating in Cameroon exported 13,891 tons of the product, according to data from the banana producers’ association Assobacam. | Demand for Australian papaya has returned to normal, following the increase in retail purchasing immediately following the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. | ||||||
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CAMBODIA: Mango prices ‘must stay same’ |  |
COSTA RICA: US and European pineapple orders drop by 50% | ||||
| The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has issued measures to prevent the drop in price of mangoes, which has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ministry. | Pineapple growers in Costa Rica face millions in losses due to the drop in demand for pineapple in their main export markets, the United States and Europe, which has worsened with the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||||
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USA: ‘It is getting critical’ as Hawaiian farms struggle with loss of buyers |  |
BRAZIL: Fruit not being flown off, still shipping by sea | ||||
| With hotels, restaurants, and farmers largely shuttered, demand for fresh, local produce has plummeted. The loss of revenue puts future harvests at risk. | Since volumes are not enough to fill up a cargo plane, most of the product used to ship in compartments of regular flights, which are grounded amid the worldwide quarantine. | ||||||
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INDIA: As markets shut, bananas go to waste |  |
USA: People are buying more avocados and less bacon as coronavirus shifts eating patterns | ||||
| At the onset of the lockdown, wholesalers are sending back bananas to farms as they have no space for storage and no means of transport to retailers. | The coronavirus outbreak has transformed the way the world eats. There is no trend, exactly, other than this: People want comfort. | ||||||
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MALAYSIA: Perlis mango sellers enjoying brisk business online |  |
USA: Coronavirus is about to hit banana supplies next | ||||
| Despite of the movement control order, growers in Perlis are making bank selling Harumanis mangoes online. | Growers in the Philippines, the world’s second-biggest exporter, said overseas shipments may drop by nearly 40% this year as lockdowns and social distancing measures curb output and transport. | ||||||
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AUSTRALIA: Avocado farmers call for brunch lovers to smash them at home during coronavirus isolation |  |
INDIA: Pineapple Challenge to help sell nearly 300 tonnes | ||||
| Australia’s avocado growers are urging brunch lovers to keep up their smashed avo habit at home after a dramatic crash in the market set off by the coronavirus shutdown of cafes and restaurants. | The Anad agriculture office in association with the marketing cell of the Agriculture Department has launched the Pineapple Challenge to help sell 300 tonnes of pineapple grown by a farmer, Benny, on 25 acres of leased land. | ||||||
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THAILAND: Supermarkets take on harvest fruit sales |  |
INDIA: Curfew dampens hopes of banana leaf cultivators | ||||
| The government is set to sell a combined 16,700 tonnes of fruit worth 762 million baht via five modern trade operators during the harvest season. | Due to the lockdown, restaurants and catering services, are staying away from procuring bundles of banana leaves leading to heavy losses. | ||||||
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VIETNAM: More lychee to be grown for export to Japan |  |
KENYA: What those brown spots say about your passion fruits | ||||
| The northern province of Bac Giang has granted cultivation area codes to many orchards growing lychee for export to Japan this year, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. | Brown spots in passion fruits is a disease caused by Alternaria passiflora or Septoria spot and affects leaves, stems and fruits. | ||||||
RECENT LITERATURE ON TROPICAL FRUIT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT |
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Manufacturing technology of banana‐assorted breads: The fermentative characteristics affected by different banana cultivars |  |
Nitric oxide improves tolerance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 in banana | ||||
| Li-Yun L., et. al. (30 April 2020) Journal: Food Science & Nutrition DOI; Photo: superhealthykids.com |
N.N.M. Nasir, et.al. (28 April 2020) Journal: Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology DOI |
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Spectral analysis for the early detection of anthracnose in fruits of Sugar Mango (Mangifera indica) |  |
First report of powdery mildew of mango caused by Erysiphe quercicola in Japan | ||||
| A. Kumar, et. al. (2020) Journal: Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies E-ISSN: 2320-7078 |
A. Ajitomi, et. al. (22 April 2020) Journal: Journal of General Plant Pathology DOI |
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Irrigation of papaya in a sandy loam soil in the semiarid of Bahia, Brazil. |  |
Phytochemical study of the ethyl acetate extract of male Carica papaya flowers from Quang Nam – Da Nang | ||||
| D.M. de Melo, et. al. (2020) Journal: Revista Brasileira de Ciências Agrárias (Agrária) DOI; Photo: experimentalfarming, blogspot |
Do T.T.V, et. al. (24 April 2020) Journal: Vietnam Journal of Chemistry DOI; Photo: Philnews |
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Influence of growing seasons on metabolic composition, and fruit quality of avocado cultivars at ‘ready-to-eat stage’ |  |
Management of Verticillium Wilt of Avocado Using Tolerant Rootstocks | ||||
| S. Mpai & D. Sivakumar (30 April 2020) Journal: Scientia Horticulturae DOI |
A. Haberman, et. al. (17 April 2020) Journal: Plants DOI |
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Farmer participation in the lychee value chain in Bac Giang province, Vietnam |  |
Determination of diffusion coefficients and antioxidant activities of ascorbic acid in guava juice using cyclic voltammetry | ||||
| Dung D.N., et. al. (15 April 2020) Journal: Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Countries DOI |
K.B.A. Ang, et. al. (1 April 2020) |
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