Fresh Focus Berry 2022/2023

FRESH FOCUS BERRY 2023

THE ANNUAL PUBLICATION FROM FRUITNET MEDIA INTERNATIONAL

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As the global berry business continues to innovate and expand, Fruitnet considers its recent successes and future challenges

INNOVATION

SUSTAINABILITY

NEW VARIETIES

AUTOMATION

CONSUMERS

PACKAGING

ANALYSIS

A chance to build on recent success

Berries seem well placed to see continued strong demand in many of the world’s consumer markets over the next year and beyond. The emergence of new varieties has already seeded a major round of genetic improvement that promises to satisfy more consumers and generate even better commercial returns as a result. The health benefits of eating these fantastic fruits are also increasingly clear to people around the world. And lots of retailers now know exactly how dependable a category this has become. As a result, they have dedicated more shelf space not only to strawberries and blueberries but also to an increasing volume of other items including raspberries, blackberries and even more niche lines. But there are some big challenges ahead too, not least those associated with the global economic downturn. Berry suppliers will no doubt find they are far from immune to pressures in the form of cost inflation along the entire supply chain and depressed spending power in the market itself. Our Global Berry Congress in Rotterdam on 15 November gives us a chance to consider all of these trends in more detail. We look forward to seeing you there!

Uncertain times lie ahead, but the overall strength of the berry category should enable it to withstand economic pressures and maintain its recent expansion

Benefits of blueberries ring true for conscioushealthconsumers

The US Highbush Blueberry Council has expanded its scientific funding programme as it embarks on a wide-ranging, five-year investigation into the potential benefits of eating the fruit.

The US Highbush Blueberry Council’s new, five-year strategic plan see the scope of its Health Research Committee expanded to become the Health Research and Nutrition Committee (HRNC). Its active research programme is unchanged, but the added focus will allow it to become involved in health- and nutrition-related projects that are not directly tied to a funded research project.

The committee will focus on five health pillars: cardiovascular health, cognitive health, gut health, diabetes or prediabetes, and healthy living. These are health areas that resonate with consumers throughout the world. What’s more, previous research funded by the USHBC and others indicated that blueberry consumption may have a positive effect.

DAVE BRAZELTON Chair of US Highbush Blueberry Council’s Research and Nutrition Committee and and board chair of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery

Covid has delayed the progress of many studies, but they should be completed in the coming years. These encompass brain health, immune system effects, the benefits of blueberries as a first food for infants, the effects of blueberry consumption on gut health, the benefits of blueberries for those involved in strenuous exercise, and more. It is expected a steady stream of information will be published that will be of great interest to consumers worldwide.

Two studies were completed this past year. One, led by Dr Aedin Cassidy, was published in the Journal Clinical Nutrition Her team found that adding

the equivalent of one cup of fresh blueberries to meals that are high in calories, fat and sugar helps reduce acute postconsumption risk markers such as glucose, insulin and cholesterol. It also provided evidence that consuming blueberries may benefit heart health.

ABOVE—Blueberries already have a reputation as superfruits with health benefits, but it is safe to assume that new research has far more to reveal

Another study led by Dr Robert Krikorian and published in Nutrients found that overweight, middle-aged individuals with some early cognitive decline showed improvement on cognitive tests after consuming the equivalent of a half cup of blueberries per day for 12 weeks. This suggests that eating blueberries may contribute to protection against such deterioration when implemented early in at-risk individuals. Both studies were picked up by media outlets in the US and other countries.

NEW INVESTIGATIONS

The HRNC also funded new research in 2022. One epidemiological study conducted by researchers at Boston University utilises data from a community project to determine if intakes of fruits with high levels of flavonoids, such as blueberries, during mid-life and late-life states are associated with a reduced risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s. The project, known as the Framingham Heart Study. explores cardiovascular »

It is expected a steady stream of information will be published that will be of great interest to consumers

disease risk factors in residents of Framingham, Massachusetts. It began in 1948 with a total of 5,209 participants aged 28-62 years. Since then, it has added several offspring and generational cohorts.

The study has helped identify major cardiovascular disease risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and physical inactivity. Risk factors for other physiological conditions, such as dementia, continue to be studied.

Participants generally range from those in early adulthood (20s-30s) to late life (over 65 years). Coupled with the dementia surveillance – ongoing since 1976 – information about their diet can advance the understanding of whether blueberries’ potential benefits for the brain and cognition are similar across different age

groups, or whether greater dietary blueberry intake at specific times confers more benefits.

Another brain health study funded by the council is led by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University. Over six months, they will consider whether longterm supplementation with blueberries improves memory and cognitive function in older adults, and whether these changes can be tracked by plasma brain biomarkers.

The healthy living category encompasses a wide range of studies that investigate how blueberry consumption can maintain or improve health in everyday living – such as for those who suffer from knee pain, often secondary to osteoarthritis, and eventually require knee replacement. This is covered in a council-funded study

at the University of Exeter, UK, which will examine how blueberries affect osteoarthritis pain, joint inflammation, and post-operative recovery in knee replacement patients.

SPREAD THE WORD

The newly expanded committee will evaluate and encourage nutrition projects that promote the importance of blueberries in the diet. In some cases, the focus is on the US, but scientific support for increased consumption of blueberries can be applied worldwide.

As the USHBC continues to generate great research, we must ensure this information is communicated not only to consumer media and consumers directly, but also to the entire industry, which includes marketers, retailers, importers/ exporters, and growers.

The health benefits of blueberries are a significant factor in a consumer’s decision to try the fruit and to include them in their diet regularly. It is up to all of us to work together to encourage that message.

ABOVE—Scientific support of consumption benefits is growing

Blueberry exports approach million-tonne mark

The international blueberry market is set for further growth, according to new reports published by Rabobank and the International Blueberry Organization.

by Carl Collen & Mike Knowles @carlfruitnet @mikefruitnet

New research by Rabobank and the International Blueberry Organization points to further growth in the international blueberry business during the next few years.

According to the Dutch analyst, the blueberry industry is becoming ”truly global”, with fast-growing supply and/or demand in most continents.

That’s despite increasing input costs, labour issues and logistical challenges. Rabobank says companies in the sector have come under pressure to become more productive and efficient, and to provide consistently high-quality fruit.

“The blueberry industry has undergone a significant transformation, with the market shifting

BELOW—Blueberries remain a star performer in terms of sales growth

from regional to multi-regional to global,” explains David Magaña, senior analyst – fresh produce at Rabobank. “Per-capita availability is set to continue an upward trend in the US, the EU-27 plus the UK, China, and other markets, driven by continued production expansion.”

Availability of blueberries in the Chinese market has increased 36-fold over the past decade, Rabobank revealed.

“The beneficial health properties combined with the convenience of this fruit have led to increasing imports as well as significant growth in domestic production,” Magaña explains. “This growth in China has led Chile and Peru – the main source of blueberry imports in China – to face major challenges in terms of quality and variety renewal, due to long shipping times.”

A new report published by the International Blueberry Organization (IBO) identifies China as the world’s new leading producer of blueberries by volume, although virtually all of that fruit is consumed domestically. Following China by volume are the US, Peru, Chile, and Mexico.

Talking of the US, fresh blueberry production there has grown, and availability in the local market has expanded, with organic blueberries capturing market share.

Rabobank data shows that since 2016, US imports have consistently outpaced US domestic production as the industry focuses on providing reliable yearround availability to consumers.

On the other hand, US exports have remained flat or declined. Going forward, US blueberry imports should continue to grow during the US offseason, the analyst notes.

MILLION-TONNE MILESTONE

Peru and Mexico have both secured a larger share of the international blueberry business over the past year, as the overall size of the market continues to grow.

That’s certainly one of the IBO’s headline

conclusions, which also found that investment in better-yielding varieties was a major factor in the category’s overall expansion.

As global fresh and processed highbush blueberry volumes approach 1.8m tonnes, the report also finds that some production regions are struggling in an increasingly competitive sector.

According to the report, Peru has now overtaken Chile as the world’s third-largest producer, while Mexico has replaced Canada in fifth place.

“We expect global blueberry exports to surpass one million tonnes as early as 2025/26,” Magaña predicts. ”Exports from Peru have significant growth potential, while exports from Mexico and South Africa will also show sustained growth. Exports from Chile, Canada, and the US are likely to stabilise.”

EFFICIENCY DRIVE

Magaña also says that, as the industry achieves increased resilience and sustainability, new cultivars will make it more efficient and help it meet higher consumer expectations.

”Elevated costs of fertilisers, ag chemicals, and other inputs will continue to drive more inputefficient, higher-yielding, higher-quality fruit cultivars – in short, better genetics,” he suggests.

The IBO’s analysis indicates that an estimated one-third of global volume growth last year was attributable to yield increases, as opposed to a simple expansion of planted area.

Consumer demand for better and better quality has apparently encouraged innovation in the adoption of new genetics, as well as improved farming practices and post-harvest systems.

Labour will remain a challenge, but Magaña predicts mechanical harvesting and automation will be more commonplace in future. ”Cultivars with an extended shelf-life [and] that travel well are desirable, as blueberries face steeper competition in the fruit aisle due to the year-round availability strategy in the fresh produce industry.”

“Blueberry exports could top one million tonnes by 2025/26, led by growth in Peru, Mexico and South Africa”

Chilean berry pioneer Victor Moller dies at 79

Moller founded Hortifrut with the goal of “delivering fresh berries to the whole world, every day”.

by Maura Maxwell @maurafruitnet

The industry is mourning the sad death of Victor Moller, founder and president of Chile’s Hortifrut, who died at the age of 79 in October.

Moller founded Hortifrut in 1983 with partner Juan Sutil with the mission of “delivering fresh berries to the whole word, every day”. By the following year it had become the biggest exporter to the US during its counter season and three years later the company embarked on its first exports to Chile.

In 2012 the company went public, raising US$67.3m to fund the next stage of its international expansion. Today Hortifrut is the largest blueberry marketing platform in the world and the second largest berry marketer, with sales of US$845m in 2021. Hortifrut works with 600 growers worldwide, most recently expanding its production footprint with new blueberry farms in Colombia and Ecuador, and raspberry plantations in Portugal and Mexico.

“In the early 1980s, he was at the forefront of introducing berry genetics, production and marketing from Chile to the US, Europe and Asia, transforming Hortifrut into one of the leading Chilean companies with a global business vision, always hand in hand with technological innovation and sustainability,” Hortifrut said in a statement.

Juan Ignacio Allende, Hortifrut’s general manager said Moller would always be remembered “for his

leadership, concern for people, judgement in decisionmaking and strategic vision, qualities that have allowed him to successfully lead the company’s destiny since its creation in 1983.”

During his career, Moller received multiple awards, including Businessman of the Year from Icare, the Chilean Institute of Rational Business Administration in 2007.

He was well known for his global vision, strong focus on people and team building and for championing innovation, technology and sustainability.

Cristián Allendes, president of Chile’s National Society of Agriculture (SNA) said: “Moller made is way years ago in an area that was unknown to many. He managed to position fresh blueberries internationally and consolidate Hortifrut as the largest producer of this product worldwide. We will remember him for his leadership in the sector and his vision of creating a company.”

In Hortifrut’s most recent annual report, Moller commented on the lasting impact of the Covid pandemic on society.

“The future holds tremendous challenges and opportunities for us, especially in balancing the

equitable development and wellbeing of humanity, the planet and its ecosystems, contributing to prosperity and sustainable quality of life for future generations,” he wrote.

Having established Hortifrut as the world’s leading blueberry marketer, Moller said the next objective was to “develop the best genetics, quality, specialisation, technology and talent to allow us to achieve the highest productivity and quality of berries, using the least amount of resources: water, land area and inputs per hectare and per kilo produced and marketed”.

ABOVE—Victor Moller founded Hortifrut in 1983 with Juan Sutil

Counting the cost of strikes

The South African berry export industry is enduring some difficult days as ongoing port strikes hamper exports.

by Fred Meintjes

It is being reported that the South African stateowned ports and rail operator has reached a three-year wage deal with its biggest labour union, with its members agreeing to immediately call off a strike that has caused a costly slowdown of berry exports among other products.

The strike has been particularly damaging to the country’s blueberry sector, which confirmed that more than 80 containers of fruit destined for Europe had been trapped in the port of Cape Town. The smaller of the two main labour unions at South Africa’s stateowned port and rail operator, Transnet, however, is still continuing the strike.

DISRUPTIONS COULD CONTINUE

Even though the strike could, for the most part, be over, sources in the blueberry sector have said that disruptions to the export programme could continue

for some time. “As a result of the strike more than 80 containers of berries destined for European markets have been sitting at the ports, with the strike currently costing the industry more than R134m a week and putting thousands of jobs at risk,” Berries ZA noted.

”Even if a solution to the current impasse is found, the backlog in the berry value chain will take weeks to clear resulting in hundreds of millions of rands in further losses for the sector.”

The berry industry said it alone was expected to contribute at least R3bn in export revenue this season,

BELOW—Strikes have hit the port of Cape Town OPPOSITE— Strawberries from Stellenbosch

which now stands to be lost.

“South African businesses need alternatives to the deeply troubled Transnet-operated ports. It is therefore essential the government as well as the Competition Commission review the impact of the status quo on South African businesses and livelihoods.”

LONG-TERM THREATS

The association said that the disruption to the country’s exports had also come at a time when load-shedding, due to collapses in the country’s electricity supply infrastructure, was already

undermining South Africa’s cold chain systems and therefore the ability to meet international standards.

“Together with the Transnet disruption, these challenges pose long-term threats to South Africa’s reputation as an exporter and perception as a reliable supplier of high-quality produce.”

The statement said that despite the Transnet executive team indicating they would put contingency plans in place to ensure critical goods would continue being exported during the strike, this has not materialised.

“That this scenario was not adequately planned for in advance points to poor leadership at the ports authority, which has put South Africa’s entire economy at risk.”

This includes the livelihoods of 30,000 workers in the berry industry, with at least 90 per cent of these employees being economically vulnerable women in rural communities.

IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY

The association insisted that the ports authority put emergency plans in place to mitigate the impact of the current strike on the economy. “These plans must also include action steps to clear the ever-growing backlogs across a range of critical industries as quickly as possible, once the strike ends.”

South African berry growers and exporters must now manage a most difficult situation. The season has already been very late with the

peak season supplies previously expected to arrive in the period October to December and facing fierce competition with Peruvian supplies. Fruit already in port and awaiting shipment will be up to three weeks old, and there will be little room for error to get it to the market.

Hoogstraten commi ed to quality

The Belgian cooperative sees effective marketing as an essential part of its strategy at this time, with promotional efforts seeking to bring the consumer and the producer closer together.

by Tom Joyce @tomfruitnet

Amultitude of challenges are affecting the berry sector, including rising costs and a drop in consumption, but that has not dented Belgian cooperative Hoogstraten’s commitment to quality and sustainability, nor its inclination to promote.

“In these difficult times of high costs, consumers might consider strawberries, and berries in general, a bit of a luxury item and therefore reduce their purchases,” says Jan Engelen, marketing manager at Belgian cooperative Hoogstraten. “That’s why a good marketing and promotional campaign is essential.”

In Belgium, the cooperative has developed short videos of its growers telling the story behind the product, the idea being to connect production and consumption. In the UK market, the campaign focused on berry quality, flavour and sustainability.

This year the company held tasting sessions supervised by its quality department to test different strawberry varieties on taste, presentation and shelf-life. “Our main variety is still Elsanta, but we see a stronger trend than ever before toward new promising varieties,” says Engelen. “Of course the Hoogstraten brand will always be a guarantee for high-quality, tasty strawberries.”

Hoogstraten also organised B2B tasting days this summer, including a visit to a blueberry farm and the Hoogstraten

Research Centre, in order to discover the new technologies for varietal research, sustainable production and innovation.

In September, the cooperative held the fourth International Strawberry Congress in Antwerp, a racting more than 300 participants from 32 countries. In addition to two congress days, the programme included a field trip and a visit to the International Mechanisation & Demonstration Strawberry Fair at the Research Centre Hoogstraten.

“Coöperatie Hoogstraten looks back on a very successful fourth edition of the Strawberry Congress,” says Engelen. “The many positive reactions from the a endees make us very satisfied. Once again, it appears that the mix of science and sales works. Both

sub-domains need each other to achieve a successful strawberry business. Hoogstraten would therefore like to thank everyone for their participation, both online and offline.”

MERGER TALKS END

The management of Belgian cooperatives REO Veiling and Coöperatie Hoogstraten have announced a joint decision to terminate their merger discussions following the signing of a declaration of intent to investigate a potential merger in February.

“Further scrutiny following this declaration of intent identified excessive differences in operational context and organisational challenges,” a statement from the companies read. “Moreover, the insights gained during this process have necessitated both parties to set other short-term priorities in the further development of their cooperation.”

Coöperatie Hoogstraten and REO Veiling highlighted the “constructive manner” in which the discussions were held. “This has created a solid relationship of trust and confidence focused on the identification of areas in which the parties could support each other going forward,” the statement continued. “It speaks for itself that both organisations will still decisively continue to collaborate during sectoral consultations.”

ABOVE—Hoogstraten says the trend for new varieties is strong

Ukrainian berries find a way

by Tom Joyce @tomfruitnet

Life has been transformed for much of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February, with millions fleeing for the safety of neighbouring European countries and many more displaced within the country itself, and yet the berry sector, focused in central and western Ukraine, has continued to function, albeit with significant challenges.

“The berry season was not bad,” says Iryna Kukhtina, president of the Ukrainian Berries Association, speaking from her temporary home in Poland, “although prices were lower than in previous years. The crop was good in terms of both quality and quantity.”

The scorching heat experienced in much of Europe only had a minimal impact in Ukraine, affecting the size of some strawberries. “The strawberry crop faced some hot days, so the calibres are smaller, but the fruit is sweeter,”

says Kukhtina. “Only at the end of the raspberry season did we have to deal with some rains. Despite the challenges, the quantity of some berries was even higher than last year.”

According to Kukhtina, some companies were still able to increase their investments and install new lines during this period, although this has become more difficult. “International suppliers put all the risk on Ukrainian companies,” she says, “so there is a lot of uncertainty.”

The season for fresh berries may have come to a close, but the frozen berry business continues in Ukraine. Here the main issues are the availability and cost of storage facilities. “A lot of companies have moved stock to Poland or spread it in different parts of the country,” says Kukhtina. “Electricity is expensive, but availability is a bigger problem due to damage to infrastructure.”

For exporters, high exchange rates are a big factor, not just this season but also looking ahead. “Exports are still possible to our main markets in the EU, as we deliver by truck,” says Kukhtina. “They will be lower than previous years, as exchange rates currently make it difficult for our exporters. Berries are a long-term investment, so growers are likely to switch to one-year cultures while this uncertainty persists.”

Support for the country’s fruit industry has largely come in the form of grants from the US and EU, mostly via the Ukrainian government. However, according to Kukhtina, support for industry development has been limited. “One of the conditions of the grants is the creation of a certain number of jobs,” she says, “and this is not easy to guarantee at the moment. There is li le certainty about next year while the war continues. But we have had support from many different areas, including some retail chains. People need to understand that we are on the market, we have fruit to sell, and we have put a lot of effort into securing these products.”

Despite the enormous challenges facing the Ukrainian berry sector during the war, production and exports have managed to continue, but longer term uncertainty remains.

ABOVE—Millions have had to flee, but Ukrainian berry production continues

UK enjoys larger, sweeter blackberries

Hot, dry summer weather boosts fruit quality, with 79 per cent more British blackberries sold at supermarkets in first week of August 2022.

by Fred Searle @fredfruitnet

Warm, dry weather over the summer reportedly made this season’s shop-bought British blackberries some of the sweetest, largest and highest quality that producers have ever seen.

By contrast, so-called hedgerow blackberries suffered, appearing earlier and smaller than usual following dry summer conditions across much of the UK.

The hot weather caused the wild fruit to ripen rapidly, which stunted its growth and resulted in smaller and less juicy blackberries than in

previous years.

The reason for the difference in quality is that shop-bought blackberries have been bred to consistently crop bigger, sweeter, and juicier berries, whereas hedgerow blackberries comprise around 300 wild sub-species delivering varying degrees of sweetness and bi erness.

This means that even in good years, hedgerow harvesting is much less dependable compared with the more guaranteed quality of the blackberries found in supermarkets.

New-season blackberries on supermarket shelves taste far sweeter and are typically five times the size of their hedgerow counterparts, according to agronomists working with industry body British Berry Growers, which represents 95 per cent of berries supplied to UK supermarkets.

Due to the high temperatures in July, which were 1.3°C above the forecast long-term average, 79 per cent more shop-bought blackberries were estimated to have been available in the first week of August compared with the same week in 2021.

Nick Marston, chairman of industry body British Berry Growers, said: “New season shop-bought British blackberries look amazing and taste delicious. They can be eaten and enjoyed just as they are – there’s no need to be limited to crumbles with these beauties! “

He added: “A handful of blackberries can provide half of an adults recommended daily allowance of manganese, which is important for bone development and nutrient absorption. According to scientists, they’re also high in salicylic acid and contain astringent tannins which are great for your skin and oral hygiene respectively.

“Research has also found that blackberries possess anti-inflammatory properties – which could help with wound healing.”

Thanks to advances in growing techniques, the UK’s commercial blackberry season now runs for 42 weeks a year. Last year, consumers in the country bought 2,576 tonnes of British blackberries, the weight of 208 London double-decker buses.

LEFT—Shopbought Driscoll’s Victoria blackberries (right) dwarf their hedgerow counterparts

Extreme weather challenges UK blackcurrant growers

Recent hot, dry conditions have caused some difficulties for producers, as the sector continues to invest in more climate-resilient varieties.

by Fred Searle @fredfruitnet

The recent hot, dry summer made for a challenging blackcurrant season in the UK, with fruit ripening unevenly and falling off the bushes before harvesting, according to the Blackcurrant Foundation.

The UK producers’ association reported that growers were not prepared for the summer’s record temperatures, and the driest July since 1911 resulted in a “significant lack of moisture in the ground”.

The impact of the extreme conditions was felt most acutely in the south-east and East Anglia. For other UK growers, however, the

harvest was relatively normal.

Drink brand Ribena, which takes 90 per cent of the UK blackcurrant crop, was forecast to receive over 10,000 tonnes of fruit during the summer.

Jo Hilditch, chair and spokesperson for the Blackcurrant Foundation, said: “A main concern was that berries were not able to cling on to the bushes and just fell to the ground before the harvesters came through.

“Our harvest still requires some manual labour, despite being a largely automated process thanks to machinery, and the heat made it

much more difficult for pickers, who started at 4.30am some mornings.

She added: “Towards the end of the season, some varieties suffered due to a lack of winter chill, which made for some unevenly ripened fruit in some of the later loads that went to be pressed.”

RESILIENCE REQUIRED

Harriet Prosser, agronomist at Suntory Beverage and Food in Great Britain and Ireland, admi ed it had been another challenging UK blackcurrant harvest. “But for very different reasons,” she said. “Last year, we had frosts at flowering and a very wet harvest; this year we had a good spring but an incredibly hot, dry summer.”

The window of opportunity to pick UK blackcurrants is very small. “This year, our growers experienced some of the highest temperatures ever recorded in the UK right in the middle of the harvest [which began on 3 July in Somerset],” Prosser recalled.

“They have gone above and beyond, toiling away, with several opting for night harvesting with lights to get the crop in quicker and make sure the blackcurrants didn’t spoil in the heat.”

Looking to the future, The Blackcurrant Foundation’s growers have been trialling new varieties of climate-resilient blackcurrants with the aim of comba ing factors such as prolonged dry spells, warm winters, and extreme heat during the summer.

Investment of nearly £11m from Lucozade Ribena Suntory has so far aided research and development into new varieties, with some harvested this year that have been 20 years in the making.

“Hopefully this will safeguard the future of the crop and help secure the livelihoods of UK blackcurrant growers,” the Blackcurrant Foundation said.

RIGHT—Chair of the Blackcurrant Foundation, Jo Hilditch (le ), with blackcurrant grower Rosie Begg

Blueberries boost workouts, study suggests

by Luisa Cheshire @luisafruitnet

The latest findings from British Berry Growers’ consumer campaign Love Fresh Berries have suggested that the consumption of blueberries can boost workouts and aid recovery time, preventing damage to muscles and age-related diseases.

A new scientific paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health concluded that eating blueberries before or during exercise could prevent the wear and tear of skeletal muscles and reduce a process called oxidation, the group revealed.

Strenuous workouts can induce ’oxidative stress’ and inflammation in skeletal muscles, which can cause a variety of harmful age-related diseases including Alzheimer’s to develop, Love Fresh Berries explained. However, blueberries provide an array of nutrients and phytochemicals that have been linked to reductions in oxidative stress and inflammation, it said.

“The antioxidants found in blueberries can help to prevent freeradical damage to the muscles and strengthen the tissue – allowing you to get the most out of your fitness regime,” a Love Fresh Berries spokesperson said. Larger studies using more people and specific muscular strength exercises are now needed to build on these findings.

Emma Derbyshire, public health nutritionist and adviser to Love Fresh Berries, commented: “Fitness is central to health and wellbeing. Excessive training can, however, sometimes leave us feeling sore and contribute to a state of ‘oxidative stress’. This is a natural process but in excess can contribute to muscle damage.

“Certain dietary and lifestyle strategies may help to dampen this. Blueberries are renowned for their potent antioxidant profi les so could be a logical and useful way to help soothe and alleviate exercise-induced oxidative stress.”

British Berry Growers is the industry body for the British berry industry, which is worth £1.69bn to the UK economy. Its members supply 95 per cent of the berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries) in UK supermarkets.

Formerly known as British Summer Fruits, British Berry Growers directs berry research, represents the interests of berry growers to government and funds Love Fresh Berries, a year-round consumer campaign that celebrates the taste, health and value of British berries.

Recent research suggests the antioxidant content of blueberries can counteract the negative effects of strenuous exercise.

TOP—Blueberries are well-known for their antioxidant profiles BOTTOM— The consumption of blueberries can boost workouts and aid recovery time

Serbian blues continue expansion

As Serbia’s blueberry production area continues to grow, Julka Toskić of Serbia Does Fruit stresses the importance of investments in state-of-the-art facilities, national branding and direct sales.

by Tom Joyce @tomfruitnet

Serbia has also seen massive growth in blueberry plantings over the past five years. The total area under blueberry production is estimated at over 2,500ha. Compared to the small production sites for raspberries, blueberry plantations are characterised by their large acreage, modern technologies and rapidly growing annual production, which exceeded 6,000 tonnes in 2022.

Was the season impacted by extreme temperatures?

JT: Luckily, extreme conditions were not an issue for berries in Serbia this year, as the whole harvest was finished before the arrival of high temperatures. Due to the fact that berries are grown in hilly areas, spring frosts or hailstorms can sometimes be a problem in a few locations.

What are the main varieties of blueberries grown in Serbia? Is there much development of new varieties going on?

How is the berry sector developing in Serbia? What volume were produced in 2022 and is the country seeing continued growth in blueberry plantings?

Julka Toskić: According to official data, Serbia produced more than 180,000 tonnes of berries in 2022, including 115,000 tonnes of raspberries. The harvest started in May with strawberries, then continued in early June with blueberries and raspberries.

The large variety of berries in Serbia is a competitive advantage for the country. The harvest also tends to begin earlier than in other European countries, enabling Serbian producers to get good prices at the start of the season.

JT: Since our blueberry plantations are relatively new, production follows modern techniques with certified trees from EU nurseries. We have a large number of trees per hectare and very trendy varieties. Most production is conventional (trees covered with banks) but in the past two to three years a lot of blueberry plantations are now in pots. It is an important choice for regions where the quality of soil and pH is not so favourable for blueberry production.

The main blueberry varieties produced in Serbia are early varieties Duke (65 per cent) and Drapper (15 per cent), the mid- to early variety Blue Ribbon (5 per cent), mid- to late variety Liberty (5 per cent), and late variety Aurora (10 per cent).

“Extreme conditions were not an issue this year, as the whole harvest was finished before the arrival of high temperatures”

LEFT—Julka Toskić of Serbia Does Fruit

Serbia’s new generation of blueberry producers are using state-of-the-art technology, resulting in improvements in calibration, sorting and packing, while farm sizes are larger. With young orchards reaching maturity and their full capacity in the coming years, Serbian exports will get a massive boost. Investments in new state-of-the-art coldstorage facilities and aggregation centres across the country are complementing this growth.

How are high costs of energy affecting producers and exporters?

JT: Recent crises in Europe have already led to increases in energy and transportation costs, which are severely impacting the berry sector in Serbia, as in the rest of Europe. A shortage of fertiliser and a tripling in the price will increase production costs. One good development is that in recent years, the percentage of berries sold

fresh has grown rapidly, meaning that producers aim to sell and export just after harvesting, while keeping a portion for the domestic market. Locally produced berries are available at Serbian retailers up until mid-October. Of course raspberries and blackberries can be kept in coldstorage to be sold throughout the year. Thankfully, the sale prices is still able to cover the energy cost.

What sort of promotions are planned for Serbian berries? Which markets are you targeting in particular at the moment?

JT: In the forthcoming period, the development of a national brand will be crucial for further promotion of the Serbian berry sector to international buyers. This season, in a cooperation between Serbia Does Fruit and the USAID Competitive Economy Project, a promotion and trade mission to Sweden was organised for Serbian blueberry

producers and some new business opportunities in the Scandinavian market are on the way.

As for exports of blueberries, the key markets are Germany, Austria, the UK and the UAE. The Netherlands is an important transit country for a lot of Serbian berries, which are then re-exported to Germany and the UK. Improving direct access to final international buyers represents a big opportunity for Serbian exporters to reduce their intermediary costs.

Exports of fresh blueberries, the most important berry category in 2022, reached a value of €26.8m (from just €3.58m in 2018). It is crucial for Serbian blueberry producers to reduce their exports to the Netherlands in order to provide extra value.

ABOVE—The use of state-of-the-art technology has boosted quality in Serbia

G-Berries and Lucchini launch Easy raspberry concept

Italian companies say their new partnership can meet growing demand among suppliers and their customers for more productive and more resilient raspberry varieties.

by Mike Knowles @mikefruitnet

Two leading berry breeders, G-Berries and Lucchini Berries, have entered into a strategic partnership to develop, promote and sell genetics and high-quality plants to raspberry growers worldwide.

Years ago, Alessandro Lucchini founded his own breeding programme to develop more productive cultivars that would improve the crops grown on his own farm in Verona, an area where growing conditions are “very challenging”.

G-Berries, meanwhile, is a new company created in EmiliaRomagna by brothers Luca and Matteo Molari. It focuses on breeding, research and IP management.

The new partnership, which is focused on making it easier and less costly to pick raspberries, focuses on two new varieties, Easy Star and Easy Rock.

Primocane variety Easy Star offers “really bright” colour and is said to be highly productive and very easy to pick. That brightness is apparently maintained even after harvest, with springtime yields up to 8.5 kg/h.

“The plant has medium vigour and performs very well in primocane production, due to its strong ability to flower on new vegetation 80 days after transplantation,” the partners explain. “It then continues to maintain a good vegetative balance. The autumn harvest is

therefore to be considered early.”

Easy Rock, meanwhile, is a medium-late primocane variety with “amazing productivity”. Its Rock name derives from the medium high vigour that characterises the plants, as well as good roots and high resistance to fungal pathogens. Yields are also high, reportedly reaching 7.5kg/h in spring and as an average throughout its lifecycle.

In spring 2022, G-Berries launched several different trials around Europe with selected companies in countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland and the UK. The company says it also has plans to take the new plant material to overseas countries like Mexico.

Next season, Easy Star and Easy Rock plants will be available at Molari Società Agricola, the nursery operation that is responsible for propagation and sales activities. G-Berries says it will manage the two new varieties according to a dedicated strategy, and will organise open days in Italy in 2023.

LEFT—Easy Rock raspberries, one of the partnership’s two new varieties

Kaplanis focused on upholding quality image

Costs are rising throughout the sector, while consumer budgets are plummeting, but top standards remain nonnegotiable at Greece’s Kaplanis Fruits.

by Tom Joyce @tomfruitnet

For an old family business like Greek strawberry producer Kaplanis Fruits, challenges – crises even – are nothing new. But following the Greek economy’s gradual recovery from the 2008 debt crisis and the impact and uncertainty of Covid19, soaring costs this year have put paid to any hope of a respite.

“Costs have gone sky-high,” says the company’s Petros Kaplanis. “Because of the rise in energy prices, the cost of everything has increased – packaging materials, plastics, in fact everything you can think of in the packing process. We are also struggling in Greece from a lack of availability of workers. We had plans to increase our production in the fields, but we have decided to maintain the same level due to these crises.”

The cost of transportation has also increased, from the field to the packhouse, as well as to the company’s export markets. “As of last year, we prefer markets in the Balkans as transportation costs have risen so much,” says Kaplanis. “They are up by 40 per cent or more. For example, last year, delivering from Greece to Spain cost around €2,800; now it is around €5,800. From the field right up to the supermarket shelves in Europe, you cannot imagine how many

challenges we have to take care of and bear with. It’s a crazy situation right now.”

Someone of course has to bear the cost, and Kaplanis believes it will fall on the production side. “We will have to reduce our profits,” he says. “To keep our clientele, to maintain our quality and uphold our standards as a company, sometimes we have to take on the burden of such increases. Sometimes, we would like to pass on some of the extra cost, but everyone knows how consumer budgets have fallen.”

The goal for Kaplanis Fruits right now is to maintain the good reputation of the brand and its strawberries. “We need to keep our brand name as high as it is right now,” says Kaplanis. “We will not decrease our quality or sell our brand short. So we are keeping standards very high.”

The company’s main variety is Rociera, along with Fortuna and Victory. “We have been producing these varieties for the past years,” says Kaplanis. “We are doing many

tests in the field looking for new varieties, and seeing if they suit the climate here in Greece. It’s difficult. With any new variety, it has to be be er than the ones we already grow, such as more robust during travel so the fruit reaches the destination in perfect condition. We continue to trial new varieties, but at the moment we haven’t found anything new.”

As part of its sustainability efforts, the company is also installing solar panels at its facilities, which Kaplanis hopes will reduce the impact of rising electricity prices. “At the moment, we are around 80 per cent of the way there,” he confirms.

PICTURED—The focus at Kaplanis Fruits is on maintaining the quality of the fruit and the image of the brand

Have you made any recent investments in your facilities?

RN: In 2020, we completed the construction of the MerryBerry refrigerated warehouse. Located in the middle of the plantation, it allows us to obtain the shortest transit time from picking to processing of no more than 15 minutes. The warehouse has a total area of 2,500m2, three pre-cooling rooms and five cold rooms with controlled atmosphere and represents an investment of over €3m. The warehouse has fully demonstrated its usefulness, allowing us to process and capitalise on the entire harvested production.

MerryBerry responds to changing environment

The Romanian blueberry specialist is reacting to changes in the climate, as well as the challenge of soaring costs, but its commitment to organic remains undiminished, according to sales director Radu Niculescu.

by Tom Joyce @tomfruitnet

Parts of Europe experienced record temperatures this year. How has production been affected by the weather in Romania? Is the climate becoming more of a factor?

Radu Niculescu: The MerryBerry farm is located in the southern part of Romania, and this year we experienced a rainy period in June with moderate temperatures, which delayed the start of the harvest season by 7-10 days. In July, we had extremely hot weather, which led to the ripening of several varieties in a short period of time.

In Romania, the climate plays an important role, and the changes of recent years have encouraged us to

take strategic decisions to protect us from extreme phenomena. For the coming years, we have several projects planned to cover our plantations with macro-tunnels, so that we can extend the harvesting season to four months, from the beginning of June to the end of September.

How is production developing at MerryBerry? Are volumes continuing to rise overall?

RN: Blueberry production at MerryBerry increased by 20 per cent between 2021 and 2022. This trend will continue until 2024/25 when we expect production to reach around 1,500 tonnes.

In 2021, we continued the investment plan and installed in Romania the first computerised sorting and packaging line from MAF Roda. It has 16 bands and allows the identification of internal and external defects, each fruit being rotated and analysed thoroughly. Along with the sorter, we installed an automatic palletising system, a tray sealer, a denester, an automatic metal detector and a weight checker. This investment exceeded €2m.

In 2022, we installed the last part of the equipment of the sorting line, consisting of an automatic tipping machine and an independent feeder to fill punnets. All these investments have allowed us to reach the highest quality standards requested by our customers.

How are rising costs of energy, materials and transportation affecting the company?

RN: One of the most urgent problems is the increase in energy, material and transport costs. On our farm, we analysed the situation and made the best decisions to reduce consumption both internally by optimising flows and externally by negotiating fixed rates during the season. But it is very difficult to unilaterally absorb increases in the cost of electricity, natural gas and diesel of 300, 250 and 85 per cent. Packaging costs have doubled. The margins with which we operate are small and can only partially cover the cost increases.

ABOVE—Blueberry production at MerryBerry increased by 20 per cent between 2021 and 2022

»

The situation remains challenging for the 2023 season as well, especially since all these cost increases show no signs of recovery.

With cold storage more expensive, is there a desire for growers to sell faster?

RN: Yes. Fresh fruit accounts for more than 95 per cent of our traded volumes. We had been planning to develop more frozen products, with major investments in the IQF freezing tunnel, but changes in the cost structure have led us to postpone these plans.

How are your main markets currently performing, including the domestic market?

RN: The Romanian market is currently growing at a fast pace, and we are helping to educate Romanian consumers. Although the achieved volumes are still small compared to mature markets, the prospects are good. In our case, we have increased our volumes to EU countries due to the lower transport costs and minimal paperwork. However, the UK still represents the main market for our blueberries.

Is labour availability a problem at all?

RN: The workforce represents a major challenge. We had the advantage of teaming up with workers who have a lot of experience on farms in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Ger-

many or the UK. They became team leaders and trained other pickers in our plantation. The Romanian government has initiated a set of measures by which it wants to make the agricultural labour market attractive. Starting in June 2022, the value of the minimum wage in agriculture and the food industry increased by 32 per cent. Tax reductions on incomes were also applied. This year we used workers from Asia for the first time in a pilot project. The integration was good, as were the results obtained. I think we will continue this project next year.

Are you continuing with your sustainability efforts despite all the challenges?

RN: Sustainability is in our DNA. The management made the decision that the entire area will become organic in the next three years, a brave decision but one that reflects our philosophy towards the environment and a healthy lifestyle.

Since 2021, we have managed to exclusively use 100 per cent rPET punnets. This year we used cardboard packaging, whose share will increase substantially in the next two years. We have created green borders around the plantation and next year we will invest in a

Mixed concerns for Pico

According to Muhammad Galal Fayed (below), regional sales manager at Egyptian grower-exporter Pico, the current economic situation is a concern globally, while the changing climate is bringing new challenges in terms of shorter supply windows. “Everybody is being very cautious about the increase in prices of electricity and gas,” he says. “People have a lot of questions: how will the situation be in the winter in Europe, what will the situation in Egypt be in terms of pricing on the market, and what will the priorities be when it comes to consumer budgets?”

The 2021/22 winter was long and cold in Egypt, and Fayed says this has had an impact on its crops, including strawberries. “Normally the cold weather lasts until February, but cold nights continued much later in 2022,” he says. “This is something we haven’t seen before. It gave us a good strawberry season, but it affected summer crops like stonefruit and grapes, delaying the seasons and shortening the window of supply to Europe.”

photovoltaic system. This will help us to reduce our electricity costs and, at the same time, use green energy as much as possible. Sustainability is the direction we are following, but the measures must be aligned in reality. It must be done with great care so that the necessary investments during the transition period may be accepted by the consumer. We have confidence that we will succeed.

RIGHT—A higher minimum wage has made agricultural work more attractive

Chambers scales up Spanish raspberry production

Berry producer plans to more than double its Spanish raspberry production this season in a bid to shore up winter supply for the UK market, and possibly northern Europe too.

by Fred Searle @fredfruitnet

UK-based berry company Chambers says it will target the market’s late December to March window with increased raspberry supply out of Spain.

Last season, the British soft fruit producer had 15ha under production in the country, centred around the

berry heartland of Huelva in the south-west. This year, however, additional plantings have more than doubled that figure to 32ha.

The motivation for the investment is apparently to mitigate supply difficulties from Mexico, which occupies a similar supply window, and to offer UK customers more fruit grown closer to Britain during the winter months. This is a benefit in terms of sustainability, transport costs and product freshness.

Going forward, Chambers’ group technical director Rupert Carter reveals the producer might also target Netherlands and the Benelux markets with its expanded Spanish production.

Chambers focuses mainly on raspberry varieties suited to long cane production, such as Yana, a primocane raspberry with an elongated shape, large size and good transportability.

LEFT—Rupert Carter with group CEO Vicky Rye (middle) and procurement director Mirian Pérez (right)

Top blueberry season beckons

Given the current logistical challenges facing global fresh produce exporters, BerryWorld South Africa is employing several strategies to ensure it will be a successful season, Richardson added.

“We have Information and supply chain systems in place to help deal with the rigour of the current logistics landscape,” he said. ”At the same time, we are working towards reducing complexity in the supply chain in order to serve customers consistently well and supply a high-quality product that exceeds customer expectations.”

BerryWorld South Africa is also focused on expanding its premium varietal offer, a common strategy across the rest of the BerryWorld Group since the start of its successful partnership with Australian-based premium variety developer Mountain Blue Orchards (MBO) in 2017.

Leading South African blueberry grower-exporter BerryWorld South Africa, part of the UK BerryWorld group, is forecasting a successful 2022/23 season with a 15 per cent volume increase on last year. Jason Richardson, managing director at BerryWorld South Africa, which was established in 1993 and grows blueberries in low and high-chill areas in South Africa and Zimbabwe, said he is feeling optimistic about the deal ahead.

“It is still early days, but we are optimistic about the potential ahead and expect volumes to be up by 15 per cent year-on-year,” he said. ”We are growing with our customer base, while still exploring expansion opportunities in different market segments in order to give our growers exposure to a strong mix of orders globally.”

“In our 25-year journey in berries, flavour has always played a key role to drive purchase and long-term industry growth, that is why we have focussed on premium awardwinning genetics to sustainably deliver the highest quality varieties all year round,” said Adrian Olins, divisional CEO at BerryWorld Group.

One of the top performing varieties, BerryWorld Eureka Sunrise, selected by world renowned breeder Ridley Bell in 2014 for its early period of fruit ripening, high yield, and unique flavour will see a growth of 85 per cent this season, demonstrating a global appetite for premium varieties, he added.

”BerryWorld trusts that their strong blueberry supply from South Africa and Zimbabwe as well as its unique varietal offer, and market expertise will continue to drive yearround demand,” Olins said.

The South African arm of UK berry grower-supplier BerryWorld says it is poised for successful blueberry campaign.

Luisa Cheshire @luisafruitnet

TOP—Blueberry volumes are expected to increase by 15 per cent this year

LEFT—Jason Richardson

For Freshness, look no further than

Belgian blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries do well on the shelves in United Kingdom. The sufficient supply and good quality of Belgian soft fruit meet the British demand. Thanks to a near production area, efficient logistics via the auctions and the personal service of the exporters, Belgian soft fruit arrives ultra-fresh to the British market.

Climate change pushes berry production boundaries

North American berry companies test out Canadian growing conditions in response to climate and

cost challenges.

by Liam O’Callaghan @liamfruitnet

Leading US berry companies

Driscoll’s and Naturipe Farms have commenced commercial production trials in Canada as part of efforts to diversify their growing regions.

According to a report from Reuters, the two companies are growing in Ontario and Quebec to see if the provinces offer effective alternatives to California, which has been impacted by drought and water shortages.

Soren Bjorn, president Driscoll’s of the Americas, says even though the colder climate would normally limit production, local demand and challenges in traditional growing regions are

forcing the company to assess new options.

“We have probably gone to most of the obvious places in the world. Now we are moving into more challenging territories,” says Bjorn.

“We are going through all our critical regions trying to fi gure out what’s likely to happen 25 or 50 years from now and what are the implications of that.”

PRODUCTION TRIAL

Masse Nursery southeast of Montreal is one of the sites being tested for production, it started growing raspberries and blackberries to be sold under the Driscoll’s brand in 2021.

Sebastien Dugre, a co-owner with spouse Justine Masse, says high plastic tunnels are used to protect the fruit and generate heat to extend the growing season. Masse Nursery expects to produce 80-100 tonnes of berries from late June to September.

“Quebec is not a traditional place to grow blackberries and raspberries compared to other regions in the world,” says Dugre.

“But I do feel with the infrastructure that’s available now we can come up with a more steady way to produce on a commercial scale good-tasting raspberries for a longer season.”

DRIVEN BY COST

Brian Bocock, vice president of sales and product management at Naturipe Farms – which is testing blueberry and raspberry production in Quebec and Ontario – says increasing logistics costs is another reason to grow closer to the end consumer.

The trials are still in their early stages but Himanshu Gupta, chief executive of Climate AI, which works with Driscoll’s and models the effect of extreme businesses, says there is an advantage to moving fi rst.

“Climate change is disrupting agriculture and impacting their top lines and bo om lines,” explains Gupta. “Adaptation is going to drive winners. The ones who can adapt faster are the ones who are going to end up winning the market.”

ABOVE—Soren Bjorn, president of Driscoll’s of the Americas LEFT—US berry companies are trialling production in Canada as they look for ways to combat the effects of climate change

Driscoll’s and Plenty expand partnership

Pair unveil new 48ha campus to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale.

by Liam O’Callaghan @liamfruitnet

Kukutai, chief executive of Plenty

BELOW—The site’s first farm will grow indoor, vertically farmed Driscoll’s berries at scale

possible for us to grow a wide variety of crops with a fraction of the land and up to 350 times more yield per acre than conventional farms. Channelling that into the largest vertical farm complex in the world propels us to the level indoor farming has to operate at to truly transform our food system.”

NEW STRAWBERRY SYSTEM

The campus’ first farm will grow Driscoll’s strawberries and be the first in the world to grow indoor, vertically farmed Driscoll’s berries at scale. The farm is designed to grow more than 1,800 tonnes of strawberries annually, helping to meet the growing demand for berries in the Northeast, the largest berry consumption region in the US.

Plenty has broken ground on the farm and the first crop of Driscoll’s strawberries grown by Plenty will be available in winter 2023-2024 at retailers throughout the Northeast.

“This farm will combine Driscoll’s patented berry varieties with Plenty’s patented indoor vertical farming technology,” says Miles Reiter, Driscoll’s chairman and chief executive.

“We are excited to take the next step in the journey to understand what it takes to bring fresh, flavourful berries locally grown all year-round.”

Plenty Unlimited, in partnership with Driscoll’s, has announced it will build a new US$300m indoor vertical farm campus after securing land in the US state of Virginia.

It claims it will construct the largest, most advanced indoor vertical farm campus in the world on the 48ha site to power the company’s East Coast expansion.

Plenty plans to deploy several large-scale vertical farms on the campus in the coming years, with

a potential annual production capacity exceeding 9,000 tonnes across multiple crops including strawberries, leafy greens and tomatoes.

“Through more than a decade of investment in research and development Plenty has cracked the code on a scalable platform that makes indoor farming increasingly economical,” says Arama Kukutai, chief executive of Plenty.

“That innovation makes it

LEFT—Arama

quick and efficient cooling of fruits

Fall Creek consolidates presence in Chile

After years of collaboration with Stonefly, the blueberry specialist has set up its own nursery in Ñuble, headed by Ernesto Pino.

by Maura Maxwell @maurafruitnet

Fall Creek Farm & Nursery is to open a nursery in Chile’s Ñuble region 400km south of Santiago. The facility, which is under construction and due to open next year, will be managed by Ernesto Pino and is expected to employ around 70 permanent workers.

Fall Creek has played a fundamental role in Chile’s blueberry industry since its inception in the early 1980s, introducing the first plantations in collaboration with pioneers in the sector, such as the Zegers, Romero, Mollers and DeBlasis families.

For the past 14 years, the Brazelton family, founders of Fall Creek, have collaborated closely with the Goycoolea family of Grupo Hijuelas and their Stonefly nursery in Chile, providing quality blueberry plants and varieties and supporting blueberry growers and

industry in Chile.

“Both companies agreed that the time was right for Fall Creek to establish a more active presence in Chile,” says Cort Brazelton, co-CEO of Fall Creek, of the amicable business separation. “Fall Creek strongly believes in the future of the Chilean industry as a crucial supplier for the supply of high quality and competitive blueberries during the Northern Hemisphere winter.

“Maintaining growth by being competitive will take time and investment, we are commi ed to being present and we have a great confidence in the potential of the current and future genetics that we will introduce to serve Chile and others around the world. We are grateful to Grupo Hijuelas and Stonefly for their support and look forward to continuing our friendship and collaboration in

the transition to this new model of support for the evolving Chilean blueberry industry.”

To lead the development of Fall Creek Chile, the company has hired Ernesto Pino, an industry professional with 30 years of senior management experience in the production and marketing of fruits and vegetables with national and multinational companies inside and outside Chile.

Recently, he was general director of agricultural projects for Grupo Hansa in Chile and Peru. Prior to that he was general manager of Del Monte Fresh Produce Chile and director of supply chain for Vital Berry Marketing, where he lived the Fall Creek experience as a client. Pino reports to Ricardo Polis, Fall Creek's regional director for South America.

“At Fall Creek, we go where our customers grow,” says Polis. “We are excited about producing new varieties and supporting growers in Chile and ultimately supporting our clients' success in international markets.

“I look forward to working with Ernesto to complete construction of the new nursery and office facility in Chile and develop the team to serve the industry. He is an experienced and capable manager who thinks strategically and fits well with our company culture."

Pino adds: “Fall Creek has always impressed me with the way they run the business. We have the technical talent of this region and the support of the global Fall Creek team to help us succeed. I am excited to build the team, validate the new varieties and increase the competitiveness of Chilean growers.”

ABOVE LEFT—The new facility, to the south of Santiago, is due to open next year

BELOW—Ernesto Pino will be in charge of the new nursery

Time for a fresh look at Chilean blueberries?

The CBC’s Andrés Armstrong outlines the efforts the country is making to strengthen its reputation as a reliable and valued blueberry supplier.

by Maura Maxwell @maurafruitnet

Chile is inviting the global produce trade to take a fresh look at its fresh blueberries this year, following concerted efforts to enhance its offer in the face of strengthening global competition. Having ceded ground to other origins over the past decade, it has decided that the best way to remain competitive is to prioritise quality and efficiency over volume.

“The world blueberry industry has evolved significantly since Chile was the sole supplier to the Northern Hemisphere markets,” says Andrés Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Commi ee. “With the increased production of low chill varieties, several countries have increased their production to fill the supply gaps that existed before, such as Peru, Mexico, Morocco and other countries.

“The market conditions have changed and so have we as a sector – we’ve adapted to the new scenario by adjusting our varietal mix, working on be er and faster logistics systems and establishing new sorting and post-harvest technologies.”

The process began 13 years ago with the creation of the Chilean Blueberry Commi ee, bringing together a group of leading exporters to facilitate the development of the international market. As well as introducing rigorous quality and food safety standards, the commi ee started to coordinate the funding of promotional campaigns which have undoubtedly aided in increasing blueberry consumption around the world.

Today, the focus of the commi ee´s strategy has shi ed

LEFT—Chile has shi ed its focus from quality, rather than quantity, in a bid to boost its competitiveness

from producing large volumes to drive the opening and development of new markets to improving the arrival of existing volumes by way of a renewed focus on product quality and consistency.

One of the most important decisions it has implemented has been the commitment to improve Chile’s varietal mix and prioritising be er tasting, travel resistant varieties with improved genetics. Varieties not able to meet those standards have found other distribution channels such as the frozen market.

The commi ee is now working on providing members with relevant and timely information about new varieties and their performance in the different growing areas in the country. “This is critical is aiding growers to make be er informed decisions of which variety to grow and where,” Armstrong continues.

For the upcoming season, the commi ee expects fresh exports to dip 8 per cent to 98,000 tonnes compared with 107,000 tonnes in 2021/22, while shipments of frozen blueberries are set to grow by 10 per cent to 60,000 tonnes. At the same time, domestic demand is on the rise for both fresh and frozen berries and the commi ee is all set to ramp up marketing efforts at home to continue to grow local consumption.

Further reason for optimism this season comes from the fact that Chile’s labour shortage has eased significantly now that the worst of the pandemic is over. Armstrong notes that restrictions to temporary workers from neighbouring countries will allow for a greater availability of workers throughout the supply chain this year.

But logistics remain a concern for shippers.

“Logistical disruptions were the single most important barrier we faced last season, particularly in the US and, for some weeks, in China,” says Armstrong. “This season, given the greater supply of labour, we foresee that fruit will be harvested and processed without major disruptions or delays, which will expedite the product’s delivery to ports ready for shipment.”

Additionally, the agreement to implement the and newly created Blueberry Express charter service to the US will allow for shorter transit times to this market.

Beta puts its best foot forward

Mike Soulsby, European sales director of newly established Beta Best Produce, outlines the prospects for the forthcoming Peruvian blueberry season.

by Maura Maxwell

@maurafruitnet

Mike, tell us what’s been happening at Beta Best Produce since it launched.

Mike Soulsby: We are making steady progress in our fi rst few months of trading. We have recruited a small team and through our entities in the Netherlands and the UK we are able to import ourselves and have greater control how our produce is marketed.

Our focus has been on ge ing closer to the end customer, giving both of us more transparency and stability of supply. Scandinavia and Eastern Europe are two particular regions that we are concentrating on.

This year is set to be another year of explosive growth for Peruvian blueberries. What’s the outlook for the new season with regards to volume, quality and sizing?

MS: Beta’s production is up from last season and is set to reach just short of 20,000 tonnes. Quality and sizing are excellent and we are seeing good early demand in all global markets for our fruit.

What does Beta Best’s blueberry offering consist of in terms of varieties and packaging formats?

MS: We produce predominantly Ventura and the frequency and

timing of how we pick ensures we have some of the very best fruit in the market for that variety. We are trialling some newer varieties this season and will have some commercial production of a new varietal range from next year.

In terms of packaging we can offer in clamshell or open top punnets for heat sealing on arrival, packed in our brand new facility from this season. We prefer to send packed fruit but we also ship a small percentage of volume in bulk where necessary.

To what extent do you foresee that the campaign will be marred by the shortage of space on vessels and logistics delays?

MS: The logistics challenges are ongoing and a struggle for everyone but there is a slight improvement versus last season. Our strength remains in the fact we ship produce year-round across our six different trading lines, so our relationships with shipping lines are very strong.

If we were just shipping blueberries for a few months a year it would be much harder. So far, we have not experienced too many problems this season but we must ensure we’re only sending the firmest fruit that can withstand any unexpected time delays. ww

How dependent would you say Peru’s success is on being able to establish fixed retail programmes to absorb its fast-growing blueberry output?

MS: Retailers across Europe are slowly realising the benefits of fixing pricing through the season. It allows them to budget more accurately, insures against shortages and also means stores can plan their promotional sales weeks in advance. We have seen this shi already happen in the UK across most produce lines and some continental retailers are now also seeing the benefits.

Our challenge is to shi the mindset away from buying fruit already in the market week by week to thinking and planning further ahead – at least four weeks ahead and ideally pre-season.

Remember that Peru has truly global options to market its blueberries so as a grower this allows us to more efficiently allocate our fruit around the world and strengthens our relationships with end customers season a er season.

TOP—Beta’s blueberry output will hit 20,000 tonnes this season ABOVE—Mike Soulsby, European sales director of Beta Best

Berries Unlimited launches Honey Champion

US company releases new haskap variety that it says has 15-20 per cent higher yields.

by Carl Collen @carlfruitnet

Berries Unlimited, one of the world’s largest developers, grower and exporter of haskap in the US, has released its new patent-pending Honey Champion variety.

The Honey Champion plant, which originates from Japan, is described by the company as wind resistant, not breakable and

not fragile during new growth, with “vigorous and fast growing” bushes growing 5-6 in height. The berries can be eaten fresh, frozen or dried, are easy to pick or harvest and are easy for bees and insects to pollinate, Berries Unlimited noted.

“We created this honeyberry on our farm and it has 15 to 20 per

cent higher yields, which means more antioxidants per bush,” explained Lidia Delafield, owner of Berries Unlimited. “The Champion honeyberry has an excellent fl avour, is very sweet and is the biggest berry and I think it is the best honeyberries.”

According to the group, the top criteria all over the world for haskap are taste, fl avour and growing habits, and the Honey Champion ”delivers for taste and fl avour”. Key characteristics include tough skin, fi rmness, dry scar, a nice shape for sorting out, and uniform berries that ripen about the same time for easier production.

”They have a very long shelf-life that is hard to achieve. The berries can stay up to a week without refrigeration, just le on the table. It is the most valuable feature for the fresh market sales.”

Delafield added: “I love that our customers can eat Honey Champion berries as a sweet fresh berry right from the bush, make jams, jelly, juice, even wine or harder liquors. We add it to maple syrup or strawberries, and it give them new shades of fl avour. The berries are great when you freeze them or dry them and are also great for baking and cooking.”

LEFT—The Honey Champion plant originates in Japan BELOW—The berries can be eaten fresh and are easy to harvest

A CUSTOMIZED BREEDING PROGRAM FOR GROWERS, RETAILERS AND PEOPLE.

BECAUSE YOU DESERVE THE BEST.

LET’S CREATE A FRUITFUL EXPERIENCE, TOGETHER.

OZblu brings touch of magic to China

United Exports says its Peruvian-grown OZblu Magica remains the blueberry of choice for Chinese customers.

by Maura Maxwell @maurafruitnet

TOP, LEFT & BELOW RIGHT— United Exports’ founder Roger Horak describes OZblu Magica as a category benchmark

The company’s vice president of sales in China, Sean Li, commented: “Chinese blueberry consumers are among the most discerning in the world; they pay for quality. This variety delivers on that, time and again.”

The blueberries were grown in Peru by United Exports’ joint venture with Migiva and shipped to Shanghai’s Hui Zhan Market by Riverking International.

OZblu Magica is one of the OZblu blueberry varieties developed by Dave and Leasa Mazzardis’ Nature Select breeding programme. Known for its size, taste, texture and shelf-life, United Exports claims it has redefined the blueberry category.

Despite spending 51 days at sea due to Covidinduced delays, the company said shipments this season arrived fresh and ready for sale, scoring a Green Customer GC.

United Exports’ founder Roger Horak commented: “This variety was selected to patent by top breeder Dave Mazzardis in 2009. United Exports has spent years innovating at a production level and has significantly invested in R&D.

“OZblu Magica is a category benchmark, delivering a superior, consistent eating experience and an extremely productive yield for the producer. And evidence suggests that the variety is highly soughta er by growers: we have had four IP the s on four continents in the past three years!

“We have been successful in each case and will continue to defend our IP – relentlessly, so that we can continue to deliver good quality blueberries that offer a consistent experience to our customers and the consumer.”

United Exports is once again reporting strong demand in the Chinese market for its Peruvian-grown OZblu Magica blueberries, for which it holds the exclusive marketing and sublicensing rights. Having recently taken delivery of the first new season Peruvian fruit, the company says early price levels have been very promising.

In 2019, the first shipment sold out within the first two hours of the launch. This year United Exports said the sales level for the first arrival peaked at ¥180 to ¥200 – the top price this market has seen for Peruvian fruit so far in the 2022 season – outperforming all other varieties on price by between 20 and 30 per cent that day.

Piñata Farms refreshes strawberry brand

Australian grower reveals new look and packaging as Sunshine Coast strawberry season begins.

by Liam O’Callaghan @liamfruitnet

Piñata Farms has unveiled a new look for its strawberry brand as the winter season at its Sunshine Coast farm gets underway.

Sales and marketing manager Rebecca Scurr says shelf appeal and maintaining a premium retail position were among the key drivers behind the update.

“We’ve updated the strawberry brand as part of a major corporate rebrand across our entire business. Strawberries are the last to roll out the new look which features a bright red, contemporary strawberry shape and lots of clear space around logo elements to allow consumers to see the fruit,” explains Scurr.

“Consumers are familiar with a bright red Piñata strawberry

label and we’re confident they will love the contemporary look, as our customers do. The feedback from retailers is that our punnets continue to stand out on supermarket shelves.

“From the farm to the shelf, we strive for quality all along the supply chain and keep upping the ante through innovation or improved practices to achieve it.”

OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS

Scurr says a return to ideal growing conditions at Wamuran following challenging La Niña-induced pre-season conditions had buoyed hopes for producing consistent quality, and fl avoursome fruit until October.

“We planted significantly less strawberries this season to account for the predicted conditions, allowing the growing team to focus on plant health and performance. Our post-harvest focus has been on improving steps along the supply chain to continue delivering exceptional quality fruit to our retail partners,” she says.

Piñata Farms’ packhouse improvements include addition of a quick-chill cool room, modifications to bench assembly, customisation of a heat-sealing machine to accommodate three different punnet sizes and installation of a new conveyor.

“This is the fi rst season that 100 per cent of our premium strawberries are in heat-sealed punnets. Heat-sealing reduces packaging by 30 per cent and keeps berries fresher and fi rmer for longer,” said Scurr.

“All premium berry lines grown by Piñata Farms –including BerryWorld raspberries – are now packed in heat-sealed punnets and all punnets pass through a metal detector before distribution.”

Piñata Farms has produced winter strawberries on the Sunshine Coast since 2000. It also produces summer strawberries at Stanthorpe, southern Queensland and will harvest its inaugural Tasmanian crop at Orielton in late November.

ABOVE—Piñata Farms’ new look strawberry packaging RIGHT—Piñata planted fewer strawberries this season to improve performance

MAPPING FLAVOUR

Quest to tailor strawberry taste

Australian researchers are trying to understand the genes that determine strawberry characteristics to assist varietal development.

by Liam O’Callaghan @liamfruitnet

Anew joint Australian research project will identify the genetics behind the strawberry qualities such as flavour and colour to aid the development of new varieties.

The five-year project led by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) with the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and Griffith University and funded by Hort Innovation Australia will build an advanced knowledge base of the genetics behind the characteristics consumers prefer.

Heather Smyth, a sensory science and fl avour chemist from QAAFI’s Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, says the fi ndings could result in a range of new,

elite strawberry varieties to target premium markets and help create a varietal diversity similar to apples.

“There are many different apple varieties which offer subtly different tastes, textures and enduses – Granny Smith, Red Delicious for example,” Smyth says.

“We potentially could have the same for strawberries – different varieties with different sensory properties and therefore different applications and markets.

“For example, home consumers might prefer small, sweet strawberries, while chefs might prefer the visual appeal of larger fruit for particular culinary uses and may not be too concerned about sweetness because they can add it themselves.”

DAF Principal Plant Breeder Jodi Neal says the research would draw on an extensive collection of parental lines developed through DAF’s Australian Strawberry Breeding Program at the Maroochy Research Station in Nambour.

“The consumer and sensory testing will involve evaluating niche lines of white, pink and dark burgundy strawberries,” Neal says.

“We’ll be exploring texture, taste and aroma volatiles and consumer acceptance. What does the mouth feel when you bite into it, for example?

“We hope this phase will help us link the flavour to the genetics to develop genetic markers to predict flavour in future varieties.”

GENETIC TOOLS

Smyth says once sensory profiles are established for existing and new characteristics, new varieties can eventually be made available to growers and consumers.

“What the consumer wants does vary. There are different market segments with different expectations for taste, colour, size, post-harvest handling and other characteristics,” Smyth explains.

“The question we are starting with is ‘what are the genetics behind all of these?’”

A multi-disciplinary team including nine PhD students has been assembled to develop molecular tools and other types of rapid analytical techniques to identify genetic traits across a range of breeding programs.

“We are going to really advance where we are with each of these crops and give plant breeders the tools they need to deliver varieties that will allow producers to give consumers what they love about these fruits,” Smyth concludes.

ABOVE—The new project will identify the genes that influence colour and flavour in strawberries

BELOW—The research team with Queensland minister Mark Furner (centre right)

PHOTO—Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries

BELOW—(l-r)

Pink and White strawberries unveiled

Hort Innovation looks to fast-track commercialisation of Australian-bred varieties.

by Ma hew Jones @mattfruitnet

Acommercial partner is being sought for two Australian-bred strawberry varieties.

Dubbed Pink and White, the novelty varieties were unveiled at the BerryQuest International event on the Gold Coast today (26 July).

True to its name, the White offering has a distinct white interior. On the outside, it is white with a pale pink blush and red seeds. The Pink strawberry has a peach pink exterior and a white interior.

The new varieties have been developed through a partnership between Horticulture Innovation Australia (Hort Innovation) and

Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF QLD).

Hort Innovation chief executive Bre Fifield says both offerings will appeal to consumers, based on their unique appearance and intense strawberry aroma and both varieties have been specially bred for the Australian environment.

“Pink and White strawberries are like nothing else on Aussie retail shelves,” Fifield explains.

“They’re exceptional, and so they should be. They are the culmination of years of research, field trials, consumer preference testing and industry engagement.”

VARIETAL INNOVATION

DAF QLD project lead, Jodi Neal, says her team is at the forefront of varietal innovation in the strawberry category, thanks to its partnership with Hort Innovation, a grower-owned research and development corporation.

“Over the past ten years, we have developed 16 strawberry varieties that are bespoke to our Australian growing conditions and consumer pale es,” Neal says.

“It is great to see grower adoption of these varieties has grown over the past five years. In 2021, 45 per cent of the national planting was a ributable to varieties developed by the programme led by DAF QLD.”

BerryQuest host and Berries Australia executive director, Rachel Mackenzie, says new varieties are the way of the future for the Australian strawberry industry.

“It’s really exciting to see these new varieties reach this stage in the commercialisation process,” she says. “This is growers’ levy funding coming to life before our eyes.”

LEFT—The Pink strawberry variety has a peach pink exterior

Jodi Neal, Rachel Mackenzie and Bre Fifield with the Pink variety

Robots are ready to hit the highway

After two years of successful trials for its Robot Highways project, UK firm Saga Robotics is preparing for the commercial launch of its pest control portfolio in 2023.

by Fred Searle @fredfruitnet

Back in the summer of 2020, the Robot Highways project made waves in the fresh produce industry when it set out to create the world’s largest known demonstration of robotic and autonomous technologies.

Funded by Innovate UK and others to the tune of £2.5m, the trial at Clock House Farm in Kent aimed to deliver a vision for the future of

soft fruit production. That vision centred around the use of robots to assist growers, by carrying out essential energy- and labourintensive processes like picking and packing fruit, or treating crops to reduce pests and diseases – all powered by renewable energy.

The consortium behind the initiative brings together seven partners: project lead Saga

Robotics, Berry Gardens, leading strawberry grower Clock House Farm, the University of Lincoln, the University of Reading, research and technology organisation the Manufacturing Technology Centre, and BT. Together, they built a 5G network and software platform that makes it possible for robots to operate and gather data across the farm.

The robot in question is known as Thorvald, and many in the industry will now be familiar with Saga’s multi-purpose platform, which Clock House Farm showed off to delegates at the Fresh Produce Journal’s live event Festival of Fresh in June 2022.

Over the past two years, Clock House has used the robot to carry out various tasks involved in strawberry production. As well as UVC treatment for powdery mildew, Robot Highways has demonstrated runner cutting, the distribution of predatory mites, data collection, crop forecasting, grass cutting – and the holy grail of strawberry harvesting.

From its outset, the project’s main aim was to make forecasts more accurate, increase farm productivity, reduce farm and packhouse labour, limit fruit waste, and cut the use of fungicides and fossil fuels.

Its bold targets included a 20 per cent reduction in fruit waste, a 90 per cent reduction in fungicide use, a huge reduction in the use of fossil fuel across all farm

logistic operations, and a 15 per cent increase in farm productivity.

COMMERCIAL TRACTION

Now, two years on, the project is delivering some impressive results. In late September, Clock House opened its doors and allowed people to see its progress firsthand. Consortium partners were there to discuss that progrsss, as well as to oversee demonstrations of Thorvald’s various applications.

“We have had very good commercial traction with our UVC service, which has been developed over the last few years,” says Saga Robotics’ head of deployment, Halvard Grimstad. “While this is not a direct output from Robot Highways, it serves as an excellent starting point for an ambitious project.”

Thorvald’s UVC treatment is carried out at night, when the robots have the run of the farm. They travel up and down the rows of tabletop strawberries, preventing powdery mildew using UVC light.

Exposure to shortwave light on a weekly basis is an effective way of controlling the pathogen responsible for powdery mildew.

Carrying out this task robotically reduces the labour requirement compared with conventional fungicide application, plus it replaces the need for chemical spraying.

Next year sees the commercial launch of Saga’s Integrated Pest Management portfolio, with more details on the precise offer to follow.

Grimstad says there is strong demand from soft fruit growers for robotic UVC treatment, as well as some of the other repetitive manual tasks being trialled. However, he concedes that robotic harvesting is a tougher nut to crack, and it looks likely to take longer to achieve than other any of the other applications. Picking trials are ongoing at Clock House.

REPLACING TASKS

When it comes to rolling these technologies out to the wider industry, MD of Clock House Farm, Oli Pascall, says their adoption should be “relatively straightforward” but stresses there are still steps that must be taken to reach full commercial viability for tools beyond UVC.

One thing he emphasised in the panel was that he doesn’t think the adoption of robotics will reduce the cost of production for growers or make a significant dent in their labour requirements. What it will do is make them more reliable (since they will be less exposed to the volatility of labour supply in the UK) and more sustainable (since it will reduce growers’ chemical inputs and help them switch from dieseloperated to renewable energy systems).

“We don’t forecast any drop off in labour requirement from our immediate adoption of robotics,” he told the audience at the recent

OPPOSITE—The robotics trial at Clock House Farm began in 2020 RIGHT—FPJ editor Fred Searle (left) chairs a panel discussion at the farm

“We do not expect to see any drop-off in labour requirement as a result of our immediate adoption of robotics”

panel discussion. “We’re generally replacing ones and twos rather than 10s and 20s of people. And we’re a growing business, so we don’t see a reduction in the requirement of people.

“As the soft-fruit industry moves through the next decade, and becomes slowly more reliant on robotics, we need to be very conscious that it’s not an immediate swap for the labour requirements. in our businesses.”

Fellow panellist Mike Wilson, who is chief automation officer at the MTC – which helps businesses adopt robotics and automated systems – added that robotics is not about replacing people but replacing tasks. “You can then use your staff “to add more value to the product so they’re not there just moving things around”.

He conceded that there are some “skills issues” that the industry needs to address when it comes to adopting and operating robots on the farm or in the packhouse, but he said these are generally “relatively easy to overcome once you understand what they are”.

EMBRACING ROBOTICS

The fresh produce industry is becoming more and more willing to embrace robotics, he said, seeing it as a way of addressing the issues around labour availability by automating the mundane, repetitive, and arduous tasks in their operations. “The barriers,” he said, “are largely down to fear of the unknown, but we can help people trying to start on that journey by helping them avoid mistakes.”

Within the Berry Gardens cooperative, R&D director Richard Harnden says interest in the Thorvald robot has been wideranging, with some growers keen to be early adopters of the technology and others preferring to let others have a go first. Nevertheless, he expects to see “pretty decent uptake” of robotic UVC treatment within the Berry Gardens cooperative in 2023.

Looking slightly further ahead, Grimstad expects to see “widescale adoption” of the Thorvald robot at soft fruit farms in Britain and abroad over the next five

years. And he said the next couple of years will be “very important stepping stones” in terms of scaling up to operating whole fleets of robots at a commercial level. An important consideration for growers in this regard is safety –which Simon Pearson from the University of Lincoln described as “the next layer” of the Robot Highways project.

“There is going to be a move towards regulation in this space,” he says. “So, what we’ve got to do is make sure everything is safe, not only for workers but also for the environment. What we don’t want to do is develop an industry which crashes because something dreadful happens at some point in the future. We have to build it very, very securely.”

ABOVE—The berry industry is expected to become more reliant on robotics

Symborg consolidates global expansion

The Murcia-based company’s pending acquisition by Corteva Agriscience is set to fast-track the development of a new generation of best-in-class biologicals.

by Maura Maxwell

New rules to limit the use of pesticides in the European Union are fuelling the development of biological plant protection solutions in the agrifood production chain as more and more companies seek sustainable and innovative alternatives for pest control.

A growing awareness of the advantages of so-called ‘biologicals’ – both in terms of cost-effectiveness and the ability to reduce toxicity levels in the environment – means demand for such products has never been higher. The global biofertiliser market alone is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.2 per cent in the decade to 2031, while growth in the biostimulants market is only slightly lower at 11.43 per cent CAGR.

Murcia-based company Symborg is a leading developer of sustainable microbiological technologies for the agricultural sector with 10 global subsidiaries and a presence in over 60 countries worldwide.

Through its diversified product

portfolio the company has been helping berry growers to maximise crop yields while preserving the habitats and ecosystems for more than a decade.

According to Francisco Javier García Domínguez, Symborg’s chief marketing officer, there are four key trends driving the growth of the biologicals market: environmental protection; regulatory tension; consumer demands for safer, be er-quality food and the prohibition of old active substances.

“Biocontrol does not have the answer to all problems. What we need is a combination of biological and traditional chemical solutions that provide an effective and sustainable response to what both consumers and legislators are looking for,” he says.

As the understanding and efficacy of biological products continues to improve, and as regulations continue to become more arduous, the role of biological solutions will no doubt continue to increase and Symborg is well positioned to meet this future demand.

In September, the company signed an acquisition deal with US-based agtech multinational Corteva Agriscience,

a deal that Corteva said would accelerate the development of a new generation of best-in-class biologicals portfolio.

“Supporting farmers worldwide with our cu ing-edge biobased solutions has always been the Symborg mo o,” says Jesús Juárez, founding partner and CEO at Symborg. “That spirit together with a highly skilled team, led us to become a key player towards sustainable agriculture.

“The integration with Corteva is an opportunity to reinforce our impact in the field helping farmers facing current and future challenges. And beyond, it is an opportunity to become the answer to safe and sustainable food that society is demanding. Symborg and Corteva share values and market vision, becoming the perfect match to design the future of agriculture.”

TOP—Symborg is a leading developer of sustainable microbiological technologies

“Supporting farmers worldwide with our cu ing-edge biobased solutions has always been the Symborg mo o”

@maurafruitnet

A sustainable business

Despite the many challenges facing the fresh produce industry, Sofrupak is working hard to stay ahead in sustainable packaging.

by Carl Collen @carlfruitnet

The 2022 season is proving a successful one for Polish sustainable packaging group Sofrupak, with the company already achieving what has been described by sales manager Adam Sikorski as “great sales growth, above the expected level”.

“This is the result of systematic commercial work, participation in fairs and the company’s recognition,” he explains. “The developing trend of plastic-free and our offer of the most ecological packaging on the EU market helps us in this. All this has resulted in cooperation with supermarkets that recommend our packaging system to their fruit suppliers.”

The company is not immune from the rising raw material and energy costs blighting the business. Sikorski says that while Sofrupak has no influence on these costs, it is looking for savings and highlighting the company’s cooperative benefits. In addition, while the war in Ukraine has led

to the loss of a few orders, Sikorski says he hopes to re-establish contacts and renew relationships at some

“We have a modern energy-efficient machine park,” he explains. “Our capacity is about 250,000 pieces of packaging per day. Since we are the European leader in the production of ecological packaging, our suppliers care about cooperation with us. Therefore, they must meet the conditions that we require from them. We win with quality, time and price, therefore we are not feeling the problems of others.”

The demand for sustainable packaging is growing, mainly for strawberries and blueberries, but Sofrupak is also introducing new solutions for different fruits, developing dynamically and already working on new products for 2024.

“This year, we have improved our SoFruMiniPak EV+ packaging by enlarging the window in the lid and we have made them be er patent protection, so now it will be more difficult to copy them,” Sikorski outlines. “We have introduced a new series of HandyPak packages with a fold-out handle, ingenious direct selling packaging that reduces the use of plastic bags.”

The next season will be different and more demanding, he says, and Sofrupak will prepare for it and try to stay one step ahead of the competition.

BELOW—Sofrupak is a leader in sustainable packaging for a range of fresh produce, including berries

BOTTOM—Adam Sikorski

For Sikorski, the satisfaction of the business lies in doing the best for customers. “Creating new solutions and seeing customers smile, with pictures of fruit in our packaging sent to us by clients, and the pride when I see fruit in our packaging in a supermarket in Poland or abroad. Containers loaded with packages, which will be delivered to the customer in 40 days. All this is followed by a reflection that it was and is worth it, and this gives me optimism for the future.”

Fieldstone be ers its berry offering

The Polish group has stood strong and adapted to the challenges of 2022 while improving its varietal range, according to Ewa Kowalska.

by Carl Collen @carlfruitnet

This has been a challenging year for many in the fresh produce industry. How has 2022 been for Fieldstone?

Ewa Kowalska: This year has been testing Fieldstone’s resilience and I’m proud of the reaction and progress our team has made under the circumstances.

Sure, the rising costs of energy and materials, higher inflation and interest rates, changing exchange rates, war in Ukraine affecting free movement of seasonal workers, strong wind in the north, spring frosts and heatwaves in the summer were not what a grower like us wishes for.

However, focusing on what we can control, on improving

the raspberry variety offer and final product quality, we had many satisfied clients. What we have done is partly mitigate the risks by changing our material purchasing strategy and managing our cashflow be er. What I find interesting is how some of these factors speed up the development of trends like investments into renewable energy technologies.

We are currently finishing the early fresh cranberry season which has higher prices than last year, mainly due to lower production volumes in Europe. With Canadian and US cranberries beginning to gradually flow into Europe, we seem well set to continue delivering Polish cranberries from our Nowiny farm until the end of December at least.

How is the market for your berries performing?

EK: Through innovation in raspberry varieties with improved fruit quality and our authentic cranberry offer for the early fresh market, we do see demand for our key products growing. We add value by extending the fresh cranberry sales season for our customers, major local and European retailers.

Have you introduced any new products this year?

EK: Our major development this year has probably been the launch of a new raspberry variety, Malling Bella from NIAB, which has an improved taste, aroma, firmness and post-harvest shelf-life. We have started major commercial production on our Polish farms using this variety and have also made it available to our external grower partners. The raspberries have been appreciated by major supermarkets and clients in the UK and Europe for several years and are now also available in Poland and central Europe.

What other parts of the business are giving you the most optimism for the future?

EK: We are happy to be able to contribute to the promotion of such a valuable fruit as cranberries. We know how many pro-health values this fruit has and from the very beginning we believed that customers would finally discover its potential.

By placing the slogan ‘naturally fresh’ on our packaging, we have made a commitment to our customers. We want to support them with daily care for the health of their loved ones by educating about a healthy lifestyle and our offer of tasty, fresh and safely produced berries.

LEFT —The cranberry harvesting process BELOW —Fresh cranberries have a number of health benefits

Photo: Maciej Dryźalowski

Modern grower’s wish is Berry’s command

A new breed of berry harvesting robots is on the march, offering a greater degree of efficiency and convenience for growers.

This is the moment we all have been waiting for.”

The words of Hannah Brown, co-founder and chief operating officer of Dutch group Organifarms, shortly before the company’s strawberry-harvesting robot Berry was unveiled at a special event in Amsterdam.

Two years in development, Berry is able to scan the fruit, evaluate its ripeness, and harvest it based on those results and

according to a degree of ripeness set by the grower. But the robot’s work isn’t done there: the fruit is placed directly into punnets, which it weighs and then stores in up to eight crates.

“This storage system is very efficient, as the robot does not have to return to a base to empty the punnets. This saves us a lot of time in the harvesting process,” explains Marian Bolz, co-founder and CTO at Organifarms.

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