Tag Archives: business

Morrisons’ veg boxes proving popular

Supermarket Morrisons has launched two new value veg boxes, one priced at £3 (although it was launched at a promotional price of just £1) and a larger one at £5. The smaller box is available online, with the larger one in stores.

Morrisons vegetable buyer Andy Todd said, “We’ve listened to our customers who told us they want even more affordable veg. They are a great way for our customers to buy British or eat seasonally or feed the family for the week.” The retailer says the £5 box contains enough vegetables to feed a family of four for four or five days. The seasonal products include items such as carrots, courgettes, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, with many lines being slightly misshapen or out of specification for other products. Produce is currently sourced from up to 60 British growers, but the retailer said that the new line would not be exclusively British in origin.

Photo Credit: Morrisons

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Buxton wholesaler given grant to expand

Family owned fresh produce wholesaler Tomson (Buxton) Ltd has been awarded a grant of £16,724 of Peak LEADER Rural Grant funding in order to expand one of its warehouses.

The firm was established 30 years ago when former PE teacher Deb Thompson and her husband opened a small grocery shop. Today the company employs 31 staff across three warehouses and buys food from growers across the UK, which is supplied to schools, business, hotels and restaurants in the Peak District and further afield.

Ms Thompson said, “We’ve wanted to extend one of our warehouses for a while but it’s a big project that would cost a lot of money so I’m really pleased we heard about these grants to help us. Within the extension is a second loading bay so we can send and receive deliveries at the same time and we have more space to move stock around. We’ve also been able to take on two new members of staff as a result and we’re looking to employ one more.”

Photo Credit: Tomson (Buxton) Ltd

The post Buxton wholesaler given grant to expand appeared first on Hort News on 5 Oct. 2017.

Construction begins on new Berry Gardens packhouse

Construction has begun on Berry Gardens’ new £18 million packing facility at Linton, near Maidstone in Kent.

Mayor of Maidstone Cllr Malcolm Greer dug the first ceremonial turf on Friday 29 September, marking the start of a two year construction process, with the scheme being developed by farming and haulage company Alan Firmin Ltd.

Michael Firmin, Managing Director of Alan Firmin, said, “We are delighted to be commencing work on this purpose built, high quality facility. We and Berry Gardens have a long track record of working together, and we are very pleased to be able to assist again with their expansion plans for the future.”

Nick Allen, Berry Garden’s Chief Operating Officer, added: “Today marks an exciting development in Berry Gardens’ history. The construction of the new head office and packing facility will ensure we continue to meet the challenges of our thriving market and create sustainable local employment.”

The 14,000 sq ft complex will include offices and 12 loading bays, as well as featuring solar panels and ecological areas. It is expected to safeguard 434 existing jobs and create up to 500 new ones. Cllr Greer commented, “This is an important investment for Maidstone and sends a positive, confident message about the prospects for the area’s fruit industry. It’s a privilege to get work started.”

Photo Caption: Artist’s impression of the new packhouse

Photo Credit: Berry Gardens Ltd

The post Construction begins on new Berry Gardens packhouse appeared first on Hort News on 5 Oct 2017.

Scottish farm debt hits record level

Scottish farmers owe more money to banks than at any time since records began in 1972, according to a report.

Outstanding loans to Scottish farms were more than £2.3 billion by the end of May, up £113 million (or 5%) on the previous period. Other finance, such as hire purchase agreements, family loans and other borrowing could account for a further £1.1 billion according to estimates.

Some commentators have questioned whether widely reported delays in farm payments by the Scottish Government have contributed to the figures, but Scotland’s Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing tried to put a positive spin on the figures: “It is vital that Scottish farmers can continue to access capital to invest in their businesses. These statistics show that banks are still lending to farmers, which is a sure sign of confidence in the sector,” he said.

“However, with many farmers relying on subsidies for a large part of their income, we must be wary of farmers getting into excessive and unmanageable debt.”

There is a similar pattern to agricultural borrowing in the rest of the UK, with figures from the Bank of England showing that in May 2017, the UK agricultural, field sports and forestry sector had an outstanding debt of £18.5 billion, up 57% since 2010.

The post Scottish farm debt hits record level appeared first on Hort News on 28 Sept 2017.

UK ornamentals market grows almost 5%

According to the latest official UK horticultural statistics published by Defra, in 2016 the ornamentals market was worth £1.2 billion, an increase of 4.7% on the previous year. Most of this value came from imports, with the value of imported plants and flowers rising 11% compared with 2015.

The value of ornamental imports cost just below £1.2 billion an 11% rise on 2015. The Netherlands accounted for 74% of imports, mainly indoor plants, chrysanthemums and roses, while Kenya accounted for 5.8% of imports, mainly cut roses and carnations. Imports of cut flowers showed a 13% increase and bulbs a 6.4% increase.

However, there was also positive news for UK growers, as over the same period, exports of ornamentals increased 20% in terms to value to £66 million.

Photo Credit: Defra

The post UK ornamentals market grows almost 5% appeared first on Hort News on 28 Sept 2017.

Farm Frites launches sweet potato fries

Dutch-based Farm Frites has added a new sweet potato French fry to its range, claiming that the new line has a longer chip length and shorter cooking time than other offerings.

It is hoped that the new product will help boost the profitability of caterers by giving them a product which makes consumers want to trade up. “The retail market in the UK has seen a 120 per cent year-on-year uplift in sweet potato sales and the trend to upgrade to a premium side order continues to be strong,” explained the firm’s marketing manager for the UK and Ireland, Nic Townsend.

“Our sweet potato fry cooks in just one and a half to two minutes but this speed is not at the expense of taste. This chip has a fluffy texture, a crunchy bite and a quality taste… We’ve designed this fry to be longer than standard to continue the premium theme.”

“Consumers like premiumisation and the ability to customise their meal. Sweet potato is not just a popular choice that customers expect to see on a menu, it’s a profitable choice for operators who can make a good margin on a simple product upgrade.”

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Dow and DuPont complete merger

Multinational chemical companies Dow and DuPont have finalised their $130 billion merger, with the new company, DowDuPont trading on the New York Stock Exchange from 1 September.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the storied histories of our two companies,” said Andrew Liveris, executive chairman of DowDuPont. “While our collective heritage and strength are impressive, the true value of this merger lies in the intended creation of three industry powerhouses that will define their markets and drive growth for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

The company’s Board has established three Advisory Committees to oversee the establishment of each of the new Agriculture, Materials Science (Dow) and Specialty Products divisions in preparation for separation into separate companies. The proposed agricultural company will combine the activities of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. According to DowDuPont, ‘The combined capabilities and highly productive innovation engine will enable the intended Agriculture Company to bring a broader suite of products to the market faster, so it can be an even better partner to growers, delivering innovation and helping them to increase their productivity and profitability.’

Photo Caption: Andrew Liveris is the new CEO of the combined company

Photo Credit: Dow

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European produce industry publishes Brexit report

The European Fresh Produce Association, Freshfel, has published a position paper on the Impact of Brexit on the European fruit and vegetable industry.

It points out that the EU is a significant net exporter to the UK, with a trade flow of 3.1 million tonnes, worth €4 billion a year, with a high dependence of the UK on fresh produce supply from EU mainland. It also quotes recent research by Rabobank which suggests that, after animal protein, fresh produce will be the agricultural sector most affected by Brexit, a situation which will compound the recent loss of the €2 million tonne a year Russian market.

The top ten products supplied from Europe include tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers, cucumber, cauliflower, apples, pears, soft citrus, oranges and bananas, with the five largest suppliers being Spain, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Ireland. In contrasts, last year the UK exported just 310,000 tonnes of fresh produce, most of which went to Ireland, which is heavily depend on UK supply.

As with other industries, Freshfel also pointed to the effects of uncertainty, saying: ‘While acknowledging, that there might be a certain tariff & quota regime in place after the divorce, it is essential to define the new tariff regime at the earliest, to give operators calculation certainty after the 29th of March 2019 and to take potential cost increase into account.’

The full report can be found at http://freshfel.org/freshfel-position-paper-on-the-impact-of-brexit-on-the-eu-fruit-and-vegetable-industry/

Photo Credit: Freshfel

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Brit wants to compete with Dutch flower monopoly

For many years the Dutch auction system at Aalsmeer, and Royal FloraHolland in particular, has been at the heart of global flower trade, selling produce from around the globe to dealers and suppliers who then sell it around the world, with some British plants being sent across the channel before being re-imported.

Now entrepreneur and florist Steve France hopes to change that with a new venture: Florismart. “Everything goes through Amsterdam – the Dutch flower auction. Growers sell to the exporters, the exporters sell it to the wholesalers, and then the wholesalers sell it to the florist. It’s bizarre that flowers go from Kenya to Holland and then through the tunnel into England, when they could just go straight to Stansted,” France, who is also the founder of online florist Arena Flowers, told City A.M.

He also hopes that the new platform will help growers to diversify their production. “We spot trends: not only do we have all the growers putting their product on the platform, but we have all the exporters and florists. It gives us a lot of data on the industry. We can see price movement, and so we take data about what florists are buying and feed growers with information about what they should be growing.”

He also acknowledged that, if successful the service would be another competitor to wholesales: “The local wholesalers just hate us. We’re like their worst nightmare. Not only because we’re changing the market, but it’s clear that florists shouldn’t buy their flowers from a local wholesale market, it’s insane. That wholesaler has rents, it has fridges, and it has staff. And florists end up paying for that.”

Photo Caption: Florismart hopes to challenge Aalsmeer’s monopoly

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

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McCain Scarborough expansion approved by local council

McCain Foods has had its plans for a £100 million expansion of its potato processing facility in Scarborough recommended by the planning committee of Scarborough Borough Council.

The plans for the Eastfield site include upgrades to equipment and renewable energy generation, as well as environmental measures such as odour reduction technology and landscaping. The company, which has been on the site for almost 50 years, says that the expansion will help to secure jobs in the area.

Bill Bartlett, corporate affairs director for McCain, commented, “We are delighted at the outcome of the planning committee’s decision to recommend approval of the renewal plans for our Scarborough site. This will see over GBP100m invested into our Scarborough facility. Established in Eastfield almost 50 years ago, the McCain Foods Scarborough facility is one of the company’s most successful sites. As the largest private employer in Scarborough and partner to many suppliers and community organizations in the area, we are dedicated to our operations here.”

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