The combination of strong demand and a shortage of ships has driven the weekly average Time Charter Equivalent calculation to record January levels.
A big year-on-year increase in November shipments brings year-to-date volumes close to the record established in 2020.
The world's second largest carrier has raised expectations for the full year following a Q4 in which volumes showed a marginal decline, but rates soared 80%.
The retail giant has teamed up with a strawberry grower in the south west to produce the UK’s first winter strawberries on its Somerset farms.
Montenegrin police seized more than 400kgs of cocaine in the capital, Podgorica, after workers in the packhouse of retailer Voli found packages in a banana shipment.
The Kenyan Parliament has directed that multinational Del Monte Kenya surrenders more than 2,900 acres of land back to the government.
The Latin American Summit for Banana Unity yesterday agreed a joint position on the existential threat to the Cavendish banana and shared social responsibility in market pricing.
A new forecast drops the projected Florida orange crop for the current season by 3%, with specialty fruits down 11%.
At the halfway point of the season, Peru had exported 283K MT of table grapes, an 18% increase on the 240K MT shipped in the same period in 2020.
Ecuador has become one of the world's main cocaine trade routes, with over a third of Colombia's cocaine now flowing through the country.
The agro investment company has sold its 98.22% stake The Logistics Group, the ex-terminals arm of fruit marketing giant Capespan, for R1.57bn.
Growers have appealed to the government to ban Iranian apple imports, claiming that illegal entry of the fruit threatens the centuries-old apple industry.
The award marks the third consecutive year that table grapes have been included in the federal food purchasing programme.
From January to November 2021, Peruvian mandarin exports reached 230,953 tonnes for US$292m, an increase of 10% in volume and 13% in value.
While Russia was the largest export destination for Turkish fruit and vegetables in 2021, shipments to India and Libya recorded the strongest growth.
The entire A.P. Moller - Maersk business aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, a decade ahead of its initial ambition.
Ongoing logistical issues mean that shoppers are being limited to one lemon each at a cost of between NZ$6 and NZ$10 per kg.
Despite the 5% rise in annual banana exports year-on-year, volumes are well below the 500K MT Cameroon hopes to ship by 2030.
The figures released by the World Apple and Pear Association show a year-on-year rise in apple stocks on 1 December 2021 but a double-digit percentage fall in pear stocks.
In an update to its pre-season forecast, the California Avocado Commission says it is expecting a crop of about 140,000 tonnes.
The country's first ever dedicated rail freight service aims to provide economical and environment-friendly freight solutions.
As part of the '2 Vs 2' agreement, mangoes and pomegranates have been chosen for export to the U.S., while the U.S. will export Alfalfa hay and cherries to India.
Historical PSA data shows that banana shipments between January and October 2021 were the lowest since 2016, when the country exported 1.305m MT valued at US$575.8m.
Fruit shippers continue to struggle as port operator Transnet blames staffing issues and inclement weather for the backlog of container shipments.
The quality control system using artificial intelligence is to be rolled out for wider use en route to the multinational's goal of zero fruit waste by 2025.
China has tightened import rules after finding the virus that causes COVID-19 on packaging of fruit from Vietnam and Thailand.
Producers claim that a trade ban with its traditional partners has led to heavy volumes of Iranian apples arriving on the Indian market.
The shortage of reefer containers last year prevented Brazil from breaking a 13-year-old export record and will also be a barrier to shipments for the 2022 harvest.
Australians may be unable to buy fresh produce at supermarkets while fruit and vegetables are left to rot unless staff shortages caused by the pandemic are fixed, the industry body has warned.
The Kenyan avocado producer has issued a profit warning to shareholders due to a poor avocado harvest and stiff competition on the European market.
For the second year in a row South Africa is experiencing a wet summer, with farmers in the lower Orange River on standby as the risk of flooding increases.
Around 300,000 tonnes of dragon fruit will soon be ready to harvest but without buyers as China clamps down on cross border trade.
Industry body Maharashtra Rajya Draksha Bagayitdar Sangh has determined a sliding scale for table grape exports between January and March.
The drug, with an estimated resale value of €300m, was concealed in a reefer container of bananas that had arrived from Ecuador and was destined for Antwerp.
The US west coast port is currently working 17-18 container ships per day, which is a 70-80% higher productivity figure than prior to the Covid outbreak.
Subject to meeting the stipulated phytosanitary requirements, mandarins, pomelos and lemons are now permissible for export to China.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company has started the new year recognized as the world's largest containership company by capacity.
Tunisia's fruit exports grew by 65% in volume and 78% in value during 2021, according to data released by the Interprofessional Fruit Grouping.
California table grape growers are working to mechanize and automate operational functions, with a goal of reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of vineyard operations.
Rising costs and logistical difficulties have led to a reduction in shipments of fresh blueberries and a rise in frozen exports.
The Government of Belize has allocated $15m over the next three years in loan financing and given the go-ahead for diversification of more non-traditional fruits.
The roll out of the Asia-Pacific Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is likely to lead to a 50% increase in Malaysian durian exports by 2030.
Crowded ports, lingering tariffs, shifting variety preferences, a lack of truck chassis and other infrastructure issues are affecting shipments this season.
The British International Freight Association has written to the UK government to urge it to look into the state of competition within the current deep-sea container shipping market.
Shipments through the Argentinean port fell 7% year-on-year in 2021 and were down 75% from the record high of 500K MT established in 2005.
British scientists have found a novel way to combine two species of grass-like plant including banana, rice and wheat, using embryonic tissue from their seeds.
While export logistics continues to cause issues for shippers, the domestic market is currently very strong.
At a value of €125m at its maturity date, the convertible bond was the highest priced debt instrument in the Belgian multinational's capital structure.
The US avocado multinational said that logistics issues and Covid-related shopping patterns negatively impacted profitability in Q4.
With crops now harvested, the World Apple and Pear Association says there are only minor adjustments and that the new estimates are in line with the original forecast.
The acquisition is an 'important and truly strategic milestone' on the Danish multinational's journey to become the global integrator of container logistics.
Villagers in Saravane province are refusing to hand over community land to a planned Chinese banana farm, claiming that if they lose it, they will have no way to feed their families.
The Colombian Agricultural Institute has issued a quarantine notice on a farm in the centre of the Santa Marta banana producing region.
The European Commission has tightened the rules around imports of Galia melons from Honduras because of a recent Salmonella outbreak.
Avocado shipments this year are forecast to rise above 600K MT, a 50% increase on the 410K MT exported in 2020.
The fresh produce business of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com says it will double the imports of Sunkist citrus fruits over the next three years.
China has imposed a four-week ban on Vietnamese dragon fruit imports through a major border gate after detecting Covid-19 in some previous shipments.
A week after pills hidden in a Lebanese lemon consignment were seized in Dubai, millions more were found at source packed into plastic oranges.
South Africa's largest exporter of apples and pears has welcomed the news that China will now allow its pears to be sold in the Asian nation.
The Biden administration has blocked all tomato shipments from two agribusinesses accused of withholding wages and subjecting workers to abusive working and living conditions.
Ahead of the southern hemisphere season, the volume of table grapes held in cold storage mid-December was almost 50% less than on the same date in 2020.
Exports hit a new record high, exceeding 5.6m MT between January 1 and December 31 2021, compared to 5.2m MT in 2020, despite the global coronavirus crisis.
The cancellation of two 800-plug 'Cherry Express' sailings to China has left shippers scrambling for alternatives.
After suffering heavy losses in the last two seasons, producers have resolved to decide the rates of fresh grapes based on their variety and quality.
The three operators combined have exported 178K MT of bananas since the start of the year, compared with 187.9K MT for the same period in 2020.
In an effort to provide relief to the fruit traders on both sides of the border, the Afghan government has cut the import tariff on Pakistani kinnows by 70%.
Southern Hemisphere fruit industries are on the alert as the phenomenon is expected to endure until at least spring 2022 in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Hawke's Bay facility will be one of the largest in the southern hemisphere and will house world-leading automation technology.
The first train with cargo for the Maersk CLX service arrived this week at the Port of Valparaíso, thanks to the alliance between the carrier and Chilean supply chain stakeholders.
Following its exit from the European Union, the UK is on course to become Morocco's third largest destination for soft citrus exports in 2021/22.
In the first nine months of 2021, Honduras earned US$217m from its banana exports, slightly more than half the US$417.5m generated in 2020.
After overcoming COVID-related labour and supply chain disruptions, Costa Rica's orange production is expected to rebound to 300,000 MT in 2022.
The single containerised shipment of Deqing Gonggan tangerines is expected to arrive around New Year's Day after a 3-week voyage.
The Solveg Group integrates French West Indies banana producer organisation UGPBAN with ripener and distributor for the domestic market Fruidor.
The ban was imposed after fruit fly larvae were found in a consignment of Taiwanese mangoes and litchis earlier this year.
Despite a reduction in numbers since the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach threatened to fine carriers, more than 115K empty containers still await shipment to Asia.
Market window creep, liberalized trade agreements, strong and increased per capita consumption have combined to fuel annual increases in US fresh produce import volume.
The reefer vessel operated by Cool Carriers loaded 2,134 pallets of fruit from the Port of Coquimbo and is destined for the US east coast.
Since October, India has intercepted scale insects in 22 consignments and mealybugs in two kiwifruit consignments from Iran.
While welcoming the increase that German discounter Aldi pays its banana suppliers in 2022, the grouping demands more measures to guarantee the profitability of the sector.
