October 2018 Reader’s Digest

In October 2018, we published the following articles:

• The WPTC Crop update from 28^th September confirms the drop in worldwide processing, now below 34 million tonnes.
• California crop situation as of 29^th September, projection to 6^th October.
• Olam SVI will change name to better reflect their customer needs, into Olam Spices and Olam Tomatoes.
• The 2018 opening quotations for Italian tomato products indicate a very slight upward trend.
• Italian, Californian and Chinese tomato paste prices as of 30^th September 2018.
• The Australian food manufacturer SPC Ardmona sold Taylor's sauces business to Kyabram Conserves.
• The European Commission adopted new rules on origin labeling, with effect from April 2020. Trade associations argue that they are too complicated and inhibit trade.
• The season in now over in Northern Italy, with just over 2.4 million metric tonnes of raw material processed, according to the figures released by OI Pomodoro Nord Italia.
• Sophie Colvine, General Secretary of the AMITOM, visited Turkey in July and gives us a partial overview of the Turkish industry.
• California crop situation as of 6^th October, projection to 13^th October.
• A study shows that tomato consumption protects against development of UV-induced keratinocyte carcinoma.
• In Portugal, adapting the cultivation of processing tomatoes to climate change is a difficult task, and planted surfaces have decreased sharply this year.
• In Spain, the amount of provisional aid granted for processing tomatoes has increased to EUR 205/ha, due to the decrease in eligible surfaces.
• In Argentina, in the region of San Juan, planted surfaces remain stable, after 8 years of growth, due to lack of financial support, deterioration in the exchange rate and increase in interest rates.
• In France, the Tom'ability project shows that water-saving agricultural practices are compatible with high quality tomato products.
• Iran has been severely impacted by the recent US trade sanctions.
• The escalating trade conflict between the U.S. and China causes more California agricultural products (including various processing tomato products) to face new retaliatory tariffs from China.
• The American company Kraft-Heinz invests 50 million dollars in their Dutch site, located in Elst, thereby generating 30 new jobs.
• The Tomato Foundation gained supporters all around the world in the last 6 months, and is now happy to report that it has almost reached its target fund needed to begin the sample study.
• The Egyptian company Paste & Juice invests in farming and harvesting methods, as well as adding a new production line.
• CRISPR, a gene-editing tool, has shown great results in varietal improvement. However, the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that gene-editing crops must follow the same stringent regulations as GMMOs.
• The Egyptian company Al Nada aims to enter foreign markets, thanks to a new export subsidy system implemented by the government.
• Scientists from the Agrigenomics Research Centre (CRAG) are attempting to recover the DNA of old crops, in order to create new varieties of tomato with a greater resistance to pathogens.
• In Nigeria, the Dangote plant, as well as 3 other firms, should resume production by January 2019, after the Nigeria Customs Service commences full implementation of the New Tomato Production Policy.
• The WPTC Crop update, as of 25 October 2018, confirms the decrease in volumes processed worldwide: 34.3 million metric tonnes.
• The Italian company Mutti aims to change Americans 'perception of canned foods. With a multi-faceted marketing campaign involving social media channels, recipes on a micro-site, local presence etc.

 
You can find the individual articles in the NEWS list and/or search by keyword, date etc.