Reader’s Digest March 2020

In March 2020, we published the following articles:

• Weather conditions in February: California is increasingly affected by the drought, and Europe is facing abnormally mild temperatures.
• Processing tomatoes price remained unchanged in Spain, at 70 Euros per tonne.
• Northern Italy: a 2019 results overview was presented during a conference held in Piacenza.
• The new dates have been confirmed for the WPTC Congress: 8 to 12 November 2020
• Conserve Italia started the search for new varieties, more vigorous and resistant to pathogens, less demanding in terms of water and better suited for late ripening.
• Conagra Brands lowered their forecast, due to weak consumption trends in January.
• In Provence, close to the village of Le Barroux, a fossile of an unknown species of tomatosaurus was found by a team of archeologists. It has been named Tomatosaurus Miklichansky in honour of the founder of AMITOM.  
• Spanish researchers managed to produce tomato plants resistant to the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV).
• Flexible packaging producer Liquibox acquires DS Smith Plastics (rigid and flexible packaging).
• The EU-funded project Agrimax launched a new online platform to connect crop and food producers to 2 bio refineries. The waste will then be converted into high-value products to be used in the food, packaging, chemical and agricultural sectors.
• WPTC Crop Update as of 11 March 2020
• Although there is no disruption planned with regards to planting operations, a first visible effect of the CoViD-19 pandemic is the decline in popularity for Chinese and Italian cuisines and products. The EFSA confirmed recently there haven't been any reports of transmission through food.
• Mobilization of the tomato industry: press releases related to CoViD-19 from Solana, Kagome, Sugal Chile, Australian Processing Tomato Research Council, Univer, China Chamber of Commerce, Imeta.
• Paste Prices: USA, Spain, Portugal, Italy, China, Chile, as of 16 March 2020.
• Global Trade of Tomato Paste, March 2020.
• The tomato industry is operational in Italy, where 130 supply contracts for tomatoes were filed on time, and field transplants are now on their way.
• U.S. Processed Tomato Stocks as of March 1, 2020: inventory is down 8.1% from the prior year level.
• The Pomodoro Nord Italia IO has a new website: www.oipomodoronorditalia.it
• The European Community has published guidelines for effective border management during the CoViD-19 pandemic.
• The ISHS Symposium has been rescheduled to 8-11 November 2020 and the call for papers has been reopened.
• In Europe, where many countries have introduced isolation measures, many consumers have been stocking up rice, pasta and other staple products. European governments, retailers and food makers insist that there is enough capacity to cope.
• Pr. Montana Camara Hurtado and her team at UCM Madrid published a review of international health claims in functional food products labeling.
• California Tomato Growers Association published an official statement regarding the current CoViD-19 situation.
• Mobilization of the tomato industry: press releases related to CoViD-19 from Paste & Juice, Kagome, the European Union, CFT.
• Mobilization of the tomato industry: press releases related to CoViD-19 from AMITOM, ANICAV, Hansin, Podravka.
• Nouna Juices and Concentrates Company is building a new tomato paste factory in Upper Egypt.
• Proposed prices in California (Dec. 2019) for the 2020 season.
• In Spain, the subsidies for the 2019 season are slightly down compared to 2018, due to the increase in planted surfaces.
• CoViD-19 impacts all businesses and supply chain. Chinese exports seem to have dropped by 20-30% in January and February compared with recent years.
• Mobilization of the tomato industry: press releases related to CoViD-19 from CONESA, MUTTI.
• Olam is not likely to operate its Californian Lemoore plant this season and is planning to sell it.

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