Tag Archives: business

Soil Association expects organic market to exceed £2 billion

The Soil Association has said that it expects the organic market to exceed £2 billion this year thanks to a potential boost from Organic September.

Overall growth of organic products sold through supermarkets in the 52 weeks to 18 June has increased over 5% this year. This year’s Organic September, sponsored by renewable energy company Good Energy, aims to boost this even further.

Clare McDermott, business development director at Soil Association Certification said, “Despite an uncertain market following Brexit, Soil Association Certification is positive about the future of organic and we expect this year’s Organic September to have an even bigger impact than before. Market growth is already strong and there is a clear demand for organic, environmentally friendly and sustainable purchasing with many young professionals. The UK will still be required to comply with EU organic standards as minimum to maintain the flow of organic products to and from the EU and the Soil Association will continue to influence and improve the marketplace for organic businesses.”

The organisation highlighted organic produce as one of the areas where growth is ‘buoyant,’ but added that organic meat is the star performer. Soil Association Certification also reported an increased interest in conversion to organic farming in the last year.

Mark Haynes, Managing Director at G’s Fresh commented, “It’s clear that there is a growing demand for organic at the moment. Organic September is a great way to focus customers’ attention on organic and link products right through the supply chain, from point of sale to producer. Organic fresh produce is doing very well so we’re really pleased that the Soil Association is continuing to support the whole industry for an added push in September.”

Photo Credit: Soil Association

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Morrisons cuts prices as investors leave

Morrisons has said it will cut the average price of its fresh produce by 17 per cent as part of wider price cutting moves which the retailer hopes will shore up its market position.

1,045 products, including meat and toiletries, have been reduced in price in the third round of price cuts by the retailer this year. Morrisons called them its ‘biggest ever price crunch.’ Fresh produce prices will be cut by 17 per cent on average and up to 56 per cent on some fruit and vegetable products.

Andy Atkinson, Morrisons’ customer and marketing director, said, “We are constantly listening to our customers and know they are concerned about whether food prices will go up following the Brexit vote, especially on imports. We are British farming’s biggest supermarket customer, which means we can better control our prices, and this latest round of crunches demonstrates our commitment to offering the best possible value to our customers this summer.”

However, newspapers reported that investors sold shares in the retailer after the announcement, with the share price falling 2 per cent to 182.05 pence on Monday afternoon.

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Univeg announce joint venture with Bardsley Farms

Leading top fruit grower Bardsley Farms and UNIVEG UK, part of Belgium-based Greenyard Foods, have formed a new joint venture.

Farming 420 acres of orchards, Bardsley Farms has a number of long term relationships in the industry, including supplying Tesco for over 25 years. The new, formal tie-up with UNIVEG UK follows strategic collaboration over the last two years.

“It is clear that Bardsley Farms and UNIVEG’s aspirations for the market are aligned to the point where putting together a Joint Venture was the next logical step”, said Alan Forrester, UNIVEG UK’s Joint Managing Director.

Nigel Bardsley, chairman of the new Joint Venture, commented, “With the changing nature of the UK top fruit market it makes total sense to pull together the two businesses, where not only is the thinking aligned, but the strengths of the two businesses will deliver a model which is unseen in the market place to date.”

Ben Bardsley, Managing Director of the Joint Venture added, “UNIVEG has already demonstrated their willingness to share with all of the growers the opportunity to be involved in the innovation and varietal development that sits both in their UK trial orchards but also in the breeder relationship we and the wider UNIVEG grower base have access to across the globe.

“The first stage of the £6 million, 5-year investment program in Bardsley Farms is nearing completion, and will be up and running for the upcoming 2016 UK top fruit season. We have invested in world leading grading and packing technology that not only delivers vitally important efficiencies, but allows us to target customer products that best fits the fruit, and by managing quality.”

Photo Caption: Ben & Nigel Bardsley.

Photo Credit: Bardsley Farms

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BASF latest company to be linked to Monsanto

Business and agricultural publications report that Monsanto may be investigating the purchase of BASF’s agricultural business after rejecting Bayer’s $62 billion takeover bid earlier this year.

At the same time, both Bayer and Monsanto have confirmed that the former has submitted a revised, and higher, bid for its American rival. In a press release issued on 14 July Bayer said it had increased its takeover bid to $125 per share (the previous bid was $122 per share) in an offer submitted to Monsanto on 9th July.

Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said, “We are convinced that this transaction is the best opportunity available to provide Monsanto shareholders with highly attractive, immediate and certain value. Bayer is fully committed to pursuing this transaction.”

However, in the financial markets, a Monsanto acquisition of part of BASF was seen as easier to pull off. “Looking at the agricultural chemicals and seeds landscape, Monsanto-BASF is the most logical combination,” said Christian Faitz, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux.

Other consolidation in the sector includes the announced merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont and ChemChina’s ongoing acquisition of Syngenta.

Photo Caption: BASF’s US headquarters

Photo Credit: BASF

The post BASF latest company to be linked to Monsanto appeared first on Hort News on 15 July 2016.

Tesco potato growers win contract extension

Tesco is to issue new long term contracts worth £12 million over the next three years to British potato growers and packers.

Through the Tesco Sustainable Farming Group – Potatoes (TSFG-Potatoes), growers will benefit from greater financial certainty, allowing them to invest in their businesses for the future. The group will consist of producers and industry experts from across the country, and will aim to build stronger relationships through the whole supply chain to ensure customers are offered the best range and varieties at the right price.

Matt Simister, Tesco’s Commercial Director for Fresh Food explained, “Working collaboratively with our suppliers to ensure we provide the highest quality fresh produce for our customers is right at the heart of what we do.  Whilst there isn’t a single simple solution to resolve the uncertainty faced by many potato growers, it’s important that we all play our part. These new contracts will help to bring more confidence back into the whole potato supply chain and build a truly sustainable British potato industry.”

Under the new scheme, from September, producers will be given direct contracts with Tesco and a three year rolling commitment which will guarantee in advance, the volume of the crop that the supermarket will buy. Growers will also receive a price, based on their production costs, which will take into account inflation, farming inputs like the cost of fertiliser and the additional expenses involved in growing high quality fresh produce for customers.

Potato grower Crawford Black from Fife, Scotland added “These new three-year rolling contracts will give my family business more confidence to look further ahead, make plans and invest for the future, safe in the knowledge that we have a long-term commitment from Tesco to continue to work with us.”

Photo Caption: Tesco says the new contracts will help the industry

Photo Credit: Tesco

The post Tesco potato growers win contract extension appeared first on Hort News on 17 July 2016.

Strawberry volumes keep pace with demand

Data released on Friday shows that British strawberry producers are on track to meet a record demand for the fruit this summer as the season enters the iconic Wimbledon fortnight.

Estimates suggest that the UK will produce 74,000 tonnes of strawberries this summer, representing some £564 million. According to statistics strawberries account for just over half of the total UK soft fruit market.

Laurence Olins, Chairman of British Summer Fruits commented, “Berries used to be a luxury item, but now they are a delicious staple, consumed as part of a healthy diet for many people.

“The sales figures reveal a robust and expanding soft fruit category that is meeting growing consumer demand. The berry industry as a whole will continue to expand and as the season begins, consumers can look forward to good quality British berries on supermarket shelves.”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The post Strawberry volumes keep pace with demand appeared first on Hort News on 29 June 2016.

HZPC members paid more than €3/kg for 2015 crop

Grower members of the Dutch potato breeder and seed producer co-operative HZPC Holland B.V. will receive a final confirmed price of €30.28 per 100 kg of seed produced during the 2015 harvest season.

The figure is 2.6 per cent higher than the provisional figure released at the end of March and is a significant increase on last year’s final price, although still more than €3 less than in 2013. The average yield last year was 42.9 tonnes per ha, higher than in previous seasons.

Gerard Backx, CEO of HZPC, explained, “Crop 2015 is characterized by the high yields. Compared to previous years, there were a lot of seed potatoes available. We are pleased to be able to announce that we sold a record quantity of these seed potatoes from the Dutch pool. The previous record sales volume was for Crop 2010, but current year’s volume of seed potatoes sold from the pool is 3% higher. Crop 2010 was somewhat comparable to the current season, with high yields per hectares and a favourable market. But for Crop 2015 the international market was certainly less willing than in 2010.

“Last year the European market for seed potatoes was very limited because of the low prices for ware potatoes. This season the European market has recovered to a demand of a regular size.”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The post HZPC members paid more than €3/kg for 2015 crop appeared first on Hort News on 23 June 2016.

Tesco agrees sale of Dobbies

As part of its continued refocusing on core activities, Tesco has sold its Dobbies Garden Centres business to an investor group led by Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital.

The sale represents the entire share capital of Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd. Tesco will receive £217 million in cash for the entire share capital of Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd, which will be used for general corporate purposes.

Tesco bought Dobbies Garden Centres in 2007, and since then it has grown to become the UK’s second largest specialist garden centre retailer, operating 35 garden centres across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. Tesco Chief Executive Dave Lewis commented, “Through their hard work and dedication to customer service, Dobbies colleagues have built a great business, and I would like to thank them for everything they have done. It was a difficult decision to sell the business, but we believe this agreement will give Dobbies a bright future, while allowing our UK retail business to focus on its core strengths.”

Andrew Bracey and Barney Burgess, of Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital respectively, added, “[Dobbies] is a great business with fantastic colleagues. We’re very optimistic about the potential of the business, and we look forward to growing the business across the UK from its base in Scotland.”

Photo Credit: Tesco

The post Tesco agrees sale of Dobbies appeared first on Hort News on 23 June 2016.

Tesco adds cucumbers to imperfect veg range

Tesco has said that it will add new lines, including cucumbers and courgettes to its Perfectly Imperfect range of ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables.

The cucumbers are priced at 35p per 100g and will form part of the Perfectly Imperfect range, which already includes parsnips, potatoes and strawberries. Sales of the range have grown tenfold since it was launched, with apples and parsnips showing particular growth.

Matt Simister, Commercial Director for Fresh Food and Commodities at Tesco commented, “Providing great quality produce at low prices is clearly something our customers find really helpful, and we’re expecting our new Perfectly Imperfect cucumbers to prove just as popular as the rest of the range. We want to do everything we can to cut food waste, and we’ll continue to do more to help our suppliers and customers reduce the amount of food that is wasted from farm to fork.”

Photo Credit: Tesco

The post Tesco adds cucumbers to imperfect veg range appeared first on Hort News on 22 June 2016.

Farmer confidence at all time low says survey

The agricultural barometer survey by Copa & Cogeca reveals that a perfect storm of factors including a collapse in prices, soaring input costs and the Russian export ban means that confidence in Europe’s farmers reached an all-time low in the first quarter of 2016.

The survey is carried out twice a year in 11 countries and over 8,000 farmers were interviewed. In 9 of the 11 Member States, including the UK, farmers’ confidence about the current and future situation had fallen. Concerns about implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and red tape also caused many difficulties for farmers and growers. Only Denmark and Sweden were more optimistic about the current and future situation.

Copa & Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said, “Our agricultural barometer confirms that European farmers are really feeling the pressure. They are being squeezed by low farm gate prices and high input costs. I consequently urge the EU Commission and EU Farm Ministers to take action when they meet at the end of June. Additional support is crucial and new markets for our quality produce must be found.”

Photo Caption: Pekka Pesonen

Photo Credit: Copa & Cogeca

The post Farmer confidence at all time low says survey appeared first on Hort News on 21 June 2017.