Tag Archives: business

Branston begins factory extension

Leading potato supplier Branston has begun work on a new £5 million factory extension to handle potatoes for the convenience sector at its main site near Lincoln.

According to the company the 1,700 sq. ft extension, which is being built by Charcroft Construction, will peel and prepare potatoes which do not meet Class I specification before sale to convenience food producers for use in a range of products such as prepared mash and ready meals. As well as reducing waste by utilising crops which to not meet pre-packing specifications, the facility will create 20 new jobs.

Branston technical director Mark Willcox told reporters, “We’ll be adding value to potatoes that don’t make it into a pack as a class I product, which is a great way to reduce food waste – a real win for both farmers and consumers.

“We supply prepared vegetables to the UK’s top retailers and this extension will go a long way to help us meet the growing demand we’re seeing in this area. We expect that this new business-to-business part our customer portfolio will continue to grow alongside the very successful chilled prepared vegetable lines that we currently sell to the country’s leading supermarkets.”

Photo Credit: Branston

The post Branston begins factory extension appeared first on Hort News on 17 June 2017.

AKP launches new processing supply business

Potato grower and marketing organisation the AKP Group has launched a new division to help grow its processing potatoes business.

Christened the Pride of Anglia Growers, the new grower group will provide a full range of services from agronomy through to marketing, with appropriate storage, grading and transport facilities. The new business will be officially launched at Cereals next week but has been made possible by funding from the Rural Development Programme for England.

In a statement, AKP Group said it was structured around a model based on “strength in numbers” to mitigate the risks of the individual.

Photo Credit: AKP Group

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Russia to extend produce ban through 2017

According to reports carried by Reuters and other news agencies, Russia is preparing to extend its ban on the importation of fresh produce from the European Union and other countries throughout 2017.

Russia’s Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev told reporters that the country does not plan to expand the list of banned products, but Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev has already ordered ministers to draft proposals to extend the ban to the end of 2017.

“This is great news for the domestic agriculture producers. This (the extension) allows them to plan investments in the industry, to increase the quality and competitiveness of Russian food,” Tkachev added.

The ban, which includes produce from the US, Canada, Australia and Norway was first introduced in 2014 in retaliation against sanctions imposed against Russia over its involvement in Ukraine.

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Bayer offers US$62 billion for Monsanto

German-based chemicals giant Bayer AG has reportedly offered US$122 in cash per share in its bid to acquire Monsanto, valuing the US agchem company at US$62 billion. This represents a 35 per cent premium over the company’s share price on the day before the offer was made.

Bayer, which admitted its interest in Monsanto last week, says the two companies would be beneficial, in particularly combining its own strength in crop protection and plant health with Monsanto’s breeding and seed portfolio. This is an area Bayer has been exploring in recent years; including its acquisition of Dutch seed company Nunhems.

James Blome, CEO of Bayer Crop Science, has reportedly said that said that if the deal is approved the headquarters for joint crop science efforts would be in St. Louis in the Unites States.

Bayer AG CEO Werner Baumann said on Monday, “We have long respected Monsanto’s business and share their vision to create an integrated business that we believe is capable of generating substantial value for both companies’ shareholders. Together we would draw on the collective expertise of both companies to build a leading agriculture player with exceptional innovation capabilities to the benefit of farmers, consumers, our employees and the communities in which we operate.”

The post Bayer offers US$62 billion for Monsanto appeared first on Hort News on Tuesday 24 Mya 2016.

Is Bayer lining up to buy Monsanto?

According to the news agency Bloomberg, multinational chemical company Bayer AG may be preparing to purchase Monsanto.

Reports suggest that the German-based business has already held internal discussions and has talked to advisors about the possible deal which, if successful, would create the world’s largest agrochemical and seed company.

With a valuation of around €79 billion, Bayer is almost twice as big as Monsanto which has an estimated market value of €43 billion. However, financial analysts have suggested that Bayer would need to sell off certain assets to obtain sufficient funds for a deal and also point out that such a large merger would create ant-trust and competition issues around the world. ‘Competition regulators are already investigating the $130 billion merger between Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co., while national security officials in the U.S. weigh China National Chemical Corp.’s bid to acquire Syngenta AG of Switzerland for $43 billion,’ says Bloomberg.

In a conference call with analysts on 26 April, Liam Condon, head of crop sciences at Bayer, said, “We’ve always said that we want to build out further our seeds business. We’ve had some acquisitions, minor or smaller acquisitions that we’ve made, and we continue to look at all options that create value for Bayer.”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The post Is Bayer lining up to buy Monsanto? appeared first on Hort News on Wednesday 18 May 2016.

Sainsbury’s trials trailer with natural refrigerant

Sainsbury’s has become the first company in the world to take delivery of Carrier Transicold’s prototype natural refrigerant trailer unit.

The new generation of transport refrigeration system for trailers operate exclusively with carbon dioxide (CO2) refrigerant, which has a global warming potential (GWP) of just one making it the baseline against which all other refrigerants are measured. The GWP of CO2 is also lower than other natural refrigerants, such as propane and ammonia and it is non-ozone depleting.

The delivery marks the first of three units to join the Sainsbury’s fleet this year as part of a three-year technology field trial and builds on the success of a 2013 pilot, which saw the supermarket operate a modified refrigeration system for ocean containers – making it the first naturally refrigerated trailer operating anywhere in the world.

Gary King, operations support manager for Sainsbury’s commented, “The beauty of Carrier Transicold’s prototype trailer unit is it delivers a massive reduction in F-Gases by using natural refrigerant. This will directly help us achieve our ambitious environmental and sustainability goals, whilst delivering a seismic leap forward in terms of sustainability within the cold chain.”

 

Photo Credit: j-sainsbury.co.uk

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Bayer Crop Science sales show small growth

International chemicals giant Bayer has reported growth in all sections of its business in its first quarter results, including modest growth in its Crop Science division.

In a statement the company said, ‘Bayer got off to a successful start in the new fiscal year. In the first quarter of 2016, the Bayer Group improved sales by 3.2% to €11.9 billion and EBITDA before special items by 15.7% to €3.4 billion. All segments improved their operating performance. Crop Science outperformed the prior-year quarter despite a weak market environment.’

First-quarter sales of the agricultural business (Crop Science) moved ahead by 1.2% to €3,023 million. “We slightly expanded business at Crop Protection/Seeds despite an ongoing weak market environment,” explained CEO Dr. Marijn Dekkers. In regional terms, the Crop Science business developed positively in North America in particular whereas sales in Europe were level year on year.

The seed growth business grew by 5.4% and fungicides grew by 2.9%. However, sales of insecticides and herbicides declined by 12.2% and minus 3.8% respectively. Sales of Seeds grew by a substantial 11.9%.

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BerryWorld launches buckets of berries

Fruit marketing group BerryWorld has launched a new branded multi-pack of soft fruit aimed at time poor convenience shoppers.

BerryWorld Berry Buckets contain two packs each of blueberries and raspberries which have been hand-picked when the fruit is at its best. Packed into four convenient, re-sealable 80g buckets, they are said to be perfect for including in lunchboxes and eating on the go.

Online supermarket Ocado, which is selling a pack of four buckets for £4.99, says that, ‘one 80g bucket counts towards one of an adults recommended 5 a day. They also make a great addition to desserts and salads.’

A spokesperson for BerryWorld said: “These delicious berries are juicy, sweet and bursting with goodness, perfect for including in lunchboxes or eating on the go.”

Photo Credit: Ocado

The post BerryWorld launches buckets of berries appeared first on Hort News on 5 May 2016.

Planning victory for Lee Valley grower

Plans for a 92,000 square meter glasshouse in the Lee Valley on greenbelt land at Nazeing near Harlow have been backed by the Court of Appeal.

Valley Grown Salads was granted permission for the expansion at its Paynes Lane site by the local authority in August 2014, but the decision was fought by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority as, as well as being a green belt site, it said the site was within the Lee Valley Park and less than a mile from the Lee Valley Special Protection Area.

The principal issue in the case concerned the consequences of a proposal being appropriate (or “not inappropriate”) development in the Green Belt. The glasshouse was appropriate, since it was a “building for agriculture” under the first bullet of paragraph 89 of the NPPF. In his decision, Lord Justice Lindblom stressed that new buildings for agriculture and forestry are not viewed as “inappropriate” in the Green Belt.

Photo Credit: Volvo trucks

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KWS sells potato business

KWS which is best known as a breeder and supplier of arable crop seeds has announced that it will sell its conventional seed potato business to Stet Holland B.V.

The business was formed in 2011 after KWS took over the business of Van Rijn, with who it had been working with for a number of years. Both companies are based at Emmeloord and the sale includes processing, crisping and table varieties. KWS will continue to operate in hybrid and novel potato breeding techniques.

“The future owner Stet Holland is positioned for a successful continuation of our conventional potato business while KWS will fully focus its efforts in potato utilizing its resources and know-how as a breeder to develop hybrid varieties,” commented Peter Hofmann, of KWS SAAT SE. “Hybrid breeding in potato and multiplication via seed instead of tubers is an entirely new but highly promising approach that has considerable advantages compared to conventional breeding. We have been working in this innovative field since 2011 and have achieved significant progress in the meantime.”

Peter Ton, General Manager of Stet Holland added, “KWS’ seed potato business is an excellent fit for Stet as the markets for the current KWS and Stet varieties are very complementary to each other. Taking over KWS’ variety portfolio, seed potato production, and sales channels will enable us to create synergies and gain presence in key markets and specific processing segments. KWS’ varieties, breeding material and expert employees, combined with a good customer base, will help us to strengthen Stet’s position in the seed potato market.”

Photo Credit: KWS

The post KWS sells potato business appeared first on Hort News on 15 April 2016.