IPG NEWS
IPG looks to keep its customers, suppliers, and partners world-wide, all connected and in touch through its new IPG News Reports. This news source will highlight the most significant, relevant and day-day international trade and produce news stories.
We feel it’s very important to not only have a great understanding for our current market and country, but to maintain a worldly viewpoint and full understanding of all other markets and their effects on the fresh produce export/import industry. Please stay connected and informed through our news channel.
US fruit farmers troubled by labor visa fight
September 17, 2019
As the apple harvest in Washington state is in full swing, increasingly orchard owners are worried if they can afford to pick all the ripe fruit. Growers like Rob Valicoff, owner of Valicoff Fruit Company which grows 680 ha of apples, peaches, cherries, apricots and pears, relies almost entirely on temporary foreign guest workers. Of his 220 employees this fall, 200 were brought in from Mexico through the H-2A Visa program. Valicoff calls the program expensive and inflexible, yet he’s…
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Chile Issues Drought Warning
September 12, 2019
Export growth “impossible” unless water situation eases, agriculture minister says The severe drought affecting several regions of Chile will affect fruit production in the coming season, according to Jorge Valenzuela, president of producer association Fedefruta. Speaking to El Diario de Cooperativa, Valenzuela said that the impact would vary according to the fruit and locality, he believed late season fruit would be particularly hit. “I believe that early fruit, such as early cherries, will not be so badly affected but we…
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US Misses Out on Hong Kong Growth
September 12, 2019
The growth of Hong Kong fresh fruit imports has benefitted most suppliers except for the US Hong Kong is a re-export hub for the fruit trade in China and may have presented backdoor for US fresh fruit exporters, but figures show the US-China trade war is having a significant effect on indirect trade. According to a USDA report, Hong Kong has seen growth in its fresh fruit market with the value total fruit imports in the first half of 2019…
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Dogs to Detect Signs of HLB Bacteria in US Citrus Groves
September 11, 2019
Ventura County farmers have begun removing more than 200 trees after their dogs - used as detector dogs, an early-warning system - alerted them to the presence of the bacteria that cause the deadly citrus disease Huanglongbing. Huanglongbing -also known as HLB or citrus greening- has been found in residential citrus trees in Southern California but has not yet been detected in a commercial California grove. The disease has damaged and killed trees in Florida and other citrus-growing regions. During…
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Midwest Apple Harvest Begins
September 11, 2019
The Midwest is seeing its first apples being harvested for the season. Growers in the warmer parts of the region have commenced their harvest, while those in areas with long winters, such as northern Michigan and Minnesota, will start a bit later, according to Bill Dodd, President of Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA). "The Midwest apple harvest has begun, depending on where you are in the Midwest. In those warmer climate areas, we’re on the front end of the harvest…
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