Fair play, Mr Tariffic

Hello from the Fruitnet newsroom. It’s a shorter Fruitnet Weekly this week, as we head to Berlin for the world’s leading fruit and veg trade show Fruit Logistica. It’s been an incredible 72 hours or so. To slightly misquote a colleague, it’s amazing how one great big orange can single-handedly dictate the fresh produce industry news cycle. Yes indeed… Mr Tariffic, the latest DC comic to take up a four-year residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is the one person who can send a journalist rushing to file a story quicker than the value of an entire US industry can plummet thanks to his negotiation tactics.

But joking aside, it’s true that, in the past few hours, Trump did get what he wanted. Well, so far anyway. Concessions from Mexico and Canada came within hours, so he suspended his plan for 25 per cent tariffs on their exports to the US. Good job we hadn’t already spoken to several different people in the industry and published their responses to the tariff threat on our website. Ah. But Trump’s ultimatum hasn’t gone away entirely. And nor has the possibility of retaliations. This makes it all the more important you read our stories on the expected impact on US consumers and for the wider produce business – including some potentially disastrous consequences for US exports.

And in the longer term, you have to wonder whether there will be a slow-burn effect on North America’s produce business. Will the tomato-rattling of the past few days leave such a bad taste in the mouths of Canadian consumers, that it causes some of them to pivot away from US fruit and veg anyway, as CPMA president Ron Lemaire suggested they would need to under the tariff scenario? And will some of Mexico’s exporters be spooked enough by the whole affair that they begin a more concerted attempt at market diversification? Maybe we will hear more before the week is out.

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More freshly picked stories…

Kiwifruit kick-off ?? What makes Kikokà kiwifruit so different? Chris White heads to Italy and discovers how the consortium plans to achieve commercial success with premium varieties under its new brand. Click here or watch the video below.

Zon shines ???? Dutch cooperative Zon has added several new members – all of them major suppliers of fresh produce with their own large-scale retail contracts – in a sign of further consolidation in the Netherlands’ fresh produce supply base.

Grape expectations ?? Tesco wants to understand table grape consumers better, so it has teamed up with AMT Fresh and Bloom Fresh, and introduced new packs that categorise the fruit by tropical flavour, candy flavour or crunchiness.

Seed funding ?? Berry breeder Planasa has acquired ABZ Seeds, a breeder of seed-propagated F1 hybrid strawberry varieties.

Maturing nicely ???? Greenyard subsidiary Bakker Barendrecht has started construction on a new commercial facility in the Netherlands. The building will include mechanised warehousing, meal-kit production, and new production lines, and will also house the largest ripening centre in Europe.

Material difference ?? Spanish tropicals specialist Montosa says it has reduced its use of plastic packaging by 90 per cent in the last three years, substituting it for a number of other types.

Das vote ???? As Germany heads to the polls on 23 February, fresh produce association DFHV has called on the country’s next federal government to adopt business-friendly policies that reduce energy costs, encourage investment in technology, and support growth in agriculture.

Fresh pick ?? Giulia Montanaro, former head of international relations at the country’s apple industry association Assomela, has joined Italian apple brand Sambòa as its general manager.

Thanks for reading…

Mike Knowles, Fruitnet Europe

PS Leading names in berries – including Driscoll’s, Hortifrut, Everfresh, Herbert Widmann, Berries South Africa, Angus Soft Fruits, Unitec, and Rabobank – are ready to share their knowledge and insight at Fruitnet Berry Congress 2025, the world’s leading event dedicated to the international soft fruit business, which takes place in Rotterdam on 13-14 March. Book your place here.