Turkey’s raisin producers, losing ground in external markets due to speculative prices, decide to take joint action. Sector representatives submit a written undertaking to make all commercial transactions at the İzmir Mercantile Exchange, or İTB

SİNAN DOĞAN
İZMİR - Referans - Monday, August 4, 2008

  Turkey, which is the world's biggest producer of Sultani seedless raisin, with a volume of 250,000 tons annually, is threatened with the loss of its status as the designator of global prices.

  The only bourse in the world to designate raisin prices, the İzmir Mercantile Exchange, or İTB, has been unable to resist excessive price fluctuations of the product, whose global production is 750-800,000 tons annually.

  Speculative prices in the exchange have distressed both producers and merchants. Prices in the seedless raisin market, which opened at YTL 1.5 per kilogram, first rose to YTL 3.25 and then deteriorated sharply to YTL 2. Taking action just a month before the launch of the season, merchants, exporters, brokers and producers guaranteed to carry out all trade transactions at the exchange.

  The sector will also make efforts to reduce the current two per 1,000 withholding rate for products trading on the exchange and the registry of around 30,000 tons of raisins purchased by rakı factories.

Exports over the bourse:

  Only 10 to 15 percent of raisins are traded on the exchange, said İlhan Zincircioğlu, board member of the İTB. “Our bourse has been losing blood for the last two years. A small portion of the exports reaching 200,000 tons is being registered. Therefore, we have decided to get together with exporters, merchants, agents and brokers to enable voluntary cooperation. In particular we want to see exporters purchasing raisins from the exchange.”

  The aim for the initial phase is to register 30 to 40 percent of the production at the exchange, said Tayfur Gürcan, assembly member of the İTB. Noting that the basic duty of the bourse is to designate and declare prices, Gürcan said current artificial prices victimize all. “Turkish grapes, which previously could compete by offering prices below the prices in the United States for years, had hard times in competition this season due to high prices,” Gürcan said. “With the decline of the exchange rate, Europe started to get its grapes from the United States.”

  Sector representatives have guaranteed to direct the grapes to the bourse, said Gürcan, adding that there would also be efforts to enable rakı factories to purchase grapes from the bourse.

  The efforts of the raisin sector are also welcomed by producers. The more supply and demand the bourse has, the more realistic the prices will be, said Yurtcan Biryol, vice managing director at the Tariş Raisins Agricultural Sales Cooperatives Union. “The decline in prices victimizes producers. Our aim is to create a realistic market order.”

  Seedless raisin production, which stood at 200,000 tons due to the drought last year, is expected to rise to over 250,000 tons in the new season to start at the end of August.

___________________________________

Reference: www.turkishdailynews.com.tr  accessed August 07, 2008

Arat Company will attencd 4th Annual Exponuts and dried fruits fair in Turkey from 21st till 23rd of August 2008.

Arat's Managing Director will present our booth during the show and we are open to schedule meeting during the show.

We welcome you to our booth, please come to Salon 10 - Hall 10 and visit us.

A brief updated news on Dates market is it seems that the new crop is fair in quantity and we are expecting a good crop year even larger than the previous crop. Some areas have smaller sized crop (larger proportion of GAQ & FAQ dates) such as Abadan & Shadegan. Karoon and Jarahi areas have better crop in terms of quality and size.

Although the climate condition is always a threat for the crop, yet the biggest fear this year is the government's making decision on purchasing the goods at minimum guaranteed prices from farmers in order to protect and support them. Assuming they are positive to do so, they will the purchase the Dates raw material at high level of prices which as an outcome will outcompete us from the global market.

Iran's fig farms are experiencing a draught for the next coming crop season.

The average level of rain during the spring season has been decreased by 45% comparing last crop season which is not to the benefit of the new crop.

In addition, the good news is that the baby figs trees have not been affected during the cold winter by the frost as many other agricultural crops of Iran such as grapes which are grown in the same region.

Rising summer temperatures could make parts of the UK too hot for wine-making by 2080, a book has predicted.

It says it could mean the end of vineyards in the Thames and Severn valleys and parts of Hampshire. Instead, the land could be used for raisins, currants and sultanas, says the author Prof Richard Selley, formerly of Imperial College London.

His research suggests many parts of the UK could grow "hot weather" grapes such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Climate forecasts indicate that global warming could increase summer temperatures in the south of England by up to 5C by 2080.

The research is contained in The Winelands of Britain: Past, Present and Prospective, by Professor Selley. He said: "I have been able to map how British viticulture could change beyond recognition in the coming years."Grapes that currently thrive in the south-east of England could become limited to the cooler slopes of Snowdonia and the Peak District."

His previous work has demonstrated how the boundary of wine production in the UK has advanced and retreated because of the climate since Roman times. Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College, said: "This research shows how the environment in the UK could be affected by climate change in a relatively short period of time.  "Increases in temperature over the course of this century could have a dramatic effect on what can be grown here, including vines."
___________________________________________________________

BBC NEWS WEBSITE, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7419717.stm 

Food Week, Australia- The Federal Court has found that the packaging of a number of Arnott’s biscuits in the Snack Right range is misleading.
Following action taken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Federal Court declared that Arnott's Biscuits Limited breached the Trade Practices Act 1974 by engaging in conduct likely to be false, misleading or deceptive in relation to the packaging and labelling of the following Snack Right products: Snack Right Apple & Blackberry Fruit Pillow; Snack Right Wild Berry Fruit Pillow; Snack Right Apricot Fruit Slice; Snack Right Apricot and Yoghurt Fruit Slice; and Snack Right Mixed Berry Fruit Slice.
The court declared that the Snack Right packaging falsely conveyed to consumers an overall impression that the filling in the biscuits consisted predominantly of the fruits referred to in the name of the product and depicted on the packaging. In fact, the biscuit filling consisted mainly of other fruits, such as sultanas.
For example the Apple and Blackberry fruit pillow biscuit filling contains approximately 1.7% blackberry concentrate in comparison to 38.8% sultanas, 12.9% apple concentrate and 8.6% dried apple concentrate. The packaging describes this product as being “crammed with apples, blackberries and sultanas”.
The Apricot Fruit Slice filling also contains approximately 1.7% apricot, but this is in comparison to 64.8% sultanas and 10.5% apple juice.
“This outcome is a strong reminder to the food and beverage industry and those responsible for food labelling that the overall impression is important,” ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said. “Businesses must ensure that the key principles of misleading and deceptive conduct are considered during the design stage of product packaging. In particular thought must be given to how a consumer may interpret the labelling representations.
“The ACCC Food Descriptors Guideline reiterates this view. If food featured in a product name or pictured on a label only constitutes a small percentage of the product, it may be inappropriate to give it a disproportionably large emphasis as consumers may be misled about the composition of the product.”
Arnott's has undertaken to the court that it will: amend the packaging of the Snack Right products refrain from similar conduct in the future; and publish a corrective notice on its website.
Arnott's has further agreed to review its trade practices law compliance program and agreed to contribute to the ACCC's legal costs.

Farmers throughout California are reporting widespread and considerable frost damage, although crop losses in Northern California appear to be most significant. As farmers assess the impact of last weekend's cold snap, they're becoming dismayed as the signs of damage mount.

Freezing temperatures damaged leaves and nuts on these walnut trees in Tehama County. Photo by Kathy CoatneyLast weekend, nighttime temperatures dropped into the mid-teens in some areas and stayed well below freezing for many hours through Monday morning. These subfreezing temperatures hit at a time when vineyards and fruit and nut trees put forth tender shoots, flowering buds and developing "nutlets."

The unseasonable cold appears to have badly damaged winegrape vineyards in many parts of the state. Allied Grape Growers says some of its members are finding only light damage, whereas others report more than half of their crop may be lost.

Peach, prune and walnut farmers also are finding extensive damage in their orchards. Agricultural commissioners, however, caution that it may be the middle of May before the extent of damage can be estimated accurately.

In some areas the cold may have penetrated into the wood, damaging the interior of trees and vines. This damage is slower to manifest and therefore can go unseen for weeks.

In response to the cold, farmers did crank on irrigation systems, run wind machines around the clock and respond to alarms triggered by low temperatures. In some areas these tactics may not have been enough to protect crops in the earliest stages of development.

"Usually this time of year we're more concerned about frost damage to our almond crop," said Tod Kimmelshue, whose family farms in Butte County and who is a California Farm Bureau Federation director. "But the almonds didn't get much damage during this cold weather event.

"What did get damaged in the northern Sacramento Valley is the walnut crop. Historically farmers don't do much frost protection for walnuts. This freeze came out of nowhere and hit at the worst possible time for walnut growers.

"Now, there's a real possibility that the young walnut trees will have wood damage. Even with serious damage, the trees probably won't die, but it will set production back at least a year."

"We had pretty severe crop damage in our peaches," said Sarb Johl, who farms in both Yuba and Sutter counties. "With walnuts it's still a little early to tell, but we have a lot of pit burn. With peaches, we've got some orchards that are a complete wipeout. Other orchard acres are damaged, but the severity is unknown at this stage--it could be 50 percent to 75 percent."

With peaches, he said, "If the pit freezes, it's like shutting off the heart of the fruit. After that nothing works. We're already seeing the young fruit turning black and shriveling up."

County agricultural commissioners are collecting information that could lead to disaster declarations, but it will take more time to determine the extent of economic loss. In some cases, it's clear that individual farmers may see crop losses approach 80 percent to 100 percent, depending on location and crop.

Experts urge farmers with frost damage to notify their crop insurance agents and county agricultural commissioners. Losses on the scale being seen now will need to be documented in the event disaster claims need to be filed in the future.

Following is a roundup of initial damage reports by region:

Sacramento Valley

Sutter County Agricultural Commissioner Mark Quisenberry said reports are coming in that walnuts, particularly in Butte County, were hit hard. "Temperatures in Butte dropped to 24 degrees. We got down to 29 in some pockets."

"The Prune Bargaining Association said that growers in the Chico area suffered serious losses, in some cases 100 percent. In Sutter County, our preliminary prune losses range from 25 percent to 100 percent, depending upon the pocket where the crops are being produced when the low temperatures hit.

"We also have damage to late-variety walnuts, peaches and to a more limited extent, canning tomatoes."

He also noted that diversified growers who serve farmers' markets with crops like beans, squash and cucumbers have been hard-hit, as well.

Another segment hit by the cold snap may be tree nurseries that usually graft vulnerable budding stock for commercial orchards at this time of year, Quisenberry said.

Newly planted orchards also are vulnerable to severe cold and last weekend's temperatures may have caused damage to tree wood, as well as external tissue.

Johl said that while there's crop insurance available for peaches, the margins for producing the crop often don't pencil out when additional premiums are factored in.

Beyond catastrophic coverage, he said, "it's hard to justify the cost of the premium compared to the risk. This cold spell is very unusual and you don't often see this level of damage at this time of year."

In orchards with new plantings, he said there are trees that completely burned and the leaves have already fallen off the young trees.

North Coast

Winegrape growers throughout Lake, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties are calling last weekend's low temperatures the worst spring frost in decades and say they expect millions of dollars in losses to the winegrape crop when the full extent of damage is known.

"We experienced pretty widespread frost in the state's grape growing areas, both Sunday and Monday morning," said Nat DiBuduo, president of Allied Grape Growers.

"We've heard from our growers in Lake, Napa and Sonoma. Depending on the location of the vineyard, in some cases, damage is from 5 to 10 percent, in other cases we're getting reports from growers of 50 to 80 percent, depending on grape variety and vineyard location

"So, damage is widespread and Kern County growers have been affected as well. And, even though growers have had wind machines running for days and they applied water, in some cases it didn't prevent damage."

Grapevines can rebound with secondary buds, DiBuduo said, but these typically aren't as fruitful as primary buds.

San Joaquin Valley

In Tulare County, many areas were glazed with frost, but Tulare County Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita said it's still too early to know the extent of damage and loss. In some eastern pockets, temperatures lingered in the 27 to 28 degree range for many hours, which can damage citrus, one of the county's major corp.

So far, Kinoshita said formal damage assessments haven't been filed by growers or citrus groups with the commissioner's office.

When all damage to all crops in Tulare County is tallied, she doesn't anticipate that countywide it will reach the 30 percent threshold needed for a disaster declaration. She cautioned, however, that damage assessments are still highly preliminary.

"We noticed some varietal and maturity differences in damage that appeared in Tulare County vineyards. Location appears to be an important determining factor in the extent of damage. With Thompson seedless grapes, one of the earliest varieties to be harvested, our inspectors saw a wide range of damage, some of it severe.

"We also looked at a pomegranate orchard and the damage there may result in a complete lost crop for 2008 for that grower," she said.

In addition, Allied Grape Growers said it received reports of vineyard damage in Clements and into the Turlock area.

There also has been some damage reported to plums in the Exeter and Porterville areas. The extent of damage is not yet known. However, orchards in that area usually have a heavier set than plum orchards at lower elevations.

Cherry growers say they will continue to inspect their trees for signs of damage, but that they believe the crop did not suffer harm from the cold snap.

Central Coast

Frost damage is being reported to vineyards in the Paso Robles area, although the extent is preliminary. Growers in that area are reporting nighttime temperatures during the weekend as low as 27.

Strawberry farmers say temperatures stayed above freezing and their crops escaped damage, though chilly temperatures slowed growth of the berries somewhat.

Source: California Farm Bureau Federation

Publication date: 4/24/2008

When Disaster Hits

Iran’s new vine crop (2008) is facing the most damaging frost season in 50 years.

The frost has caused millions of dollars in losses for Iranian grape growers. In Some areas the grapes growers have given up annual fertilizing and ploughing the vineyards. Depending on the area, frost damage in the different regions ranges from 15 to 70 percent, with some vineyards escaping any damage.

An interview With Siamak Shahriari – CEO of ARAT Company

01-May-08

Iran’s National Television Corporation (IRIB) had an interview with Siamak Shahriari – CEO of ARAT Company as an exemplary entrepreneur in Food industry.

During this program Siamak Shahriari were asked about how he started this business and how the company was founded, the challenges that the company was facing and his vision of the future. The recording session took almost 2 hours which took place at Arat’s office in Tehran.

The program will soon be shown on the Iran’s national television. We’ll try to upload the related link on IRIB’s website once it is shown on the television.

 Call it grapes gone loose. Disagreement over just how many unattached table grapes can be sold in a package as U.S. Grade No. 1 has created a rift between California growers and produce sellers. They’re debating whether there should be a change in the standard. For three years, California growers of what is more than a $1 billion crop have been trying to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow more separated grapes to be included in packages.

Growers are being penalized for what is really only "a potential defect, and that’s not right", said Barry Bedwell, president of the Fresno-based California Grape and Tree Fruit League. "As long as the berry is detached and whole and sound, the consumer is OK with it." But some buyers disagree. Brendon Cull, director of government and regulatory affairs for the Kroger retail food chain, told regulators in a letter filed during a comment period that loose grapes don’t sell.

Cull said a USDA proposal to increase the number of loose grapes is "unacceptable to many customers and families who want their grapes to be fresh and attached to the stem.” Cincinnati-based Kroger operates 2,400 grocery stores. Comments on proposed change by the Agricultural Marketing Service closed March 27, and regulators are now reviewing them. Currently, loose grapes count toward a 12 percent to 15 percent "tolerance" for imperfections under the No. 1 standard. Under the agency’s Feb. 26 proposal, an additional 5 percent of loose grapes in containers wouldn’t be counted as defects. If enough defects are detected and the grade is lowered, the grower is paid less.

Bedwell said the additional 5 percent tolerance for a bunch of 60 grapes is three loose grapes. He cited a survey conducted by the Fresno-based California Table Grape Commission that said that more than 80 percent of shoppers considered grapes with "shatter levels" of up to 10 percent to be of "excellent, very good quality." The survey found that 98 percent of shoppers said they'd purchased grapes with some berries detached from the stem, said Kathleen Nave, commission president. “It is a normal experience and not something that bothers consumers.”

In 2005, the California grape industry petitioned the USDA requesting that an additional 10 percent be allowed, double the current request. Rule makers withdrew that proposal last year, citing a lack of consensus in the industry. Growers filed a second petition for 10 percent last October. The government’s current proposal said the figure was too high.

Grower Dan Gerawan of Gerawan Farming in Reedley filed a letter with regulators in 2006 opposing a change. "It's not good for the industry or the consumer", he said.
Gerawan favors creating a new grade for loose grapes, "U.S. No. 1 High Shatter."
Chic Kandarian, who grows table grapes in the Fowler-Selma area and other regions, including the Coachella Valley, said research is being done on ways to better package separated grapes in bags.

He said a trend to packaging bunches of grapes, which has accelerated in the past 20 years, is better for consumers, retailers and growers. Between 80 percent and 90 percent of the crop now is packaged. Previously, grocers sold grapes in mounds. Loose grapes that fell off the bunches were left, and retailers took the loss. "They were left at the store or in the shipping container", Kandarian said. "The grower is paid by the pound, and there could be a few pounds in each box that the grower wasn't paid for." Today, most grapes are bagged in the field. Kandarian said precautions are taken to avoid loosening the grapes.



Source: thenewstribune.com

Publication date: 4/9/2008

ARAT CO. Will take partin SIAL Shanghai 2008

Over the last years SIAL China has confirmed its position as the leading and most international trade show for professionals of the food and beverage industry in China. Spanning all sectors of activities, no other specialized trade exhibition has ever brought together as many participating countries to China (+12% between 2006 and 2007) and gathered such an important number of exhibitors.

For more information about our stand number please visit this section in next few days. We look forward to meet you in our booth.

Publication date: 1/29/2008

Publication date: 1/29/2008
Author: Lody van Berkel
Copyright: www.freshplza.com

Australia: Dried fruit growers welcoming pay changes

Dried fruit growers say a change to how they are paid is an important win for farmers.
Sunbeam is going to pay its suppliers up to 20 days earlier than had been the case for the past two years. The Australian Dried Fruits Association's Peter Jones says the change will help growers facing cash-flow problems during the picking period.

He says it was a hard fight for growers to get the changes approved. "Years ago you'd be able to start picking and then when you deliver the first half of your crop that would pay for the picking of the second half of the crop", he said. "The last couple of years you had to finance the whole crop up front, which was very, very difficult for growers and especially this year where growers have gone out and bought some water on the marketplace to keep their vines alive, the cash is really stretched."


Source: abc.net.au

Publication date: 1/29/2008

Raisins 2008

Catz Internation B.V

In South Africa harvesting and drying has started. The temperature is a little bit lower then usual and several (short) rain periods have been reported. This will result in short delays for the first shipments (compared to the usual shipping period) and this will of course have its affect to the limited supplies in Europe.

Crop is quality wise reasonable, however quantity wise figures have been downscaled from 45.000 Mton to 36.000 Mton. Expectations will be the highest opening prices since several years.
Different Californian shippers are quoting different prices for raisins.

There is still a big gap between the highest and the lowest offer, but overall an increase is easily noticeable. With a lack of free capacity to load enough containers on vessels, we see an increase of abt. 20% only on shipment rates.

In Chile there seems to be a challenge going on who can offer at the highest rate. Crop has delayed and demand is enormous with all local stocks being empty. Quotations are at the moment abt. 20% higher (in USD) then opening prices a couple of weeks ago.

The Turkish market is controlled by the shippers. Under normal circumstances a good crop is expected next season with more supply for sure.

Murray Valley fruit crops could be slashed in half as drought conditions force some harvests to begin weeks earlier than usual.

Dried fruit growers in the region have been hit hard because recent rainfall has damaged fruit still on the vine.

While their NSW and Queensland counterparts rejoice in soaking rains that will guarantee irrigation supply for years, Murray irrigators continue to face uncertain water allocations and dry conditions.

Merbein South dried fruit grower Andrew Hudson said his harvest of sultanas and raisins would be down 50 per cent because of a lack of water.

Murray irrigators started on a zero allocation, which has lifted gradually to 36 per cent.

Mr Hudson said he had already started harvesting some fruit and his main harvest would begin two weeks earlier than usual because of the drought.

"It's been a bugger of a year. We have spent a lot of money on water, but we've had severe heat and then we had 18mm of rain the other week, which did heaps of damage," he said.

"We are lucky in that the market has picked up, but we won't have the quantity of fruit to capitalise on growth."

Mr Hudson said he clung to the hope that next season would be better.

"We just have to hope for a wet winter. If we get that we would be laughing."

The news is not much better for citrus growers, who finished harvesting last year but are looking at another season of low yields when the first harvest starts in May.

Murray Valley Citrus Board vice-chairman Colin Nankivell said low water allocations meant trees hadn't received the water they needed to grow.

"Yields have been affected. Fruit size and quality is an issue for next year's crop," he said.

"There will be good fruit around, but there'll be a lot of lower quality fruit, too."

Source: news.com.au

Publication date: 2/13/2008

Canadian Press, 2 Jan , 2008

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A major Dutch supermarket chain is recalling a line of chocolate-covered raisins after a packaging mix-up caused some to be filled with chocolate-covered nuts instead.

The Albert Heijn supermarket chain says the mislabelled packages pose a potential threat to children and people with nut allergies.

Spokeswoman Els van Dijk says the company was alerted to the problem last week.

After consulting with the packaging company, it decided to pull all boxes from the shelves.

She couldn't estimate the cost of the recall, but said it would involve "thousands" of boxes of the raisins, which bear the store's own label.

The company planned to run advertisements in newspapers Thursday urging customers to return all boxes with an expiration date of March 14 for a refund.

Albert Heijn is the Netherlands' largest supermarket chain, and is owned by global retailer Royal Ahold NV.

The Roumer came true and Arat Co. was proudly chosen as Iran's exemplary exporter for the year 2007/2008.

Once Again we take this chance to congratulate this accomplishment to all of our staff and our suppliers & customers who supported us in order to reach this trophy.

Below is the picture of Arat's Managing Director Mr. Siamak Shahriari's photo receiving the trophy and diploma from the Ministry of Economics.

UK organic growing charity Garden Organic is working with NGO Mercy Corps to help revitalise organic agriculture abroad, specifically raisin growers in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year Dr Julia Wright, head of international development for Garden Organic, which is based in the Midlands, travelled to Afghanistan to co-ordinate a workshop on conversion to organic agriculture for local producers based in the village of Mandisar, just outside Kandahar, and get them involved in a pilot project for exporting their raisins to the UK.

Dr Wright said: “Small farmers in war-torn regions tend to be overlooked in development work, but the families who stay on their land are just as keen to find innovative ways to improve their livelihoods.

“We have been running international development programmes for more than 20 years now, and have almost 50 years of organic expertise behind us to call upon. This project encourages sustainable agriculture by using organic methods, and will enable farmers to not only build their wealth but invest in their local economy, industry and natural resources for the long term, while looking after the environment.”

After the workshop, a small group travelled into Pakistan and up to the Hunza Valley to visit an organic, fairly traded apricot production and export operation, to see how it can be done.

“We feel that organic imports into the UK are justified if, like raisins, they cannot be produced in this country, if they are shipped rather than airfreighted, and if they command a higher, fair price that goes back to the producer while containing their consumption here,” said Dr Wright. “So it’s important that we work with overseas growers to help ensure the ecological and social sustainability of the production and export process.”

The project is also looking at options for developing local markets within Afghanistan.

Lynne Char Bennett, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, November 16, 2007

___________________________________

California's 2007 season is being called a tale of two harvests.

This year's decreased crop size reflects weather vagaries as well as vine fatigue following the higher-than-normal 2005 and 2006 harvest yields.

Generally, yields were down 15 to 40 percent but with very good to excellent grape quality due to increased cluster count and smaller berry size, which means greater skin to juice ratio.

In total, California Department of Food and Agriculture's October forecast - which includes near-normal Sacramento interior and San Joaquin Valley harvests - projects 3.2 million tons, up less than 1 percent from 2006.

Sonoma County's combination of early winter rainfall; smooth, even growing season; and unusual weather conditions prompted Steve Dutton of Dutton Ranch to say, "The crop size was down, but we harvested beautiful, beautiful fruit this year. If someone's not making great wine from this vintage, they're in the wrong business."

Napa County's season was similar to Sonoma's, with early harvest of white and lighter red grape varieties and a relatively long break before harvest of later-ripening grapes. Michael Weis of Groth Vineyards calls the 2007 vintage "stunning."

"Our biggest challenge this year was to figure out what we will do with ourselves between our Chardonnay and our Cabernet harvest. ...This vintage is one of healthy vines, no Botrytis, no raisins, long hang time and stunning fruit!"

A mild winter in 2006 gave vineyards an early start to a long 2007 growing season that offset the delayed bud break that occurred in many regions. Consistent, moderate spring and summer weather allowed fruit to slowly develop, which helped achieve rich, complex flavors.

Less rainfall through the growing season stressed the vines, which led to lower yields but more concentrated flavor.

The moderate growing season was hit with a heat wave in late August, causing a scramble to harvest early-ripening grape varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and others that ripened simultaneously. This first harvest rush was about two weeks early for most appellations.

By the second week in September, the weather cooled getting harvest back on schedule. Then the other shoe dropped. Early October's jet streams dropped periodic rains, especially in Napa and Sonoma counties and along the coast, though about 90 percent of North Coast white grapes were already harvested by that time.

In most regions the rain, while annoying, had no major impact on harvest or grape quality.

Sun and warmer weather returned by mid- to late September, allowing the rest of the grapes to slowly develop. On average, the remainder of harvest was completed as usual, though some wineries finished as much as a month early.

E-mail comments to lbennett@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page F - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Dates, fruit typical of the Middle East, may help transform the reality of the northeastern semiarid. This is the proposal of Egyptian agronomist Magdi Ahmed Ibrahim Aloufa, who developed, in the biotechnology laboratory of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), date saplings adapted to northeastern Brazil.

The researcher is now after partners interested in growing the plants and trading dates, a greatly appreciated product in the country. To him, however, as important as the economic potential of the fruit, is its capacity for adaptation to degraded areas and dry regions.

A coordinator at the laboratory and vegetable physiology professor at UFRN, Magdi Ahmed believes that the northeast has chances of becoming an exporter of dates, but has not yet started investing in this market sector.

"The plant has a very good economic value. And the only Latin American country that has acclimatized dates is Mexico, from where Brazil imports the largest share of the dates it currently consumes," explained the Egyptian, who has been based in Rio Grande do Norte since 1983.

According to him, in Petrolina, in the interior of Pernambuco, there are some date producers, but they plant from seeds, a practice that does not guarantee the quality of the fruit.

"In laboratory, we developed saplings through biotechnology, guaranteeing the size, flavor and early maturing of the dates," he explained. This way, the dates take only four years to produce fruit, whereas from seed, and without quality control, dates could take up to 15 years to start producing.

Magdi Ahmed's main objective, however, is to occupy degraded regions and semiarid soil with date palms. "It is a plant from the Middle East, produced in all of the Arab countries, and that grows in the desert. Therefore, apart from the economic question, which is the one that currently interests the most, there is also the environmental question, which is the word of the hour," he evaluates.

Date palms fertilize the soil, reducing the temperature and interrupting the progression of areas that are in a process of desertification. Despite the viability of his project, the Egyptian has found difficulties in finding partners. He has presented the proposal to several governmental organizations. All of them have demonstrated interest in the project, but they allege lack of funds.

"The secretariat of Science and Technology of the state of Rio Grande do Norte has also shown interest, but has not yet answered," explained the researcher, who is also after companies and non-government organizations interested in developing his dates.

"I believe that a large part of this resistance is due to the fact that it is not a fruit of the region. This is a shortsighted point of view as it is a project with great potential. But there must be ample work to introduce this new fruit," he explains.

According to him, the partners could also help by supplying a structure for development of the saplings. "Despite having a capacity for production of a large number of trees, the Biotechnology Laboratory at UFRN does not have sufficient structure for acclimatization," he laments.

He, who is one of the pioneers in the cloning of plants in the Northeast, believes that the future of the entire region is in investment in agriculture and technology.

"The progress is slow due to lack of resources. I am very sorry, as we could be doing much more. With the support of the government, we could develop the region, putting into practice what we are developing in the laboratory," he explains.

Despite the lack of interest of partners for the production of dates, the agronomist is celebrating an agreement signed between the UFRN and the Bank of the Northeast (BNB), which has already made possible research for the production of special cashew and Brazilian plum trees. "We intend to produce these trees in great quantity and distribute them to small producers, family farmers," explained Magdi.

The laboratory received 128,000 Brazilian reais (around US$ 65,000) for the project and the result of the studies is that cashew, abundant in the region, may be produced with quality control, as is the case with the Brazilian cherry, a fruit that is facing extinction.

The city of Serra do Mel, 320 kilometers away from Natal, will be one of those benefited by the initiative. "The city currently lives off cashew trading, but the fruit produced there is native, and does not produce large volumes of fruit," explains the agronomist, who plans to distribute around 50 saplings to the farming families in Serra do Mel.

Conservation

Apart from production of saplings of native fruit, the BNB resources are also being employed in the modernization of the Vegetable Biotechnology Laboratory, which has been developing research on plant cloning for 23 years. According to Magdi, the site is also going to receive a center for conservation of native species that are facing extinction.

"The funds should be spent in phases. Therefore, apart from modernizing the laboratory, we are creating a germplasm bank, where we will keep some threatened species in vitro," explained the laboratory coordinator. According to him, the preservation in laboratory will be a reference in the Northeast, where there are only similar experiments in the field.

"In vitro, we guarantee that the plants will not suffer natural accidents, being threatened by climate conditions and diseases," he explained. The researcher also added that the redoing of the existing structure in the laboratory should be ready by the end of the year, but that the establishment of the conservation center is a long-term project.

The research for genetic improvement of the plants in Rio Grande do Norte began in 1984, with Magdi Ahmed's arrival - he is a doctor in biotechnology from Université de Pierre e Marie Curie (Paris) - at UFRN.

At the time, there was no laboratory, and no qualified personnel specialized in genetic engineering at the University. Determined, Magdi sent a project to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and managed to collect funds for the purchase of equipment, as well as scholarships for graduation students to work in the laboratory.

Today, apart from coordinating the space and teaching vegetable physiology, the Egyptian also has a base for research on vegetable biotechnology and is a consultant at the Rio Grande do Norte Agricultural Research Organization (Emparn) and of the CNPq itself.


Source: brazzilmag.com

Publication date: 9/11/2007

Iran, third producer of raisins
Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:49:14

With a total production of 180,000 tons per year, Iran is the world's third producer of raisins, an Agriculture Ministry official says.

Ali Akbar Yassemi put the total world production of raisins per year at around 850,000 tons.

Farouj in North Khorasan province is one of the most important producers of raisin in Iran, he added, noting that raisin produced in Farouj is exported to more than 100 countries.

With its total production of grape estimated at 136,000 tons per year, North Khorasan province ranks sixth in the country.

ARAT on the NEWS!

About a year and half ago, Mrs. Frances Harrison, Head of BBC NEWS Tehran, along with her crew visited Arat's Factory to cast a report about "Iranian exporters fear sanctions". They also had an interview with Arat's Managing Director Mr. Siamak Shahriari.

You can find the details of this report on BBC's website by following link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4697866.stm

The Roumer Has It !

According to the unofficial sources, Arat Co. has been elected as Iran's exemplary exporter in the field of food exportation for the year 2007, for the second time in the history of the Company.

This is very exciting news for all of the people in Arat co. and if it turns to be true! We owe it to the support and help of our valued customers and suppliers who have assisted us to reach this goal.

It is time for a new look!

After having the old website for almost 6 years, it was time for Arat co to have a new and technically enhanced website. This is to ensureestablishing a better platform  for exchanging information between Arat Co. and its customers.

Anuga is the most important trade fair for the world of food & beverages which is held biannualy. Arat Co will be attending this fair on October 13th till October 17th, 2007.

Our booth is located at Rheinparkhalle Hall Stand # D120.

We're looking forward to see you there in our booth.