“Since the Coronavirus started, we have seen a drop in demand from our clients. Especially, the exports to Morocco and Germany which have basically been put on hold due to the lock down. Our local processors have also reduced their intake because there is one flight leaving Ghana. Even the juicers like Pinora have had to cancel programmes due to decreased demand on Europe as they are not able to trade right now. So, we have lots of fruit on… +

An update provided by Union Fleurs – International Flower Trade Association The global flower market situation has continued to wither during weeks 13 and 14 with the UK going into shutdown and an increasing number of countries worldwide implementing measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and closing in particular all non-essential shops. Supermarkets are at the moment the only viable channel sustaining exports and sales of flowers in most countries around the world, and even there flowers are said… +

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat has published its key messages addressing the COVID-19 outbreak and lessons for the global phytosanitary community, briefly summarised here. 1. Prevention is always better than cure! The COVID-19 global outbreak is showing the world how science-based preventive actions, including quarantine measures to contain invasive virus threats, are indispensable to protect the health of people, animals and plants alike. We should take particular note of this in the International Year of Plant Health 2020.… +

The coronavirus crisis is placing stress on Europe’s supply chains, with stockpiling leading to empty shelves, new border checks causing traffic jams for truckers, and fears of labour shortages (see Politico, 24 March). But according to Wouter Kolk, CEO for Europe of Ahold Delhaize, panic-buying is likely to subside within a week or two once people start trusting in the food supply again. Fresh products like dairy, fruit and vegetables are the most sensitive to any disruption in the European… +

According to Netherlands-based Amar Import & Export, which specialises in African, Asian, Indian and Caribbean products, exotic vegetable prices are rising (see Fresh Plaza, 24 March). “The cargo flights from Suriname and the Dominican Republic have now been cancelled. That means exotic vegetables have also risen. Ginger prices had already increased dramatically,” said Amar’s Sandeep Singh.… +

The Commission has issued new practical advice on how to implement its Guidelines for border management, in order to keep freight moving across the EU during the current pandemic (see press release, 23 March). To ensure that EU-wide supply chains continue to operate, Member States have been requested to designate all the relevant internal border-crossing points on the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) as “green lane” border crossings (see map). The green lane border crossings should be open to all freight… +

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) welcomed the Commission’s guidelines on green lanes and the announcement that all freight qualifies to access those green lanes, but stated that “We know by experience that maximum 15 mins per truck will continue to result in huge delays and the situation will remain unchanged. There shouldn’t be any systematic checks at borders” (see Fresh Plaza, 24 March). IRU General Delegate Raluca Marian said that “harmonising EU transit rights for non-EU vehicles serving European… +

UK supermarkets are confident that they can cope with the effects of COVID-19 on the supply chain and that shopping patterns will eventually return to normal. But the coronavirus pandemic has awakened wider fears about the strength of the complicated supply chains that modern societies depend on (see BBC News: Business, 26 March). Half of the food consumed in the UK comes from overseas, with 30% coming from the European Union. The government is treating logistics workers as key workers,… +

Given the international nature and the very high degree of integration of the global flower supply chain, the high perishability of the products, and the very complex just-in-time logistics, the global flower industry has been hit hard by the escalating COVID-19 crisis since mid-March (see Statement from Union Fleurs, 24 March). An unprecedented and massive “domino effect” is now in effect at all levels, affecting all European countries and the main flower supplying countries in East Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia) and… +