Mike Knowles

Managing Director at Eurofruit

Fresh produce industry expert and MD of Fruitnet Europe, Watching and analysing trends and #freshideas in the fruit and veg business 🍎🍊🍌🥦🫐🍇

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Articles

Chiquita urged to condemn arrest of Panama union leaders

5 days ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

US-based organisation Global Labor Justice has called on multinational fruit company Chiquita to join Latin American trade union coalition Colsiba in condemning the arrests of Francisco Smith and Gilberto Guerra, leaders of Panama farm workers union Sitraibana. They were arrested just under a week ago after they organised a six-week strike in Changuinola, in the northwestern province of Bocas del Toro.
Middle East conflict threatens global fresh produce industry with inflation and supply chain disruptions

6 days ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

The dramatic escalation of conflict in the Middle East has the potential to affect the fresh produce business negatively in a number of ways, according to one of the industry’s leading analysts.
Spreadsheets out, databases in: Agriplace heralds €50bn traceability tipping point

1 week ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

Inspections are increasingly linked to cloud-based data systemsImage: Adobe StockStricter rules and a lack of workers continue to drive the fresh produce industry’s increasingly rapid shift from legacy IT to more interconnected, cloud-based systems, according to one of the fresh produce industry’s leading AI systems providers. As a result, the business has reached a digital transformation milestone, with a new breed of compliance platforms managing vast tracts of supply chain data.
Oddbox sells ten million boxes of rescued fruit and veg

1 week ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

UK-based company Oddbox says it has now sold more 10mn boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables direct to consumers, and in the process has rescued almost 55,000 tonnes of produce that was at risk of going to waste. The group sources unwanted fruit and vegetables directly from farmers when those products either don’t meet supermarket standards or are surplus to requirements.
Lidl invites festival-goers to help ‘Drop the Beet’

1 week ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

Lidl wants young festival-goers in the Netherlands to see fruit and vegetables not only as healthy but also as a “fun and energetic” addition to their lives. With that in mind, the retailer has organised a new event called Drop de Biet (‘Drop the Beet’), which will promote the power of fresh produce at two of the country’s top summer music festivals – Best Kept Secret and Pinkpop.
‘Outdated and misleading’: Ecuador banana exporters refute Global Rights Report

2 weeks ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

Ecuador’s banana export industry has hit back at suggestions that workers face a “a stark and worsening global crisis” which will see their rights seriously eroded around the world.
Dole founder and produce champion David Murdock dies, aged 102

2 weeks ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

David Murdock, the billionaire founder of the world’s biggest fresh produce company Dole and an advocate of plant-based, healthy diets, has died at the age of 102.
Vog powers up Giga sales with Superman tie-in

2 weeks ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a Giga apple, landing in supermarkets and cinemas for a Superman film tie-in. This summer, Italian marketer Vog has teamed up with the Global Consumer Products arm of Warner Bros Discovery to promote the goodness of Giga-branded fruit alongside the heroic strength of Superman, who returns in the eponymous, highly anticipated DC Studios film on 9 July.
Robot-friendly strawberry picks up Superior Taste Award

2 weeks ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

Dutch company The Greenery’s Inspire strawberry has been awarded three stars at the international Superior Taste Awards 2025, marking out the variety as one of the top performers when it comes to qualities including taste, texture, and aroma. During a blind assessment by 250 chefs and sommeliers from the International Taste Institute in Brussels, Inspire achieved a total score between 90 and 100 per cent, and received the maximum three stars to mark it out as an exceptional product.
Apple exporter revises profit guidance and confirms packhouse sale

2 weeks ago | fruitnet.com | Mike Knowles

New Zealand’s largest apple exporter expects to make a larger net profit this year than first anticipated. In a statement, Scales Corporation updated its earnings guidance for 2025 and said it now expected its underlying net profit after tax attributable to shareholders to be between NZ$4mn and NZ$45mn, up from its previous guidance range of NZ$37mn-NZ$42mn. Commenting on the improvement, managing director Andy Borland noted the group’s performance in tbe first half of the year had been strong.