Technology news from Produce Plus
Technology news stories with a direct relevance to the fresh produce business in Australia and New Zealand, including updates on production and harvesting systems, sorting and grading machinery, packaging, coldstorage and controlled atmosphere, digital management, robots and automation, vertical farming, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
GP Graders launches industry-first sanitary blueberry sorting machine
Post-harvest technology specialist GP Graders has released a new fully sanitary-designed sorting and grading machine specifically engineered for blueberries, featuring dry-handling technology and advanced defect detection
Produce Plus Spring out now
Produce Plus Spring is headlined by a keynote interview with MOYA 2025 winner Sonia Gabauer. She reveals the keys to the successful Driscoll’s Australia Sweetest Batch Strawberries campaign. Plus, a wrap up of Hort Connections and features on berries, avocados, citrus and IFPSS 2025.
Sumitomo Chemical Australia announces new regional managers
Sam Boyce appointed regional manager for eastern Victoria and Stephan Logoida appointed south-east Queensland and Northern Rivers regional manager
AC Foods and Legacy Packing partner with Tomra for packhouse upgrade
Upgrade is AC Foods’ largest investment in the Southern Hemisphere, expanding capacity fivefold
Fresh Del Monte CEO warns of global banana shortage
Fresh Del Monte Produce’s chairman and CEO Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh has issued a stark warning about a global banana shortage, citing the spread of diseases and climate change as key factors affecting production
Australian growers trial advanced tech to cut labour costs
Researchers in Victoria believe new technologies can reduce labour costs in Australian apple and pear industry
Survey: AI and automation in fresh produce supply chains
Fruitnet reaches out to fruit and veg business professionals to investigate current and future impact of groundbreaking new technologies
BeeHero enters third season in Australia
Precision pollination specialist BeeHero has launched its services for Australian growers for the third consecutive season, now supporting over 70,000 acres of crops with new pre-pollination reports and enhanced connectivity infrastructure
Hort Connections 2025 round-up: photo report
See some of the key exhibitors from this year’s event in Brisbane and the award winners
Costa Group harnesses WayBeyond’s FarmRoad to power blueberry innovation
WayBeyond’s enterprise platform helps Costa Group identify the best new blueberries for commercial success
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Inaugural Australian-Grown Innovation Incubate cohort named
A group of 14 growers will join six-week programme to help develop their ideas and innovations
Hort Innovation prioritises productivity with A$220mn R&D investment
Investment in new technology aims to boost productivity and yield while reducing input costs
Market price reporting platform FreshData launches at Hort Connections
Platform allows users to track daily price highs and lows, volume trends, and distribution patterns across Australia’s major central markets.
Horticulture Awards for Excellence finalists announced
Winners to be announced at Hort Connections Gala Dinner of 6 June
Produce Plus Winter out now!
The Hort Connections special edition is now available on the new Produce Plus app featuring a Q&A with The Packaging Hippie Gilad Sadan, the Produce Plus-NielsenIQ Top 20 and features on packaging, grading, citrus and kiwifruit
New Soluna apple juice and fresh cut slices add value for growers
Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies Centre in Western Australia develops now methods to extend shelf-life of value add product
International Fresh Produce Safety Symposium unveils keynote speaker Jim Monaghan
Early bird tickets for the Sydney event close 30 April
Costa trials laser etching on avocados in Easter promotion
Lovacados avocados will be with etched Easter characters in select Victorian stores
Ausveg launches Knowledge Hub centralising R&D projects
More than 3,000 entries cover ag-tech, growing techniques, business development and consumer insights
Gaia Project Australia receives A$1mn seed funding for CEA technology
Ag-tech start-up’s Omni-System designed to increase yields and reduce costs