Potato News from Belgium

Food Sorting Specialist TOMRA today signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in BBC Technologies - including BBC Technologies USA.

Europatat, the European Potato Trade Association, has confirmed the dates for its annual Europatat Congress. Under the slogan “Potatoes: a healthy, sustainable and responsible sector”, the 2018 Congress will focus on sustainability.

TOMRA Sorting Food has appointed two highly experienced senior sales people for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to further implement its controlled growth strategy.

With a rapidly expanding global population and limited food supply, it’s vital for food businesses to work more sustainably and stay profitable. Bjorn Thumas, director business development food, TOMRA Sorting Food offers his vision

Europatat welcomes its new Communication & Policy Advisor, Berta Redondo

Food waste is a global, billion-dollar problem. The White Paper “It’s time to end food waste” explores the origins, the reasons and some exciting solutions for the global food waste problem.

Although the full harvest is not in the stores yet, the North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) estimates the actual harvest at 28.9 million tons for the 5 countries. This is more than the estimate of last September.

Dewulf~Miedema - supplier of a complete line of agricultural machinery for the cultivation of potatoes and root crops - has selected Dewulf as its new official company name.

With worldwide demand for potato products continuing to grow, TOMRA Sorting Food is supporting potato processors by launching an enhanced sorting solution which removes more than 98 percent of all typical foreign objects found in product streams after washing and peeling.

Belgium potato chip manufacturer Roger & Roger invests €10 million (USD 12 million) in Croky Plant

For the current European potato harvest, the North-western-European Potato Growers (NEPG) estimate the total potato production at 27.9 million tons for the five NEPG countries (Belgium, Germany, France, The Netherlands and Great Britain). This is up 13.5 percent compared to last season.

Op basis van proefrooiingen en praktijkresultaten verwacht de NEPG een totale oogst van 27,9 miljoen ton aan consumptieaardappelen in Noord-west Europa. Dat is 13,5% hoger dan vorig jaar.

VDH Concept, a Belgian company specialized in retail packaging for potatoes, vegetables and fruit, has recently introduced SQ Pack, packaging with a net structure perforation.

Mydibel strengthens management team to support its national and international growth ambition:
Appointment of Marc Van Herreweghe as CEO of the Mydibel group

Mydibel versterkt management ter ondersteuning nationale én internationale groeiambities:
Marc Van Herreweghe wordt CEO van de Mydibel Groep.

TOMRA Sorting Food has announced a positive six months trading since the start of 2017 thanks to the successful launch of three sorting platforms, new senior management appointments and the implementation of an enhanced customer support service.

In Belgium - and also in the Netherlands - drought has taken its toll on the early potato harvest. But for the main crop (for storage) a lot depends on the coming weeks and the month of August.

Karel Decramer has decided to quit as the sales director for the vegetable division of Dewulf, specialist in the field of harvesting technology for potatoes and carrots.