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As a pioneer and a leader in the export of French apples to Asia, again this year Blue Whale attended the Fruit Logistica fair in Asia. It is the regional trade fair for the fruit and vegetable sector in the area.

It was the opportunity for our sales and marketing team to meet again all of our Asian customers at the beginning of the season and also to schedule Blue Whale sales and sales demonstrations in the different countries of the zone.

Moreover, it allowed us to highlight our new products like Novablue®, Liliblue®, Rockit®, new plums … but also to taste some varieties in development, on which we base many hopes for this Asian market where the star products are very sweet and without any acidity!

Once again we were able to verify the incredible success of the Zespri Gold® kiwi in Asia which sales increase every month (as well as prices)! This is the most successful over of the last 20 years in Asia both in volume and value.

Asia is a large area as we export to 14 countries: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh and more recently Burma and South Korea. We hope to reopen the Philippines and maybe one day Japan … to follow!

Blue Whale is in Hong Kong, at the Asia’s leading trade show for the international fresh fruit and vegetable business to represent French Apple in Asia.

ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016 attracted more than 11000 top decision-makers from 74 countries to Hong Kong. A growth of 22% compared with 2015. Altogether, some 665 companies from 37 different countries exhibited their products and services at the trade fair. For sure those figures will increase for 2017!
Bleu Whale teams are satisfied with the 2017 edition. 

Since January 2017, the association called « Les fruiticulteurs Bio de nos campagnes » has been created to bring together Organic apple and kiwi growers from Garonne Valley to Loire Valley. These growers conduct their orchards with a high respect of Nature and Mankind by offering fruit from Organic agriculture. Today, while their fruit are still growing on the trees, they are proud to announce that a brand is born: Element Terre Bio. This authentic brand is now launched thanks to the website http://www.element-terre-bio.fr/ where you can find growers, their organic fruit and some nice and easy recipes. See you soon to bite in an Element Terre Bio apple.

Direct access to Element Terre Bio website

We have had a great spring for the blossoming of the fruit trees and have a certain precocity in all regions.

Cold periods between the 20^th and the 28^th April have caused important damage all around Europe with 3 cold spells successively with frost during the night.

Since 10 years now, we have not had late frost episodes and some of Blue Whale producers had forgot about the risks.

In the Loire Valley, partner producers have been the most affected by these night frosts.

The Blue Whale group has highly invested in the fight against frost. These investments have enabled to save the harvest.

We must continue in investing to reach a 100% protection. The loss of potential per hectare is estimated, as of today, at around 10% loss of volume.

Since the last 4 years, the important investments made by the producers of the Blue Whale group in developing orchards have highly increased our potential as from this year. This allows to make up for the loss.

Our harvest perspective will be as the same as 2016 / 2017 harvest for apples, plums and kiwis.

On Tuesday, 7^th of June 2017, Jean Louis Bouysset, Blue Whale apples and kiwis grower, opened his orchards for the Innov’action 2017 event.

This initiative is led by the chambers of agriculture of Occitania (French region). The aim is to present the new techniques used by farmers. The Innov’Action issues are to detect and valorize innovating farmers. These discovery days allow professionals to exchange, but also to integrate little by little the innovation in agriculture and finally to create a dynamic on the different territories of our region.

This was the opportunity for Jean Louis Bouysset to introduce to us his organic parcels and his new irrigation systems.

The Organic culture at the Bouysset farm is a long-standing story. It all started in 2003 with a conversion of 3ha Hayward kiwis. Then, over the years, conversions of apple varieties succeeded, such as Canada and Ariane and finally there was the development of organic varieties such as Crimson, Opal, Dalinette … If we ask Jean-Louis Bouysset, why he decided to develop organic farming in his orchards, he answers spontaneously that it is first of all to protect the environment but also for economic reasons.

Today, he counts 9ha of organic apples and 3ha of organic kiwis on a whole 30 hectares. His 3 year project is to continue developing varieties resistant to scab to the cost of varieties such as Braeburn, Rouges and Granny… To go even further, Jean-Louis whispers us that he still wants to develop agrobiology in his orchards. The practice of sexual confusion is not new for him because it has been in place for 15 years in his orchards and today it is present on the whole farm. He wants to test the bands of flowers and the fallow lands. The aim is to favour auxiliaries (insects, spiders) to decrease the amount of aphids.

Beautiful projects on this family farm combining both technology and respect for the environment.

Last weekend, the 25^th-26^th of March 2017, the Marathon of Montauban celebrated its 10^th year. Blue Whale, a faithful player company, engaged running and walking teams for the 7^th consecutive year.

Previous years, the Marathon of Montauban lit up the hearth of the city, but for the 2017 edition, it was put on Cours Foucault, large green area, and offered new run and walk routes. More than 3500 people were on the start this Sunday morning of which about 100 from the Blue Whale Group.

We would like to give a special thank to employees, fruit-growers, suppliers and packhouses staff who participated and worn the Blue Whale brand colours during this event. Meet you there next year!

Blue Whale thanks A.D.I.VALOR Company for receiving a bench made by MP Industrie Company based in Gardanne (Bouches-du-Rhône region, South-East of France), using recycled old agricultural plastics and more precisely hail nets.

A.D.I.VALOR (A for Farmers in French Distributors Industrials for VALOrisation of agricultural wastes) is a private non-profit company (SAS). ADIVALOR is a voluntary and collective initiative of the whole agricultural profession. Responsibility is shared between farmers, distributors and industrials. ADIVALOR is based on a network of 1,300 collecting operators that allowed to collect 71,000 tons of worn out plastics and packaging in 2015.

French agriculture is exemplary in the management of its waste without equivalent in the world. The French know-how in agro-supply waste management is a reference, both at European and Global level.

Plastic nets for protection, the hail nets cover in France more than 17,000 hectares of orchards. At Blue Whale, there are 82% of apple orchards, 62% of plum trees and 20% of kiwi surfaces protected by nets. In the South West of France, Blue Whale nets cover about 2,000 hectares.

Composed of low density of polyethylene, these nets have a lifespan of 10-15 years. The use of nets in the arboricultural world has increased a lot since the years 2000. Therefore, nets wastes have multiplied over the past 5 years. So, in order to add value to these wastes, since 2015, the arboriculture industry, manufacturers and distributors of nets have joined forces within ADIVALOR to organize a national sector of management for these particular plastics.

Blue Whale wanted to participate in this initiative from the start, encouraging fruit-growers facilitating the collect organization. For the third consecutive year, Blue Whale nets will be used to make various street furniture.

Receiving this bench in Montauban, at Blue Whale’s head-office, is a nice symbol of the efforts of our fruit-growers and our company in recycling, and more largely in the growing involvement in a dynamic sustainable development.

More information on the site http://www.adivalor.fr/

On 8th, 9th and 10^th of February this year, the Fruit Logistica in Berlin blew its 25th candle.

Since 25 years, things have happened … Blue Whale has grown and the Fruit Logistica Berlin too! Although originally there were only 100 exhibitors from all over the world, today, for the 2017 edition, which is a very busy year according to the first figures, there were about 3,100 people from 86 countries! Visits were also very important this year, with more than 70,000 visitors from 130 countries! Fruit Logistica has gained the reputation of being the world’s biggest trade fair for fruit and vegetables, an unmissable event in the sector!

Blue Whale welcomed you during the 3 days on its stand in the heart of the France lodge to present its innovations, meet customers and partners, but also to learn about the trends and the latest innovations of the sector. The returns of this 2017 edition are very positive! See you next year!

To continue its sustainable development approach, Blue Whale Group joins the apicultural sector aiming to learn well the expectations of each part and work in common. Indeed, our fruit-growers want to favour a good pollination in their orchards respecting biodiversity and so pollination insects both wild and domestic.

Since 1 year, we have been exchanging regularly with the association ADAM (development of apiculture in Midi Pyrenees region). This association provide us its apicultural know-how.

Various actions are led together during this year of partnership:

• Creation of a Blue Whale leaflet for our fruit-growers to help learn the good pollination practices in orchards.
• Series of bees and pollen observations present in Blue Whale orchards during the pollination. These measurement are made by ADAM association checked by ITSAP institute, paid by ANPP and done in Blue Whale Eco responsive orchards.
• Organization of an informational colloquium about pollination, pollinating insects and apicultural sector discovery. This technical morning was organized by Blue Whale on Tuesday 24^th of January with INRA, ADAM, ITSAP and ANPP associations. About sixty participants, beekeepers, fruit-growers and technicians made the trip for this meeting which was enriching for everybody.

Guests words:

Michel B. “It was a very interesting morning and I will apply several things on my farm”

Marie D. “Congratulations for this pollination meeting, I Found it really interesting”

Vincent K. “Fabulous initiative, delighted to discover the tree-growing sector”  

On Friday, 20 January, the General Assembly of the “Fruiticulteurs Bio de nos Campagnes” (Organic Fruit Growers from our countryside) was held in Montauban.

Nearly 70 growers and organic stakeholders were present to participate in the creation of this association, which is essential to the development of the organic sector of our producers.

Why an association?

It makes it possible to group under the same banner, the organic growers, the approved packing stations but also commercial or technical players. At the creation, 61 members from 3 production areas joined the project.

Unanimously elected:

• Chairman : Olivier Sabathié
• Vice chairman :  Jean Pierre Antoniolli
• Secretary: Eric Timmerman
• Treasurer: Alain Vialaret

The association will be the technical meeting place so that everyone can bring their expertise to the service of other members, in order to meet the challenges of organic culture. Several visits and technical meetings are already in the program of 2017.

“Fruiticulteurs Bio de nos Campagnes” will promote our countryside, our producers and the fruit of their work.

Blue Whale wishes good luck to this project!