One of the world’s largest fruit and vegetable exhibitions just took place last month.
Anthony Bloxham had the opportunity to once again go to Fruit Logistica in Berlin. There he spent time meeting New Zealand clients on the UNITEC stand and learning from other UNITEC representatives.
At the exhibition, UNITEC Group launched a new class of fruit defect sorting technology. This technology employs their UNIQ Kiwi, UNIQ Plum and UNIQ Apple brand.
UNIQ is the latest in near infer-red detection of fruit maturity, dry matter and brix. UNIQ fits onto the existing UNICAL range of sizers and equipment. It works alongside Sort 3 external and subsurface defect sorting cameras.
There were a number of New Zealand companies represented at the annual exhibition. This brought even more innovative ideas for the New Zealand horticulture industry.
One of the more notable topics which have led to the development of some innovative products in the industry was that supermarkets all across the globe are gradually setting targets to eliminate more and more plastic packaging from their shelves.
Advances in technology
This worldwide change has resulted in the emergence of many forms of bio-degradable packaging, especially for the fruit and vegetable sector.
One company claimed to have developed retail packaging for fruit made from 40% grass paper and 60% cardboard.
Another advance in the industry has been in equipment and systems for quality assurance and being able to measure the maturity of fruit or vegetables (ripeness, sugar levels, brix, densities, etc.) without destroying the fruit.
The industry achieves this by having instruments fitted with a digital display, communicating through WiFi to an application on a mobile phone.
The advancement with this technology enables you to collect specific data; ultimately helping decision making and traceability of fruit and vegetables.
The horticulture industry is constantly expanding and developing especially with the aid of technology.
We here at EQM are constantly striving to know the latest developments in the horticulture sector so we can best serve and assist you, our valued clients.
If you have questions regarding our trip to Fruit Logistica, or about the equipment you are specifically looking for please feel free to contact us at
