Dutch seed breeding firm Rijk Zwaan has introduced its one-cut-ready Salanova lettuce brand in Malaysia, Singapore and Korea, and is soon to launch into the Philippines and Japan.

“Asia is a big market and it is developing,” said co-ordinator for international projects Jan Doldersum. “Rijk Zwaan has established a good network of chain managers in Europe and Australia who are in touch with retailers, traders, processing companies and growers. Retail in Asia is growing so we need to develop extra services here. Next summer I am therefore moving to China to become chain manager for Asia. I will start up various projects to link retail partners and suppliers with growers, along with our technical staff and sales representatives here to back up growers.”

Doldersum will be operating across all Asian countries and products. Rijk Zwaan has operated an office in Qingdao in China’s Shandong province for 10 years. “We are already strong in China with tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers and are entering with open-field crops as well. We also operate a breeding programme to adapt crops to conditions in China,” said Doldersum.

Rijk Zwaan has launched a new melon variety into the UK market called Caribbean Gold this year, produced in Central America. “It is a very unique Harper type, an orange-fleshed European Cantaloupe with a good combination of taste and shelf life. The fruit will be available in Tesco in a few weeks,” said Doldersum.

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