Click here to see photos from this year's Asia Fruit Logistica and Asiafruit Congress
A big increase in the number of trade visitors from all over the world has confirmed Asia Fruit Logistica as the must-attend annual trade fair for the fresh fruit and vegetable business in Asia.
The three-day event, which took place last week at Hong Kong’s convention and exhibition centre, attracted more than 4,100 visitors, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year. Trade visitors came from 60 different countries around the world.
“This is a new record,” said Gérald Lamusse, managing director of event organiser Global Produce Events. “It clearly demonstrates how Asia Fruit Logistica is now accepted by the fresh produce business around the world as the must-attend event in Asia.”
Asia Fruit Logistica, which took place from 8-10 September 2010 at the HKCEC Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, in tandem with the Asiafruit Congress 2010, also attracted 304 exhibitors from 30 different countries, a 34 per cent increase on the previous year.
These included companies and organisations from all over Asia, including a record participation from China, South Korea, and Japan, as well as from major supplying countries such as the US, France, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Peru and Argentina.
“More than 40 per cent of exhibitors are based in Asia, up from the previous year,” said Mr Lamusse. “It demonstrates that, as intra-regional trade in Asia is growing, the leading companies and organisations in Asia now see Asia Fruit Logistica as the right platform to develop their business.”
Trade buyers, who account for more than 90 per cent of all trade visitors to Asia Fruit Logistica, included leading supermarket chains from the big emerging consumer markets such as China, India, Russia as well as from Europe and the US.
Three-quarters of all trade visitors to Asia Fruit Logistica hold key management positions in their companies, with 91.2 per cent of all visitors rating the event as good to excellent, according to official surveys.
Asiafruit Congress, Asia’s annual fresh produce business conference, was attended by some 500 delegates from 35 different countries. The three-day conference, which is organised by Asiafruit Magazine, runs alongside Asia Fruit Logistica.
“Asiafruit Congress delegates were able both to get the latest information about what’s happening in Asia and to enjoy even more opportunity to network before and during the conference,” said Asiafruit Magazine editor John Hey.
The strong growth of this combined congress and exhibition event underlined its unique status as the leading business, information and networking platform for the fresh fruit and vegetable trade in Asia, the organisers added.
Asia Fruit Logistica and the Asiafruit Congress have confirmed dates for 2011. They will take place on 7-9 September 2011 at the HKCEC Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.
COMMENTS
Visitors
Joon Hong (June) Choi
Director, Jinwon Trading Co (South Korea)
“It’s amazing how big this event has become and how quickly it’s grown. Many Korean importers and retailers are visiting to meet with Asian buyers and suppliers as well their suppliers from other parts of the world like Chile and the US. They can meet everybody they need to see at this event.”
Leo Chiu
Managing director, Goldland Fruit Group (China)
“Asia Fruit Logistica has become a big event, and it’s growing every year.”
Rod Hill
China procurement manager, Capespan (UK)
“Asia Fruit Logistica is taking off. It’s now turning into a bigger show with more companies and more worldwide interest. It shows the increasing interest from Asia in global products. I haven’t stopped and there have been consistent meetings like we have at Fruit Logistica in Berlin.”
Nalemon Chutipanyaporn
Senior merchandise manager (fresh food), Makro Cash & Carry (Thailand)
“We can find more and more suppliers here, which is great, and this year there are more country pavilions. We’re now importing so much of our fresh produce directly and developing our assortment that attending Asia Fruit Logistica and Asiafruit Congress is an excellent way of seeing our suppliers. Where before we were buying from brokers, now we can see the specialists in each product group.”
Keita Watari
President and CEO, Watari Co (Japan)
“Asia Fruit Logistica has been growing every year. If I can, I want to come back next year. I want to come back every year.”
Exhibitors
Tony Gibbs
Chairman, Turners & Growers (New Zealand)
“Our stand has been mobbed everyday. We've done countless media interviews and there's been a constant stream of high-quality buyers from all major retailers and wholesalers around Asia, and many from around the world. The amount of interest in our proprietary varieties like Jazz and Envy apples and EnzaRed and EnzaGold kiwifruit has been phenomenal.”
Amanda Burger
Assistant director for national pavilions, DTI (South Africa)
“Our exhibitors on the South African pavilion are all very happy. Asia is a growing market for us and there is definitely a lot more room for further growth. Around 50 per cent of our visitors represented new business.”
Shuji Uchibori
Kintetsu World Express Sales Inc, Japan Government Project Office (Japan)
“The show has been very successful for all our exhibitors at the Japan pavilion and they’ve had a great many enquiries and business meetings.”
Patrick McGreesh
Export sales manager, BGP International (Australia)
“We’ve been very busy with people coming by our stand. It’s a great opportunity to catch up with all our customers in one place and we’ve had a number of new customers coming through as well. The event has certainly grown in size since last year.”
EXHIBITOR PROFILES
NEH (Philippines)
Philippine banana marketer NEH was making a show of the company’s new Fair Trade line at this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica. After spending three years getting certification for its first 50ha – the first Fair Trade certification for bananas in Asia – NEH is looking initially at Japan as a market for the premium product. “We’re doing market research in Japan, and marketing will start there in October in Aeon supermarkets,” NEH’s general manager Jeroen de Haas said, adding that sales are expected to take six to 12 months to establish. Based on orders from Japan and other markets of interest like Singapore and South Korea, NEH hopes to certify further plantations over the next few years.
Pakistan Dates (Pakistan)
Pakistan was promoting awareness of its global standing and capabilities as a supplier of dates at Asia Fruit Logistica. While Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of dates in the world with around 535,000 tonnes harvested annually, its exports have so far been limited to a few markets, such as the UK, South Africa and the US. “We’re trying to get into the Asian markets like China,” said Kausar Fecto, consultant with Velmor Enterprises, which was exhibiting under the ‘Dates from Pakistan’ banner alongside fellow exporting companies Nadeem Dates Factory and Supreme International. “We’re trying to create awareness that dates exist in Pakistan and that we’re a significant supplier.” While date demand is strong in Asia, supplies have tightened up, partly due to international trade sanctions against Iran, one of the world’s leading growers and suppliers of the product.
Lytone Enterprise (Taiwan)
Regular Asia Fruit Logistica exhibitor Lytone was promoting is tropical fruit supply with a stand as part of the Taiwanese pavilion this year. Lytone has married its proprietary shelf life extension technology with tropical fruit supplies from Taiwan and Thailand, explained the company’s president Dr William Chang. “Anywhere you want to ship tropical fruits to, we can keep them fresh for up to 30 days,” he explained. Lytone’s latest efforts have been on starfruit, guavas and mangosteen from Thailand, with the Canadian market in particular representing a growing destination for the products. The company, which has been Taiwan’s largest mango exporter since 2006, is also looking for new customers in the Middle East.
Mango Road (Australia)
As the Australian mango season got underway, exhibitor Mango Road was promoting its new logistics arrangements. Export arm for Australian mango growers Manbulloo and Piñata, the company’s mixture of air and sea legs is cutting costs and transit times, according to Piñata managing director Gavin Scurr. “We’re the only mango exporter that ships by sea out of Australia,” he explained. “We’re doing a sea and airfreight trial to Dubai, which is really innovative.” The company is also sending three varieties of mango – Honey Gold, R2E2 and Kensington Pride – to Korea this year, the first Australian company to have done so since a protocol was signed for the market in 2006.
FRT (China)
The opportunities for cold storage solutions in Asia are huge, according to Chinese company Beijing Fruitong Science and Technology Co (FRT). FRT is the Chinese partner of Dutch cold storage technology provider Storex, and now builds cold storage systems in China using Storex’s designs. “We are a turnkey provider,” said FRT president Yongchun Chen. “We provide the buildings, software, training and advice.” While FRT is finding many opportunities within China, the company has also had some marked success in other markets. FRT has recently secured a US$35m contract in Pakistan, and has also installed the first controlled atmosphere storage facility in North Korea.
Citrus Sur (Argentina)
One of a number of major South American fresh fruit companies at Asia Fruit Logistica was Citrus Sur, an exporting and marketing company with offices in Manila, the Philippines. The office serves as a hub to coordinate the company’s activities in South East Asia. The region is an increasingly important market for Citrus Sur, according to the company’s Nicolas Rabinovich, particularly for mandarins and oranges. Mr Rabinovich explained India is also an interesting potential market for Argentinean citrus, and the company is awaiting a protocol. Apart from citrus, the company is experimenting with blueberry sales in Japan and Taiwan, as well as products like Packham pears.
Produce Specialties (Fiji)
The sole company to represent Fiji at Asia Fruit Logistica was Produce Specialities, a grower-marketer exploring the Hong Kong market for its proprietary Fiji Sunrise Solo Red papaya variety. The company accounts for 60 per cent of the papaya grown in the island nation, and the majority of the country’s papaya exports, which go to Australia, New Zealand and Japan. “We came here because our production is increasing… and Air Pacific just started a weekly direct flight `from Fiji` to Hong Kong,” explained the company’s Graeme Thorpe. “Currently we export up to 5 tonnes a week, but early next year we’ll be up to 20 tonnes a week.”
Gansu Qin’an Longyuan Fruit Co (China)
Shandong and Shaanxi may be the most recognised growing areas for Chinese apple exports, but Gansu Qin’an Longyuan Fruit Co was exhibiting at this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica to promote awareness of another lesser-known region. Located in the mountainous northwest province of Gansu, Qin’an boasts natural geographic advantages for producing apples, according to general manager of Gansu Qin’an Longyuan Fruit Co Du Xinrong. “We grow apples at high altitude with ample sunlight, moderate rainfall and a good day/night temperature range,” said Mr Du. Exports are rendered more of a challenge because of the logistics of shipping from such a remote region, but Mr Du said the Middle East and South East Asia have become important markets. “We’re exhibiting to try and find more committed clients and seek new markets,” said Mr Du. Huaniu (Red Delicious) and Golden Delicious, two of the region’s key varieties, were on display at the stand, while Red Fuji will be available from the end of October.
Siam Jumbo International (Thailand)
A first-time exhibitor at Asia Fruit Logistica, Thai export company Siam Jumbo was impressed with the strength of interest for its products from East Asian countries at the show. “We’ve exhibited at Fruit Logistica in Berlin a few times but this is the first time we’ve exhibited at Asia Fruit Logistica and we’ve had a huge number of enquiries from China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other East Asian countries,” said managing director of Siam Jumbo International Suwanchai Chavanchankij. “There is particularly strong interest in our mangosteen, rambutan and durian.”
Enza International (New Zealand)
Enza International has seen a sharp upturn in sales of its proprietary Jazz apple in Asia this year, which was being showcased at Asia Fruit Logistica alongside another of the company’s new varieties (Envy). “We’ve increased the volume `of Jazz` in Asia this year significantly, from 15,000 trays to 80,000 trays, with markets like Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore leading the way,” said Enza International’s marketing and communications manager Campbell Naish. “You’ve still got your stereotypical sweet apple market in Asia, but there is a growing segment `of people` wanting fruit with different flavour profiles.” Enza has conducted a dry matter programme for its Jazz apple to boost sweetness levels for Asian consumers. “We’ve done some big promotions with Tesco in Thailand and the key retail chains in Singapore,” added Mr Naish. “Retailers are supporting it – they like the way it travels, stores and eats.”
Hapag-Lloyd (China)
Major global shipping line Hapag-Lloyd made its debut appearance as an exhibitor at year’s Asia Fruit Logistica as part of a campaign to grow its presence on the Asian reefer trade. “We’re here to promote our capabilities as one of the world’s top five reefer carriers to a wider audience,” explained managing director of Hapag-Lloyd China, Thomas Mandelkau. “We are traditionally strongest in Europe, followed by the trans-Pacific trade and then Asia, but we want to increase our involvement in Asia. We’re aiming to compete with the more established players in the region and bring our experts together with producers and suppliers here to show them the services and equipment we can provide for shipping fresh produce.”
Camlin Fine (India)
Mumbai-based company Camlin Fine Chemicals was exhibiting at Asia Fruit Logistica to promote Nanofresh, its proprietary formulation for post-harvest preservation, which is derived from natural ingredients. “Nanofresh forms a coating on the skin of the given fruit to improve the shelf life without affecting the flavour or colour,” explained product manager Neeti Chavan. “It also acts as an antimicrobial.” While the product can be applied to a range of fruits, including tropical fruits and citrus, she said the banana industry is the key driver of sales. “Bananas are a huge market for us,” said Ms Chavan. “We already have a lot of business in Latin America and we’re trying to tap into the Philippines market here at the show.”
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