Holding the trade doors open

While globalization has allowed the international fresh produce industry to flourish, it has further opened up issues such as food safety and food miles

For many of us, growing up, studying and settling in the same town or even country is very much a lifestyle of the past. Thanks to fantastic travel connections and sophisticated communication systems, the world has become a much smaller, accessible place in which to live. As for the fresh produce business, globalization has not only influenced demand but facilitated the movement of trade between nations.

North America in particular has a long tradition of ethnic diversity. Migrants throughout the US and Canada continue to demand a diverse range of fruits and vegetables procured from around the world. As a result, many products have lost their seasonality while some niche items have filtered into the mainstream. And, all of this, of course, has been possible with improved transport links and wider market access.

Today, we might breakfast on an Ecuadorean banana, lunch on salad items trucked from Mexico, snack on kiwifruit grown in Italy and enjoy a desert of exotic fruits sourced from across Asia. Globalization and immigration have allowed for exceptional variety in the fresh produce department, and it is getting wider still. As our cover story illustrates, in May the US granted access to Chilean oranges and grapefruit (p12 of this month's Americafruit Magazine) and further deals with other nations remain in the pipeline.

However, after a spate of food safety scares and the emergence of the food miles debate, consumers are increasingly concerned about the provenance of their food, especially imports. As a result, many are turning to locally-grown items, which they consider to be safer and healthier. In 2007 alone, local or regional sales by farmers to household consumers in the US rose 49 per cent to US$1.2bn, according to a USDA census. Although the locavore sector only represented a fraction of the overall US$300bn in farm sales in the US, the growth in its popularity is nonetheless one to bear in mind.

The application of a thorough and trustworthy food safety system in the US is now more vital than ever to rebuild consumer confidence and ensure the door remains open to fruits and vegetables from across the world. And with US Congress poised to pass a comprehensive reform of food safety laws in the US (p5&9 of this month's Americafruit Magazine), it appears we may finally be on the right track.

Let’s not pretend it’s going to be easy for our industry, but modernizing the system will pave the way for restored and even greater public trust in produce. So, long may we enjoy an extensive variety of globally-sourced fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year.