More than 200 delegates from a total of 24 countries were in Rotterdam on 25-27 May 2011 to attend FRESH2011, the annual conference and networking event for the European fresh produce business.
Speakers from some of Europe's leading fresh produce companies, including Total Produce, Univeg, Dole and The Greenery, took part in detailed discussions about the evolving supply chain, food safety, sustainability, recruitment and direct sourcing.
Rory Byrne, CEO of Total Produce, spoke about recent changes and trends within the industry, pointing to the impact of the recent economic downturn as one of the major challenges ahead for suppliers and exporters.
Addressing the issue of pressure on suppliers from retailers, meanwhile, he underlined the importance of his and other companies continuing to offer value in the services they provide.
'The relevance of intermediaries is constantly being tested,' he told delegates. 'Total Produce needs to prove that it adds value to the chain.'
Gé Happe, European sourcing director for fruit and vegetables at Dutch retail market leader Ahold, argued that the industry would continue to be under pressure to offer more transparency in the supply chain, although he stopped short of predicting a dramatic shift towards direct sourcing at the expense of third-party service providers.
'Bringing growers closer to consumers has made it necessary to have better products, better quality and better taste,' he added.
Delegates to this year's event, which is organised jointly by Eurofruit and Freshfel Europe, were also given the opportunity to listen to a talk given by Magnus Scheving, the creator of children's telelvision show Lazy Town, on how the fresh produce industry in Europe might succeed in encouraging young children to consume more fresh fruit and vegetables.
Scheving's alter ego Sportacus, the main star of Lazy Town television shows and live events around the world, has already achieved success in helping a number of healthy food suppliers to boost their sales and at the same time generate excellent publicity around healthy eating.
'The message from your industry is not clear enough,' he remarked. 'What is your message to consumers about fruit and vegetables? You have fantastic products and the great thing about them is that in your marketing you can tell the truth!'
Presentations from this year's event will be available to download from www.freshcongress.com next week.
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