A number of leading European companies involved in the fresh produce trade took part in this year's Asia Fruit Logistica, which took place in Hong Kong on 2-4 September 2009.
Sjaak van der Meij of Dutch importer Hagé International felt the show had managed to build on last year's successful debut. 'The quality of the visitors is impressive,' he said. 'The people that are here are the really important people in the trade. They’re the decision makers.”
Furio Mazzotti, commercial director of Italian export company Made in Blu, added: 'Hong Kong is definitely the right place to meet, because it's geographically central and gives Asia something similar to Fruit Logistica in Berlin. Other importers working in the Far East region should really be looking to attend.'
Fruitnet.com also spoke to a number of the event's European exhibitors about the development of their business in the region:
Enza Zaden
Vegetable seed developer Enza Zaden managed to attract not only several of Asia's leading fresh produce companies to its stand but also leading Hong Kong television broadcaster TVB Jade, which focused in particular on the group's Sweetgreen pepper, grown in the Netherlands, and its miniature, sweet snack peppers grown in Malaysia.
'The Asian fresh produce companies visiting the Enza Zaden booth were positively surprised about the quantity and quality of the displayed products from Malaysia,' reported the group's head of fresh produce development Chris Groot. 'That is great news as 70 per cent of the products displayed, including all the Eazyleaf varieties, originated from that country.'
Rijk Zwaan
International seed breeder Rijk Zwaan held the official Asian launch for its new Sensational Flavours Line of products at Asia Fruit Logistica.
Sensational Flavours consists of a range of varieties that are bred primarily to deliver exceptional taste to consumers, but also aroma, texture and visual appeal to provide a distinctive sensory experience, according to the company’s chain manager for Asia Jan Doldersum.
These unique varieties, which were developed with the aid of assessments from experienced tasting experts, were the focus of culinary demonstrations organised by Rijk Zwaan during the show.
Proprietary Rijk Zwaan products being promoted included the striped aubergine (Angela RZ), the sweet pointed pepper (Palermo RZ), the cocktail cucumber (Quarto RZ), the cocktail tomato (Amoroso RZ) and the supersweet yellow baby melon (Yellissimo RZ).
France
Leading names in the French export business, including Blue Whale, Prim'land, BVL, Fleuron d'Anjou and Cardell Export, exhibited on a joint stand managed by the country's fresh produce interprofessional organisation Interfel in partnership with promotional group Sopexa.
According to Interfel marketing manager Daniel Soares, France sees enormous potential in the region for its exports, with apples and kiwifruit leading the way, while the development of markets for high-quality mini-vegetable production is also showing good signs of growth in demand among Asian customers.
Technogreen
Egyptian export company Technogreen exhibited for the first time at this year's Asia Fruit Logistica.
'We see a window for Egyptian strawberries running from the end of December to the middle of March, so later than the European season which is usually from the start of November to the middle of February,' commented export director Mohamed Shams.
'Competition in the European market is particularly strong, so it will be important for us to develop alternative markets here in Asia over the next few years.'
Mr Shams added that he also saw potential opportunities to develop exports of Egyptian pomegranates and citrus to the region.
Made in Blu
Italian companies were out in force at this year's show, with a number of them exhibiting as part of a joint stand managed by Mediterranean Fruit Company, a consortium which focuses on developing markets outside Europe and which includes some of the major names in the Italian fresh produce sector.
Furio Mazzotti, export director of Made in Blu, said Asia had the potential to grow further as a market for Italian produce in the next few years, buoyed by the recent opening of the Chinese market to the country's kiwifruit.
Made in Blu sent the first containers of kiwifruit to China last year and plans to ship around 40-50 container-loads this season starting in December, Mr Mazzotti said.
Decco
International post-harvest technology specialist Decco Worldwide says it sees plenty of room for growth in Asia during the coming years as demand for high quality, safe fruits and vegetables around the world places increased pressure on growers and producers in the region to establish modern systems of integrated production that meet the stringent requirements of top-level certification schemes.
At this year's Asai Fruit Logistica, the company announced the launch of DeccoNatur, a new line of sanitising and coating products. 'Asia is under-developed in terms of post-harvest technology,' said the company's Daniel Alabadi.
'The biggest challenge will be to ensure its products are delivered in a good, safe condition with good taste and the least possible residues.'
Befresh
Leading Belgian exporter Befresh continues to build notable demand for Belgian Conference pears, despite the fact that only a few years ago the variety was pretty much unknown among Asian customers and shoppers.
'At the beginning it was a challenge to sell the variety here in Hong Kong, but we've persevered and marketed it through retail stores,' explains the company's area manager for Asia, Thomas Simillion.
Nowadays, the company sells a sizeable volume of the fruit throughout the Hong Kong and New Territories areas under its Truval brand. 'Branding is very important here in Asia, more so than in Europe,' says market development director Marc Evrard.
Apart from Hong Kong, Befresh is also looking to develop new market opportunities in other parts of Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Sorma Group
'We want ot be a global company, working not just in the mature markets of Europe and the US but also emerging ones like Asia and South America.'
That was the view of Mauro Pernici, managing director of leading fresh produce packaging and grading company Sorma Group, which was exhibiting as part of the MFC stand.
Mr Pernici revealed plans to establish a new joint venture in Bangalore, India which will aim to supply exporters and, subsequently, domestic suppliers with a more affordable, basic range of equipment designed to satisfy the needs of international markets.
'From the beginning of next year, the joint venture will start supplying fairly simple and low-cost machinery that can produce simple packaging at a reasonable cost,' he added.
Apofruit Italia
Italian fresh produce company Apofruit supplies a significant volume of fruit, above all kiwifruit, to the Asian market, according to export sales manager Renzo Balestri.
Next year, the company expects to see greater demand for Italian pears, Mr Balestri revealed.
'Kiwifruit is our main export to the region, but the Abate Fetel pear variety is slowly gaining a stronger following among Asian consumers,' he said.
While Hong Kong and Taiwan represent the group's top export destinations in Asia, Mr Balestri added that Indonesia and China held potential for future development.
Alegra
Another giant of the Italian fresh produce trade, Alegra, exhibited at Asia Fruit Logistica for the first time this year.
'After the opening of the Chinese market to Italian kiwifruit, obviously the prospects for a company such as ours are very good and we could see the development of an interesting market here during the next few years,' commented Manuela Sangiorgi, Alegra's area manager for Asia.
More information on this year's Asia Fruit Logistica and the Asiafruit Congress will appear in the September/October 2009 issue Asiafruit Magazine. For more details on how to subscribe, please contact Angelica Simoes - email: angelica@fruitnet.com; telephone: +44 20 7501 3714
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