Representatives of Ahold, Tesco, Edeka, GB-Carrefour and Delhaize have all agreed to contribute to a wide-ranging panel discussion on the future of the fresh produce industry. This will be the first time such a high-powered debate has taken place at a European fresh produce industry conference.

Peter Fry of Tesco, Peter Hostens of GB-Carrefour, Sven-Ake Nordqvist of Ahold European Sourcing, Fred Hofman of Edeka Fruchtkontor, and Jacinto Palma-Dias of Delhaize will make up the special 'supermarket panel' which will meet on the opening morning of the congress on November 6.

Supply chain rationalisation, category management, food safety, ethical and fair trade initiatives are all expected to come under discussion, with the food retailers offering their individual perspectives on how the fresh fruit and vegetable sector as a whole should be confronting these challenges.

Bryan Roberts, the widely-respected and much-quoted retail analyst from M+M Planet Retail, will open the morning session on fresh produce retailing with an in-depth look at the driving factors in food retailing today. He will also look at the latest rankings among food retailers at both a European and international level.

'This is a very exciting development,' said Maura Maxwell, editor of Eurofruit. 'It goes without saying that food retailers play perhaps the most important role in today's produce business. To get a chance to hear what they have to say about the big issues facing our trade today is a very rare occurrence.' The congress takes place on November 6-8.

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