November will see us heading for warmer climes with a delegation of importers on a four-day visit to the Dominican Republic. We have a packed agenda with one-day visits to avocado and mango plantations in Azua and Bani; to higher-altitude plantations in the central mountain range town of Jarabacoa; and to banana plantations in Mao and much more. The trip will culminate in meeting government officials including the British ambassador and hosts before flying back to Blighty.

Trade missions are an integral part of our work as we liaise with embassies and UK importers to build relationships and increase trade.

As you will know by now, the Dominican Republic is our fabulous guest nation for the 67th FPC Annual Dinner at the Savoy on 2 February 2013 and we are on target to produce another extra special event.

The Savoy is buzzing, general manager Kieran McDonald and his team are excited, head chef Bernard Meyer is designing an exquisite menu expertly combining English fine dining with vibrant colours and tastes from this wonderful island, and the country is bringing over its finest merengue band to entertain and finest rum to sample. Super florist Sophie Hannah from New Covent Garden has designed spectacular centrepieces and displays with a distinct Dominican tropical theme – don’t miss out, tickets are selling fast so book yours now!

In September we arranged to meet up with ambassador Cuello and Johanna Sanchez at FPC member Fyffes’ Basingstoke office. David Flynn, John Hopkins and the team provided an excellent tour of the site followed by a superb presentation and detailed discussion which our DR colleagues found extremely useful. This is a seriously professional outfit with a great atmosphere, a warm welcome and outstanding hospitality.

We were flattered to be asked to judge the fresh produce category of the Morrisons Masterclass finals at Hillsmore. An impressive event with spectacular displays from food, flower and wine departments, we were blown away by the expertise and enthusiasm of the contestants and the organisers. The skills on show were mightily impressive; these are master craftsmen who love their jobs and share a passion for the retail industry in their specialist areas.

We teamed up with fellow judge Carol Ford, expert trainer and tweeter, to carry out the difficult task of finding a winner – and well deserved it was too. The award winner of the fresh produce category was Lee Smith of the Banbury store who will be orange picking in Spain as part of his well-deserved prize.

The New Covent Garden Market reception at the House of Lords was a great occasion and a pleasure to attend. Networking is fabulous at this event and we spent considerable time catching up with a large number of members. We wish Brenda Dean, Jan Lloyd and the market traders every success moving forward with the exciting development project. —

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