Fruit Focus returns to HRI East Malling in Kent on July 30, after coming of age there last year.
The fruit industry's biggest business to business forum has again attracted exhibitors from across the UK. As well as being the launchpad for new varieties, visitors are promised latest developments in breeding, production and marketing.
Interest from MPs is also expected, say the organisers.
The cornerstone of the 22nd running of the event will again be its seminar programme (full details right).
This year, main sponsor KG Fruits (see page 22) has secured the services of TV wine guru Oz Clarke, who will be hosting two 'invitation only' seminars in the soft fruit marketing company's marquee. At his 'taste-ins' Clarke will separately be highlighting wines suitable for summer drinking and those that taste like British summer fruits.
The event's traditional 'Speaker's Corner' seminars go under the umbrella title of The Business of Horticulture. These are sponsored by the Hartington Group.
The venue, HRI East Malling, is known worldwide for its research into fruit, hops, hardy nursery stock and farm woodlands. Its stand will show much of the research station's work and includes a plant clinic and crop monitoring displays from the last 12 months. On-going efforts to curb black spot mean there will be no tours of its site crops.
In the soft fruit sector eye-catchers include marketing organisation BerryWorld, which highlights the theme of category planning. Visitors can see how its growers and customers are benefiting from this type of working. It is also launching 'BerryWorld Plus', a raspberry breeding programme (page 24).
Polytunnel company Haygrove is calling its stand 'UK Soft Fruit – competing and winning'. This focuses on three challenges for the industry – mechanisation, season extension, and optimising the environment – and how it might tackle these in the next five years. For the latter it includes new spectral filter polythenes being developed in partnership with British Polythene and Reading University.
Among the new exhibitor names this year is The Summerfruit Company (page 16), a joint marketing venture between top fruit marketing set-up Worldwide Fruit and soft fruit importer and distributor Redbridge AFI.
Pages 14-25 of this week's Journal are dedicated to the soft-fruit sector. We will of course be at Fruit Focus, on stand 52. See you there.
SEMINAR SCHEDULE 10.00am Speakers Corner Sponsored by The Hartington Group 'Growing your business – a guide to survival and growth in today's highly competitive climate' • The panel will explore markets, structures and funding with a view to providing insight to growers wishing to secure their future business prospects 11.00amKG Fruits – Seminar (Invitation only) Speaker – Oz Clarke 'Wines suitable for summer drinking' 2.15pmKG Fruits – Seminar (Invitation only) Speaker Oz Clarke 'Wines that have similar flavours to British summer fruits' 3.15pmSpeakers Corner Sponsored by The Hartington Group 'The future of the UK top and soft fruit sector – exploring changing consumer trends and the role of R&D' • The panel will consider how the changing face of consumerism provides opportunities and threats to the sector, and will also explore the future role of horticultural R&D as it impacts on the viability of the sector • The panel consists of: Chairman – Chris Barnes, chairman of Assured Produce Prof David Hughes, Imperial College London Sue Clements, HSBC Agri & Hort manager for Kent and East Sussex Richard Bruce, chief executive, Hartington Group
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