Leading companies across the global fresh fruit and vegetable business are gearing up to make a splash at Asia Fruit Logistica, which returns to Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo Center on 5-7 September 2018.
Asia Fruit Logistica confirmed its position as Asia’s premier continental trade show for the fresh fruit and vegetable business in 2017, attracting more than 13,000 high-quality visitors from 76 different countries. Well over three quarters of those visitors came from Asia, representing 20 different markets across the Asia-Pacific region.
More than 800 companies from 43 different countries exhibited at Asia Fruit Logistica 2017, an increase of over 150 exhibitors compared with the 2016 edition. Many new companies and countries are joining the show in 2018.
New exhibitors
Singapore’s Changi International Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports and a key hub for perishable air cargo in South East Asia, becomes the first airport to exhibit at Asia Fruit Logistica.
Oman and Azerbaijan are making their debut appearance as exhibiting nations. Leading UK trade publication The Fresh Produce Journal is also hosting the first-ever dedicated British and Irish pavilion at Asia Fruit Logistica, where companies from the two nations will exhibit together and show the global trade the wide range of quality produce and service expertise they can offer.
“As the UK prepares to depart the European Union, its fruit, vegetable and potato producers are increasingly looking for new trading opportunities across the world, and Asia in particular,” said editor of The Fresh Produce Journal (FPJ) Michael Barker. “As the number-one trade show in the continent, Asia Fruit Logistica is the perfect platform to boost trade between the two sides, and we at FPJ are looking forward to helping facilitate discussion, ideas and trade for the mutual benefit of customers and consumers in both Asia and the UK and Ireland.”
Bigger presence
Many existing exhibitors are also ramping up their presence at Asia Fruit Logistica. The Korea pavilion will double in size compared with last year as the country’s growers and exporters seek to capitalise on the growing appetite for Korean fruits and vegetables across the region. Regional produce powerhouse Dole Asia and Chinese fresh fruit importer Berda Fruit are both doubling the size of their stands.
“We have experienced very good growth over the past year or two, hence the need for a bigger stand,” said Pieter Marais, Berda Fruit’s global procurement manager. “In the past, we mainly had our overseas clients visiting our stand and having meetings there, but now our online sales team are also seeing all their local Chinese clients at Asia Fruit Logistica. Our online sales team deals with clients not covered by the wholesale channels, such as smoothie chains, fruit shop chains and online shops, and this is the ideal place for them to meet all their clients.”
Information and insights
Visitors to Asia Fruit Logistica will also find a wealth of information and insights through a busy programme of events at the trade show.
It all gets under way with Asiafruit Congress, Asia’s premier fresh produce conference event on 4 September. Taking place the day before Asia Fruit Logistica at the same venue, Asiafruit Congress is the perfect primer to the trade show, providing an exclusive overview of market trends and enabling delegates to work out who and what to focus on at the three-day exhibition. Delegates to Asiafruit Congress receive a three-day pass to Asia Fruit Logistica.
Asiafruit Congress celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, organiser Asiafruit Magazine kicks off the conference with a look back at how the business in Asia has changed over the past two decades, and at how it is changing now. Other general sessions focus on supplying Asia’s food retail market of the future, and on the hot products and suppliers to watch in the Asian fresh produce trade. Breakout sessions at Asiafruit Congress spotlight the growth of the Korean market, effective marketing to Asia’s vast traditional food retail trade, the next big boom for citrus in Asia and the keys to capitalising on Asia’s convenience craze.
On the show-floor at Asia Fruit Logistica, visitors can take part in two concurrent hall forums.
Asiafruit Business Forum (Hall Forum 1) offers practical ideas and solutions for better fresh produce marketing and business management. Day One focuses on Production & Trade, looking at ‘breakthroughs in breeding’, ‘big trends in bananas’ and ‘covered cropping solutions’. Day Two is all about Packaging, including the latest advances in shelf-life preservation and hi-tech packing and grading systems. Marketing is the focus for Day Three, which looks at ‘marketing for occasions’, ‘fresh opportunities in food service’ and at how to collect and use consumer insights effectively in a marketing campaign.
Logistics and hi-tech
At Hall Forum 2, visitors can take in Cool Logistics Asia, a programme of workshops on perishable logistics running each morning of the three-day show. Each afternoon, Smart Horticulture Asia takes place, a forum looking at the latest disruptive technology and digitalisation of the supply chain.
Cool Logistics Asia focuses on four broad themes this year: changing perishable trade patterns, changing priorities in sustainable packaging, maximising cold chain investments, and tracking modal shifts.
Day One at Smart Horticulture Asia turns the spotlight on ‘blockchain’, examining its role in the future management of the fresh produce supply chain. Robotics is the theme for Day Two, which explores the application of such technology for the horticulture industry. Day Three looks at the new technologies disrupting the way crops are produced under the theme of ‘Digital growing in a digital supply chain’.
Media Studio
In addition to the Hall Forums, the new Media Studio Asia Fruit Logistica also features on the show-floor this year. The Media Studio hosts quick-fire interviews with key industry figures on a range of exciting developments and innovations.
Tickets can be purchased from the online ticket shop. Click here to access the ticket shop for Asia Fruit Logistica and Asiafruit Congress.
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