The Flanders’ Agricultural Marketing Board, VLAM, is taking its Premium Quality, Perfect Taste programme on the road once again this year, with exhibition stands planned for all the major fresh produce shows remaining in 2014. Belgian fruit and vegetables will be highlighted through the same promotional concept introduced last year, at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong, at World Food Moscow in Russia, at pma in the US and wop Dubai in the UAE.
The concept was most recently on show at CPMA at the Vancouver Exhibition Centre in Canada on 2-4 April. A delegation of Belgian auctions was present, including REO Veiling, Veiling Haspengouw and Bel’Orta, along with LAVA, the group comprising the top vegetable auctions in Belgium.
On an organised retail tour, the dearth of Belgian produce was evident, the shelves mostly filled with Canadian, US and Mexican fruit and vegetables. However, according to VLAM, visitors to the fair exhibited a great interest in the Belgian items on display.
“Although the Canadians primarily know Belgium for its beer and chocolate, considerable interest was also shown at the fair in our Belgian endives, red Belgian endives, asparagus and runner beans,” says VLAM’s Leen Leus. “The Canadians chiefly use endives in salads, and they were therefore keen to learn about the other ways in which this versatile vegetable can be used. Chic ‘O Red, the Belgian red endive, also attracted many curious visitors to the vlam stand, due to its striking shape. Our traditional white asparagus also proved to be a curiosity since Canadians are far more familiar with green asparagus.”
Despite the preponderance of North American produce on the supermarket shelves in Canada, Belgian exporters still see the potential for penetration.
“Our most important export products for the Canadian market are currently Belgian endives, leeks, tomatoes and peppers,” says Leus. “The majority of fresh fruit and vegetables in Canadian shops comes either from Canada itself, or from the US. But there is also the potential for Belgian products to carve out a niche for themselves in this market: where there is no, or insufficient, domestic production, we can fill the gaps with our products. There is still a great deal of potential for the Conference pear: its long shelf-life makes it ideal for exporting to distant destinations. However, this pear cannot yet be sold in Canada.”
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