Asia’s leading fresh produce trade show draws exhibitors from all across the globe, as Asiafruit’s continued special report demonstrates
ClemenGold
Leading South African brand specialist Fruitalyst, which handles the ClemenGold brand, says Asia Fruit Logistica offers a vital networking platform where it can meet with valued existing clients to finetune agreements and discuss further opportunities. “Simultaneously, we enjoy meeting prospective partners from the Asian fresh fruit environment who share our passion for branding and marketing excellence and innovation,” says Adéle Ackermann, marketing manager for ClemenGold International (pictured below). “Our mandarin and seedless lemon brands are firmly established in especially China and the wider Asia market, with tailor-made in-store promotions for ClemenGold, Sweet C and LemonGold drawing shoppers with a promise of quality consistency and great flavour.”
South African Pavilion
South African exporters and industry representatives say they are heading to this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica ready to advance business relations on the back of greatly expanded market access in the region. This year saw increased opportunities for South African citrus fruit, table grapes, apples and pears in Asia. Avocados are also expected to arrive in the market in the second half of the year. “In the light of what already happened this year, we expect keen interest to visit the South African stand,” says one industry observer.
Capespan
Fresh produce exporter Capespan will showcase a range of its top-quality brands at Asia Fruit Logistica this year including Cape, Outspan and Goldland. The Cape brand is the company’s premium quality fruit brand used for grapes, apples and pears. Outspan covers excellent quality citrus, which chief executive Charl De Bois (pictured below) says is sourced from the world’s best growers. “The Outspan Gems brand of premium mandarins has shown exponential growth and has become known for its excellent taste profile, uniform appearance and consistent quality,” De Bois says. The last of the brand range, Goldland, has helped the company to strengthen its global footprint in the Middle East. De Bois says Capespan is excited about the unlimited potential for growth in the Asian market via close collaboration with selected retail and wholesale customers. “Although the big industry growth has been in China, we are as excited about countries such as Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Taiwan.”
Pico
Egyptian producer-exporter Pico is highlighting its new varieties in strawberries and grapes at this year’s exhibition, as well as introducing avocados and Barhi dates to its offering, according to regional sales manager Muhammad Fayed. He says that target markets in the region include Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, while the company is also looking to expand in China, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. “There is huge potential for Egypt in Asia,” he says. “Egypt is now a good source for citrus, strawberries, grapes, stonefruit and avocados. Egypt has developed a lot in varietal development and we now have new varieties that are requested worldwide. Plus we have a price advantage versus competing regions.” At the moment, logistics is the main concern for Egyptian exporters to East Asia. “In addition to issues in the Red Sea, we are seeing a huge increase in airfreight prices to Far East countries,” says Fayed.
Awdi Gardens
New plantings at Lebanon’s Awdi Gardens are set to add not just the newest grape varieties to the company’s portfolio, but also popular cherry varieties, as the company looks to expand. “Our very first markets for Lebanese grapes were in Asia,” says vice-president Ghassan Awdi (pictured below right). “We want to continue growing in Malaysia and Singapore where we are well established. But we also hope to use this opportunity to find and access new markets such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. We want to reconnect with our customers and use this opportunity to properly plan the upcoming season. Although we are limited in the number of countries that have established protocols to import Lebanese grapes, we believe our customers in Asia have become accustomed to Lebanese grapes and they are always included now as part of their supply programmes.”
Keitt Exporters
This year, Kenyan avocado exporter, Keitt, looks to continue its growth in East Asia. “Among the new lines we have launched this season is the ready to eat avocado (RTE),” says Anne Kavai. “We are also excited about our ongoing value-added avocado oil project.” Despite a tough season, Keitt has continued to invest, even if logistics and rising competition remain a challenge. “We continue to push for growth on the Chinese market and also hope to see the Korean market open up,” says Kavai. “We had good volumes of avocados in Kenya this year, and the rains will help boost production and improve quality and sizes for the coming season.” One of the main issues this season has been transit times due to the Red Sea crisis. “We need more options with shorter transit times,” says Kavai. “Australian fruit has also flooded the market in Asia and Peruvian fruit is earlier, so we have to brace ourselves to remain competitive in this region.”
