The “Freshness from Europe” project, promoted and financed by the European Union, Italian Government and CSO, will be presented at the Fresh Produce Forum China, which is being held in Chengdu from 31 May to 2 June.
The €5.2m campaign will run over three years (2016-2018) and aims to raise the profile of a range of Italian products, highlighting their safety and quality. In the case of China, the promotion includes kiwifruit, blood orange juice and processed vegetables.
Italy, in the form of the “Freshness from Europe” project, will be among the participating countries represented at the Forum, and will also have a voice among the speakers at the event.
CSO president Paolo Bruni, will be one of the speakers at the forum, giving a presentation on the project.
“We are very enthusiastic about the prospect of participating in the Fresh Produce Forum, which is being held for the first time in China,” Bruni said.
“For us China represents an extremely promising market, one that is welcoming with open arms the products which have thus far been imported there. Kiwifruit sales, for example, have grown rapidly in the short time since the market opened and the potential for further growth is enormous.”
Bruni said the Freshness from Europe campaign represented an excellent opportunity to strengthen the commercial ties between Italy and China.
Italy shipped nearly 40,000 tonnes of kiwifruit to the Far East in the 2014/15 campaign. China represents the most important market in the region with 15,528 tonnes, followed by Taiwan with 10,000 tonnes, Hong Kong with 5,200 tonnes and Singapore with 2,247 tonnes.
