It has been revealed that the 26th World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) congress, which takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark between 1-3 October, will be held under the theme 'Every business is a growth business – as long as you know where to look!'.
Congress discussions are expected to focus on current and future trends in the food and flowers sectors, as well as assessing the strengths and opportunities facing food markets today.
'Our aim with this congress is to strengthen the ties and interchange of experience between food management all over the world,' said Torben Flinch, managing director at Copenhagen Wholesale Market. 'We also look to promote the many commercial benefits of food markets: the fact that we offer clusters of small and large wholesalers a united platform from which to competitively sell a large variety of goods, allowing their customers the convenience of quality one-stop shopping.'
The event's guest speakers come from over 15 different countries, and will discuss issues related to leadership, management and strategy, sustainability in markets, innovation and technology and the food market of tomorrow.
Leading the discussions will be keynote speaker Henning Otte Hansen from the Institute of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Copenhagen, along with Philippe Binard of Freshfel Europe and Steve Davies, senior vice-president for Project for Public Spaces.
Wholesale and retail food markets have the opportunity during this congress to demonstrate their usefulness and worth to local economies in this global era of challenging food shortages, price increases and threats to sustainability and the environment,' said WUWM chairman Graham Wallace. 'The true socio-economic value of food markets to communities, cities and food producers was unfortunately ignored by many over past years – however, that situation is changing fast as decision makers everywhere once again begin to realise their importance to a wide range of local services and businesses, as well as to consumers in general.”
The Congress will be opened by European Commissioner for Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel, the WUWM have also announced in a statement.
Additionally, the congress will see the winners announced in the WUWM 2008 Wholesale Market Awards, which will coincide with Copenhagen Wholesale Market's 50th anniversary celebrations.
