The chief executive of Dutch fresh produce company The Greenery has told growers and marketers that they must redouble their efforts in order to capitalise on new opportunities to sell fresh fruit and vegetables.
Speaking at a special event in Barendrecht to mark twenty years of collaboration between The Greenery and the organisation that founded it, Dutch fresh produce auction cooperative Coforta (formerly VTN), Steven Martina stressed the importance of making healthy, sustainably grown fruit and vegetables available to an expanding global population.
He also suggested that nutrition and sustainable sourcing were likely to become even more important for the industry in the near future.
Coforta chairman Gerard Pronk, meanwhile, spoke about the value of continuing to work together, concluding with the words: “I’m proud of Coforta, I am proud of The Greenery, I'm proud of you, we are Coforta/Greenery.”
Many of the 1,200 guests attending the celebration were also able to visit The Greenery’s newly inaugurated retail distribution centre.
At one point known as The Greenery UA, Coforta in its current form was created as part of a major overhaul back in the spring of 2010.
That move marked a significant shift in the commercial landscape for Dutch fresh produce trading, making the cooperative itself an entity distinct from the marketing company itself, The Greenery BV.
The decision to introduce a new name was intended to highlight a new commercial configuration aimed at attracting other market-oriented growers, many of whom favoured a more direct model of supply.
