The ban on airline travel following last week's volcanic eruption in Iceland has caused disruption for a number of key events relevant to the fresh produce industry.
Kiwifruit marketer Zespri Europe told Fruitnet.com it had decided to delay a planned gala reception to mark the opening of its new office in Berchem, a suburb of the Belgian city of Antwerp.
The party, which was originally scheduled for this coming Friday (23 April), will now take place on Friday, 28 May.
Certification standards body GlobalGAP, meanwhile, was apparently due to hold a key meeting in Brussels on 20 April, but this has now been cancelled.
And the annual conference of the World Union of Wholesale Markets, due to take place in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on 20-23 April with around 500 delegates set to attend, has also been postponed.
'As you know there has been an unprecedented closure of much of European airspace over the past four days, and there would appear to be no foreseeable resolution to that problem,' said WUWM secretary general Maria Cavit.
'Many WUWM Conference delegates have already confirmed that their flights to Palma have been cancelled, while most others are facing that situation imminently.'
It has been proposed that the conference instead be held in the latter half of 2010, Ms Cavit confirmed. 'Postponing the conference is seen to be the most sensible and proactive decision that can be taken under such difficult circumstances.'
Meanwhile, this week's annual general meeting of Areflh, the assembly of European fruit and vegetable producing regions, was thought likely to be postponed.
The meeting is due to take place in the Italian city of Bologna on 22-23 April.
It also seems unlikely that many European industry players hoping to attend the United Fresh 2010 trade fair in Las Vegas on 20-23 April will be able to make the show.
