As the Eurofruit team prepares to head over to Dubai for the Eurofruit Congress Middle East at the start of November, it’s worth reminding ourselves why we’re there in the first place: essentially, as with all the events we organise throughout the year, it’s all about seeking out new opportunities for the trade to market and distribute fresh fruit and vegetables and to maximise returns – by which, incidentally, we don’t just mean cold hard profit but also valuable contributions to the countries, regions, communities and workers that supply them.
For those of us who spend most of our time preoccupied with matters closer to home, it’s important to realise that there are markets beyond the confines of the European Union which, while not immediately visible, exert an enormous influence on what happens to the fresh produce trade here in Europe.
The Middle East is one of those markets which, in our opinion, will eventually exert such an influence economically that buyers here will be obliged to spend more in order to source the best fruits and vegetables. Similarly Russia, where we were last month for World Food Moscow, as well as the Far East, where we held the Asiafruit Congress and helped to organise Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong at the start of September, are more than likely going to attract a far greater level of product quality within the next couple of decades as consumers in both parts of the world begin to make the most of their increased spending power.
Watch what the big multinational banana companies are doing: either they’re taking a detour into more profitable product lines, or they’re expanding into other parts of the world to ensure they don’t miss out. In other parts of the business – assuming government officials can break down any existing trade barriers – there’s no reason why suppliers and exporters of other products can’t also discover there’s more to life than supplying the so-called developed world.
