US-based Produce Marketing Association’s first international affiliate, PMA Australia-New Zealand, made its debut at the PMA Fresh Summit convention in California over the weekend.
The new group, which was announced in Australia in May, is the Association’s first full international affiliate, replacing the earlier Australia-New Zealand Country Council.
It formally began operations on 1 October last Thursday, the day before the Fresh Summit event opened, and was introduced by PMA president Bryan Silbermann in an address to event attendees on Saturday.
“There is a clear two-way value proposition because so much can be learned from each other,” Mr Silbermann said of the new affiliate.
“Especially in our global community, the future of trade will rely as much on the fruit of the mind as on the fruit of the land – this industry is increasingly about what you know, rather than what you grow.”
Michael Simonetta will take up the chair of PMA Australia-New Zealand, continuing on from the same role in the precursor Country Council.
“The time was right and our industry was ready to take PMA’s work here to the next level, to better serve our local membership while expanding our connections with the global produce industry,” he said.
The body will be administered by well-known Australian industry figure Michael Worthington.
