Encouraging consumers to include more fruit and vegetables in their diets, as well as pushing for a higher volume of product to be exported to countries outside the EU, should be the priorities for the European fresh produce business.
That was the standout message at this year's European Fruit Summit, an international conference and networking meeting of around 300 leading members of the continent's fresh produce sector which took place on Tuesday, 4 October in Cesena, Italy.
During the event, which was held in the Sala Europa at Cesena Fiera one day prior to the international trade fair Macfrut, several leading players from the European trade gave their views on potential ways to combat key challenges including the global economic crisis and the recent downturn in consumer spending and demand.
'Today, we can say that we are fully in the middle of the globalisation phenomenon both in terms of productivity and finance,' commented Paolo Bruni, president of European agricultural association Cogeca and also of Italian marketing and research group CSO.
'We are living through what is probably the most serious systemic crisis ever seen in the west, from which we will only emerge by changing the economic paradigm.'
He added: 'An inclination towards exporting will be decisive and crucial for Europe. The penetration of new markets will be an indispensible strategic weapon for us and the diplomatic, political system should be making this easy so that we can enter markets that up until now have been unreachable.'
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