Hong Kong draws crowds to second asia fruit logistica exhibition

Hong Kong’s Conference and Exhibition Centre played host to 3,855 key players from the international fresh fruit and vegetable business last week, visiting Asia Fruit Logistica.

The second edition of the exhibition was 85 per cent larger than the inaugural event last year in Bangkok, drawing 215 exhibitors from 33 countries. And around 20 per cent more visitors were walking around the show.

The trade fair included exhibitors from 11 countries in Asia and major supplying countries such as the US, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as Europe and Latin America.

The top five exhibiting nations were led by China, with some 39 companies taking stands, followed by Australia with 21 companies, the Netherlands with 18 companies, the US with 17 companies and New Zealand with 16 companies.

Sustainability key for NZ’s HortResearch

conducting R&D with a clear focus on sustainability has become imperative for New Zealand’s HortResearch.

Chief scientist Dr Ian Ferguson told FPJ: “The move towards sustainability has been driven by European markets - the idea of food miles always hits those countries furthest away. This means that all our primary producers, whether they like it or not, will have to adapt to these issues.

“New Zealand already has a clean, green image, but if you investigate it, we can do better. There are targets around zero chemical usage and, over the last 10 years, chemical usage on top fruit has fallen by 85 per cent. There is a real opportunity to produce with the environment in mind, but exporters will need to brand their efforts somehow.”

But producing sustainably also offers a built-in economic argument, said Ferguson. “If a firm can irrigate using half the amount of water then not only is it environmentally sound, but it is also reducing its production costs. One of the biggest drivers at the moment has to be to keep production costs down.”

A potential merger between HortResearch and Crop & Food Research, reported recently in FPJ, would give the two New Zealand bodies a wider opportunity to explore new ideas, especially around environmental issues, said Ferguson.

HortResearch is also researching tree architecture as horticulture systems become more intensive. “We are looking to produce varieties that are more amenable to highly intensive agriculture systems,” said Ferguson. “Developing biological control systems and breeding for disease resistance are also important tenets of our work.”

AgriCoat sees growth in line with fresh-cut

agricoat natureseal believes the Asian market offers vast potential for its range of products aimed at maintaining the freshness of cut fruits and vegetables.

General manager Simon Matthews, pictured, told FPJ: “The market here is about five years behind the UK and Europe, although we do have some customers in Thailand and Malaysia and a lot in Australia and New Zealand.

“This region represents a learning curve for us - so much of the UK market is about apples, pears and carrots, but the Asian market will mean looking into different products and conducting different R&D.”

The company has already branched out into tropical fruits, and three months ago started working with starfruit out of South America, supplied into the UK. “The UK market is growing very well and continental Europe is starting to catch up,” said Matthews.

“At last southern Europe is getting into fresh-cut - we were always told the market wouldn’t go there but our sales are proving otherwise. It is inevitable Asia will follow.”

Downturn for Dutch pears

the dutch Conference pear season is underway and, although the crop is a little smaller than last season, the fruit is still looking good.

Jan Timmermans, director of CG Timmermans & Zn, pictured, told FPJ: “We have good fruit sizing and sugars but about 70 per cent of last year’s volumes, due to frost in the spring during flowering.

“We are supplying Conference pears into other parts of Asia but do not know the Chinese market yet. We have launched a new website for the variety in China.

“Although the UK is one of our biggest export clients, eastern countries are becoming more important too. The Dutch crop is getting bigger, so we need to look at supplying other countries.”

Magrabi aims for global expansion

Egyptian exporter Magrabi Agriculture believes that Asia has the potential to be its biggest market, but supplies of grape and citrus - the firm’s major products - into the region are currently dominated by the Americans.

“It is not easy to penetrate the market with the right quality,” said the company’s Tarek Bedir.

“However, the UK continues to be our most important market because of the quality it demands - it’s a very strategic market for us.”

Russia and eastern Europe are also growing in importance as export destinations for the Egyptian firm.

Still a place for seeded grapes, insists SATI

andré van Wyk, technical manager of trade body South African Table Grape Industry (SATI), told FPJ that the industry needs to look to markets beyond the UK and Europe. “There is huge potential in the east and we can’t ignore that,” he said.

Variety-wise the market is looking increasingly towards seedless fruit, but there is still a space for seeded cultivars, said Van Wyk, pictured. “We need to look at new seeded varieties too and should not just focus on seedless,” he said. “Seeded fruit may have an opportunity in the east due to the emphasis over here on healthy living.

“The Muscat flavour is quite big and doing well, so that represents an opportunity. You have to look at what your market wants.”

But generic marketing campaigns for all South African products are needed to promote opportunities in new markets, added Van Wyk.

US pears ripe for picking

the us pear industry is expecting a solid season in the UK and Europe this year, thanks to the exchange rate and forecasts for a smaller European crop.

Shippers will be sending 30,000 boxes of fruit to the UK and Ireland this year, said Jeff Correa, international marketing director at USA Pears, pictured.

“The cold spring has marked fruit this season, which is around 10 days later than usual, and the crop will be smaller - around 16.6 million boxes compared to 18.2m last year,” he said. “But prices will still be pretty high and European volumes are low, so that gives us an advantage. When we do well in Europe it is because the exchange rate and low European crop combine. Our prices have been high for the last few years.”

The US pear industry is trying to push its ripening programmes in the European market, in a bid to sell consumers pre-ripened pears and boost purchase frequency. “We are doing this in the US and are trying to roll it out across our export markets,” said Correa. “Lots of times you buy a pear and it is as hard as a rock. But younger consumers want instant gratification. We are looking to send the fruit to Europe to a middleman ripener, then introduce ethylene into the pears, cool them down and send them to the stores.

“In the US we have seen this increase consumer purchase frequency - consumers get a good eating experience and that increases turnover. Shoppers buy with their eyes but come back on taste.”

Other big markets for US Northwest pears include Latin America, Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia and India. Asian markets such as Taiwan and Hong Kong also take significant volumes.

Domex goes for premium

washington apple shipper Domex Superfresh Growers believes Asia Fruit Logistica represents a “terrific opportunity to go into deeper relations with our Asian customers”.

Vice-president of marketing Howard Nager said: “Washington apples have a premium position in the minds of Asian customers. Domex accounts for a 15 per cent market share of all Washington apples and we export 30 per cent of our sales. Of that, 30 per cent goes to Asia, making it a pretty significant market for us.”

The UK is also a consistent market for the company throughout the year.

“This season has been excellent so far, with similar volumes to last year. We had a rough spring so the sizing has been impacted somewhat, but the quality, colour and taste are all strong,” added Nager.

Doldersum on move to China

dutch seed breeding firm Rijk Zwaan has introduced its easy- to-prepare Salanova lettuce brand in Malaysia, Singapore and Korea, and is soon to launch into the Philippines and Japan.

“Asia is a big market and it is developing,” said co-ordinator for international projects Jan Doldersum, pictured. “Rijk Zwaan has established a good network of chain managers in Europe and Australia who are in touch with retailers, traders, processing companies and growers. Retail in Asia is growing so we need to develop extra services here. Next summer I am therefore moving to China to become chain manager for Asia. I will start up various projects to link retail partners and suppliers with growers, along with our technical staff and sales representatives here to back up growers.”

Doldersum will be operating across all Asian countries and products. Rijk Zwaan has operated an office in Qingdao in China’s Shandong province for 10 years. “We are already strong in China with tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers and are entering with open-field crops as well. We also operate a breeding programme to adapt crops to conditions in China,” said Doldersum.

Rijk Zwaan has launched a new melon variety into the UK market called Caribbean Gold this year, produced in Central America. “It is a very unique Harper type, an orange-fleshed European Cantaloupe with a good combination of taste and shelf life. The fruit will be available in Tesco in a few weeks,” said Doldersum.

CTGC re-energises UK

California’s grape season is progressing well and reports of fruit quality from customers to date have been good.

Susan Day, vice-president of international marketing at the California Table Grape Commission (CTGC), told FPJ: “Demand is good - in the past decade we have had some record years and this will be no exception.”

The UK market is showing increased interest in special niche varieties, according to Day, pictured. “Typically the UK is a green and red seedless market, but now it is looking at black varieties and Muscat flavours. There seems to be a lot of interest in the UK in re-energising the category to prevent it becoming stale,” she said.

“Californian product is top quality and we will always have our place.”

UK retailers are now also looking to CTGC to organise promotions, which Day admits had fallen a bit flat in recent years. “The retailers have come back to us for this and they seem to want more and more, so that’s very positive,” she said.

International reach for United

there is a growing awareness worldwide that United Fresh Produce Association is more than just a US organisation, said John Toner, vice-president of convention and industry relations. United Fresh was formed as a result of the 2006 merger of the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association and the International Fresh-Cut Produce Association.

Toner explained: “We have four new boards, all with international membership. The boards are: grower-shippers; foodservice-retail; fresh-cut processors; and wholesale distributors.”

United has ambitious growth plans, thanks to an International Trade Council headed up by David Barney of Bakkavör. Toner said: “The trade is more international than it used to be and standards are becoming more global.”