Fruit Logistica 2013
The trip of the year for the industry’s top decision-makers
Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Operating Officer for Messe Berlin GmbH, commented: “Fruit Logistica is truly exceptional. It comprises all business areas and market players around the world, it provides a complete market overview of all products and services on all levels of trade, it offers excellent opportunities to establish contact with key decision-making target groups, it displays industry innovations, and it offers industry specialists an outstanding supporting programme featuring the latest industry trends. In this way, Fruit Logistica fulfils all of the quality criteria that constitute a leading trade fair”.
Peru: Official partner country
Peru is the official partner country of Fruit Logistica 2013. According to information from PromPerú, the Peruvian Export and Tourism Promotion Commission, the South American country exported 842,000 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables valued at USD 1.1 billion last year. Its main exports were table grapes (USD 299 million), asparagus (USD 289 million), avocados (USD 164 million), mangos (USD 117 million), bananas (USD 69 million) and citrus fruit (USD 66 million). The country’s key trade partners include the US (36%) and the Netherlands (24%) as well as the UK, Spain and Hong Kong. Peru’s growing significance as an international supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables is evident in part through the following rankings: Peru is the world’s largest exporter of asparagus, holds second place in the export of avocados and third place in the export of organic bananas. The country expects growing sales potential for pomegranates, blueberries, figs and cherimoyas. In exhibiting as the partner country of Fruit Logistica, Peru aims to tap into new markets in Asia and Eastern Europe; to boost its marketing, especially of avocados and citrus fruit, in Europe and the US; and to permanently establish itself in markets with existing trade agreements.
Leading the way: Two new visitor routes
The organic and fresh convenience segments are offering increasingly exciting opportunities for further sales growth in the retail sector. A new service for trade visitors picks up on this development. The Convenience Route and the Organic Route assist trade visitors at Fruit Logistica in quickly and directly identifying exhibitors offering certified organic produce or fresh convenience products. These exhibitors are clearly identified as such in the exhibition halls and the Virtual Market Place®. This offers visitors a clear overview of all key businesses.
Global fresh produce sector facts and figures
According to the latest figures from the AMI (agricultural market information service) in Bonn, 860 million tonnes of vegetables (excluding melons) and 730 million tonnes of fruit (including melons) were produced worldwide in 2012. Production figures for both fruit and vegetables have steadily increased over the past few years.
The EU is the world’s leading import region for fresh fruit. Preliminary figures for 2012 show imports from third countries as comparable to those from the previous year. The amount of imported pomaceous fruit and bananas, however, showed a decline. The amount of fresh vegetables imported into the EU is less notable, as there is very intense trade of vegetables between the individual EU countries. The US and Russia are also key countries when it comes to the export of fresh fruit and vegetables outside of Europe.
Compared to the previous year, the EU fruit crop decreased by more than 8% in 2012 (that is, 2012/13) to around 34 million tonnes. Lower yields were registered for stone fruit and pomaceous fruit in particular; kiwi and soft fruit crops also saw somewhat lower yields. Even citrus fruit crops were harvested in somewhat lesser quantities. With approximately 61 million tonnes, the EU vegetable harvest in 2012 is likewise expected to show a decrease of around 3% compared to the previous year.
According to preliminary figures for 2012, the volume of commercially cultivated fruit in Germany decreased by 7% over the previous year to 1.2 million tonnes, making it one of the smaller harvests of the last decade. Late frosts and unfavourable weather for blossoming made the strongest impact on stone fruit and soft fruit. Apple crops also saw considerable damages in certain regions, but the overall impact was not very severe. The smaller apple harvest was also reflected in the somewhat lower stocks (-4%) registered on 1 December. With 3.54 million tonnes (-2%), the commercial production of vegetables did not quite match the favourable results of the previous year, although it well surpassed the low figures of the 2010 harvest.
The German import of fresh vegetables already decreased slightly in 2011; the final figures for 2012 are expected to fall below the 3.1 million tonne mark. Spain’s limited ability to supply goods in the spring and autumn of 2012 is especially evident here. The previous year’s slightly lower amount of fresh fruit imports remained comparably steady in 2012 with 4.9 million tonnes.
The top ten favourite fruits and vegetables
On average, German private households bought the following amounts of fresh vegetables in 2012: 11.3 kg of tomatoes, 8.4 kg of carrots, 7.3 kg of onions, 7.1 kg of cucumbers, 5.6 kg of sweet peppers, 3 kg of iceberg lettuce, 2.3 kg of cauliflower and asparagus, 1.6 kg of leeks and 1.4 kg of courgettes.
In terms of fresh fruit, private households consumed the following on average in 2012: 20 kg of apples, 15.2 kg of bananas, 9.8 kg of oranges, 7 kg of easy peelers, 5.1 kg of grapes, 4.5 kg of melon, 4.5 kg of strawberries, 3.3 kg of nectarines, 3 kg of pears and 2.4 kg of pineapples.
The innovation of the year
The famous words “And the winner is …” will once again be pronounced at the ceremony to present this year’s FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award (FLIA) on 8 February. The FLIA is considered the fresh produce industry’s most sought-after innovation prize because it honours outstanding new products and services in the fruit and vegetable sector that give the sector a real boost. The jury drew up a short-list of ten nominees from all the entries received. Trade visitors to the FRUIT LOGISTICA will be able to vote for their innovation of the year at the FLIA stand between Halls 20 and 21.
The supporting programme: with its finger on the industry’s pulse
A wide-ranging series of lectures, seminars and podium discussions will provide trade visitors with plenty of information about current issues, challenges and trends throughout the sector. The 32nd Fresh Produce Forum at the ICC Berlin on 5 February, the day before the opening of the FRUIT LOGISTICA, will form the prelude to the fresh produce sector’s premiere trade fair. The Forum’s leitmotif will be “Quo vadis? New formats and a new look. Where is the food retail sector headed?”
A total of six hall forums will take place over the next three days of the trade fair. The lectures will be held in Hall 7.2b. The topics of these events, hosted by Düsseldorf-based FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE, are as follows:
6 February
Category management in 8 easy steps
Certification – who? how? what? – An overview
7 February
Quality control – creating trust in international trade
Apples – the consumer’s fruit: global production and consumption
8 February
How to handle crisis management - update 2013
Innovation in the fresh produce business - communication at POS