With an annual export of around 418,000 tonnes Flandria is the main vegetable brand in Europe. The label has a good reputation, especially among German and French professionals. Meet the products and sixteen fruit and vegetable suppliers at Fruit Logistica. You can find them at the VLAM stall in hall 6.2 - stall B05 - B06, along with seven colleagues from the potato sector at stall B08 and two suppliers of fruit trees, also at stall B08.
The VLAM stall at Fruit Logistica
From the 5th to the 7th of February Belgium will once again be well represented at Fruit Logistica. 16 suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables will participate through the VLAM group stall, the Flemish Centre for Agrarian and Fishing Marketing: Bel'Export, Boussier/Belfrutex, Calsa/Weiss, DBS/DBS Agro, De Plecker-Lauwers, Demargro, Devos Group, Dries Sebrecht Fruit/DSF, Frans Michiels Belgium/FMB, Gemex, Herwi, Nicolaï Fruit, Pacbelimex, Vanco Belgium, Vergro and Wouters Fruithandel. They can be found in hall 6.2 - Stall B05 - B07. Seven potato suppliers will also be present to meet their customers. The companies Bart's Potato Company, Binst Breeding & Selection, Dauchy, De Aardappelhoeve, Pomuni, Potato Masters and Warnez can be found at stall B08. Finally, two fruit tree suppliers are also participating. Carolus and Johan Nicolaï will be next to their Belgian colleagues at stall B08.
The fruit and vegetable stall is displaying its goods again with a product presentation and metres high images of Flandria producers. The top products, tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, chicory and leek are the eye catchers. The three themes of Flandria come to the fore in these images: sustainable production, extra quality and family companies. By showcasing real producers and citing them, the campaign images become more emotional and convincing.
Flandria: quality and service trump
Flandria is the most important vegetable brand in Europe. The label contains 60 different kinds of vegetables, supplemented by 35 products from the 'Speciality Street' range. Thanks to strict specifications Belgium can supply a large volume of uniform quality products. The communication has been ongoing since the creation of the label. Questionnaires among French and German buyers by Teleresearch (Germany) and Tuillet (France) in September 2013 show that this approach works.
German buyers were very pleased with Belgian export companies.
The results of a recent survey among French and German purchasing professionals show that Flandria is a fixed value in the European fruit and vegetable trade. Flandria is the best known vegetable brand on the German market, at a staggering 96% recognisability. Flandria is also preferred by German buyers. They associate the Flandria label with a wide assortment of vegetables, a good quality, freshness, quick delivery, professionalism and experience. They are also very satisfied with the collaboration with the Belgian export companies, especially the guaranteed freshness and quality, the short delivery time, the correct pricing and the service.
Flandria well engrained in French trade
Flandria reach a recognisability of 88% in France. A strong result, if you know that the two most important French fruit and vegetable brands remain untouchable, as in previous years. All brands are losing ground on the French market, to the benefit of new labels. There is also a shift in buying criteria. Freshness is the most important buying criteria for 57%, followed by flavour, which is catching up. Newcomer in third place is the price, followed by quality control and traceability. Flandria's image in France has improved, with positive reports about the quality, a wide assortment, the professionalism and the service of the sector.
Belgian export / Fresh vegetables
Belgian growers produce an astounding 745,000 tonnes of vegetables for the fresh market every year. On the top products is tomato with a production of over 230,000 tonnes. Belgium is also known for its fresh leek, with a supply of 130,000 tonnes. In addition to this almost 58,000 tonnes of lettuce (headed lettuce and other varieties), 40,000 tonnes of chicory, 25,000 tonnes of pepper and over 20,000 tonnes of cucumbers are produced.
In 2012 the French market bought 35% of Belgian vegetables, the Dutch market bought 21% and Germany came third with almost 20%. This means that these three neighbouring countries bought most of the Belgian vegetable export to the EU-28 (76%). Behind them followed Russia, with a share of 5% in the Belgian vegetable export to the world, the United Kingdom (4%) and the Czech Republic (3%).
Potatoes and potato preparation
The Belgian potato products produced almost 3 million tonnes of potatoes in 2012. Holland is the main buyer of fresh Belgian potatoes with a share of 67%, followed at a distance by France (18.5%) and the United Kingdom (7.3%). Only a limited share goes to countries outside of the EU (1.3%).
Another strength in this sector is the Belgian potato preparations. Belgium exported almost 2 million tonnes of these, another increase compared to last year. The most important buyers in this case are once again the neighbouring EU countries, with France having a share of 22%, Holland a share of almost 20% and the UK a share of 12.6%. Belgian potato preparations are also increasingly popular in countries outside of the EU, which realised over 20% of sales in 2012.
Fresh fruit
Of the Belgian fresh fruit, more specifically the top fruit (apples and pears), almost 457,000 tonnes were produced in 2012. The production of strawberries reached around 40,500 tonnes. Holland (28%), France (22%) and Germany (17.5%) were the top three destinations for apples. Russia also imported a lot of Belgian apples (13%). Russia is the leader for pears, with an import of over 42% of Belgian pears. The neighbouring countries were far behind: Holland (15%), the United Kingdom (almost 10%) and France (8.3%). The Belgian strawberries mainly went to France in 2012 (almost 19%), the United Kingdom (14.3%) and Holland (13.4%). The Scandinavian countries also enjoyed Belgian strawberries, as both Sweden and Norway bought almost 11% of the volume. Russia is still in the top 10 destinations here at 5.7%.
Fresh fruit
Of the Belgian fresh fruit, more specifically the top fruit (apples and pears), almost 457,000 tonnes were produced in 2012. The production of strawberries reached around 40,500 tonnes. Holland (28%), France (22%) and Germany (17.5%) were the top three destinations for apples. Russia also imported a lot of Belgian apples (13%). Russia is the leader for pears, with an import of over 42% of Belgian pears. The neighbouring countries were far behind: Holland (15%), the United Kingdom (almost 10%) and France (8.3%). The Belgian strawberries mainly went to France in 2012 (almost 19%), the United Kingdom (14.3%) and Holland (13.4%). The Scandinavian countries also enjoyed Belgian strawberries, as both Sweden and Norway bought almost 11% of the volume. Russia is still in the top 10 destinations here at 5.7%.
