On Friday, the Deutscher Obst & Gemuse Kongress 2014 was held in Düsseldorf. Topics such as the Russian conflict, automation of the industry and transparency of the chain were key, and judging from the 400 participants, there's a lot of interest from the German market for these matters. Prior to the convention, a Get-Together was held in Düsseldorf.
View the photo report here.
The day was organized by AMI, GS1 Germany and Fruchthandel Magazin. After opening speeches from Kaasten Reh, Jörg Pretzel and Hans-Christoph Behr, Hans-Jürgen Studt of Handelsmarkt Kiel GmbH & Co. related how the company handles fresh produce and flowers. "With fresh departments, you can distinguish yourself and retain customers." He notices a growing trend toward regional and organic production. "We still have to develop convenience."
The convention's organizers tried very hard to get someone from the European Union or the government to give a talk at the convention. There was no possibility for that. That's why Christian Weseloh, BVEO, and Andreas Brügger, DFHV, spoke. Weseloh talked about the state of affairs regarding the boycott, and lessons to be learned. Conclusion? Communication has to improve. It's still too unclear what budgets are available, what the distribution of the available money is like, why some products are and others aren't eligible for compensation, and why the German government makes it impossible to take production out of the market without giving it away for free. Brügger added an explanation on Russia's growth, and whether Europe's best products will be passed up on in future.
Reiner Wittkowski, of German Consumer Product Safety, talked about the issues with regards to sharing data. "Data has to make information transparent and comparable", Wittkowski thinks. That often isn't the case at all. "Media exaggerate information", Wittkowski concludes as he compares the consequences of food crises and scandals with the actual risks and the reports on it.
Reiner Wittkowski, of German Consumer Product Safety, talked about the issues with regards to sharing data. "Data has to make information transparent and comparable", Wittkowski thinks. That often isn't the case at all. "Media exaggerate information", Wittkowski concludes as he compares the consequences of food crises and scandals with the actual risks and the reports on it.
The Grüne Merkur, an award for the international sector, went to REWE Group this year, for their efforts to make the sector more sustainable. The Grüne Merkur has been awarded since 1975 by Fruchthandel Magazin.
After the morning programme, a variable programme was available, focused on the production sector, trade/marketing, and automation in the industry. The afternoon programme is filled with a lecture by Helmut Hübsch, on how the German market is developing and how this can be influenced. By providing insights into the buying behaviour of consumers (would you rather sell one bulk package once, or smaller packages more often), he showed opportunities for German retail. The day was concluded with a discussion between Tim Strübing of Coop, Karl Voges of Landgard, Sabine Lauxen of 5-am-Tag and Daniela Seidl of Seidl PR & Marketing. Everyone was clearly of the opinion that fresh produce promotion could and should be improved, but nobody really gets excited about the added costs that come with it.
Later this week, a more in-depth report on the specific presentations.
After the morning programme, a variable programme was available, focused on the production sector, trade/marketing, and automation in the industry. The afternoon programme is filled with a lecture by Helmut Hübsch, on how the German market is developing and how this can be influenced. By providing insights into the buying behaviour of consumers (would you rather sell one bulk package once, or smaller packages more often), he showed opportunities for German retail. The day was concluded with a discussion between Tim Strübing of Coop, Karl Voges of Landgard, Sabine Lauxen of 5-am-Tag and Daniela Seidl of Seidl PR & Marketing. Everyone was clearly of the opinion that fresh produce promotion could and should be improved, but nobody really gets excited about the added costs that come with it.
Later this week, a more in-depth report on the specific presentations.