The Association of Fruit and Vegetable Cooperatives of the Venosta Valley (VI.P) will be attending the eighth edition of the trade fair Fruit Attraction, held in Madrid from 5 to 7 October; a fully-consolidated meeting for the sector which the association has been supporting from the start.
In this edition, VI.P will have a 70 square metre stand in Hall 7 of IFEMA which will feature some of its leading representatives: the general director of the association of cooperatives, Josef Wielander; the head of the Val Venosta BIO line, Gerhard Eberhöfer; the sales manager, Fabio Zanesco; the marketing manager, Michael Grasser, and the sales manager for Spain, Christiane Gfrei.
On 6 October, in a meeting with the media, VI.P will announce significant developments in areas such as communication and the image of its products - prominent among which are Val Venosta and Val Venosta BIO apples, which have a protected geographical indication. Moreover, it will present its third Golden Gold Awards; an initiative that recognises the role of fruit traders as a fundamental part of the distribution chain.
Positive balance
VI.P will be attending the event after a satisfactory 2015-2016 campaign and will announce the details of this year's harvest, which has been underway since late August and has been affected by some weather issues.
VI.P is one of Europe's largest apple producers in terms of volume and quality and has taken the lead in the field of organic production with its Val Venosta BIO line. 50% of its production is intended for the domestic market (Italy), while the remaining 50% goes to about 50 international markets, including the Iberian Peninsula, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. In recent years, it has achieved greater penetration in areas like the Middle East and North Africa, while Spain is already a consolidated market and represents 10% of its sales.
Fruit Attraction will provide an opportunity to strengthen ties with regular customers of the brand in the Spanish market and to open new business relationships with both domestic and international visitors to the fair.