France: SNIFL members participate in meetings of the European fruit and vegetable sector

As in every year, the month of June was particularly intense for the National Association of Importers/Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables - Saint-Charles (SNIFL), with many members participating in meetings and committees organised by the national and European authorities of the fruit and vegetable sector.

As early as May 29 in Brussels, the SNIFL was participating in the Fisheries-Nectarines working group meeting in the Belgian capital to study harvest forecasts of peaches, nectarines and clingstones for the current season, as well as the latest trends in consumption and marketing of these products in Europe. The cumulative production forecasts of France, Spain, Italy and Greece for peaches-nectarines amount to 2.8 million metric tons, down 11% from 2017 and 4% compared to the 2012-2016 average. Italy, Spain and France are down, unlike Greece (+20% - especially on clingstones for the processing market).

It was also an opportunity for the SNIFL to obtain a global view of the peach-nectarine market, both in terms of costs and the industry.

On June 5 in Barcelona, the members of the platform attended the International Logistics Fair (SIL). This trade fair, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary, focused on Logistics in the broad sense (transport, supply chain, logistics services). It brings together over 600 companies from about 50 countries and explores future trends in the sector. A series of events was organised on the occasion of this fair: forums, congresses, conferences on all aspects of the sector and all types of transport, whether maritime, rail, air or road.

It was therefore an opportunity for the representatives of Saint-Charles to meet many professionals in the sector, and to visit the stand of the European programme TRAILS (Transnational Intermodal Links Towards Sustainability) POCTEFA of which Saint Charles International is a partner.

On June 6 in Paris, a delegation from Saint Charles International visited the Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Food as part of the physical phytosanitary import controls. The delegation was received on this occasion by Bruno Ferreira, Deputy Cabinet Director, in charge of CAP and diplomatic relations. An interview was also attended by Mrs. Pauline Cazaban and Mr. Denis Allex, Head and Deputy Head of the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Border Inspection (SIVEP), respectively. Quality, constructive exchanges made it possible to secure the support of the Ministry on this issue, which represents a competitiveness issue for our companies and attractiveness for the Saint-Charles platform.

On June 7 and 8 in Hamburg, the SNIFL participated in the Annual General Meeting of the Freshfel (European Association for the Trade and Distribution of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables). An elective assembly for the Bureau (President, Vice-president and Treasurer), and for the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Divisions and Committees for 2018-2020. Thus, the new President-elect is Mr. Stephan Weist (Rewe Group).

Beyond the statutory aspect, at the end of the morning, Freshfel also organised a series of presentations by consultants, university professors and professionals, on topics such as the digitisation of the sector and consumer relationships.

On June 14, at the offices of the Torremilla factory of the CEMOI group, Saint Charles International participated in the Advisory Board of the Bank of France. This meeting allowed the different Advisors to bounce back and discuss the theme “What strategy do you undertake to restore or improve your competitiveness and that of your sector?” This morning of reflection ended with a visit to the CEMOI factory.

Also with the Bank of France, a meeting was held on June 27 in Saint-Charles, for the benefit of member companies, concerning the presentation of the content of the traditional letter delivered by the President of the Bank of France to the President of the Republic - a moment of exchange and debate with the Departmental Director of the Bank of France, Mr. Jean-Claude Albert, on the macroeconomic situation of our country, as well as on the recommendations addressed to the President of the Republic by the President of the Bank of France in terms of economic policy.

On June 19 in Paris, Denis Ginard, President of the SNIFL, and David Patte, Director, participated in the General Assembly of INTERFEL, which also hosted the Board of Directors and the General Assembly of APRIFEL, the Agency for Research and Information on Fruits and Vegetables. Note that this day took place in the future location of INTERFEL in Paris: ”The Fruit and Vegetable Centre”, Boulevard Pereire in Paris, in the 17th Arrondissement, the opportunity for the fourteen families of INTERFEL to visit and project themselves in their new premises.

On this occasion, it was confirmed that an Elective General Meeting of INTERFEL would be held during November 2018.

In advance of these meetings, the SNIFL was requested to participate, during the morning and as a guest, in the meeting of the CTIFL Board of Directors, led by its Director, Mr. Ludovic Guinard. 

Still within the work of the Inter-profession, it should be noted that Mr. Emmanuel Eichner, Administrator of the Association, represented the SNIFL at the BIO Committee organised on May 31 in Paris. The latter also took part in the International Commission on June 21 in Lyon Corbas. It was an opportunity for all participants in this meeting to visit the facilities of this wholesale market.

On June 22 in Brussels, Henri Ribes, Administrator in charge of the “Third Countries” Commission, and David Patte, Director of the SNIFL, participated in the “Tomatoes”working group in their capacity as Experts on this product with the European Commission.

They were able to discuss the results of the 2017/2018 season and the developments in the European tomato market. They also presented, as usual, a set of statistics on the marketing of this product from Morocco from the Saint Charles International platform.

The representative of the EACCE (Autonomous Establishment of Control and Coordination of Exports of Morocco) reported, within this instance, to the professionals present, the upcoming installation of a desalination plant in Agadir as part of the “Green Morocco” plan.

With an irrigable area of 15,000 hectares and a capacity of 275,000 m³ of water per day, including 121,000 m³ of water for 1,500 farms, it will be the largest water desalination plant in the world. (as part of a “Public/Private” partnership that will secure the long-term water consumption of the Souss Massa Draa Region).

On June 25 in Toulouse, Saint-Charles Export was present at the Occitania Export Strategic Committee chaired by Mrs. Nadia Pellefigue, Vice President in charge of Economic Development, Research, Innovation and Higher Education. Saint-Charles Export, after receiving a warm welcome for this first participation, assured the Region of its full support and investment in this body to promote and boost regional exports.

It was also the opportunity for the representatives of Saint-Charles Export to rediscover personalities who have participated and still follow the activity of our platform, such as Mr. Jean-Michel Pillon (Regional Director of Customs), Mr. Marc Brouant (President of the Foreign Trade Advisers of France for the Occitania Region), Mrs. Claudia Lelong (Business France in the Region), Mr. Gilles Charier (Director General of the Competitiveness Cluster DERBI), Mr. Stéphane Robert (DRAAF Occitania), and Mr. Jean-Marc Dessapt (AD’OCC Agency - Regional Agency for Economic Development). 

On June 26 and 27 in Madrid, the SNIFL took part in the Franco-Italian-Spanish meeting “VEGETABLE HEALTH”, with the following item on the agenda: “Moroccan imports: evaluation of the application of reduced control frequencies after tomato regulation; results of the checks carried out at the border”, as well as at the meeting of the FRanco-ITalian-SPanish Joint Fruit and Vegetable Committee whose trade and presentations focus on the following products: tomatoes, peaches-nectarines-apricots, strawberries, citrus fruits, apples and garlic.

 

The FRanco-ITalian-SPanish (FR-IT-ES) Joint Fruit and Vegetable Committee is an important discussion forum. It helps to prevent difficulties in the sector by bringing together industry professionals from the 3 countries. In this context, there are several groups of specialised contacts per product: strawberries, tomatoes, stone fruits and garlic.

During these meetings, Mr. Miguel Ángel Martin, SG of the Border Health and Protection Agreements at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing, Food and the Environment, said that since January 1, 2018, 16,000 documentary controls had been carried out at the Algeciras Community Entry Point (PEC) on tomatoes from Morocco, for 1,064 physical controls. All these controls were found to comply, with nothing detected.

Meetings were held on June 28 and 29 in Bayonne, through bilateral meetings between France and Spain on health issues, and where the issue of the location for the physical control of vegetables was discussed. 

Further technical meetings are to be organised on this issue.