The fifth edition of Fruit Attraction took place in Madrid from the 16th to the 18th of October. VLAM was present at the fair for the second time, together with five fruit and vegetable exporters. The Belgian export to Spain remains stable, in which Belgium is the main supplier of pears, lettuce and leeks.
Growing fair
For the fifth time running the exhibition halls of the Feria de Madrid were transformed into 'the place to be' for producers and suppliers of fruits and vegetables. It is obvious from the exponential growth of the exhibition area, participants and visitors that Fruit Attraction has evolved into an important professional forum for the Spanish market and beyond over the years. When the exhibition started in 2009 there were 353 exhibitors. In 2013 this number has grown to 670 exhibitors. At the first edition there was an area of 7,400 m². Now this has almost tripled to over 21,000 m². It was not just the Spanish region represented among the exhibitors, but also Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, China, Chile, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Venezuela, Canada and Peru.
Belgian presence
This is the second time VLAM has organised a collective stall, for which five export companies signed up: Calsa, Devos Group, Vanco Belgium, Herwi and Vergro. The VLAM stall was an open 60 m² stall in hall 9. This stall had large production photos on the upper structure and an extensive product presentation of the most important Belgian fruit and vegetable varieties. The stall was linked to that of Veiling Hoogstraten which extended the Belgian pavilion to 100 m².
Stable export
The trade between Spain and Belgium is reasonably stable. Belgium exported around 53,000 tonnes of fresh fruit and 16,000 tonnes of fresh vegetables to Spain in 2012. The main fruits exported were Conference pears and apples. The most popular Belgian vegetables are leeks, tomatoes and lettuce. Belgium is the main supplier of pears, lettuce and leek for Spain. This trend continues in 2013, and there is also an increase in the amount of chicory going to Spain. The next edition of Fruit Attraction will from the 15th to the 17th of October 2014 in the Feria de Madrid in Madrid.