“It’s a beautiful day and we’re at a beautiful location, but I don’t have a positive story for you.” At least the traders present during the general meeting of GroentenFruit Huis at Kasteel De Hooge Vuursche, the Netherlands, were warned. Rem Korteweg of the Clingendael Institute held a presentation on the impact of politics on global trade, and that doesn’t appear to work out well for the Netherlands in the coming years.
Speakers Rem Korteweg and Helga van Leur with Kees Wantenaar of GroentenFruit huis.
“Quite a bit is happening in international trade politics that worries me,” Korteweg continued. He gave an overview of current affairs in which the US follows its own political course with president Trump “fixated on trade shortages,” China profiling itself in its own way and Europe “stuck between the two.” According to Korteweg, the period from the Second World War to 2008 was dominated by globalisation, and it was easy to trade as a result, but a new phase has now started. “Import levies and tariffs are the order of the day and free trade is under pressure.”
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Brexit was naturally also touched upon. Korteweg showed that it was actually the commercial enterprises and exporters in the UK who voted for Brexit. “The Brits have now been given until 31 October, but Theresa May’s days are numbered, and I’m willing to say she’ll have resigned within three weeks, after which a discussion will erupt within the Conservative Party about who will succeed her. This just increases the chances of a hard Brexit.”
Rem Korteweg
Korteweg also gave the impression that after all of the deadlines of the past year, a lot of companies now feel a bit resigned. “However, a no-deal Brexit isn’t off the table yet. That worries me a lot regarding the relations within the EU. Traditionally, the interests were prepared by London, Berlin and Paris. If these three countries found a compromise, the other 25 countries often agreed to that. The Netherlands was fairly centrally positioned among these countries, we were always kept up to speed, and we could always tell our story and protect our interests. With the imminent Brexit, the core moves to the East, and the Netherlands will suddenly no longer be at the heart, but on the Western periphery.”
Korteweg says the answer should be found in a positive agenda. “We tend to be against a lot of things. Within Europe, we’re often seen as business-like and not very empathic. Our position was often ‘don’t touch our money and leave us alone.’ In this changing context, we’ll make ourselves be heard more positively.”
Helga van Leur
Finally, climate expert Helga van Leur talked about the current climate changes, the perceptible effects in various production regions and the expected effects in the medium term. According to her, this could also have drastic consequences for the fresh produce trade. “This requires a better spreading and new varieties. As a result, crops can now be grown in regions where that previously wasn’t possible, but the opposite is also true. Perhaps parts of the Netherlands aren’t suitable for production, and perhaps we shouldn’t work quite so efficiently,” the former weather forecaster put the cat among the pigeons.
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Helga van Leur
She mentioned the CoolRail train connection between the Netherlands and Spain as an example of reducing CO2 emissions. She called on those present to come up with solutions and be assertive. “Changes always start small and close to home, and when they work, they’ll grow in time.”
General meeting
The so-called ‘formalities’ were quickly dealt with in the attractive Park Hall of Kasteel De Hooge Vuursche in Baarn. As a result, there was plenty of time to consider a few ‘Highlights’ of 2018 and look ahead to 2019. The short video with highlights can be viewed on the website of GroentenFruit Huis. A number of important activities were highlighted based on the seven fields of action on which the activities of GroentenFruit Huis focus: Lobby, Legislation, Supervision and Oversight, Market Increase, Labour, Digitisation and Food. This video is combined with statements of Edward Out of OTC, Nico Padding of Best Fresh Group, Erik Waterman of Waterman Onions and Tim Heddema, Agriculture Council in the UK. They talk about the importance of cooperation within GroentenFruit Huis for the entire sector, and that it’s important for every member to stir themselves.
Proud
After chairperson Kees Wantenaar was first re-elected as chairperson of GroentenFruit Huis for a period of three years, he paid attention to members of the Board eligible for re-election, resigning and new members. Gerard Pronk of Coforta was re-elected, and Rien van Doorn of Fruitmasters and Edwin Noordermeer of Tuinderij Vers resigned. The chairperson thanked both members of the Board who were closely involved in the founding of GroentenFruit Huis from Frugi Venta and DPA. “I’m proud of what we achieved in the past years, and you both contributed to that,” Kees Wantenaar said.
Kees Wantenaar, right, and the resigning members of the Board, Edwin Noordermeer and Rien van Doorn.
Rien van Doorn shared that pride. “We can be proud of the organisation that is GroentenFruit Huis, with an expert Board and employees. We have to continue doing it together. It’s incredibly important to stay connected to the rank and file of the organisation. Continue building on that together,” were Rien van Doorn’s farewell words; he also recently said goodbye to Fruitmasters because of his retirement. That’s not the case yet for Edwin Noordermeer. “Our sector still has plenty of challenges, in the field of digitisation, among other things.” He promised that as a company, he would continue contributing to the association. Kees de Kat of Fruitmasters and Jantine Star-Heemskerk were welcomed as new members of the Board by the general meeting.