The IV Edition of the Biofruit Congress, the most important organic fruit and vegetable production forum in Europe, will be held on October 5 at Fruit Attraction (Ifema, Madrid) in a face-to-face and online format. "Some 400 sector professionals will discuss the advances in organic production, its trends, and how to add more value for consumers and society," stated the director of Proexport, Fernando P. Gomez Molina.
The event will once again be co-organized by the Murcian association of fruit and vegetable producers, Proexport, the Eurofresh Distribution magazine, and the international Fruit Attraction fair. "In this edition, we'll discuss with industry leaders the trends in the consumption and distribution of fresh organic products in Spain and Europe, the implications that the new European regulation will have on the production, and the social commitment that farmers and companies develop with their sustainability initiatives.”
The technical director of Proexport, Abelardo Hernandez, will share with the attendees the Agro-sustainable Initiatives that companies from Murcia, Alicante, and Almeria are developing on their farms, which are in line with society's environmental demands. He will be accompanied by Fairtrade International, an organization that coordinates the certification of Fair Trade products.
Denis de Froidmont, delegate of the BIO unit of the European Commission, will make a presentation on the application of the new EU organic product regulation.
Kantar WorldPanel food expert, Rikesh Panchmatia, will be in charge of presenting the section on consumer trends in organic products.
Finally, David Monteiro, the director of fruit and vegetables of the leading Portuguese supermarket chain Sonae MC, will offer the vision and proposals of the distribution sector to promote and manage the demand for organic products in the international market.
Organic product consumption in Spain
"The Spanish spend 50 euro on organic products per person a year, that is only 2.2% of the total, but there is an upward trend in consumption," Gomez stated.
However, the country's organic production already accounts for 10% of the national useful agricultural area. "We're still far from the 25% proposed by the European Union for 2030. However, we think the real demand by the Spanish and European consumers must go hand in hand with the expected growth in the supply of organic products. If it doesn't many farmers and companies would face serious economic risks, despite how much the media and governments favor organic production; it's a scenario we must avoid,” he stressed.
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