The FEPEX Assembly has been the stage for the appointment of Jorge Brotons Campillo as president of this institution for the third time in a row. The meeting has also been the place in which the Action Plan for 2019 has been approved. Furthermore, there has been a debate with the Secretary General of Agriculture and Food, Fernando Miranda, on the possible consequences of a no-deal Brexit for fruit and vegetable exports.
It is the third time that FEPEX appoints Jorge Brotons Campillo as president, a position he has held since 2006. Brotons is also president of the Federation of fruit and horticultural entrepreneurs of Alicante, FEXPHAL, and president of Bonnysa Agroalimentaria, a company dedicated to the production and marketing of fruits and vegetables, with products from the autonomous regions of Valencia, Murcia and the Canary Islands.
Regarding the measures to be taken in case of a no-deal Brexit, the Secretary General of Agriculture was informed that the contingency plans that the companies are adopting may not be sufficiently effective to deal with the likely market disturbances. Fernando Miranda highlighted that the Ministry of Agriculture has prepared contingency plans foreseeing all possible scenarios, including market crises.
At the meeting, the 2019 Plan of Action was approved. This plan targets the Federation's main objectives for 2019, such as improving the competitiveness of the fruit and vegetable sector (given the slowdown in the growth rate of exports and the increase in imports), as well as reinforcing the sector's structuring through associations of producer organizations. In the area of commercial policy and the Community market, compliance with reciprocity will be required to facilitate access to new markets. There is also concern about the strong increase in EU imports from Morocco, which grew by 102% in the 2010/2017 period, totaling 1,661 million Euro. This growth has also been observed in the Spanish market, with 312% more in the same period, reaching 559 million Euro.
The FEPEX Assembly is made up of representatives of the 31 associations present across the national territory, as well as the presidents of the sectoral committees (by products) and the specific committees (labor relations and marketing). The sectors represented at FEPEX through the Associations are the following:
• Fruit and vegetable producers and exporters. This is a majority sector in which 18 associations are integrated: Coexphal, Asociafruit and Freshuelva, from Andalusia; Proexport and Apoexpa, from Murcia; Fexphal and the Spanish Kaki Association, from the Region of Valencia; Afruex, from Extremadura; Afrucat, from Catalonia; Aceto and Fedex, from the Canary Islands; Arifrut, from La Rioja; Apeph, Excofrut and Aeamde, from Aragon; Procecam and Anpca, from Castile-La Mancha, and Acec, a nationwide firm.
• Potato production and export, with 4 associations: Asonal, Cipp, Asopocyl and APPSE.
• The production and marketing of ready-made fruits and vegetables, with a national association: Afhorfresh.
• The production and export of flowers and live plants, with 8 associations: Asociaflor (Andalusia), Asfplant and Aielo (Region of Valencia), Asocan (Canary Islands), Asvinor (Galicia), ApharnySo (Aragon, Navarre, La Rioja and Soria), the Federación of Producers for Nurseries of Catalonia and the Spanish Association of Gardening Centers. Recently, nut producers and marketers have also joined FEPEX.
For more information: www.fepex.es
