FDA International is an international trading company which started out by marketing and exporting French fruit and vegetables throughout the world, mainly in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Today, the company has expanded its sourcing to European products and has developed its exports to the American continent.
“FDA was created in 2008 in order to develop maritime exports. We work with three well-defined products: French apples mainly for Asia, the Middle East, Central America and South America. Our second activity revolves around the maritime export of bulbs (shallots, echalions, onions and garlic), mainly destined for the United States and Canada. In recent years, we have also developed our kiwi activity,” explains Christophe Artero, general director of FDA International.
Christophe Artero and Pascale Prezelin of FDA International at Fruit Attraction 2022
Development on the American continent: a strategic turn
Several reasons have pushed the company to take a strategic turn by developing its activities on the American continent. “First of all, our volumes of apples exported to Asia were decreasing due to the competition from other European countries, China and South Africa. We therefore decided to refocus on the Middle East. Then, in 2018, we chose to expand our activities to the American continent as well. This choice turned out to be rather wise, given the way in which the Middle East market has evolved in recent years, with the growing competition from Iran, Turkey, Asia and eastern European countries. Then, we also turned to Central and South America because the population of these countries consumes a lot of fruit and there is less pressure there from the competition.”
Dynamism hindered by unreasonable freight rates
Unfortunately, this interesting dynamism that the company had initiated 4 years ago on the American continent has been hindered by the drastic increase in freight rates. “Freight rates have increased worldwide. But on the American continent, prices have been multiplied by 4. During the Covid-19 pandemic, maritime shipping companies reduced the availability of containers since a lot of export activity had stopped. However, when the activity resumed quite suddenly, these companies were not able to accommodate the high demand, and prices kept increasing to completely unreasonable levels. The shipping lines sold their freight to the highest bidder and the exports from Europe to the American continent suffered greatly. Today, the freight rates from China to America are back to normal pre-Covid levels, but Europe is still suffering from unreasonable rates that have not decreased in spite of what was announced. This really holds back our sales program. Recently, the freight rates of the Netherlands have been reduced, but not in France for the products coming from the port of Le Havre.”
Participation in Global Produce and Floral Show in the United States
Despite these difficulties related to freight, FDA International continues to want to develop its activity on the American continent. “Last week, we presented our products at Global Produce and Floral Show in the USA. It is always very interesting to participate in an American event because we often come back with new ideas in terms of marketing and communication. We also feel that the Americans are really interested in our products. It is a market that is more difficult to penetrate, maybe because it is more loyal. South American countries are also growing and asking for more and more kiwis and apples. Not all of them produce but they all have a real fruit culture. So once Chile and Brazil end their production, they have to import from Europe. Additionally, since the logistics has remained at very high price levels, it is very costly for them to import from the United States. This is where we, as European exporters, have a strong card to play.”
"The last few years have highlighted a very important fact: regardless of the product, the logistics can be decisive and have a strong impact on trade, which was not the case as much before. The increase in freight rates is now a clear criterion to be taken into consideration. If it is too high, it can destroy trade and close borders, while a low rate can open borders and create opportunities. This is something we had not integrated before."
For more information:
Christophe Artero - General Director
FDA International
29 Av. du Moulin Marcille
49130 Les Ponts-de-Cé, France
Phone: +33 2 41 96 66 55
Mobile: +33 6 77 39 91 62
http://www.fda-international.com
christophe.artero@fda-international.fr