The fifth edition of Fruit Attraction, has served to put Huelva's berry producers and exporters in contact with clients from the entire European Union, as well as some non-EU countries, like Russia.
José Antonio Martín (Agromartín), one of the representatives of Plus Berries, said that, "although people have come from many countries, we have noticed the presence of numerous Russian and Polish clients." Plus Berries, a group of companies devoted to the production of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, presented its product catalogue at the fair. "This is something new and clients were happy to see what we do and what we offer." Plus Berries has already started the raspberry and blackberry campaigns.
For his part, the manager of Cuna de Platero, Juan Báñez, stated that the fair has been, "very satisfactory, as we have received many professional visitors at the stand, and this has served to strengthen the good relationship we have we our current clients and to meet new potential customers, with whom we have initiated commercial contacts which we will undertake to develop into successful relationships."
Meanwhile, the manager of Grufesa, Carlos Cumbreras, stressed that, "this fair must be a showcase for Spain's agriculture, where all international clients can easily access our products. We must strive to maintain that essence."
Regarding his company's role at the fair, he pointed out that it allows them "to get in contact with our existing clients and find new business opportunities." As for the potential interested markets, Cumbreras affirmed that "most are within the European Union, although some non-EU countries have also showed their interest and could allow us to diversify."
Fresón de Palos used the event to present its new general and commercial director, Vicente Jiménez, "who has managed to familiarise himself with the size of the company and have some direct contact with the sector," as explained by the entity's president, Manuel Jesús Oliva. In this sense, Oliva agrees that Fruit Attraction has had "a high volume of visitors, with new markets, like Russia, showing their interest for our strawberries."
The manager of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberries from Huelva (Freshuelva), Rafael Domínguez, stated that the increase in the number of visitors "proves that the consumption of berries overseas keeps growing with each campaign." Additionally, he mentioned that Freshuelva held a meeting with the association of Italian strawberry producers, AOP Armonia. "It has served us to share experiences that could help us next season," assured Domínguez Guillén.
The export of Huelva's berries is already representative, and thus the establishment of relationships with new destinations strengthens their position overseas. In fact, 85% of strawberries are shipped to foreign markets, and for the rest of berries this percentage is greater than 90%.
Source: Freshuelva