The president of FEDEFRUTA, Juan Carolus Brown Bauza, will be speaking during the opening ceremony of the PMA Fruittrade Latin America, which will be held on November 12th at Espacio Riesco. Among other things, Brown is expected to speak about how the Chilean fruit sector will recover its export levels in 2015, as exports in 2014 declined by 12% after the frosts in 2013.
The PMA Fruittrade Latin America will run for two days and will be attended by the main supermarkets in the world, which come to Santiago to get to know the Chilean offer and buy fruit directly from local producers of fruits and vegetables.
"There is a huge demand for quality fruit that is safe, that has a good colour and flavour, and we want to assure the international retail that Chile is committed to ensuring the food security required by the world’s population in the coming decades," added Brown Bauza, who will also present FEDEFRUTA’s Chilean fruit export volume forecasts for 2015.
Currently, Chile is the world’s main exporter of table grapes and blueberries, the second biggest exporter of cherries, the third in kiwis, and the second largest producer and exporter of avocados. In addition Chile is a recognized provider of apples (Chile’s main fruit export in 2014, in terms of volume), stone fruits, citrus, and the country is also becoming a strong supplier of nuts and dried fruits.
"We want to show what we, as a consolidated industry and leading exporter of fruit, have to offer the world, not only in production but also in related areas such as packaging, refrigeration, machinery, farming techniques, nurseries, marketing, and many other sectors," added Juan Carlos Sepulveda, CEO of FEDEFRUTA. That’s why PMA Fruittrade, which was organized with the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) from the US, the Yentzen Group, and the support of ProChile, will exhibit more than 130 stands where national and foreign service providers will showcase the latest technologies for the horticultural sector.
Sector trends
There will be more than 90 lectures at the PMA Fruittrade’s seminars, which will run parallel to the business wheel and fair, where national and international actors will speak about the technical, productive and trade related issues of each species grown in Chile as well as the legal issues, innovation in logistics, marketing and consumer trends.
"We will have a panel where the supermarkets from Britain, China, North America, and Latin America will tell us what is happening with their customers and what they require from us, so we are aware of the trends and can continue to grow as an industry," added Sepulveda.
Oleen Smethurst, General Merchandise Manager of Costco Wholesale Canada, will be one of the speakers. "I’m eager to participate in the PMA Fruittrade Latin America. I hope to make new contacts and that the convention shows me what I need from the markets," he said.
The PMA Fruittrade Latin America will host over 2,250 assistants, including businessmen, manufacturers, suppliers, executives, advisors and official visits from Peru and Argentina, making it one of the most important events of the fruit and vegetable industry in Latin America.
Highlights of PMA Fruittrade Latin America
Wednesday 12th:
9:00: International Panel "Taking advantage of the global markets"
12:00: Opening Ceremony – speeches by FEDEFRUTA, PMA, ProChile Yenzten Group and Expomilan
15:30: Plantae, Chile’s main plant exporter, presents its results
Thursday 13:
9:30: Seminar "Rethinking export strategies" (ASOEX)
9:30: FEDEFRUTA’s director and the president of Fruséptima, Antonio Walker, discuss the efficiency indicators in pome fruits
15:30: Launch of the new Chilean Vegetable Association AG
15:30: Presentation of Uvanova