Apple and pear attraction: sales, promotion and marketing top of agenda

Apple and pear sales, promotion and marketing in the European Union, the United States and Spain will be at the top of the agenda during a series of seminars and workshops organised by FEPEX at Fruit Attraction. These will take place in Madrid from 5 to 7 October and will be attended by European Commission representatives with a role in the promotion of pears in the United States and representatives of the Spanish production and promotional sector.

The technical seminar entitled, “Apple and Pear Attraction: Sales, Promotion and Marketing” will take place on Thursday, 6 October and will be opened by a speech by Luis Flórez, from the European Commission General Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development. Mr Flórez will explain how the European Commission follow-ups the apple market, which has significant repercussions on EU fruit and vegetable production and sales.

United States pear promotion will be addressed by the Director of Communication and Marketing of USA Pears, Kathy Stephenson, who will explain this institution’s main promotional activities outside the United States.

In the national ambit, there will be a two-part analysis of apple and pear sales, promotion and marketing. Firstly, Manel Simón, manager of the Association of Catalan Fruit Businesses (AFRUCAT) will share the main production and sales figures for the pip fruit business in Spain. There will also be a panel discussion featuring the heads of the main apple and pear ‘Protected designations of Origin’ (PDO) and ‘Protected Geographical Indications’ in Spain, to explain the promotional campaigns carried out in the national market and in the European Union. 

Pablo Linares, technical director of the PDO Manzana Reineta del Bierzo; Juan Antonio Tomás Merlos, secretary of the PDO Pera de Jumilla Regulatory Commission; Sixto Cabezón, manager of the PDO Pera Rincón del Soto; Lourdes Salazar, sales manager for the PDO Pera de Lleida and Lorenc Frigola, President of the PGI Poma de Girona will all take part in this initiative.

According to data from the Directorate General of Customs, processed by FEPEX, in 2015, Spanish apple exports amounted to 121,657 tons, seven per cent more than in the previous year, with a value of EUR 89.5 million (+12%), while pears totalled 96.567 tons (-20%), with a value of EUR 77.4 million (-6.5%). Catalonia is the leading apple and pear exporting community. In 2015, exports from Catalonia equalled 78,593, tons, followed by Murcia with 10,579 tons and Aragon with 8,806 tons. 

In terms of pears, in 2015, exports from Catalonia equalled 57,611 tons, followed by the Community of Valencia with 10,686 tons, Andalusia with 5,176 tons and Aragon with 5,154 tons.

In the first half of 2016, apple exports reached 53,740 tons, 13.5% less than in the same period of 2015, for a value of EUR 41.6 million (+4%) and pear exports rose to 19,887 tons (+35%) with a value of EUR 15.2 million (-28.5%%). During this period, apple imports rose to 127,926 tons (+23%), for a value of EUR 93 million (+18%) and pears rose to 39,821 tons (+39%) with a value of EUR 31.3 million (+50%).

“Apple and Pear Attraction: sales, promotion and marketing" will be inaugurated by the Director General of agricultural markets and production of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fernando Miranda, the chairman of the FEPEX Fruit Committee and president of AFRUCAT, Juan Serentill, and the manager of FEPEX, Jose Maria Pozancos. The event will take place on Thursday, 6 October from 16 to 18 hours, in the FRUIT FORUM 4 space between Halls 2 and 4 at IFEMA. 

 “Apple and Pear Attraction: sales, promotion and marketing” is one of the workshops organised by FEPEX under the auspices of the eighth edition of Fruit Attraction, some of which are: