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Horti Asia 2014 welcomed 5,000 visitors

Horti Asia 2014 is the international platform for horticultural improvements in the region

Horti Asia 2014, the international tradeshow for horticultural and floricultural production and processing technology, took place this May in Bangkok (Thailand). Organized by VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific Co., it was supported by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau and governmental organizations. Featuring modern technologies and innovations for horticultural products, vegetables, fruit and flowers, the exhibition offers visitors a new knowledge platform and opportunities to select quality products to improve their productivity.

More than 110 leading companies from over 20 countries participated in the event. There were also 6 national pavilions from Thailand, the Netherlands, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Germany. Around 5,000 professionals—agriculturists, academics, investors, traders and government officials—visited the exhibition, including more than 500 foreign visitors from ASEAN countries.

 

Thailand, the horticultural industry hub in Asia

Mrs. Supawan Teerarat, vice-president for strategic and business development of the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said, “Thailand is the geographical center of ASEN countries, and Horti ASIA 2014 is the first and most comprehensive tradeshow for horticulture. Therefore, it is logical that it should be the hub of this industry in Asia”. Referring to the current political crisis in Thailand, Mrs. Supawan highlighted that it is a common process typical of all democratic countries. “It is a peaceful process aiming for sustainable development”. Encouraging business-matching between buyers and sellers, TCEB gave support to domestic and foreign visitors through the quality campaign Connect Business. It also invited journalists from leading foreign agricultural publications to create the international publicity.

 

VNU Exhibition talks about its commitments

“All of our exhibitors in Horti Asia 2014 remark on the quality of the visitors”, affirms Mrs. Ladda Mongkolchaivivat, General Manager of VNU Exhibition Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. “Actually, only serious professionals committed to doing business arrived in this year of political instability, and we are proud that their number is high. From our side, we confirm our commitment to help drive the country to become the hub for the plants, vegetables, fruit, flowers and orchids in Asia”. There are 7 million farmers in Thailand, and the development of the agricultural industry is very important. “We want to show our farmers how to improve the productivity of their business”, states Mrs. Ladda. “The farmers should be ready to export their products, and we acquaint them with food safety standards”. More than 1,000 farmers visited Horti Asia thanks to the government’s support. They were able to see pre-and-post harvesting innovation products and attend academic seminars.

 

Farmers’ organizations back environmentally friendly technologies

« We encourage Thai farmers to increase environmentally friendly agricultural production », explains Datchanee Kaeosuriya from the International Trade and Business Development department of MOF (Marketing Organization for Farmers).

The MOF was set up in 1974 as a governmental institution. Since then, it has been doing research into the products most in demand not only domestically, but internationally too. « We advise the farmers to use modern technologies, produce organic products and check pesticide levels. Thus, they will be able to export their fruit and vegetables to ASEAN countries and overseas ». For domestic consumers, MOF supports the Green Agriculture City Project. « We want Thai consumers to pay more attention to food safety », confirms Datchanee. « We helped organize the Or Tor Kor fresh food market in Bangkok, which is a model in terms of safe, healthy food. All the products are grown under strict control and according to environment-friendly practices. The staff who work at the market are trained by specialists in how to handle food ».

As for international trade, the demand for Thai produce keeps growing. « We see steady growth in demand for bananas (from Japanese consumers), for durians (from China) and for premium quality mangos (from Chinese and European markets) », states Datchanee. « Export figures keep growing. The demand for other products is very promising too; that is why it is important to meet international safety standards ». 

 

Nakhon Si Thammarat launches innovative fruits

« The growers from Nakhon Si Thammarat (Thailand) produce a large variety of delicious fruit », explains Panaranch Phonphakdee from the Panaranch Herbs Company. « One of them is the Tubtim Siam pomelo, an improved variety of Thai pink (Ruby) pomelo. It is large and has pink flesh and a sweet taste. It can be grown only in our province ». Another innovation is the off-season Krung Ching durian. « To grow durians, you must have a heart for it », explains the president of the local growers’ association. « You must understand what it needs at the time ».

The growers of Kiriwong village have started an ecologically-minded orchard, planting large varieties of fruit in the field and implementing modern technologies and GAP standards. One of their fruits is the mountain mangosteen, with an attractive appearance and « just the right » taste: sweet and a little sour. Its unique characteristics are the result of nutrient-rich soil, clean water and a cool climate acting as a « natural fridge ». The local Cha-ouad rambutan is produced under the « controlled » method of newly invented technologies of pruning, fertilizing and watering. The fruit is tasty, crisp, has a thin peel and is available out of season. Thanks to modern delivery process standards (such as ice-packing in foam containers), it has gained even more respect in Thai supermarkets. The success of the provincial farmers lies in combining innovations with a traditional love for their homeland.

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Sakata Vegetables : Europe expands seed range

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Melon, broccoli still linchpins of veteran seed breeder with ‘taste comes first’ motto. Broccoli seeds are still Sakata’s mainstay, accounting for about 80% of its sales. But its Piel de Sapo (also called Christmas) melon varieties are big sellers in the EU, especially Spain, and form a quarter of its global sales for this crop.
Sakata continually seeks to optimise its range and is starting to expand its portfolio of varieties with new types of broccoli. As a company where “Taste comes first®”, Sakata focuses not just on varieties with improved performance for growers, but added value in terms of the eating experience of consumers. With this in mind, it is also launching a branded range of specialty/cocktail tomatoes varieties, Majestar®, which includes only those varieties with a minimum level of flavour. “In the coming year, we plan to expand this concept into a wide range of other vegetables and fruits,” said Andrew Dominy, head of marketing.

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The La Coma group: steady, controlled growth

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One of Catalonia’s major stone fruit exporters, The La Coma group, consisting of Fruits Sant Miquel SL, SAT La Clamor and SAT La Capelleta, expects its production for the 2014 campaign to come to 35,000 tons, two thousand more than the last one, thereby continuing its line of steady, controlled growth. It has been operating for over 30 years in the domestic and international markets with stone fruit production in the provinces of Tarragona and Lleida and about 1,200 hectares of produce, exporting over 50% of this, which makes the La Coma group one of the largest Catalan stone fruit exporters. Nectarines and saturn peaches (35% and 30% of their production) are their main varieties of stone fruit, followed by peaches (with 25%), apricots (5%), plums (3%) and cherries (2%). In addition to an increase in production for the current season, the La Coma group’s manager, Carlos Lozano, expects an improvement in sugar levels. This will improve their quality objectives for their fruit, which is certified with BRC, IFS and GlobalGAP, among others. Among the La Coma group’s projects, Carlos Lozano explains that a company will be formed with the Catalan companies Fruites Font and Caberol Fruits to combine synergies and strengthen their presence in overseas markets. After years of success in international markets, especially with exports to European destinations (mainly Germany, Italy, the UK and France), the group has set itself the challenge of strengthening its overseas sales in the Americas.  As for new products, Carlos Lozano explains that they intend to make a stake on renewing varieties and differentiating themselves on the shop shelves. To do so, they have joined the Regal’In project, now in its third year, which was created to offer consumers quality products with consistent flavour. Under this brand, consumers are guaranteed they will acquire products always with the same taste and quality. MP

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Cot International’s new range of apricots

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Many new varieties are being trialled at Cot International’s experimental orchards in Murcia and Saint Gilles. Among them are very early and very late apricot varieties that are already available and have excellent organoleptic qualities and proven agronomic suitability. Cot International is also working on an expansion of its range of Japanese-American plums. Those available are a garnet (dark red) skin with yellow flesh plum (registered as Grenadine) and a red skin with red flesh plum.

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Frutas Escrig, renowned for its quality

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Frutas Escrig has spent the last 40 years dedicating itself to the marketing and distribution of fresh fruit to wholesalers. Specializing in oranges, clementines, melons and watermelons Frutas Escrig has increased its own production by 10% over the past year. This family firm which has facilities of 7000m2 in Faura near Valencia has shops in Madrid and Barcelona and with its top quality brand Escrig gourmet doing well in France, Belgium, Italy and Germany as well as in Canada and Brazil, Frutas Escrig has launched its new “La Sofia” brand as yet another top quality brand to join Escrig Gourmet and Escrig Hermanos which are already two of the most renowned citrus brands in Europe. Last year 28,000 tonnes of produce were sold of which 40% were oranges, 30% mandarins, 15% watermelons, 10% melons and 5% lemons and kaki persimmons. There was an increase in exports of lemons to France, oranges to Holland and blood oranges to Europe in general. Frutas Escrig will continue to import Orri clementines from Israel as well as oranges from Southern Hemisphere in their continuing quest to provide customers with citrus fruit all year round, inclusive from Peru.

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Citrusvil, significant investments to streamline all processes

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Among the strategies to deal with this bumpy year, Citrusvil is proposing to carry out a series of manoeuvres, both in-house and externally. First, internally, they will be working harder and better on the issue of lemon quality, incorporating cutting-edge technology to boost performance and cut production costs. An example of this is the significant increase in mechanical harvesting, especially for industrial lemon, as its handling will soon be totally automatic.  In the case of fresh lemon, although the contribution from growers is indispensable, Citrusvil’s aim is to triple workforce productivity by means of enabling machines. Producing sustainably and in harmony with the environment is a priority for the Tucumán leader, and to this end they are pioneering the use of a closed water saving and recycling system.  Along with this, Citrusvil is renewing its commitment to meet the All Lemon requirements to deliver a fresh lemon of the highest quality. Also, in the broader scope, the firm will continue to support government negotiations towards opening up the market in the United States, Japan and China.  Citrusvil accounts for 30 % of Argentina’s supply, which makes it one of the country’s top citrus companies. Production operations in the Tucumán region cover a net average of 6,000 ha in lemon production, the vast majority located in the Tucumán foothills, generating almost a million tons annually. Whereas last year they allocated 40 thousand tons of fresh lemon and 310 thousand t for industry, in 2014 they are also feeling the negative effects of the frosts, shipping only 24 thousand t of fresh lemon and 160 thousand t to the industry, i.e. in both cases they will have almost half as much fruit as last year. “This is a critical year – we haven’t seen anything like it in Argentina since 1989. The final balance will not be good even if there is a steep rise in prices, because the level of scarcity makes it impossible to compensate the loss. The groves will be producing half the amount, but still under the same fixed production costs.” explains the CEO Pablo Lucci, with concern. He also stated that it will be a time to strengthen relationships and try to supply all customers, even if it has to be in smaller quantities, but with the same quality and regularity as always. 

 

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FGF Trapani and export outlook for 2014

FGF Trapani executives foresee losses of 50 to 60% of total production from Tucumán for this campaign. Commercial Manager Fabricio Trapani warns that “there will be 30% less fresh lemon for export, while the industry will also suffer important shortages (roughly 60%), which are bound to lead to very high prices. Last year, FGF Trapani sent 50,000 tons of crushed lemons to the industry and 19,000 tons to fresh fruit exports. Forecasts for this year 2014 see the industry taking up between 25 and 30 thousand tons, while only approximately 12,000 tons of lemon will be set aside for fresh exports, maintaining their strict high quality parameters.  But they remain unfazed, as this time there will be no oversupply of fruit or price slump, as happened in previous years. In terms of developments in international markets, Trapani highlighted the presence of their own brand in the Russian market, where it has achieved good positioning and large volumes, assuring that: “Despite the international political situation they are currently going through, for FGF Trapani Russia is and will continue to be a very important market worth investing in.” The Middle East was also mentioned, as the export share to this destination is steadily increasing year after year. 
FGF Trapani is a prime example of a young Tucuman company, which in just 12 years has managed to position itself among the country’s leaders. Their fresh lemon supply is shipped overseas to countries like Russia, Ukraine, Eastern European countries, the European Union, Canada and Asia. The fruit channelled to the industrial sector is used to obtain derivatives such as dehydrated peel, essential oils and juice concentrates.  They begin production earlier, with 450 hectares in Jujuy and 240 h in Salta, where they have a modern packing facility. They also purchase lemons from Tucumán farmers who rely on FGF Trapani’s impeccable management.  
 

 

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Acheral projects more future sustainability

Acheral S.A.is a family company founded in the year 2003 by the Martinez Zuccardi brothers, a second generation of citrus growers and exporters. This entrepreneurship is the fruit of more than 30 years of experience of their associates in the industry, and is oriented towards total integration of all their citrus business activities, from the development of nurseries and plantations to the export of fresh fruit and industrial by-products. 
The Martinez Zuccardi family manages 1400 hectares of certified citrus plantations, 1000 in full production and 400 under development, a packing house with an hourly processing capacity of 15 tons in line with Global GAP standards and an industrial plant certified under BRC, HACCP, Kosher, SGP and GFSI (TCCC), SGF and ISO 14000 – in process – which is capable of processing 25 tons per hour.

Acheral SA exports fresh fruit to Russia and the EU, as well as industrial lemon and its derivatives to the USA and the EU. Chairman Jorge Martinez Zuccardi forecasts very short volumes for the fresh fruit campaign in 2014. «We are focused on keeping our skills and our human resources oriented to invest in new projects for the medium and long term. Although we know that this year the work will bring very little profit, we are confident that we can ride out the storm while preparing ourselves for the future sustainability of the company, incorporating new technology in the fields and also in the packing facility, improving process efficiencies in both areas.” The CEO also confirmed that Acheral will soon inaugurate two new warehouses with a total area of 3000m2, while developing 400 hectares of new plantations. 

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The 24th Fresh Agro-Mashov Exhibition

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The World Cup and a resounding success for international

Just before the soccer World Cup began in Brazil the “Fresh Agro-Mashov” Exhibition, agriculture’s annual World Cup, took place.

« Fresh Agro-Mashov » which takes place at the meeting place of three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) has become, with the years, one of the most important exhibitions in the world. Among the tens of thousands of visitors to the 24th Fresh Agro-Mashov Exhibition that took place this week in Tel-Aviv, visitors from Africa, Asia and Europe were prominent.
« Contrary to what you might expect, the Fresh Agro-Mashov Exhibition manages to overcome politics and proof of this is the fact that the largest delegation was the Palestinian delegation » according to Haim Allouche, the founder of the exhibition.
« This exhibition is a bridge to the Arab world and business is done here between businessmen from countries that have no diplomatic relations with each other.”

What is the secret of the phenomenal success of the agricultural World Cup in Tel-Aviv?

“First of all – Israeli agriculture has a worldwide reputation as a leader in innovation. Drip irrigation and inventions that changed the world of agriculture have come from here.
the 2nd secret  is  The location of the exhibition and the fact that Israel’s population came here from a hundred countries around the world.In this exhibition the Russian, the Argentinian, the Frenchman and the Indian all feel at home”.

Success stories from the 24th Fresh AgroMashov Exhibition

Tens of thousands of visitors to the exhibition could not ignore the farmer  Johnny Georges from Florida who was brought especially to the exhibition in central Tel Aviv by the ILS-Global company of Germany to celebrate the launch in the Middle East of Georges’ patent Tree-T-Pee which reduces the amount of water fruit trees need and also protects the trees. The successful patent was publicized when the US « Cowboy » introduced his patent in a popular TV show, « Shark Tank » , which hosts entrepreneurs and inventors.

« The terrain and climate are very similar in Florida and Israel and the people who came to the exhibition are really looking for solutions that will save on irrigation » says Georges. « However, more than the weather, I was surprised that the Israeli farmers, as well as their colleagues in the Palestinian Authority, Greece, Turkey and Jordan who came to visit the exhibition are very similar to us, the farmers of the United States. The subjects discussed with us by the farmers included pesticides versus organic thinking, the price received by the farmer for his goods and the problems of transporting fresh produce to the chains’ food stores tens of thousands of miles away from the orchard or field. The problems of agriculture, as well as the successes, are global and every farmer today is in fact an international player in a huge field ».

In the second exhibition hall of the Fresh Agro-Mashov Exhibition, the farmers, from seed developers to growers and marketing people from all over the world could meet Mr. Nestor Joaquin Ortega, the Minister of Agriculture of the Misiones Region in Argentina. Next to him, taking part in international meetings was the Chief Agronomist of the region’s Ministry of Agriculture, the chairman of the Argentina – Israel Chamber of Commerce and other businessmen who came in order to meet and learn about new agricultural technology that may help small and medium-sized farmers to enhance and optimize agriculture in their region. In his remarks to the media, Mr. Joaquin praised the power and strength of Israeli agriculture which is promoting quality solutions for growers.

One of the companies in the forefront of Israeli progress, which displayed in a huge booth in the center of the exhibition, is Zeraim Gedera, part of the global Syngenta Group, a leading global agro-chemical group.  Inbal Avraham, a senior company official, told us that the company decided to come to the Fresh Agro-Mashov exhibition as they do each year in order to make contact with buyers from different parts of the country and to let them know about the best products they have.

 

Avraham spoke mainly about the exhibition as a lever to strengthen ties with the growers in a year in which the company has decided to concentrate on introducing the company’s new seeds of quality tomato species to the growers in the expectation that we will see them in a bowl of salad in the coming year all over the world.
Exports, especially the sharp increase in the quantities of fresh produce exported to

 

Russia, received center place at the opening session of the exhibition in the presence of senior marketing people in Russia, buyers from food chains and Eduard Vertianov, the  Head of Trade & Economic Mission of the Russian Embassy in Israel.  

 

Vladimir Sachs of the Israeli- Russian « Yonatan Farm »  (chief sponsors of the conference area) said that this was the sixth or seventh time they had participated in the exhibition and that they exhibit in Israel as well as in their regular pavilions in the major exhibitions of fresh produce marketing in Berlin and Moscow. « We want to meet and refine our message to all the growers and suppliers with whom we work on an annual basis”.

The annual Fresh Agro-Mashov Exhibition is a focal point of pilgrimage for all Israeli agriculture and is sponsored by the Israeli Ministries of Agriculture and Economy. Within the framework of the exhibition, the local Ministry of Agriculture set up a huge pavilion to allow farmers and entrepreneurs to meet personally with the senior ministry officials and of course the Minister of Agriculture came to get an impression of the achievements of Israeli agriculture and of the booths of visiting exhibitors from abroad. Another distinguished guest was the mayor of the host city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa who honored the visitors from all over the world with his visit to the Agro-Mashov Exhibition.

The power of the exhibition comes from the dozens of delegations that visit from all over the world. The Palestinian delegation was the largest delegation this year and numbered about 500 guests. « Agriculture is a bridge between peoples, » said Samir Muadi, the Agriculture Coordinator of Judea and Samaria. « The Palestinian farmer can now market to Europe and Russia through his Israeli colleagues. And they in turn can use their Palestinian platforms for marketing fresh produce to new markets in the Gulf States, which are blocked to direct marketing by Israeli growers. The Dubai customer can eat the strawberries, dates and pears of Israeli farmers and the reciprocal marketing possibilities between farmers in the Palestinian Authority and in Israel can deepen and intensify as demand grows in the East and in Russia! »

The display booths presented to the public watermelons, agricultural insurance companies, Sabras for filling, gourmet fruit from the Golan Heights alongside banana growers, farm equipment and representatives of the Israeli retail chains who came to talk directly to the growers in order to reduce the profit margins prevailing in the industry. Dozens of booths of local and international exhibitors gave expression to the power, the strength and the relevance of current farming. Dr. Nimrod Israeli, the founder and CEO of « Bio-Feed », which exhibited some of the most advanced pest control solutions in the world, held meetings with representatives of the major chains (Shufer-Sal, Shikma Marketing – Rami Levi, and the Victory chain) who visited the exhibition, as well as with representatives of the large packing houses, opinion leaders in the social networks, growers, businessmen and senior officials from various government ministries. Off the record, Dr. Israeli told us about dozens of transactions previously finalized and about the feeling of huge success with the advance of the company and of the war in Israel and in the Mediterranean basin against the damage caused by the Mediterranean Fruit Fly in which the company specializes.

Towards the end of the exhibition, the Israeli Mashov Group signed an agreement of intent and cooperation with representatives of the Chinese organization IGEA – International Green Economy Association which sent a delegation of about 17 distinguished business owners to visit the exhibition. This a breakthrough agreement for the Israeli group, as it will advance the interests of the Chinese companies in Israel while at the same time presenting many possibilities for Israeli companies to introduce and establish relationships with Chinese companies seeking advanced technology in agriculture and clean-tech. Mr. Joseph Zhn, the vice secretary- general, in his greetings on the occasion, stressed how important agricultural progress is to the Chinese and the importance they see of cooperation with Israel, as leaders in the field.

The exhibition marking the quarter-century of Fresh Agro-Mashov will take place in a year from now in the Tel-Aviv Conference Center. on 23rd-24th June and will mark 25 years of success. The personal success of the organizers, led by Mr. Haim Allouche the founder and the resounding success of Israeli agriculture that has known how to change and make itself central to the fresh produce sector all over the world.

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Innovation and organic produce at Alimentaria

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With more foreign visitors this year – a total of 42,000 from 141 countries – organisers said it was the “most international, gastronomic and innovative” edition of the fair.

Mercabarna optimizing logistics
Among the exhibitors was Mercabarna, where director of strategy and marketing Pablo Vilanova Montagut told us about this Mediterranean food hub’s aim to streamline transport for mixed cargoes.
A handy pantry of fresh produce from which European buyers can mix and match to meet their needs – that’s one vision of itself Mercabarna is now promoting. And apart from making it easier for such traders to come to the market and take their shopping home with them, Barcelona’s wholesale food market is studying how to help the more than 200 firms specializing in fruit and vegetables there deliver orders of all sizes to far-flung buyers and to do it cheaper and faster.

Nice Fruit “revolution” in frozen fruit
Spanish company Nice Fruit won various innovation prizes at Alimentaria its patented “air-based” technology for freezing fruit. The result is a product that once thawed is not only equal to fresh fruit in taste and texture but has many advantages over it. Nice Fruit has been operating for just over eight months and already sells all of its 30 ton daily production from its plant in Castellbisbal (Barcelona) to the food service sector. Three more plants of the same capacity will be built this year: one in the Philippines, mainly for mango, another in Costa Rica, for pineapple, and the third in Colombia, for mango, avocado and strawberry. By the end of the year the company will produce 90 tons/day and that still won’t meet demand.