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<title>Eurofruit Magazine RSS Feed</title><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/index.html</link><description>Fresh comment from Eurofruit Magazine</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>&#xa9; Market Intelligence Ltd</dc:rights><dc:date>2010-09-01T15:15:09+01:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:58:03 +0100</lastBuildDate><item><title>Emissions are certainly up in our household</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2010-09-01T15:15:09+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/emissions_are_up_in_household.html#unique-entry-id-55</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/emissions_are_up_in_household.html#unique-entry-id-55</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


As you may have heard, I recently became a father.   Our little bundle of fresh produce, Tom, came into the world at the end of July and has been helping ensure I&rsquo;m up early for work and my arm muscles are well exercised.


So far, the experience has been magical, euphoric, tiring and rewarding, not to mention completely life-changing.   The effect Tom has had on our lives is huge, but I was surprised to read that the environmental impact of having a child is also sizeable.


In his book How Bad Are Bananas?  , Mike Berners-Lee discovered that the average carbon footprint of having a child was 373 tonnes &ndash; although carbon-conscious kids create just 100 tonnes of CO2 and high-impact offspring have a lifetime footprint of 2,000 tonnes.   Personally, I&rsquo;d prefer not to think about all the emissions my son will create during his lifetime, but there you go.


Elsewhere in the book, Berners-Lee underlines the potential low-carbon credentials of several fruits &ndash; including apples, bananas and oranges &ndash; all of which he says can be very environmentally friendly when sourced locally but also offer climate-friendly food miles when brought in from overseas.


However, according to the book, a 250g pack of local, seasonal asparagus will set the world back 125g of CO2, still lower than the 3.5kg incurred by the same pack airfreighted from Peru in January.


&ldquo;If your entire diet were as carbon intensive as long-haul asparagus, your food would have a footprint of more than 50 tonnes: three and a half times the entire annual footprint of an average UK citizen,&rdquo; says the author.


A punnet of strawberries grown in the UK, meanwhile, creates around 150g of CO2 (600g per kilo), but glasshouse-grown punnets or those imported out of season are apparently responsible for an estimated 1.8kg (7.2kg per kilo).


Coincidentally, on the opposite page, the average disposable nappy is said to be responsible for 145g of CO2.   Don&rsquo;t worry though, I&rsquo;ll make sure he eats plenty of bananas.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Saluting the industry&#x27;s greatest Dane</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2010-08-01T10:05:46+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/saluting_industrys_greatest_dane.html#unique-entry-id-54</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/saluting_industrys_greatest_dane.html#unique-entry-id-54</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Our special feature on Scandinavia (Eurofruit Magazine, August issue) provides me with the perfect excuse to say a fond farvel to one of our closest friends in the fresh produce trade, Coop Trading&rsquo;s head of business development Svend Aage Kristensen.


After what will be almost 48 years in the trade, the great Dane has decided it is at last time to hang up his calculator and leave the tough business of sourcing fruit and vegetables for the Nordic consumer cooperatives to someone with significantly fewer air miles.   By the end of August, he will have traded in the early, pre-work swims and banana pricing charts for a glass of fine wine out in the garden and the chance to spend more time with his family.   "It&rsquo;s a gift I need to use," he tells us.


I hope Svend won&rsquo;t mind me saying that he did not conform to the stereotype of a modern European retail buyer.   Although he was, by all accounts, a formidable negotiator, there was nothing hard-nosed about his way of working; travelling far and wide to visit plantations, growers, suppliers and exporters, Svend showed a very real affinity for the entire fruit and vegetable business and was fully aware of the need to develop equitable partnerships that traded in good quality products, instead of embarking on the kind of race to the bottom seen in other markets.


A few years ago, he told this magazine: "The competition is very tough, and as retailers we are always pressed when it comes to the bottom line.   We need to look carefully for added value through innovation and new products if we are to avoid all ending up as discounters."   A firm advocate of fairness when it came to paying growers, Svend leaves behind an industry that has come a long way in terms of its ethical treatment of workers, not to mention one that continues to innovate and develop new products which offer the chance to generate additional value for growers, traders and consumers.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Solar power is the future of marketing</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2010-07-01T16:45:54+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/solar_power_future_of_marketing.html#unique-entry-id-53</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/solar_power_future_of_marketing.html#unique-entry-id-53</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Summer is a great time to be alive, and the life-affirming spirit that pervades anywhere lucky enough to be blessed with a healthy dose of sunshine and warm temperatures is something upon which many in the fresh produce business should be looking to capitalise. 


Take the 23 tonnes of strawberries sold during Wimbledon fortnight in the UK; or the vast quantities of succulent peaches and nectarines marketed to thirsty consumers on Italy&rsquo;s Adriatic Riviera; or indeed the Chiquita bananas handed out to Greek consumers lying on the beach and trying to forget about taxes: all of these are examples of solar-powered marketing, and I believe the opportunities to engage consumers through seasonal campaigns will gradually increase across Europe in the coming years as our economies begin to settle down. 


Since we are now all destined to work until well into old age, the chances are we&rsquo;ll be looking to enjoy ourselves along the way &ndash; we&rsquo;ll be after more convenience, reasonable prices and the best quality and taste possible &ndash; and summer will indeed be the time to make hay.   Not yet found your target market?   Try some summery marketing and you may find you&rsquo;re getting warmer. 


At the recent Fresh Convenience Congress, a new event organised by Eurofruit Magazine and the Fresh Produce Journal for the international fresh convenience sector, we heard how the head chef at London&rsquo;s Wembley Stadium had to ensure he had 1.5 tonnes of chopped fruit ready for three consecutive Take That concerts.   The sole reason?   The fans at those three concerts (including my dear wife) love a bit of fruit in their Pimms.   Once a brand has established a tradition, it can be a very powerful thing; us Brits wouldn&rsquo;t dream of sipping Pimms without a slice of cucumber, a slice of orange, a strawberry or two and a sprig of mint.   Perish the thought!   So here&rsquo;s to boosting fruit sales and here&rsquo;s to more sunshine!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Our names are the same as brands</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2010-06-01T10:34:43+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/names_the_same_as_brands.html#unique-entry-id-52</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/names_the_same_as_brands.html#unique-entry-id-52</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


My recent trip to New Zealand not only gave me a valuable opportunity to find out more about the country's kiwifruit business, it also gave me a chance to meet someone I&rsquo;ve been wanting to meet for a long time, namely Zespri shipping manager Mike Knowles.


It's not every day you get to meet someone with the same first and last names &ndash; let alone a namesake working in the same industry as you &ndash; and suffice to say we got on extremely well, discovering a shared fondness for beer, sport and, of course, the fruit trade.


I spent an afternoon with Mike and his colleagues at the Port of Tauranga, and as we watched pallets of kiwifruit being loaded onto a ship, I caught myself thinking momentarily about how important names really are.   My wife and I are expecting our first baby next month and, naturally, we are keen to come up with suitable names.   The natural concern is to be sure our choices will match the baby&rsquo;s character, but of course it&rsquo;s probably more a case of the person growing up to suit the name.


Without wanting to stretch the analogy too far, I think that&rsquo;s also the case with fresh produce brands.   During my week-long stay in the Bay of Plenty, I was aware of how important the Zespri trademark has become to the New Zealand kiwifruit trade.   Here is a name the industry has grown accustomed to over time: since the industry&rsquo;s new single-desk marketer was christened back in 1996, it has come to represent quality, care and commitment to providing the best possible service to growers and customers.   The brand carries that promise and secures that reputation.


Like everyone, myself and Mike have sought to build reputations by providing people with the right level of service and quality, and our names are the personal brands that represent those values.   Of course, should my reputation as a journalist ever slip, I now have the added option of being able to send Mike into early retirement and start doing his job&hellip;]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Volcano? We&#x27;ve started so we&#x27;ll finish</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2010-05-01T14:37:18+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/5977c10a6ec80d75b1f061eabfe010f0-51.html#unique-entry-id-51</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/5977c10a6ec80d75b1f061eabfe010f0-51.html#unique-entry-id-51</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


For those members of the European fresh produce trade attending last month&rsquo;s FRESH congress in St Petersburg, the discussion had been all about how to get into Russia.   By the time they came to leave, however, getting out of the country was an altogether more pressing priority.


As delegates dined in the relaxed surroundings of the city's Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace on the evening of 14 April, no-one surely could have been aware that, more than 2,600km away in southern Iceland, a bubbling volcano that many reckoned was going back to sleep had in fact begun to throw a large plume of ash high into the air, flinging its violent and dangerous cloud in the direction of northern Europe.


For those due to return home the following day, a peaceful morning lie-in following the hard work and networking of the previous two days would soon be broken by phone calls and messages drawing attention to the impending air travel ban.   For those not based in Russia, hangovers ranging from mild to major would have to be forgotten as calls to colleagues back home, to airlines and even to embassies suddenly became more urgent.


Getting home had just got a whole lot harder.   For some, the fast-shrinking range of alternative routes home brought out the very best in terms of resourcefulness and ingenuity: One group of Dutch people attending the conference ended up hiring a car to get them home via Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen on a 40-hour road trip back to Holland.   Elsewhere, one British delegate somehow convinced a passing Russian to drive him to the French port of Calais.   &ldquo;We had a lot of fun actually,&rdquo; he said, with the far-away stare of a man who&rsquo;s just travelled in a Russian car to France through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.


I might have guessed that it would take more than a belligerent Icelandic volcano to stop the finest minds in the fresh produce trade from getting to where they needed to be.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Some things work better face to face</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2010-04-01T14:47:24+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/work_better_face_to_face.html#unique-entry-id-50</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/work_better_face_to_face.html#unique-entry-id-50</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


As a journalist, it&rsquo;s amazing how much more you can discover when you actually sit down and spend some time talking to someone face to face.   It&rsquo;s a very different experience to talking on the phone or exchanging emails &ndash; especially if you&rsquo;ve never met &ndash; because if all goes to plan then the person you&rsquo;re speaking to is going to relax, feel more at ease in your company and, with any luck, offer you a gem of a story which will add value to your publication.   It doesn&rsquo;t always happen that way, of course, but it certainly makes a difference when you can see the whites of their eyes.


Naturally, our excellent news team here at Eurofruit &ndash; the same people, by the way, who are responsible for www.fruitnet.com &ndash; is always up to speed with the latest annoucements from all the major fresh produce companies.   Over the years, they have become adept at keeping on top of a regular stream of press releases and corporate announcements while also managing to follow up leads and generate their own exclusive content.   However, they also realise it&rsquo;s only when you manage to get what our American friends so aptly call &lsquo;face-time&rsquo; with industry players that you start to feel like you&rsquo;re getting to know what&rsquo;s really going on.


It&rsquo;s not that we&rsquo;re looking to expose secrets or give competitors a glimpse of your commercial strategies, but it&rsquo;s definitely our job to promote the sharing of ideas and give coverage to the companies that are turning those ideas into success, progress and, ultimately, cold, hard profit.   In the long run, promoting what&rsquo;s good about the trade itself ends up being of benefit to the entire fresh produce trade.


My interview with Dole Europe president Jean-Christophe Juilliard (Eurofruit Magazine, April Issue) provided a lot of insight into what&rsquo;s driving the company&rsquo;s development here in Europe.   For the record, he also told me that his favourite fruit is the redcurrant, which may explain the group&rsquo;s recent move into berries.   It&rsquo;s amazing what people are prepared to tell you when you&rsquo;re sat right opposite them.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Let&#x27;s see all those brands&#x2c; sports fans</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2010-03-01T15:15:57+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/lets_see_brands_sports_fans.html#unique-entry-id-49</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/lets_see_brands_sports_fans.html#unique-entry-id-49</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


You may not have heard of the Snow Leopard &ndash; otherwise known as Ghanaian skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong &ndash; but his brief appearance in the Men&rsquo;s Slalom at last month&rsquo;s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, helped raise the international profile of his main sponsor, apple brand KIKU.   Of course, one of Kwame&rsquo;s main attributes in terms of marketability is the fact he comes from a country not famed for its winter sports prowess &ndash; he is, let&rsquo;s face it, Cool Runnings on skis &ndash; but his ability to get down a large, snow-covered hill without incident on two planks of wood has brought him, and KIKU, to the attention of viewers worldwide.


In late February, British current affairs comedy programme Mock the Week talked about the Snow Leopard and the fact he learnt his trade in the UK, showing him in his animal-print outfit adorned with the KIKU logo to millions of viewers across the country.


If you want to tie your brand into a sporting event, it need not necessarily cost an arm and a leg, although in the case of someone like Torin Koos, the US cross-country skier sponsored by USA Pears, an arm and a leg might indeed be all you can afford.   No, despite being unable to operate on the same level as the likes of McDonald&rsquo;s or Pepsi when it comes to putting your brand alongside events like the Olympics or indeed the football World Cup, there are opportunities out there if you know where to look and if you employ some lateral thinking.   Why, for example, did no-one from the berry business think to sponsor snowboarder Jasey-Jay Anderson, the 34-year-old blueberry farmer from Quebec who won gold for Canada in the Men&rsquo;s Parallel Giant Slalom during what was his fourth and final Olympics?


For those fresh produce marketing managers out there, your challenge for the coming months is to successfully place your brand alongside a major sporting event at the lowest cost possible.   Anyone managing to do so can count on us featuring that tie-in prominently in the pages of Eurofruit.   Let the games begin!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Consumers want labels&#x2c; but arguably need brands</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2010-02-01T14:34:54+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/consumers_want_labels_need_brands.html#unique-entry-id-48</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/consumers_want_labels_need_brands.html#unique-entry-id-48</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


The fresh produce trade has come under such huge pressure from ethical and environmental lobby groups during the past two decades that the need to convey a huge number of different qualifications to the general public has potentially left the consumer faced with more trademarks and labels than he or she perhaps knows what to do with.   Carbon and water footprints, indicators of good agricultural practice, geographical specifications, Fairtrade and organic marks, airfreight warnings: these are just some of the many labels vying for the consumer&rsquo;s attention.


For the fresh produce business, however, there is an opportunity here to embrace still increasing public demand for social and environmental stewardship among suppliers and retailers.   Of course, many in the business are already doing this and marketing their green credentials prominently &ndash; just take Chiquita&rsquo;s well publicised work with the Rainforest Alliance as an example, which contributed to it being presented with a sustainability award in January.


Many companies are finding they can use best practice and corporate responsibility as a means to refine and improve the way in which their own brands are perceived.   As reported in our Brand Dossier (Eurofruit Magazine, February issue), Fresh Del Monte has revamped its website to include a wealth of information about its sustainability programmes, the idea evidently to convert all of the goodwill such projects generate into additional brand equity.   For the likes of Del Monte and Chiquita, the ultimate aim is for each of their labels alone to represent all that is good about the business &ndash; a &lsquo;one brand fits all&rsquo; approach that reduces the need for consumers to be on the lookout for a vast range of different stickers to reassure them.


Last month, South African topfruit, stonefruit and grapefruit exporters officially launched their first joint campaign since deregulation, harnessing the country&rsquo;s image as source of &lsquo;beautiful&rsquo; fresh produce.   The rainbow nation&rsquo;s flag is arguably one of the most respected ethical labels anyone could imagine.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Consolidation continues to strike the right chord</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2010-01-01T12:45:42+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/consolidation_strikes_the_right_chord.html#unique-entry-id-47</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/consolidation_strikes_the_right_chord.html#unique-entry-id-47</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Now I&rsquo;m not one to blow my own trumpet, but back in March 2007, I suggested that, at some point in the future, the world&rsquo;s largest food retail group might end up being Tesco-Ahold.   In fact, without wishing to create an unfortunate mental image, I was blowing someone else&rsquo;s trumpet; talk of such a merger has been around for at least a decade, with analysts pointing to the British and Dutch retailers&rsquo; "highly complementary geographical spread".   The thing about recessions is that these theories about mergers and acquisitions tend to resurface (as the Tesco-Ahold one did last month), particularly if the companies involved is thought to be struggling &ndash; just take a look at the planned fusion of British Airways and Iberia and you&rsquo;ll see what I mean.


As you can tell from our front cover and several of the key interviews we have put together for you on the pages of the January issue of Eurofruit Magazine, consolidation is a phenomenon we firmly believe will be here to stay in all parts of the fresh produce supply chain over the coming decade.   More and more companies are going to find themselves having to organise better in order to survive in an increasingly consolidated marketplace.   To extend the musical analogy, if that means joining a larger ensemble to orchestrate sales more effectively, so be it.   Taking the lead is all very well, but the repercussions of being unable to drum up trade because you&rsquo;re playing second fiddle to a more finely tuned competitor are likely to be severe.


In fact, consolidating is precisely what many companies in this business are doing.   While modern retailers become more and more powerful, suppliers like Univeg, Total Produce, Unica and VOG to name just four are strengthening too, as are many of the industry&rsquo;s service providers.   Zespri may have come under fire in the past few weeks for its monopoly on New Zealand kiwifruit exports, but several of the country&rsquo;s apple exporters have told me they support that kind of consolidation and feel it&rsquo;s something they lost after deregulation in their own sector.   Conducted in the right way, much like an orchestra, consolidation can result in individuals becoming worth more than the sum of their parts.   Good luck in 2010!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>How the global recession has reshaped this business</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-11-01T09:08:25+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/d8bf3dffdfcf2ad528435a2c8a543b06-46.html#unique-entry-id-46</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/d8bf3dffdfcf2ad528435a2c8a543b06-46.html#unique-entry-id-46</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


As we approach the end of what has been a memorable year, a look back at my editorial comments in the previous 10 issues of Eurofruit Magazine is pretty revealing: only two of those comment pieces didn&rsquo;t mention the global recession.   And now I&rsquo;ve gone and mentioned it again.   The trouble is, very few things in this world &ndash; let alone this industry &ndash; are truly independent of the international financial system.   Even if we are now heading out of recession in Europe, so much of the fresh fruit and vegetable business is linked to markets, spending, demand, investment, banking, loans, confidence, cash flow&hellip;


The list goes on.   The fresh produce trade has been changed irreversibly by the economic downturn.   As our lead news story on p5 of the November/December issue of Eurofruit Magazine about Tesco&rsquo;s drive towards increased direct sourcing confirms, supply relationships have come under pressure as retailers seek to trim costs in the value chain.   Producers and growers, having witnessed dramatic price decreases amid rising costs, now want to meet that demand and cut out the intermediate stages that some in the trade feel add an unnecessary layer of extra cost.   In the next year, it is likely that alliances and marketing partnerships among rival producer groups will continue to make a comeback, restoring a more unified approach that, in stark contrast to consolidation within the retail sector, has been missing over the past decade.   Importers and marketers, as a consequence, will be compelled more than ever before to justify the role they play in the chain and underline the value they add.


Every consumer trend has been shaped by the recession.   In some instances, such as price, the effects have been obvious: who would have predicted, for example, that high-end retailers would suddenly begin to extol the virtues of their value proposition instead of distinguishing their products on the basis of terms of things like taste and provenance?   Elsewhere, changes have been more subtle: interest in ethical sourcing has grown, despite the premium placed on Fairtrade.   As we head into the next decade, all we can predict for certain is that this trade will never stand still.


See you in 2010!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>An eye for goal is good&#x2c; but you also have to track back</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-10-01T10:21:17+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/eye_for_goal_also_track_back.html#unique-entry-id-45</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/eye_for_goal_also_track_back.html#unique-entry-id-45</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


You join us here at the Retail Arena for what promises to be a compelling game between Sporting Fresh Produce and the Food Industry Giants.   Bit of a mis-match, of course, given the big names playing for the Giants; with Ronald McDonald offering quick distribution up front and Pepsi Cola giving the team its fluidity, this expensive outfit is likely to provide a tough test for the fresh faces in the Produce team.   Huge sums of money have been pumped into the Giants, and if it was simply a question of how large their marketing budgets were then this competition would be over before it even started.


The fresh team may have to make one or two changes to its line-up in order to prevail.   Up front, we&rsquo;ve witnessed the emergence of several attack-minded players with an eye for goal.   Sometimes tricky to deal with, these players have to be kept on side even when off-field issues like contracts are causing friction.   Just look at that Dutch centre-forward: the way he got it on the deck, controlled it and got it past the opposing shopkeeper was superb.


In defence, you&rsquo;ve got plenty of players who start things off with a simple pass, sending it through the air or keeping things on the ground.   But midfield is where most of the action still takes place.   Here, the team needs dynamic players who know exactly where the goal is but who are also excellent at tracking back.   These players can set up a move and get the ball rolling, but are also able to deliver the telling pass and hit the target when it matters.


Finding the winning combination has a lot to do with getting the balance of the team just right.   Local, home-grown talent is key, naturally, and many of these will have been nurtured from an early age through the youth academy, but there is also a lot to be said for throwing a number of foreign imports into the mix.   In many cases, these guys offer big-match experience and are aware of things like having the right kit and how to keep the referees on side.


Ultimately, it&rsquo;s all about pleasing the people who will pay good money for a high-quality product, provided they go home happy.   If this team works well together, then the players can still emerge as winners.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The light at the end of the tunnel may be back on</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-09-01T11:49:24+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/0cb7dc8d2f48b5d5eadcb44c0f06b9dd-44.html#unique-entry-id-44</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/0cb7dc8d2f48b5d5eadcb44c0f06b9dd-44.html#unique-entry-id-44</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Thank goodness for that!   The recession is finally over&hellip; Well, sort of.   New figures published in August suggest Germany and France have turned the corner, economically speaking, while even the credit crunched man of Europe, the UK, showed signs of a return to fiscal health as the September edition of Eurofruit Magazine went to press.   As leading economic theorists Slick Aguilar and Mickey Thomas once said, nothing&rsquo;s gonna stop us now.


But wait, what&rsquo;s that I hear you say?   You don&rsquo;t want the recession to end?   Well, I&rsquo;m sorry, but the time for those two-for-one deals at restaurants, free wi-fi connection in hotels and a whole raft of special offers down your local supermarket must cease forthwith now that we&rsquo;re back on track.   The light at the end of the tunnel is back on, and someone has to pay for the electricity.


Or do they?   Some might argue that this recession has changed things forever, that it&rsquo;s been a blessing in disguise.   Of course, recessions are dreadful, particularly where jobs are lost, homes repossessed and businesses that took people years to grow suddenly fold overnight.   But there are positives too, and emerging from an economic downturn depends partly on a willingness to believe once more in the potential for things to grow.   My belief is that all recessions have a positive side and this one has been no different.   The excesses of the housing boom have been curtailed, deceptive and downright immoral banking systems are coming under greater scrutiny, and short-term, short-sighted speculation has been exposed for the sham it is.   Balanced budgeting is in, wild wagering is out.   As Joseph Schumpeter suggested in his book Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, recessions are indeed a necessary evil for capitalist societies, safety devices which can stop economies from over-reaching themselves and, at the same time, generate new potential in terms of investment opportunities.


When we do finally emerge from our economic funk, it will most likely be to a different kind of prosperity. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Convincing the market is a brand&#x27;s ultimate challenge</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-08-01T12:17:46+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/convincing_market_is_brands_challenge.html#unique-entry-id-43</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/convincing_market_is_brands_challenge.html#unique-entry-id-43</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Our front cover&rsquo;s perfumesque paean to Portugal&rsquo;s most famous pear variety, the Rocha, may be a bit too glamorous for some in the trade, but our point is that very few product varieties in this business are truly able to function like brands and command a premium over other competing varieties without the support of a large-scale and expensive marketing concept.


In effect, Rocha is a naturally occurring, geographically ring-fenced club variety.   It is only grown in Portugal &ndash; making it more rare and more highly prized &ndash; and as long as the rest of the European pear crop isn&rsquo;t too large, demand should always be reasonably strong across many of the EU&rsquo;s major consumer markets.   In contrast, other pear varieties like Conference, or types of apple such as Gala and Braeburn, are produced in such vast quantities in several different countries that they no longer stand out as extraordinary; their prevalence consigns them to the mass market, to a commodity-driven model of buying and selling, and ultimately to private label.


Ultimately, one of the toughest challenges in this business is to create a brand that so inspires consumers they are willing to pay a premium.   If successful, it can convince retailers to stock the branded item rather than a cheaper alternative.   Pink Lady has managed to do this for apples, even convincing Asda to reconsider its experiment with selling private label Cripps Pink.   But the costs involved in developing consumer brands are huge; retailers prefer to sell their own labels; and competition from other industries remains fierce.


For those reasons, the fact that Fyffes&rsquo; famous blue label has achieved such a strong following is all the more impressive.   The world&rsquo;s oldest fruit brand celebrated its 80th anniversary last month and it evidently still offers customers and consumers something they feel is worth paying for.   Long may that continue&hellip;]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Unshopping is a sure sign consumers are uncertain</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-07-01T12:01:19+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/a43794e2a777b0692a223423fa8bb05d-42.html#unique-entry-id-42</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/a43794e2a777b0692a223423fa8bb05d-42.html#unique-entry-id-42</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


A female friend of mine, who will remain nameless, enjoys the occasional trip to the shops.   Now there&rsquo;s an understatement!   In fact, it has been known for the shopping centre staff to roll out the red carpet on her arrival and get some poor fella to carry bags and bags of new clothes for her while she browses the rails and ponders her next purchase, sometimes for hours.   Ok, so I exaggerate slightly, but I&rsquo;ve always seen her as a good barometer of consumer confidence.   Forget all those banking suits and economic analysts &ndash; no, for years my friend has unwittingly been providing me with a litmus test of how willing people are to part with their money.   The trouble is, she&rsquo;s now started doing something I hadn&rsquo;t previously anticipated.


In fact, there&rsquo;s a new word for it &ndash; &lsquo;unshopping&rsquo;.   That&rsquo;s right, my friend has managed to preserve the thrill of the chase that so adrenalises shopaholics, while at the same time minimising the financial impact on her bank balance and assuaging a debt of guilt to her now more fiscally fearful conscience.   Here&rsquo;s how it goes: wander round the shops as before, buy whatever new and trendy clothes catch your eye, try them on if necessary and then head home.   A few days, maybe even months later, having been careful to keep your receipt in a safe place (in the cupboard where all your expensive apparel used to live, for example), take said items back to the shops and get your money back.   It&rsquo;s just like having a bank account &ndash; at present, the interest rates are indeed comparable &ndash; only you get a temporarily well-stocked wardrobe instead of the paltry free gift that only a few bank managers still bestow upon their customers nowadays.


Thankfully, there is no danger of unshopping affecting the fresh produce business.   &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to return these peaches.&rdquo;   &ldquo;Certainly sir, how long have you had them?&rdquo;   &ldquo;Erm, since last season, I think.&rdquo;   &ldquo;Okaaaaaay&hellip;&rdquo;.   However, the fact that unshopping now exists underlines how nervy consumers are.   As soon as she starts shopping again, you&rsquo;ll be the first to know.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Much to be learned in the marketing department</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-06-01T11:31:34+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/much_learned_in_marketing_department.html#unique-entry-id-41</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/much_learned_in_marketing_department.html#unique-entry-id-41</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Sometimes, I feel we don&rsquo;t give enough attention to the wider world of marketing and the ways and means by which people in all kinds of companies and organisations outside of the fresh produce sphere are managing to get their message across to consumers, retailers, importers and anyone else they feel should be listening.   Perhaps there are lessons to be learned, for example from the way in which meat suppliers are promoting their pigs?   (There&rsquo;s a joke in there somewhere about mass emailing and spam, but I don&rsquo;t think this is the place to go trotting out boaring old puns like that.)


The rise of online marketing tools that show huge potential for businesses to spread their communications far and wide at very little cost &ndash; for example Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn &ndash; has been staggering.   Eurofruit Magazine now has a Twitter feed (twitter.com/eurofruit) and is beginning to attract attention down that channel.   Only last week, retail analyst Planet Retail announced via one of its own &lsquo;tweets&rsquo; that it was planning a series of so-called webinars (online seminars).   We picked up the news immediately, posted it on our news website Fruitnet.com and, hey presto, Planet Retail have some free marketing and we have some useful additional content.   As far as I can tell, in pure marketing terms, nothing has been spent beyond the overheads involved in running an internet connection and setting up an email account.   This is marketing for the credit crunch, alright!


But let&rsquo;s not get carried away with heady tales of marketing success.   As our recent FRESH Congress in Valencia proved, there is plenty of work to be done on innovating and making improvements to underlying, fundamental parts of the fresh produce sector if it is to emerge from the financial crisis relatively unscathed.   For more on what was discussed at the event, head over to p70-71 of this month's Eurofruit Magazine.   Elsewhere in the magazine, we tackle issues including corporate social responsibility, oversupply and (naturally) the recession.   Sometimes, a mere tweet just doesn&rsquo;t suffice&hellip; ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Now is not the time to discount the banana trade </title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-05-01T12:20:47+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/not_time_discount_banana_trade.html#unique-entry-id-40</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/not_time_discount_banana_trade.html#unique-entry-id-40</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


The discount pandemic has spread like wildfire across Europe during the past year, bringing leading retailers out in a rash of private labels and own-brand products.   Tesco, Carrefour, Intermarch&eacute;, Waitrose, Mercadona, Delhaize, Auchan, Asda &ndash; these are just some of the companies which have recently launched discount brands or price-saving banners in a bid to entice budget-conscious shoppers into their stores.   But do they really work?   Or are they simply a last desperate attempt by these major retailers to cling on to market share as the likes of Aldi, Lidl, Netto and others reap the rewards of a more prudent age?


For banana companies, this wave of discounting in Europe has offered a reminder of just how hard their job has become.   While input costs and transport rates continue to rise, the downturn in consumer spending has prompted the majority of the big retail customers to push even harder than usual on price, while the total number of customers has become altogether more limited.   Factor in market slowdowns in Russia and the Mediterranean, as well as losses of supply in Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia, and the picture across the EU for banana sales has looked rather challenging during the first quarter of this year.


Big banana companies have always been about big brands.   For them, the trick is to ensure those big names offer something other suppliers don&rsquo;t: better service, the right certification, social responsibility, environmental sensitivity, food safety and more &ndash; if your brand can deliver on that promise, then it has a chance.   What has changed in the past year or so is that some retailers are starting to believe they can obtain all of this by themselves.   But, for the time being at least, there are two silver linings: for the most part, retailers don&rsquo;t seem able yet to source bananas entirely on their own; and, despite the recession, people are still eating lots of bananas.


Now is certainly not the time to discount the banana import business entirely.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fingers crossed the colour of money is still green</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-04-01T12:23:19+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fingers_crossed_colour_of_money_green.html#unique-entry-id-39</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fingers_crossed_colour_of_money_green.html#unique-entry-id-39</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Last month, as the G20 leaders prepared to rescue the global economy, the extent to which our financial system has been damaged by greed, mismanagement and a lack of proper regulation became even clearer.   But what about the other crisis?   The one we have no hope of surviving if things spiral irreversibly out of control?


For many companies, there could well be something refreshing, cathartic even, about experiencing and surviving the financial crisis.   Whereas before the downturn it was possible for companies to coast along inefficiently and rest complacently on their commercial laurels, the new economic world order has shaken things up and changed attitudes.   So perhaps it is also time to revise the old saying about money not growing on trees.   Plenty of fruit growers would already disagree with the adage, and after all, everyone needs to breathe in order to live and therefore go to work.   The environment is our most precious resource and it&rsquo;s future survival is clearly and inextricably tied to the future of our businesses and our livelihoods.


There are some signs that better environmental stewardship is being born out of economic necessity.   Take the example of the Dutch tomato growers who have fixed their energy costs for at least the next two decades by investing huge sums in developing geothermal systems that draw heat from the ground instead of from burning coal.   Sending cold water 2km down into the ground to get hot water out would have seemed like lunacy even a few years ago; but now, having checked the gas price and done the sums, it makes perfect sense.


According to a new book called The Power of Less, minimalism can be a far more productive approach.   The &lsquo;less is more&rsquo; mentality is being seen increasingly in the fresh produce trade, which is now looking to trim inefficiencies and extravagance wherever possible.   In an ideal world, this would entail environment first, economy second.   But, for the time being, we can only hope that the colour of money continues to be as green as possible.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Trade advertising is not simply an optional extra</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-03-01T14:07:45+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/trade_advertising_not_simply_extra.html#unique-entry-id-38</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/trade_advertising_not_simply_extra.html#unique-entry-id-38</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


For the latest issue of Eurofruit Magazine, we&rsquo;ve put together a whole raft of ideas on how fresh produce companies can beat the recession, and one of the areas which seems to be stirring the most debate here at Market Towers is the whole question of advertising.   Of course, as a publisher which depends on advertising revenue for a certain proportion of its overall income, we would say that companies should definitely not cut their promotional budgets.   But how about some impartial advice on this one?   Look at this study carried out by McGraw-Hill Research:


McGraw Hill research analyzed 600 companies covering 16 different SIC industries from 1980 through 1985.   The results showed that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising.   By 1985, sales of companies that were aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256 per cent over those that didn&rsquo;t keep up their advertising.


Clearly some companies must cut their advertising budget in order to survive, but other similar studies state that those with the commercial capacity to spend on advertising ought to think carefully before abandoning it altogether.   According to the Strategic Planning Institute based in Massachusetts, US, a &ldquo;recessionary market can provide an opportunity for businesses to build a greater share of the market through aggressive advertising.   Businesses that reduce media expenditures suffer loss of market share.&rdquo;


Eurofruit Magazine recognises the fact that companies must do all they can to trim unnecessary costs, but when it comes to trade advertising, we know there is real value to be found, especially in the pages of this magazine.   For our part, we will continue to invest time and resources in helping this trade to grow.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Late additions to the fresh produce industry lexicon</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-02-01T12:20:06+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/late_additions_industry_lexicon.html#unique-entry-id-37</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/late_additions_industry_lexicon.html#unique-entry-id-37</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


We regret to inform you that this month&rsquo;s editorial has been removed in order to make room for some late additions sent to us from the Oxford English Dictionary:


Vicious recession - noun.   A period of economic downturn during which everyone rushes to say how bad things are, pushing the economy further into the red, which forces commentators to revise their assessments, thereby pushing the economy further into&hellip;etc.


Comfort clich&eacute; - noun.   An old chestnut that provides warmth during times of chilly pessimism.


&ndash; USAGE &ldquo;The fruit and vegetable sector is immune from the effects of the financial crisis because people need to eat.&rdquo;


Not-so-great Depression, The - noun.   Today&rsquo;s downturn in the context of the real Great Depression, when US unemployment was at 30 per cent and 10 million depositors lost their savings.   Quite simply, it&rsquo;s nowhere near as bad now as it was then.


&ndash; SEE ALSO glass half full and myths


Discounterise - verb (intrans).   To become far more focused on offering low prices in order to maintain market share, potentially at the expense of supplier returns and in some instances causing possible permanent damage to the relationships you have built up with those suppliers over a number of years.


&ndash; ORIGIN UK, late 2008


Brussels pouts - noun (derog).   The looks on the faces of European Commission bureaucrats when 16 EU members vote against one of their proposals, forcing them to hastily arrange a second round of voting.


&ndash; ORIGIN Proposed changes to marketing standards on 26 types of fresh produce


&ndash; DERIVATIVES pout politics


Zaianism - noun.   Practice of calling for a boycott on imported fruit in a country that depends on fruit exports for a significant proportion of its GDP.


&ndash; ORIGIN Italy, Christmas 2008 ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fresh produce sector is a steady ship on a rough sea</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-01-01T14:29:30+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/steady_ship_on_rough_sea.html#unique-entry-id-36</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/steady_ship_on_rough_sea.html#unique-entry-id-36</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


To those of you braving the economic storm out there, the first thing to say is "Hold on to your hats".   Buffeted on all sides by current economic conditions &ndash; reduced spending, falling prices, jittery stock markets &ndash; it would be very easy indeed for every drop of confidence built up within the fresh produce sector over the past few years simply to ebb away.


But let's not get carried away by talk of recession.   In many ways, the fresh produce business is a steady ship on a rough sea.   This year is most likely going to bring with it some fairly troublesome headwinds, yet it is also fair to say that the industry remains in pretty good shape.   All of the time and hard work invested in things like product quality, varietal development, food safety, marketing, logistics and packaging, not to mention corporate, social and environmental responsibility &ndash; none of this is going to unravel overnight.


It's clear prices are falling and that discounting is here to stay.   But retailers in Europe need to know that quality and safety still comes at a certain price.   While it's tempting for suppliers to cut costs, especially with retailers demanding lower and lower prices, the trade needs to be certain of maintaining and improving on the existing standards.


Discounting is likely to define the retail landscape for years to come across parts of Europe worst hit by the recession.   Premium brands are still hanging in there, but the days when charging &euro;5/kg for loose apples (as Whole Foods did in London) was seen as a viable enterprise are, for the moment at least, behind us.


The good news is, consumption itself doesn't appear to be falling dramatically.   In fact, I was told last month that the perishables reefer sector is the only area of the shipping trade managing to stay afloat at present.   As the economic pressure sends prices downwards, the importance of promoting and marketing fresh produce, especially to consumers, has become greater than ever.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Sustainability in every sense is the change we need </title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-11-01T11:55:19+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/sustainability_change_we_need.html#unique-entry-id-35</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/sustainability_change_we_need.html#unique-entry-id-35</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Given the size and strength of the shockwaves that thundered down Wall Street in September, the fact that Europe is no longer staring into a financial abyss and merely standing on the brink of a major economic recession can be taken as a positive.   But the global economy is still in very poor shape: asset values are tumbling, the credit crunch continues to bite and confidence among investors and consumers remains fragile.


Yet change is always around the corner.   The euphoria of Barack Obama&rsquo;s election as the 44th US President has the potential to awaken an early sense of recovery in the country&rsquo;s economy and, eventually, the international marketplace.   Following the bail-out of Wall Street, the US dollar is now regarded as a relative safe haven &ndash; witness last month&rsquo;s sudden adjustment in exchange rates &ndash; and this offers the new administration a chance to put cash back into the system.   Germany and the UK are also said to be considering applying what The Economist describes as a kind of &lsquo;fiscal jolt&rsquo; to the flatlining European market.   Obama built his whole election campaign around a promise of change; when it comes to reinvigorating consumer spending, what&rsquo;s required is loose change in people&rsquo;s pockets.


For many in the fresh produce business, there will be tough times ahead.   As many of the reports in the latest edition of Eurofruit Magazine confirm, plenty of suppliers are concerned about the fall in consumer spending likely to be seen across Europe during the next 12-18 months.   But the market won&rsquo;t disappear (people will always have to eat) and the recent focus on healthier eating, greener supply chains and fairly traded products seems set to intensify rather than fade.   That means opportunities to serve the market will still exist for those who invest in the right way.   Suppliers have to keep a close eye on these trends and adjust accordingly, but retailers must also contribute.   Partnerships like Rewe&rsquo;s Best Alliance could be a useful model for successful partnerships in the future.   Greater sustainability &ndash; economic, ethical, environmental &ndash; is the change we need. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Seeds of change for premium suppliers</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-10-01T11:35:30+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/seeds_of_change_for_premium_suppliers.html#unique-entry-id-34</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/seeds_of_change_for_premium_suppliers.html#unique-entry-id-34</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


This season&rsquo;s tomato crop has been small, but considerably bigger than last year&rsquo;s.   Quality is said to be very good, although production reports suggest sizing is a little smaller than would normally be expected in the main European markets.   Nevertheless, consumer feedback during taste tests has been extremely positive and the signs are that the surface area dedicated to tomato production will increase further in 2009.


That&rsquo;s the latest news from my back garden, by the way.   This year, for the first time ever, my wife and I decided to try and grow some vegetables in our back garden, and we haven&rsquo;t done too badly.   As we went to press, there were approximately 17 green peppers approaching maturation, as well as around 50 tomatoes, 10 plum tomatoes and the last of what has been a bumper crop of runner beans.   The weather hasn&rsquo;t been all that good &ndash; I think the tomatoes in particular could have done with more sunshine &ndash; but we&rsquo;ve still managed to cultivate a good amount of veg which we would otherwise have bought from the supermarket.   In total I reckon we&rsquo;ve saved ourselves about &pound;40 (&euro;50), which might amount to only one tank of petrol these days but certainly makes it all worthwhile.   Of course, more important is the fact that we&rsquo;ve grown and then eaten the freshest possible produce, something which has hopefully brought not only good health but also a fair amount of enjoyment.


By all accounts, a lot of consumers in my country have decided to grow their own vegetables, much as they are doing elsewhere in Europe.   It&rsquo;s not that we&rsquo;re sliding into poverty and can&rsquo;t afford supermarket prices, of course, but the prospect of an economic recession by the end of this year has focused a few minds and made people far more aware of their previously unfettered spending.   This matters to the fresh produce trade.   The sight of more shelf space dedicated to vegetable seed packs in the supermarkets is a signal to the trade that inflation does have an immediate and visible impact.   Naturally, those that have cherry tomatoes on tap in their greenhouse won&rsquo;t bother to spend a couple of quid on those in the shops.   Multiply this by the tens of thousands of people who are getting their fingers green again, and that adds up to quite a fair amount.


Before every apple season, the German apple trade surveys the so-called &lsquo;backyard crop&rsquo;, the domestic apple trees which can have a bearing on sales.   Perhaps it&rsquo;s time for the trade to start monitoring seed sales as well.   Whatever, the fact that more and more consumers are discovering real, organic flavour, albeit produced by what I imagine are inefficient, possibly even environmentally unfriendly means, is a good thing for suppliers of the high quality, premium products.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The European Union is overweight and underfed</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-09-01T09:41:47+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/european_union_overweight_underfed.html#unique-entry-id-33</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/european_union_overweight_underfed.html#unique-entry-id-33</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Crikey!   The Brits have only gone and harvested themselves a bumper crop of 19 Olympic gold medals.   And there was me thinking that we were just a bunch of lard-arses who eat nothing but fatty, greasy foods that make us too lethargic even to press the button on the television remote control so we can watch something other than Big Brother every hour of our waking lives.


Back in June, I was crying into my low-fat, low-sugar, low-caffeine, low-calorie, low-esteem skinny latte (hold the cream) after reading Eurostat&rsquo;s new study into the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables across the 27 European Nation member states.   According to the report, Greece tops the chart when it comes to measuring the per-capita supply of fresh fruit and vegetables available to its inhabitants, with France, Denmark and Italy also performing well.   At the other end of the scale, however, was the UK, with Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland only marginally better off in terms of the amount of fresh produce available to their consumers.


Oh dear.   If ever there was confirmation of our status as the sick man of Europe, here it was.   But even more depressing was the report on obesity published later by the FAO, which found that in the 40 years to 2002 daily calorie intake in countries including Greece, Italy and Spain has increased by 30 per cent, more than the 20 per cent recorded in northern EU countries.   The report also gave Greece the dubious honour of being the most overweight country in the EU, or more specifically the one with the highest proportion of overweight and obese people, at a button-busting 75 per cent.   With more than half of the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese populations reportedly overweight too, the impact of fast food on a Mediterranean diet renowned for its health and life-extending qualities is plain to see.


How can this be?   If Greece, having inspired its people with unprecedented Olympic glory four years ago and provided them with more fresh produce than any other country, can only watch helplessly as its population&rsquo;s waistlines grow, then what chance, with an Olympic Games of its own on the horizon and the barest larders in Europe, does the UK have?   With most EU countries failing to meet the WHO&rsquo;s recommended daily intake of 400g of fruit and veg per person, the EC faces an uphill task in encouraging greater availability and consumption of fresh produce.   But at the same time, the fruit and veg trade has a wonderful opportunity to go for gold.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The secret of fresh fruit is all in the&#x2026; timing</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-08-01T11:57:41+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/secret_fruit_all_in_timing.html#unique-entry-id-32</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/secret_fruit_all_in_timing.html#unique-entry-id-32</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


The secret of good comedy&hellip;?   Timing, of course.   As it turns out, the secret to growing sales of fresh mangoes and papayas is not too dissimilar.   As we report in this month&rsquo;s issue, European mango and papaya importers and marketers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to provide consumers with a ready-to-eat product &ndash; ripe at the point of sale and timed to perfection.   The convenience of fresh-cut may be a good way to add value, but ripeness is no longer an optional extra.


As the European economy begins to take a nosedive and inflation rears its ugly head once again, the growing importance of getting product quality exactly right and of safeguarding repeat purchases will not be lost on those looking to sell fresh fruit and vegetables.   For those companies which have invested heavily in branding &ndash; such as Total Produce, which will officially launch its new brand TOP later this month &ndash; the stakes are even higher.   But, as our interview with Total Produce chief executive Rory Byrne (News Focus, p16-17 of Eurofruit Magazine August edition) suggests, the economic slowdown may not be all bad news.   For the strongest, most expansive companies, a downturn can provide valuable opportunities to make acquisitions and steal a march on the competition.   In times of economic difficulty, people tend to go with what they know and trust, and for the fresh produce trade&rsquo;s leading brands, that could also prove to be an advantage.   Here, success could again depend on the timing &ndash; the right acquisition at the right time, or the right product in a particular market at the opportune moment.


Last month, we spoke to James Harvey of Fresh Del Monte UK about the challenge his company faces in convincing retailers to stock its branded fruit instead of opting for private label supplies.   In the last 20 years, there has been a clear move away from supplier brands at a consumer level, with the likes of Tesco Finest, Edeka&rsquo;s Rio Grande and a growing number of French private labels dominating their markets.   As a result, supplier brands have been confined largely to the supply chain, with the exception of those that have huge amounts of trade support or which have a very distinct profile.   While received wisdom suggests these brands are more or less finished at consumer level, the recent launch of Kirikou (see Brand Dossier, p23 Eurofruit Magazine August edition) would suggest otherwise.   With a strong profile and a clear, emotive message via its links with Unicef, this is a brand which has apparently timed its appearance just right.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title> Green lobby holds back appliance of science</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-07-01T12:22:41+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/green_lobby_appliance_science.html#unique-entry-id-31</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/green_lobby_appliance_science.html#unique-entry-id-31</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Protecting the environment is clearly a worthwhile enterprise.   Even if you don&rsquo;t subscribe to the theory that our planet is overheating as a result of excessive carbon dioxide production, a more concerted push towards sustainable use of resources surely makes sense to most people.   As budgets tighten across Europe and inflation continues to bite, it&rsquo;s probably not a bad idea for us be more efficient.   Over the past few years, the amount of fuel we burn has caused concern among the green lobby.   This year, it&rsquo;s causing strikes among truck drivers.   The way we deploy what are ultimately finite resources has got to change.   All of a sudden, supposedly hair-brained schemes like sailing vessels across the ocean with kites tied to the front of them don&rsquo;t seem like such fanciful ideas.


For those looking to science for answers to the major green issues, the major obstacle tends to be that, generally speaking, people nowadays are suspicious of scientists, despite its many past successes.   At our recent FRESH Congress, which we review in full on p30-34.   Lord Taverne, a UK parliamentarian who is a prominent backer of GM crops, lamented the public&rsquo;s suspicion of scientific research, something he feels could actually provide answers to the current food crisis.


The reality is that environmentalism isn&rsquo;t just about saving the planet, it&rsquo;s also about changing it for the better.   For that reason, practical measures put forward by the scientists &ndash; GM, pesticides &ndash; are often shouted down by the likes of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.   The challenge for the scientific community will be to communicate with consumers as effectively as, if not more effectively than, the lobby groups themselves.


Crop protection companies like Monsanto and Syngenta, for example, will have their work cut out over the next few years reassuring retailers that their pesticides continue to be safe, while holding back the tide of legislation that is threatening to wash pesticides away altogether.   Consumers are already voting with their feet by buying more and more products that are shown to be environmentally friendly and from sustainable sources.   No wonder then that companies like Capespan, Dole, Zespri, Chiquita and others are more eager than ever to put forward evidence of their own pro-active measures in this area.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>At the end of the season&#x2c; consumers want more</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-06-01T15:28:08+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/end_season_consumers_more.html#unique-entry-id-30</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/end_season_consumers_more.html#unique-entry-id-30</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay courted controversy last month when he suggested that new laws be introduced to fine restaurants that sell out-of-season fruit and vegetables.   His suggestion, I have to say, is a little hard to digest, particularly when you're sat in the guy's new Plane Food restaurant at Heathrow&rsquo;s Terminal Five and considering whether or not to plump for the Bramley and Pink Lady apple crumble.   The Bramley is definitely going to be from the UK, but what nationality is a Pink Lady these days?   I also noticed there were green beans, white asparagus, carrots, spinach and mashed potatoes on the menu; will these all be removed once the British season has finished?   We should keep an eye on the menu (available online) to find out.

Seasonality ought to be celebrated rather than scandalised.   The new UK berry campaign Seasonal Berries, launched at this magazine's new Global Berry Congress in London last month, does precisely that, encouraging consumers to enjoy high-quality soft fruit from the UK, Spain and Chile at different times of the year.   In an age of growing environmental awareness, buying local produce in season is certainly preferable, but that's not to say that the same in-season product from overseas will necessarily be inferior.

Meanwhile, as most of Europe prepares to support their team at Euro 2008 (a classic example of an industry sustaining interest in a product once the domestic season has finished), I wonder how long it will take the fresh produce sector to catch up with other food sectors in targeting football fans.   There are signs that it may be happening &ndash; Jaffa is now sponsoring a youth football team in the UK, Nicolas Anelka has taken time out from missing vital penalty kicks to endorse bananas from Guadeloupe and Martinique, and Chiquita has been handing out inflatable bananas at the Champions League final.   However, support for such promotions needs to be more evident at an official level.   Last September, UEFA and the EC launched the Get Active!   campaign to encourage more physical activity and a healthier lifestyle, reaching around 100m people through a 30-second TV advert shown during the half-time break of each of the 125 Champions League matches.   But as European produce associations AREFLH and Freshfel Europe point out, the EC needs to underline more clearly the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption.   After all, football fans are among the most voracious consumers of all.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Getting the message across is half the battle</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-05-01T09:39:40+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/message_across_half_battle.html#unique-entry-id-29</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/message_across_half_battle.html#unique-entry-id-29</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


An interesting new service launched last month by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture is giving anyone who sends a particular code via SMS the chance to receive a list of officially approved fresh fruit and vegetable prices direct to their mobile phone.   The idea is that, armed with such information, shoppers up and down the peninsula will be able to make informed decisions about whether or not the price of a pomodoro is astronomic or simply gastronomic.   "This public service will help Italian shoppers protect themselves against prices that are much higher than the going rate," said a ministry official.


The Italian government, due to be freshly squeezed into office this month as Silvio Berlusconi busily unpacks his own unique brand of chauvinism and sets out on his third stint as Prime Minister, finally seems to be cracking down on the problem of price speculation, one that has dogged the country in recent years.   Consumers are now in a position to tip off the authorities about exorbitant prices by texting the name and location of the offender to the new hotline.   Armies of grey-suited Guardia di Finanza officers are reportedly waiting just around the corner, ready to jump out and give the naughty shopkeepers a jolly good telling off.

Please forgive my light-hearted reaction.   If Berlusconi's boys (oh, and not forgetting those better-looking, right-wing ladies) really are going to rap some knuckles and pull unscrupulous vendors into line, then I will be the first to congratulate him.   The last thing the fresh produce trade needs is speculation on top of inflation, so anything with the potential to keep some sort of lid on the practice is worth pursuing.


The topic of food price inflation is hotter than a Moscow hotel manager's phone* at the moment, so the fact that FRESH is just around the corner means there will be plenty to talk about at this year's event.   Personally, I&rsquo;m looking forward to the session on lobby groups, in which a panel of speakers from Greenpeace, WWF and Solidaridad will explain how Europe's NGOs are developing a brand new agenda on issues such as carbon footprint, food miles, water usage and corporate social responsibility.   Finally, the fresh produce trade has an opportunity to receive the message first-hand.


*Champions League final - Manchester United to win 2-0]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>It&#x27;s time the berry trade called for back-up</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-04-01T11:52:24+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/time-berry-called-back.html#unique-entry-id-28</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/time-berry-called-back.html#unique-entry-id-28</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Go on.   Have a bowl of goji berries, then come back and tell me whether or not you feel any healthier.   Not sure?   Surely the fact that a whole gaggle of celebrities is raving about how great berries are is proof enough?   No?   Madonna is telling anyone who cares to listen that she can&rsquo;t get enough of those wonderful Himalayan goji berries.   Apparently, they can improve your eyesight and circulation, protect your liver, cleanse your aura, wash your car, tidy your room, clean your teeth and comb your hair.   One report even suggests they boost your sperm count.   Hmm,  perhaps Madonna isn&rsquo;t telling us everything.   Assuming it&rsquo;s all true, though, I&rsquo;m going to stop writing, call my bank and tell them to invest all my money in this amazing product.

But wait, it turns out the evidence is not so clear-cut.   In fact, there is no clinical study or regulatory authority that has scientifically verified the claims made about goji berries.   For the berry sector as a whole, health claims &ndash; some of which are indeed backed by real scientific research &ndash; have made the job of marketing fruits like raspberries, blueberries and blackberries to increasingly health-conscious consumers much easier over the past few years.   But the science needs to be developed further.   At the beginning of October, UK drinks company Innocent was told to withdraw an advert in which it described its acai berry, pomegranate and blueberry drink as a &ldquo;natural detox superfoods smoothie&rdquo; that could completely remove toxins from the body.   The country&rsquo;s Advertising Standards Authority said Innocent had not proved the claim, adding that it had failed to back another claim that the drink had more anti-oxidants than the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

What the research needs to show is what effect the high levels of anti-oxidants found in fruits such as blueberries and blackberries actually have on the human body.   As nutritionist Catherine Collins told a BBC investigation in February: &ldquo;Just because something is a superfood in a test tube, it doesn&rsquo;t make it a superfood in us.&rdquo;   Along the right lines is new research published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences just last month.   This evaluated the ability of ellagic acid in berries to reduce DNA damage, which can lead to cancer.   The study found that eating blueberries and strawberries led to moderate reductions in such damage, but for raspberries the effect was even more pronounced, with DNA damage reduced by 59 per cent.

Only by backing up its health claims with more indisputable evidence will the berry sector be able to sustain its recent staggering growth.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Small may be beautiful&#x2c; but big is better</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-03-01T17:43:06+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/small_beautiful_big_better.html#unique-entry-id-27</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/small_beautiful_big_better.html#unique-entry-id-27</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


We like to think we are a resourceful bunch here at Eurofruit Magazine, so when it came to working out how on earth we would manage to get around all 25 of Fruit Logistica's exhibition halls, on what has become the fresh produce trade's equivalent of the grand tour, in just three days, we decided to adopt the sensible approach: run for the hills, hide, then wait for it to all be over.

Only kidding, of course!   While the event must certainly be daunting for those who've never been before, the fact that you have so much of the trade together in one place is one of the event's greatest assets and should not be overlooked.   With a little forward planning, it needn't be that overwhelming.   This year's Berlin bonanza may have been the biggest ever, but it was also the best ever, and we certainly weren't going to be beaten.   We divided and, to the best of our abilities, attempted to conquer.


A major consequence of Fruit Logistica's phenomenal expansion during recent years has been, in my opinion, a greater emphasis on the need for imaginative and innovative marketing.   Quite simply, if you&rsquo;re standing in a crowded room, you'll have to shout louder than if there were only a handful of people around you.   How else do you explain Padua Wholesale Market's incredible stand, which was done up like a Venetian palazzo?   Not for them the safe chrome and frosted glass combination so beloved of many exhibitors, including ourselves.   In terms of sheer marketing impact, the loudest companies were the one which unveiled Australian finger limes and said they were &ldquo;citrus caviar&rdquo;, and the team behind Fruitness enjoy it!  , which employed a male model to dress up as superhero Mr Fruitness.   He didn&rsquo;t say much, but when you&rsquo;re dressed in green lycra and a laurel wreath, you don&rsquo;t have to really.


Of course, many exhibitors still plump for that old faithful of the fresh produce trade: busty ladies in skimpy dresses, on hand ostensibly to take messages, serve drinks and keep that importer amused for five minutes while the supplier he's supposed to be meeting seals a 12-month listing with Tesco.   How those ladies kept a straight face wandering round with the word 'melons' emblazoned across their chests is beyond me, not that I was complaining.

After three days of journalistic hunting and gathering, our carefully plotted excursion around the world of fresh produce had become something of a mental safari.   Next year, thank goodness, we&rsquo;ll have the whole weekend to recover&hellip;]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>My &#x27;baby bife&#x27; eats burgers for breakfast</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-02-01T16:33:02+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/baby_bife_burgers_breakfast.html#unique-entry-id-26</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/baby_bife_burgers_breakfast.html#unique-entry-id-26</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


It may surprise you to learn that one of my abiding memories from last year&rsquo;s Southern Hemisphere Congress in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires was not the conference, but the decision of one gentleman (who shall remain nameless for now) to slip away from a group of 30 or so delegates on a tour of the local Wal-Mart Supercenter in order to bag himself a hamburger with fries and coke.   What made this act of burger bravado all the more stunning was the fact that this man&rsquo;s day job is to promote health and nutrition through the development and expansion of the fresh produce trade.   How can we expect to rein in the bulging waistlines of this world when the finest marketing minds in fresh produce are filling themselves full of fast food?   Ok, so there was lettuce under that  bun, but that&rsquo;s hardly a salad.

Of course, my initial reaction as a professional journalist was to photograph the offender and question him about his choice of lunch.   But then I began to realise that it probably wasn't fair to single out one person and blame him for all that's wrong with our diets.   It also dawned on me that, since I had arrived in Argentina, I had eaten steak for dinner five nights  out of five.   That very evening, my meat eating broke new records when I polished off the entirely inappropriately named &lsquo;baby bife&rsquo; steak, which weighed in at approximately 800g.   It was so big, it would have eaten the burger for breakfast.   In short, who was I to judge?

Consumption habits won&rsquo;t change overnight, nor should we expect everyone to abandon the fast food restaurants completely.   But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be pressing ahead with schemes aimed at encouraging greater consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.   Next year, a new pan-European scheme to provide schoolchildren with free portions of fruit is expected to get off the ground at last.   Our special report on this and several other consumption schemes already in operation across Europe can be found on p22-23 of this issue.

In the meantime, I will be hanging my head in shame and attempting to burn off that baby bife.   At this month's Fruit Logistica trade show in Berlin, I hope to catch up with the burger-eating delegate and see how he&rsquo;s been faring since Christmas.   Maybe he has managed to avoid the fast food outlets since then, or perhaps switch to one of their healthier options.   Either way, it will be good to catch up with him and discuss the latest trends in fresh produce marketing over a bratwurst&hellip;]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Europe must weigh up its options on the Euro</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2008-01-01T09:54:42+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/europe_weigh_options_on_euro.html#unique-entry-id-25</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/europe_weigh_options_on_euro.html#unique-entry-id-25</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Currency is very much a current affair for the fresh produce trade in Europe.   Strip away all the marketing initiatives and public relations drives, the traceability and agricultural certification schemes, the research and development spending and the fancy packaging, and what you have left is a simple transaction by which a supplier is looking to earn a certain return.   Spending a bit extra on such things might of course guarantee a better return, but the thing that makes or breaks the whole deal is what the various players in the chain ultimately earn.

When several of the European Union&rsquo;s member states adopted the euro, what very few people accounted for was the fact that exchange rates would still have a massive impact on trade in Europe, particular where currencies like the dollar and the euro ended up being under- or overvalued.   Europe is now playing a waiting game.   Will we see an influx of fruit into the market this season as overseas suppliers divert their produce from markets paying in dollars?   Only time will tell.

In the past, exchange rates used to have a big influence on the nature of the European fresh produce trade.   The Italian lira, for example, was so weak that, to a certain extent, it helped Italian exporters maintain their competitive position in the market.   Of course, its products had a reputation for quality too, but money made their world go round just that bit more smoothly.   That competitive advantage is now gone.   Its biggest competitor, Spain, now sells its wares on a level playing field, and has made up a lot of ground as a result.

As we head into a particularly uncertain 2008, suppliers must resist cashing in on the short-term benefits of currency fluctuations, because what will actually make or break companies in the long run is service to the customer and the strength of their long-term partnerships.

What&rsquo;s more, everything could look completely different in a year&rsquo;s time.   Economics has a marvellous way of straightening itself out, albeit through painful correction from time to time.   Consult two economists and you&rsquo;ll get three opinions on what will happen in the future.

Of course, suppliers have to consider their returns, but it would be wrong, for the sake of a quck buck, to jeopardise all the hard work that&rsquo;s gone into the creation of stable markets, along with proper development of supply chain relationships, customer loyalty and product quality, over the past few years.

Europe&rsquo;s traders need to weigh up their options and make the right choice.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A game of two fresh produce halves</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-11-01T10:03:26+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/game_two_fresh_produce_halves.html#unique-entry-id-24</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/game_two_fresh_produce_halves.html#unique-entry-id-24</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


There&rsquo;s something about the fresh produce trade that reminds me of football, believe it or not.   Both are made up of private groups seeking to attract the biggest market share and rise to the top of their respective leagues.   At times, the game is a frustrating, tense affair; at other times, it&rsquo;s an exciting and captivating spectacle.   In some countries, those paying for the pleasure of sampling what these teams have to offer are looking for a high quality, good-looking product; whereas in other instances the aesthetics are not so much of an issue as long as the end result is the right one.

Europe&rsquo;s fresh produce business, much like its football industry, has relied increasingly on exports from Latin America in the past few decades to sustain it and enable it to improve further.   Some may have feared that this trade was a threat to local, home-grown talent, but they appear actually to have raised standards in European competition and encouraged more people to part with their money.

Sometimes, some of the industry&rsquo;s best players put aside their differences and compete together on the international stage.   Putting on their country&rsquo;s colours, they become collaborators instead of competitors, with a shared goal and a team ethic.   In the fruit and vegetable sector during the last few years, the Southern Hemisphere&rsquo;s leading exporters have gone further still and formed a regional partnership, promoting competitive cooperation through the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters.   As a result partly of this development, we are now noticing smooth transitions between Europe&rsquo;s season and counter-season for a number of products &ndash; most notably for apples, pears and berries but also for kiwifruit, stonefruit and grapes, although less so for citrus.   Imagine if Pel&eacute;, Maradona and Alfredo Di St&eacute;fano had teamed up with George Best, Johan Cruijff and Zinedine Zidane; that would have been some front line indeed.

I&rsquo;m really looking forward to visiting Argentina for the very first time at the end of this month, and not just because I&rsquo;m a huge fan of Maradona (and steak).   My trip coincides with the Southern Hemisphere Congress, Eurofruit Magazine&rsquo;s annual trade conference, which takes place in Buenos Aires on 28-30 November 2007.   The event, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, brings together many of the country&rsquo;s leading fresh produce companies as well as a good number of the regional trade&rsquo;s foremost operators and service providers.   It&rsquo;s half-time in terms of Europe&rsquo;s annual supply calendar, and this issue is designed to blow the whistle for the start of the second half.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Time for bananas to cast off the political shackles</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-10-01T12:56:12+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/bananas_cast_off_shackles.html#unique-entry-id-23</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/bananas_cast_off_shackles.html#unique-entry-id-23</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Those of you not keeping a close eye on the on-going wrangling over the European Union&rsquo;s banana regime could be forgiven for thinking that nothing has changed in the last decade.   In 1997, the World Trade Organisation called on the EU to change its import system; ten years on, it&rsquo;s the same story.   No-one seems any happier about their position: since the single-tariff came into effect in 2006, ACP countries have fared better than predicted, but many say they would have preferred to keep the old system; dollar countries meanwhile have once again labelled the regime &ldquo;discriminatory&rdquo;.   Ecuador is again leading a challenge through the WTO, and once again the organisation has set up a panel to investigate.   Plus &ccedil;a change and all that.

I have to say, making sense of the whole debate is sometimes beyond me.   Everyone has a different view, claims of vested interests continue to be thrown around like confetti and all the while the lawyers are raking it in.   Companies involved in the business actually employ people specifically to make sense of the myriad rules and regulations governing the industry.   The additional expense involved in maintaining a staff of legally trained professionals whose sole task it is to wade knee-deep through the political and commercial red tape in order to keep their employers floating in the right direction must be huge; surely the money would be far better spent on promoting brands and boosting consumption in a free and open market?

In no other sector of the fresh produce business has bureaucracy held such sway for so long.   EU officials have tried to manage the transition to a free and open market, encouraging countries like the UK and France to take more dollar bananas while pushing for the likes of Germany and Scandinavia to source a greater volume of ACP fruit.   But in commercial terms at least, the European banana market is crying out to be liberated from its political shackles.   As several of the articles in our lead feature suggest, there is huge potential for enlivening the trade and turning it into the kind of segmented, multi-faceted market that has emerged for other products in the last few years, notably for tomatoes, citrus and apples.   Banana consumption may not be growing, but organic and Fairtrade sales are increasing, while new smaller varieties like Chiquita Minis are proof that diversification can help the banana trade catch up with the rest of the fresh produce business.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Underlining the value of careful planning</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>From the Editor</dc:subject><dc:date>2007-09-01T15:51:21+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/underlining_value_careful_planning.html#unique-entry-id-22</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/underlining_value_careful_planning.html#unique-entry-id-22</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


The European apple market is an excellent example of how the trade can regulate itself, free from the constraints of unilateral self interest and politics.   Under the auspices of the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA), supplier countries both within the European Union and in third countries are now sharing market data and planning ahead, putting themselves in an altogether stronger position in terms of marketing and, crucially, making it easier to avoid the perils of oversupply.


This is cooperative competition &ndash; or, as one Southern Hemisphere apple exporter puts it, &lsquo;cooptition&rsquo; &ndash; rather than collaboration, but all the same it appears to work and, in the last two years, it has made the European apple market a much more rewarding place to do business.   As our coverage of the European topfruit season (starting on p26) shows, the medium-term outlook for apple marketers is generally positive, although much remains to be done in terms of increasing consumption.   Surely a similar structure would do wonders for, say, the EU citrus market?   Demand for citrus in many European countries is at a fairly mature stage, but with careful planning the trade would be able to manage supply better and at least give itself a fighting chance of reversing the recent downturn in sales.


In practically any fresh produce category, generic promotions also have the potential to attract new consumers.   With the EU now offering millions of euros to associations that want to encourage higher consumption, there is now plenty of scope for generating new interest in eating fresh produce as part of a healthy diet.   At the front of the queue?   Apple associations from Italy, France and the Netherlands, which this autumn are embarking on a three-year, pan-European promotional campaign designed to push up sales of fresh apples.   Other categories would do well to take note and consider doing the same.


By the way, Eurofruit Magazine has reached another milestone with this, its quatercentenary issue.   A lot may have changed in the European fresh produce trade since the first copy rolled off the presses almost 35 years ago, but we remain as committed as ever to providing news of all the latest industry developments, as well as high-quality, expert analysis and commentary about what is a fascinating, fast-moving business.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Weather everywhere and not a drop of respite</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2007-08-01T14:27:08+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/weather_everywhere_no_respite.html#unique-entry-id-21</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/weather_everywhere_no_respite.html#unique-entry-id-21</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


We Brits have something of a reputation for always talking about the weather, but when you&rsquo;ve got as much of the stuff as we&rsquo;ve had over the past few weeks, you would probably be tempted to shout it from the rooftops.   With flooding levels predicted to rise over the next couple of decades, that might be the only place to continue this conversation before long.

The majority of people you speak to about the weather this month will agree that it&rsquo;s been what meteorologists refer to in the trade as &ldquo;a stinker&rdquo;, although for differing reasons, depending on whether you&rsquo;re currently more likely to be (a) losing your cool struggling to keep an umbrella the right way up or (b) desperately trying to apply the factor 50 cream before your skin is fried to a crisp.

In northern Europe, downpours have lashed production of topfruit, vegetables and potatoes, while, at the same time, driving consumers away from supermarket shelves crammed with summer fruit and back to their homes to turn up the heating and settle in for the duration; in the centre and south, meanwhile, Europeans have been introduced to the kind of heat more commonly found in the Sahara.   &ldquo;Uncomfortable&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t tell half the story.

With crops in shorter supply due to damage caused by the rain and heat, it might be argued that prices ought to rise in line with the classic supply and demand equation.   But with consumption also falling in many European markets during the past few months as a result of the weather &ndash; particularly in the north &ndash; this might not be so feasible.   When it comes to stonefruit, suppliers based in this month&rsquo;s featured country, Greece, should have plenty to offer clients after earlier concerns over production volumes were allayed.   But not every supplier country will be so lucky.

Demand is going to be much harder to predict.   Many of the continent&rsquo;s leading retailers have also decided this summer&rsquo;s frighteningly wet, or indeed hot, weather simply isn&rsquo;t providing enough excitement, so they&rsquo;ve embarked on major price offensives (see News, p5).   Whether or not this brings customers back into their stores remains to be seen.   For suppliers who have already had a tough summer, though, the promise of further price cuts is worrying news.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Green&#x2c; safe and fair - can suppliers offer all three?</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2007-07-01T14:20:38+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/green_safe_fair.html#unique-entry-id-20</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/green_safe_fair.html#unique-entry-id-20</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


In the past 12 months, climate change, like food safety and social responsibility before it, has emerged to become a hugely influential factor which shapes the way consumers think and informs their fresh produce buying decisions.   However, once again, the conflicting commercial priorities of diverse industry stakeholders mean there is no real industry consensus on what exactly suppliers, traders and retailers must do in order to fulfill their obligations on this issue.

When food safety fears came to the fore, the industry split, broadly speaking, into two camps: those that felt better certification of pre- and post-harvest agricultural practices was the way forward; and those that saw organic production as the answer.   When major concerns over the treatment of workers in supplier countries were raised, many felt corporate responsibility was the answer, while others held Fairtrade aloft as the kind of guarantee the conscientious shopper was looking for.   In the end, it has been up to the consumer to decide and for the retailer, supplier and producer to follow.

But now that things like carbon emissions and food miles are also at the forefront of consumers&rsquo; minds, the emphasis placed on reducing the industry&rsquo;s impact on the environment is throwing up some interesting dilemmas when considered alongside these other more established consumer concerns.   Is transporting conventional, out-of-season, local strawberries from just around the corner really better than sourcing in-season, foreign, organic strawberries from overseas?   Does banning airfreighted fruit and vegetables run the risk of preventing redistribution of wealth and, by doing so, jeopardise the livelihood of the producers who lose their supply deals?


Last month, I visited Whole Foods&rsquo; newly opened store in London and was amazed to find that the company&rsquo;s commitment to sourcing exclusively organic products had compelled it to source several products &ndash; including blueberries, carrots and mushrooms &ndash; from abroad, despite conventional, UK-grown volumes being readily available on its doorstep.

Of course, it all comes down to knowing what the consumer wants, and this is something which retailers are very good at.   They run trials, harvest the data and then let the number-crunchers work out where the real money is.   Green issues may be clouding the debate, but when the sales figures come in, everything will become clear.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Watch for the changes and try to keep up&#x2026;</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2007-02-01T11:31:24+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/technological_advances.html#unique-entry-id-19</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/technological_advances.html#unique-entry-id-19</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Technology is a wonderful thing.   Thanks to the marvels of modern science, we can now develop fruits and vegetables that grow better, travel better and taste better; we can adjust the way crops grow by putting different coloured nets over them; we can store produce in a kind of suspended animation using controlled or modified atmosphere; we can track every individual fresh produce shipment using barcodes; we can monitor the temperatures in reefer containers; we can communicate with all points in the supply chain; and, increasingly, we can find out what&rsquo;s happening in the fresh produce trade by finding news online as well as offline.

In the next year, it is likely that more and more of Eurofruit Magazine&rsquo;s content will be published onthe web.   As far as we can tell, there is strong demand for news stories and feature articles to be read online.   It makes sense in many ways.   Until screens are the same resolution as printed pages, magazines will be the preferred medium for Eurofruit Magazine, but the technology that exists for publishing on the internet needs to be embraced, not ignored.

Some stories need to be published as soon as they break rather than be held back for the next issue of the magazine.   Furthermore, making the pages of the magazine available online on the first day of the month to subscribers on the other side of the world must surely be a good thing.   This kind of technology can help a publication like ours stay ahead of the competition, making it more useful, more relevant and more essential.

In our own lives, too, technology has led to empowerment, particularly when it comes to communicating with each other.   No more waiting around for illegible faxed sheets to crawl out of the machine and no more having to walk miles to find a payphone when out of the office.   Instead, we are more efficient, better organised and more profitable.   What did people at fresh produce trade fairs do before they had mobiles?   The queue for the phones must have snaked out the door!

But the problem with this arguably Pyrrhic victory over our less sophisticated ancestors is the fact that once you&rsquo;ve got technology, it seems, you can&rsquo;t live without it.   What&rsquo;s more, technology will always be improving, and it&rsquo;s down to all of us to try to keep up.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The logical conclusion of vertical integration?</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2007-03-01T11:29:49+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/e95b1a2b38ec89b08fd7bab678dbc7e1-18.html#unique-entry-id-18</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/e95b1a2b38ec89b08fd7bab678dbc7e1-18.html#unique-entry-id-18</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


The year is 2020 and Wal-Mart has announced plans to open its first store in Indonesia.   Following decades of stunning sales growth in India (home to the world&rsquo;s second-largest Muslim community), any question marks over the US giant&rsquo;s ability to win over a predominantly Muslim consumer base have now faded.   Wal-Mart now dominates not only the Americas, but also a large percentage of the Indian sub-continent and south-east Asia.

Bailian, meanwhile, has overtaken Carrefour as the world&rsquo;s second-largest food retailer thanks to the huge strides it has made in Africa, where consumers have extended a generally warm welcome to the Shanghai-based operator.   Ethiopia, in particular, its population having doubled in size since the turn of the millennium, has embraced the Chinese group&rsquo;s new Galla banner, which offers a unique brand of low-priced merchandising in street market-style outlets.

Carrefour continues to do well in Latin America and Asia, where its recent acquisition of Germany&rsquo;s Metro Group has boosted profits.   However, its growth has stalled in Europe and the Middle East due to growing competition from the world&rsquo;s largest food retail group, Tesco-Ahold.

The Anglo-Dutch company has certainly been pushing the boundaries of fresh produce retailing since last year&rsquo;s acquisitions of Total Produce &ndash; the company divested from Fyffes back in 2006 &ndash; and seed company Syngenta.   By taking such a bold financial step, the company has been able to harness fully the power of vertical integration, turning the &lsquo;field to fork&rsquo; theory into reality.   When it comes to sourcing fresh fruits and vegetables, the whole supply chain has been brought in-house and made far more manageable.

The company&rsquo;s employees harvest, store and pack the fruit, before handing consignments over to their colleagues at LinkCool (the logistics and shipping joint venture formed with Maersk Line at the end of 2015).   From the distribution centre it heads to the port, while at the other end another state-of-the-art portside handling centre is on standby to receive the fruit before forwarding it to Tesco-Ahold&rsquo;s main distribution centre.

For the growers, Tesco-Ahold&rsquo;s front doorstep lies at the end of their plantations.   All they have to do is cultivate their client&rsquo;s licensed varieties before harvesting them.   Then, with no further value left to add, they simply turn around and head home.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fairtrade is changing the shape of the banana trade</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2007-04-01T11:28:31+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fairtrade_bananas.html#unique-entry-id-17</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fairtrade_bananas.html#unique-entry-id-17</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


By the end of July, every banana sold by resurgent UK supermarket group Sainsbury&rsquo;s will be branded Fairtrade.   The group&rsquo;s chief executive Justin King has informed suppliers of their obligations and, as we speak, these companies are working with banana producers to get plantations certified in time.   Anyone who thinks Fairtrade is just a passing fad or just another brand for righteous, do-gooder consumers had better think again.   Fairtrade is here to stay because not only does it appeal to the public, it&rsquo;s giving retailers a healthy dose of good PR and a chance to sell more bananas.

As Fairtrade banana sales continue to rise, however, you have to wonder where importers will find the additional volumes necessary to support such a commitment without detracting from the quality of the fruit.   Independent inspections need to take place and certification needs to be granted, but even these do not guarantee ample supplies of fruit.    As one major European importer told me at the start of this month: &ldquo;There are other supply options we could switch on for Fairtrade, but you&rsquo;d be compromising on quality.&rdquo;

And at some point the retailers are going to want to make a healthy margin out of all this.   As well as insisting the price of their bananas will not rise and that quality will not suffer, they have also reassured suppliers that they will not have to foot the bill.   In this case at least, they appear to be putting their money where their press releases are.   But the financial backing needs to be sustained and, crucially, must be seen as a buying cost rather than a marketing expense.

Across Europe, other retail operators are buying into the Fairtrade produce trend, and you have to wonder where this leaves the major banana companies, who prospered under the licence system and who still make much of their money from supplying conventional bananas in bulk.   As more shoppers demand Fairtrade and even organic bananas, it begs the question what impact it will have on the shape of the European banana market as a whole.   You would be forgiven for thinking that the trade is about to see upheaval on an even greater scale than that witnessed following EU policy changes in 1993 and 2006.

Food retail has driven change in the fresh produce business for the last 20 years, but in many ways the banana business has been left untouched.   The end of the licence system has at last given supermarkets the opportunity to shake up the category for the first time. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Where does it all begin and where will it end?</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2007-05-01T11:25:36+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/seasonality_and_category_management.html#unique-entry-id-16</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/seasonality_and_category_management.html#unique-entry-id-16</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Sometimes I feel like it&rsquo;s hard to keep up with everything that&rsquo;s going on in the world of fruit and vegetables.   It doesn&rsquo;t seem like five minutes ago I was racking up the kilometres in the halls of Messe Berlin at Fruit Logistica, yet here we are  on the brink of summer, with its promise not only of hot weather but also some fantastic fresh produce like peaches and nectarines.   The great thing about these fruits, in my opinion, is that they remain seasonal &ndash; in the minds of consumers, that is &ndash; and, as a result, still create something of a stir when they arrive on the supermarket shelves.

There&rsquo;s so much potential mileage here for summer fruits in terms of marketing that it almost seems perverse there is no perceptible start and end to the season for certain other products.   Wouldn&rsquo;t it be fantastic to herald the beginning of the banana campaign with huge carnivals in city centres to a fanfare of Latin or African music?   Or what about a big party to bring in the apple season?   Maybe this is something we could do anyway, regardless of the fact that these and other fruits are sold for 52 weeks of the year?   Beer is also sold year-round, but that doesn&rsquo;t stop the Germans giving it a good old go in October, does it?   Then again, they really don&rsquo;t take so much convincing when it comes to downing the good stuff.

The real question is, do retailers really view seasonality and category management as suitable bed-fellows?   Speaking to one Italian buyer at the end of last month, I got the distinct impression that seasonal promotions, particularly for geographically protected products that have a particular historical link with a certain part of the world, can be hugely successful.   However, my fear is that the industry&rsquo;s determination to build year-round supply and to iron out the sales peaks and troughs that used to be typical of the  fresh produce sector, particularly in Europe, is leaving us with an entirely uninspiring market.

Varieties can play a part in sustaining interest in individual product categories, but how many consumers really know the difference, say, between one type of strawberry and another?   Even if they notice a difference from week to week, will they make a note of the variety name or even think to check?   I&rsquo;m not so sure.   Market volatility isn&rsquo;t ideal, but it&rsquo;s a lot more exciting.   Perhaps this doesn&rsquo;t make good business sense; perhaps consistency is a desirable thing for those looking to make money; but surely there&rsquo;s commercial value in differentiation too?   We warm to summer all the more because of the winter that went before.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Turkey can bridge the gap as global demand rises</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2007-05-23T11:23:48+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/turkey_can_bridge_gap.html#unique-entry-id-15</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/turkey_can_bridge_gap.html#unique-entry-id-15</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


On 6-8 June, FRESH, the annual congress for the European fresh produce sector organised by Eurofruit Magazine and Freshfel Europe, takes place in Istanbul.   To coincide with FRESH2007, the June issue contains an in-depth preview (p26-33), plus a special feature on Turkey (p34-49).   For the first time in FRESH&rsquo;s five-year history, and in the 30-year history of the two events that formed FRESH, we are venturing outside the EU.   Why?   Turkey has the potential to become one of its most valued members, standing as it does across the border between Europe and Asia, at the political crossing point between east and west, and with a foot in both ideological camps that divide Europe from the Middle East.

If Turkey does join the EU in the next few years as expected (this is by no means certain), it can also be a huge asset to the Union&rsquo;s fresh produce trade.   A powerhouse of production and one of the continent&rsquo;s leading exporters, the country has built a strong reputation in several of Europe&rsquo;s major markets as a supplier of citrus, cherries, grapes, topfruit and vegetables, while in Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East (most notably Saudi Arabia), its export trade has grown significantly over the past decade.   At the same time, opening up the Turkish market to a larger volume of imports will offer other EU suppliers a valuable opportunity to grow their business.

At present, Turkey&rsquo;s fresh produce exports still only account for less than 10 per cent of its total production, so the big question in the next decade will be how it can increase this figure and continue to supply the same high quality.   With markets for fresh fruit and vegetables still growing in eastern Europe, Russia, the CIS and the Middle East, Turkey will have a distinct geographical advantage over other European suppliers when it comes to meeting the increased demand.


However, should retailers and consumers in these markets become more exacting in terms of product quality, food safety, traceability and other issues like the environment and Fairtrade, Turkish exporters will need to ensure they can meet the required standards.   Better packaging provision will be needed, as will the continued expansion of logistics support and ongoing investments in technology and certification.   The industry will also depend on planned improvements to the country&rsquo;s infrastructure facilitating a greater volume of external trade.

In short, many questions will be asked of Turkey; whether it has the answers remains to be seen.   There will be much to talk about in Istanbul&hellip;]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Obesity is the big issue for fresh produce trade</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2007-01-16T16:26:44+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/obesity_is_big_issue.html#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/obesity_is_big_issue.html#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Obesity is definitely a concern here at Eurofruit Magazine.   As you may have noticed, our publication has put on quite a bit of weight this month &ndash; so much so, in fact, that I&rsquo;m going to have to do some training in the New Year so I can carry the heavy tome around at Fruit Logistica 2007 in February.

As our front cover suggests, this well-stocked publication contains everything you could possibly need for getting the most out of the world&rsquo;s leading annual fresh produce trade fair.   We&rsquo;ve produced our biggest ever Fruit Logistica preview (p30-73), spanning over 40 pages and highlighting many of the most interesting exhibitors due to take part in the event.   We&rsquo;ve got interviews with some of the biggest companies in the business, including the heads of Fyffes and the newly demerged Total Produce, as well as industry leaders from GF Group, The Greenery, Cobana Fruchtring, Anecoop, Canavese and Zespri.   And there&rsquo;s plenty more, including major features on South African grapes and Moroccan citrus, plus our annual Trade NZ supplement.   The magazine you&rsquo;re holding may make your arms ache, but there is certainly nothing overblown about its content.

Even if this magazine is having trouble staying slim, the fresh produce sector itself is making some good progress in the bid to counteract obesity.   Projects designed to increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables through generic promotions are starting to have an effect; alongside a plethora of national schemes based on the 5-a-Day idea, there have been some notably inventive campaigns such as the Mr Fruitness and Food Dude programmes.   The latter has done particularly well and was recently presented with a WHO award for fighting obesity (see p11) by EU Health and Consumer Protection Minister Markos Kyprianou.

But it&rsquo;s not all good news.   The fresh produce trade is competing with some giants of the food industry that have deep pockets and large, committed PR departments.   In November, Mr Kyprianou praised groups including McDonald&rsquo;s, Unilever and Kraft for their recent work to address the obesity problem.   The EU needs to give its backing to fruit and vegetable consumption schemes as well, but unless this fragmented sector comes together and starts backing more generic promotions, there&rsquo;s fat chance of it keeping up.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Making mileage out of food</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2007-01-16T16:25:22+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/39a25a00de3c9d5fbbe731771bab7a7f-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/39a25a00de3c9d5fbbe731771bab7a7f-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Chris White


With the single exception of the Kingdom of Thailand, one doesn&rsquo;t usually turn to royalty for advice on the big issues.   However, the future king of England could be about to change all that.


Never shy of an opinion on the absurdity of much modern architecture or the value of complementary medicine, HRH Prince Charles now wants his subjects to recognise that the food they buy may contribute to global warming.


According to newspaper reports, the Prince of Wales is keen that products marketed under his Duchy Originals brand carry information about the greenhouse gases emitted in their manufacture.


&ldquo;Charles hopes Duchy customers will be able to use the detailed information on his products&rsquo; labels to make &lsquo;green&rsquo; choices in the supermarket, which in turn will encourage other food companies to do likewise,&rdquo; reports The Sunday Times newspaper.


Duchy Originals is a multi-million-euro food business set up by Prince Charles in 1990 (www.duchyoriginals.com) to focus on supplying high-quality organic and premium products.   Annual profits of some &pound;1m are donated to his charities. 


Although fresh fruits and vegetables are not yet part of the extensive product range, the odds are shortening fast as to when they will do.   Let&rsquo;s not forget, the heir to the British throne is, among many other things, a keen horticulturalist. 


Prince Charles was due to outline his plans on food miles labellling to a meeting at St James&rsquo; Palace in central London in mid-December, just before this magazine went to press. 


Already well in advance the press was speculating busily just how Prince Charles&rsquo; labelling scheme might work.   Would it look at the weight of gas?   Or would it focus on the percentage of a daily &ldquo;personal carbon allowance&rdquo;, something that Tony Blair&rsquo;s government is also looking  at, to help people make their lifestyles more &ldquo;eco-friendly&rdquo;.


As reported in these pages in recent months, food miles is becoming a big issue in the UK.   It also features strongly in the environmental debate across Western Europe, where governments are keen to show their green credentials.


At the same time, shoppers are also catching onto the idea.   Europe&rsquo;s warmest autumn in years will convince many that global warming is an issue that needs to be tackled right away. 


And in an effort to do something, shoppers would be forgiven for paying much more attention to what they put into their trolleys on their weekly trip to the local supermarket.


However, as New Zealand agriculture minister Jim Anderton points out in this month&rsquo;s Trade New Zealand supplement (see p18), the issues around food miles are more complicated than the average shopper might think.


&ldquo;A standard British shopping trip of 6.4 kilometres in a large family car to collect 20kg of food uses 25.6 megajoules of energy, the same amount of energy as is used to transport the food over 8,500 kilometres by sea,&rdquo; says Mr Anderton. 


Nevertheless, shoppers are expert at making ill-informed choices every day, not least because so much of shopping is driven by psychological need.   We&rsquo;d be fools if we kid ourselves that a label telling shoppers the distance a food has travelled will not make them think twice before buying it.   After all, it helped Fairtrade to grow and is driving demand for organics as well.


The international fresh fruit and vegetable business should brace itself for the fallout from the debate on food miles.   It&rsquo;s almost too late already.   And without delay it must rehearse the arguments that need to be made to defend this business, not simply for airfreighted produce but also for the global sourcing of fresh fruits and vegetables in general.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Forget staples&#x2c; it&#x27;s all about superfruits</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2007-01-16T16:21:24+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/superfruits_not_staples.html#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/superfruits_not_staples.html#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Laura Gould


Is it a banana?   Is it an apple?   No, it&rsquo;s a superfruit!   Forget your staple greengrocer commodities; nowadays produce consumption is all about a new breed of superfruits, and if you&rsquo;re not getting your regular intake of blueberries, cranberries or pomegranates, you&rsquo;re just not cutting it with today&rsquo;s die-hard foodies.


New Zealand horticultural development group HortResearch has coined the phrase &lsquo;superfruits&rsquo; to refer to any novelty product, rich in anti-oxidants and health benefits, that is being heavily promoted at consumer level (see p123 for more information). 


The latest suspects in this line-up of trendy fruits include blueberries, cranberries and pomegranates, with all three enjoying booming global sales as consumers jump on to the anti-oxidant bandwagon.


But here in the UK, we are being told that, great news as it is that these superfruits are so good for us, nothing beats the good old British cup of tea in terms of high anti-oxidant levels.


According to a series of posters splashed all over the London Underground for the past couple of months, just four cups a day of the ubiquitous British beverage are as good as a punnet of blueberries or pomegranates at combatting the evil toxins like booze and nicotine which roam around our bodies.


Which is just as well for the Eurofruit staff.   Much as we all enjoy our fruit (honestly!)  , after a long hard day writing about you lot, nothing quite hits the spot like a good ol&rsquo; cuppa.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Grasp the pesticides nettle before it stings you</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2006-11-07T17:07:19+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/pesticides_nettle.html#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/pesticides_nettle.html#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Professor David Hughes upstaged no less a figure than Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Eurofruit&rsquo;s  Southern Hemisphere Congress 2006 in Cape Town in October (see our review on p26-29), capturing the imagination of assembled delegates with a refreshing mixture of insight and humour that was not only engaging but also extremely useful to the more than 450 producers, suppliers, marketers, distributors and retailers in the audience.

David also uttered one of the most memorable things I&rsquo;ve heard at an industry conference in recent years.   Referring to the various NGOs currently pushing for the eradication of pesticides in the fruit and vegetable business, and to the presentation made earlier that day on corporate social responsibility by Gijs Kuneman of Dutch environmental body Stichting en Milieu,  he paraphrased former US president Lyndon B Johnson&rsquo;s old maxim: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably better to have these guys inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.&rdquo;

The trouble is, people in this industry don&rsquo;t take too kindly to those causing a mess from outside the fresh produce pavilion, which is exactly what Greenpeace did last year with its &lsquo;Stoppt Gift im Essen&rsquo; (&lsquo;Stop Poisons in Food' ) campaign in Germany.   But as Gijs Kuneman pointed out, at this very moment EU regulations are being altered to further tighten the maximum residue levels (MRLs) permitted on fresh fruits and vegetables, so there is a growing need for suppliers to grasp the pesticides nettle before it stings them.

Of course, many companies are already doing a great deal to eliminate the risks of pesticides and, as our report from the EurepGAP annual conference in Prague on p76-77 suggests, more pressure is being brought to bear on certification bodies to harmonise the requirements relating to MRLs and other food safety standards.

As the range and origin of products entering the European fresh produce market continues to expand, it is imperative that the standards required of the suppliers involved are as unambiguous as they can possibly be.   Meanwhile, corporate social responsibility is informing consumer choice more and more, and as a result it is becoming more of a pressing concern for big business.   Long may this continue.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>US plays it fast and loose</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Americas</category><dc:date>2006-11-07T17:05:17+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fast_and_loose.html#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fast_and_loose.html#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Chris White


You better believe it: food safety is right back on the agenda in an even  bigger way than before.    It seems that we have a few California-based producers of spinach to thank for food safety&rsquo;s simultaneous reappearance in red ink at the top of consumers&rsquo; shopping lists and the fresh fruit and vegetable trade&rsquo;s &lsquo;to do&rsquo; list. 


In recent weeks, e-coli contamination of bags of fresh spinach have cost the lives of  three Americans and rendered very seriously ill more than 200 of their fellow citizens.   This would be bad news anywhere in the world, but it&rsquo;s especially bad for a society which has updated its constitutional principles to include life, liberty and the pursuit of the next meal. 


No surprise therefore that spinach sales in the US should have fallen through the floor, with bagged salad sales also hit hard, down by some 30 per cent, say news reports.   Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as goons from the FBI have been drafted in to hunt down the source of the contamination which, even if the full results of their investigations have yet to be concluded, is widely thought to sit in a pile of cattle manure in a field in central California.


America&rsquo;s ongoing struggle with the safety of its fresh spinach comes at a time of great growth for its bagged salads sector.   The industry in the US is the world&rsquo;s largest, worth more than US$4.5bn in annual sales and growing by some 10 per cent per annum.   Salads are now the third-fastest growing segment in US supermarkets, with sales climbing by some US$200m every year.   A total of eight out of 10 US households now regularly buy packaged salads.


Two brands dominate the bagged salads business in the US, accounting for nearly three-quarters of sales: Fresh Express, which was acquired last year by Chiquita Brands, launched the industry in 1989 and is now market leader with some 41 per cent; Dole is its nearest rival with a 31 per cent share of the market . 


When it comes to the safety of produce marketed in the US it seems that things are different.   Although processing plants in the US are checked by the FDA and the large companies have developed their own protocols, for many growers it seems that food safety is actually fairly low on the list of priorities they assign for themselves. 


How different things are in  Europe, where the leading supermarkets have spent much of the past decade spearheading a campaign for food safety from the top to the bottom of the supply chain.   In the UK alone, the Salmonella and BSE crises have certainly focused minds.   In the light of recent events in the US, their championing of good agricultural practice through standards such as EurepGAP should now be seen as a godsend for suppliers. 


Not only does it mean that a food scare of this kind in some of Europe&rsquo;s leading markets is rather less likely, but it also means that the consequences of any outbreak are bound to be rather easier to manage.


Back in the US, the fresh produce business is now searching for answers to the questions raised by the e-coli crisis.   At both United and PMA not to mention among the many opinion-formers in the business and trade media, the search is on for a way out of this current food crisis.   The lessons are being learned.


The US could do worse than look across the Atlantic for a solution.   They ought to invite their own food retail industry jointly to develop a common set of robust and enforceable food safety standards that will prevent this kind of thing happening again.   It&rsquo;s just too much to expect the cavalry to turn up and save them at the last minute.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Basket Case: Australia is proudly self-sufficient&#x2c; but at what price?</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Asia Pacific</category><dc:date>2006-11-07T16:21:11+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/australian_self-suffficiency.html#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/australian_self-suffficiency.html#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Laura Gould


Food mile adversaries would be well advised to move to Australia, where their consciences could be salved by the fact that very little of the fresh produce on sale is imported.   Without a single exception, all of the products in the survey above were home-grown; and the retailers seem proud of Australia&rsquo;s horticultural tradition.


However, eco-friendly advantages aside, it does not always pay to be quite so self-sufficient when it comes to the tricky business of fruit and vegetable production.   The devastating Cyclone Larry, which swept through the Australian state of Queensland in March of this year, has taken its toll on the banana industry; bruised and battered fruit, on sale at inflated prices, are indicative of the damage this natural phenomenon has caused to the produce industry Down Under.


The Philippines Agriculture Secretary took advantage of the climatic disaster by refreshing his appeal to the WTO for Australia to allow banana imports from his country, ironically creating a few &lsquo;food miles&rsquo; of his own by catching a long-haul flight to Geneva in order to state his case.  


But the Australians have made it emphatically clear that they do not see hastily introduced import measures as the answer to their cyclone-induced banana shortage.


Either way, it just goes to show that, no matter what fresh produce companies do to protect themselves against the elements and work to the highest quality standards they possibly can, they are always, ultimately, at the mercy of Mother Nature.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Consumers care about themselves too</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2006-10-20T10:13:27+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/consumer_cares.html#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/consumer_cares.html#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mike Knowles


Fairtrade bananas quite clearly have something that the sector&rsquo;s multinational players do not: the unquestioned support and trust of consumers.   With sales of Fairtrade fruit in Europe now worth more than &euro;60m, it is clear that people believe it to be one of the most effective ways of ensuring the money they spend is benefiting not just the corporate executives and investors of this world, but also the people who actually produce the fruit.


Our interview with one of the Fairtrade movement&rsquo;s founders, Nico Roozen, on p76-78 of this month&rsquo;s magazine reveals a great deal about how the big companies are looking to position themselves as more than just bulk banana shippers.   Chiquita, Del Monte, Dole and Fyffes are all attempting to improve their levels of corporate and social responsibility, says Mr Roozen, and this is thanks in no small part to the success of Fairtrade over the past decade, which has increased consumers&rsquo; concern about where and how the fruit and vegetables they eat are produced.


Our October issue also includes Trade South Africa, starting on p39, Eurofruit Magazine&rsquo;s most in-depth look ever at what is one of the Southern Hemisphere&rsquo;s leading suppliers of fresh produce.   Here too, there is evidence of greater focus on responsible production.   And while the success of Fairtrade fruit reflects this greater need among consumers for a clear conscience about the health of the planet, the fact that sales of organic fresh produce from South Africa and elsewhere have rocketed over the last few years suggests they are also increasingly concerned about their own health.


However, there are shadows lurking behind both the Fairtrade and organic industries.   As our comment piece on p169 observes, there is a danger that systems of certification and control may be failing in the rush to supply Fairtrade-branded products.   Meanwhile, Natural Selection Foods, the California-based grower at the centre of last month&rsquo;s outbreak in the US of E.coli linked to conventionally produced spinach, is also the country&rsquo;s largest grower and shipper of certified organic produce.   The consequences for this fastgrowing sector, should organic spinach be implicated, would almost certainly be huge, because although consumers care about protecting the environment, they also care a great deal about protecting themselves.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fairtrade certifiers must redouble their efforts</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2006-10-20T10:08:06+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fairtrade_efforts.html#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/fairtrade_efforts.html#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Chris White


Fairtrade products have come more sharply into the spotlight in recent weeks, and this time for all the wrong reasons.   An investigation by the Financial Times has revealed that labourers involved in the production of Fairtrade coffee in Peru have been paid less than the legal minimum wage.


Quoting industry sources, the financial daily newspaper also reports that non-certified coffee has been marked and exported as Fairtrade while certified coffee has been illegally planted in areas of protected rainforest.   &ldquo;This casts doubt on the certification process used by Fairtrade and similar marks that require producers to pay the minimum wage,&rdquo; reports the FT&rsquo;s Peru corrrespondent.   &ldquo;It also raises questions about the assurances certifiers give about how premium-priced fair trade coffee is produced.&rdquo;


Coffee was among the first major food products to carry the Fairtrade mark, attracting at first a small clientele of socially-concerned consumers.   Since then, Fairtrade coffee and, it has to be said, the philosophy that drinking a cup of it represents, has gone mainstream, so much so that even Nestl&eacute; has launched its own line of fairly-traded coffee.


Although, as has been suggested, much of the interest in Fairtrade used to be limited to a specific and comparatively small group of socially and ecologically aware shoppers, its arrival into the mainstream is not only a result of the wider acceptance of these ideas but also, and probably most importantly, because everyone involved in the Fairtrade supply chain sees there is good money in it too.


Fairtrade gained ground in the 1990s as a means of helping bring higher returns to food producers, many of whom got poor returns year after year as money was swallowed up by the rest of the supply chain and returned only meagre amounts to the producers themselves.   In the fruit sector it is Fairtrade bananas that have made the biggest splash, not least because they&rsquo;re a commodity product available year-round and from numerous sources.


Indeed, in certain markets such as the UK, some major food retailers have become so interested in Fairtrade bananas that they&rsquo;re keen to market ever more volumes of the product.   A quick look around a handful of major stores in central London last month demonstrated the extent to which, at least in these shops, Fairtrade bananas now dominate the offer.   It seems they&rsquo;re being sold much more effectively than conventional fruit, which was offered loose or as a &lsquo;value&rsquo; product; in fact, it was the famous banana that bears the blue label that was selling at the lowest price on that day!


Fairtrade bananas have taken the UK market by storm in the last few years, so much so that retailers are now demanding sometimes exponential increases in volumes from one year to the next.   And even if it has something to do with the demand for Fairtrade coming from the shopper, it is fair to assume that food retailers also see good money and good margins to be made from them.


Of course, there&rsquo;s nothing wrong in any of this, especially if it helps to reinvigorate the sector and drive sales.   But, much like the FT&rsquo;s coffee story in Peru, it begs the question whether, in the rush to source new supplies, there is not a danger that the systems of certification and control start to come unstuck.


If anything, the recent problems that the FT has reported have come at just the right time.   It obliges those who certify in this rapidly growing part of the business to redouble their effforts to ensure that only the produce that is certified has the right to call itself Fairtrade.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Basket Case: eco-friendly retailing</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2006-10-20T09:48:52+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/eco-friendly_retailing.html#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/eco-friendly_retailing.html#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Supermarkets have never sprung to mind as particularly green, environmentally-friendly establishments &ndash; after all, that&rsquo;s what organic stores and health food shops are for &ndash; but it seems that the UK&rsquo;s major retailers are now making a concerted effort to redress the balance and quieten some of their harshest ecowarrior critics.


Only last month, market leader Tesco announced its intention to open six regional buying offices in the UK as part of its local sourcing campaign, which in itself was an answer to the recent storm around food miles.  The retailer has also launched a new rail freight service in order to cut down on lorry usage.


Carrier bags are not immune to this eco-friendly makeover.   Our local branch, right next to the Eurofruit Magazine office, has suddently started giving away smaller carrier bags &ndash; fine for a sandwich and bottle of coke, not so good for a week&rsquo;s worth of fruit and vegetables.


Of course, Tesco is not the only retailer taking steps to halt environmental damage.   Waitrose is staunchly proud of its local sourcing project, and Sainsbury&rsquo;s has introduced compostable packaging for 500 of its own-brand products.


But ultimately, how far can a supermarket really go in saving the environment?   Keeping prices consumer-friendly does not go hand in hand with a radical ecological policy, and let&rsquo;s face it, if supermarket prices become comparable to those of smaller food stores, customers will react with their wallets, not their consciences.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>So long&#x2c; farewell&#x2c; Auf Wiedersehen&#x2c; goodbye&#x2026;</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2006-09-15T12:18:15+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/so_long.html#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/so_long.html#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Caroline Pike


As you know, ladies and gentlemen, all good things must come to an end.   Thankfully, many not-so-good things also have a finite shelf-life so you may be relieved to read that my tenure as editor of Eurofruit Magazine is now drawing to a close.   At the end of this month I shall be leaving to take up the position of Professor of Quantum Physics at the University of Duisburg.

Truth be told, they&rsquo;ve been chasing me for years but what with my advisory work for the UN and training for the British Olympic Show Jumping team, I simply haven&rsquo;t had the time.   Something just had to give.

To be honest, I&rsquo;ve been thinking for a long time that the danger money they pay me at Eurofruit Magazine no longer justifies the risk (in my time I&rsquo;ve been manhandled on a moonlit camel ride at the pyramids in Giza and shipwrecked in the Western Cape).

On the plus side, however, I&rsquo;ve visited many wonderful countries, met some truly lovely people and eaten an awful lot of delicious fruit.   And despite the many challenges faced by the entire trade on a daily basis, it is heartening to see that the industry is going just as strong as it was when I started as a staff journalist nearly seven years ago. 

In some ways, the potential for boosting fresh produce consumption has never been greater, given rising obesity rates and the ever-increasing bank of scientific research highlighting the ability of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables to combat this and other health problems.   No doubt, my hugely talented and very lovely colleague, Mike Knowles, who is taking over as editor, will keep you up to date with the latest developments on this front.

Regrets?   I&rsquo;ve had a few (Prognosfruit 2000 was a particularly low point for me).   But I&rsquo;ll take away very many happy memories with me.   So, to all of you who have ever sent me a story, invited me on a trip or replied to my no doubt hugely inconvenient requests for information, I thank you.   But thanks especially to all my wonderful colleagues, whom I am going to miss tremendously.

(OK, I&rsquo;m actually leaving to have a baby so please feel free to send me any of your favourite cake recipes and knitting patterns.)]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Basket Case: local sourcing</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2006-09-15T12:13:15+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/local_sourcing.html#unique-entry-id-4</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/local_sourcing.html#unique-entry-id-4</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Unless your ham has been specially selected from a pig just 30km down the road, your cream clotted at the local dairy or your apples hand-picked by a 100-year-old farmer who has been in the business &ldquo;man and boy&rdquo;, it seems that nowadays your shopping bag simply doesn&rsquo;t cut it with the upper crust. 


Local sourcing is the recent trend taking the world&rsquo;s foodies by storm, from the UK to continental Europe  and the US.   As the issue of food miles receives more and more press attention, and farmers&rsquo; markets and organic stores increase in popularity all over the globe in a bid to boost local, small-scale businesses, retailers are having to take a more eco-friendly, socially responsible stance.


And so when products are in season, retailers are now running huge promotions to boost sales of local goods, such as the UK asparagus campaign featured on page 100 of this month&rsquo;s magazine.


The irony of course is that those consumers jumping on the local sourcing bandwagon are probably the very same complaining about the effects that production is having on their surrounding environment.   The polytunnel debate raging in the UK as a result of increased strawberry plantings is just one example &ndash; if customers want fresh UK-grown strawberries, they will have to learn to put up with the technology needed to produce them.   If not, then we will be back to higher levels of imports during the summer months.


Which raises the question: is this foodie trend a short-lived one?   Or is the demand for local sourcing here to stay?]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Funding future in produce</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2006-09-15T12:21:59+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/funding_future.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/funding_future.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Chris White


European fresh fruit and vegetable businesses are benefiting from the historically high levels of movement of workers now happening across the EU.


This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from the latest statistics published just over two years after 10 countries from eastern Europe joined the European Union and more or less a year before Romania and Bulgaria are due to join as full members of the EU.


It seems that the current levels of cross-European migration, which are almost unparalleled in the EU&rsquo;s 50-year history, are allowing economic sectors such as food processing to thrive in the face of intense competition.


That is surely true of the  fresh fruit and vegetable sector, which more than many other sectors of the economy has to come to rely on large numbers of relatively low-paid, hard-working people to bring its products to the market.


This applies especially to the more affluent parts of the EU, where the cost of living is higher and wages have had to keep pace with growth.


For example, the latest UK government figures released last month show that some 447,000 eastern Europeans have registered to work in the UK since May 2004. 


Most of these new migrants come from Poland, which alone contributed over 200,000 people, with almost all of them aged 18 to 34.


The figures show that many of these migrants to the UK are now employed in the food businesses, with the fresh produce sector an employer of significant size. 


No wonder that East Anglia and Kent, both locations of much of Britain&rsquo;s fresh produce growing and handling operations, are both regions that are now home to the largest number of migrants from the new member states.


&ldquo;A lot of businesses rely on these people to pick the harvest and the harvest doesn&rsquo;t wait.   It&rsquo;s ready and it has to be delivered to customers,&rdquo; commented Philip Hudson, chief horticultural adviser of the National Farmers&rsquo; Union, the UK&rsquo;s main agricultural group.   &ldquo;These people are absolutely vital.   Without them, some businesses wouldn&rsquo;t be able to function at all.&rdquo;


Immigration has helped push the UK population to over 60m for the first time, with numbers growing by 375,000 or 0.6 per cent in the year to June 2006.   This is the fastest growth rate since 1965 and the largest annual increase in the UK population since 1962.


Significantly, government figures also show that the new migrants to Britain are staying for relatively short periods of time.   Although net migration to the UK reached 222,600 more migrants coming in than leaving in 2004, some 193,000 of these new migrants say they want to return to their country of origin within two years.   As one newspaper put it, this is &ldquo;a guest workforce that doesn&rsquo;t stay long&rdquo;.


Happy to take the kind of low paid jobs that are shunned by their Western European counterparts, these new migrants are very often highly-skilled young people with very big ambitions.


Many of them have left their own countries to profit from the higher wages abroad.   And many of them are also here to develop their skills. 


You can bet that some of these new migrants who today are working on a packing line somewhere in western Europe will tomorrow be among those entrepreneurs to set up their own fresh produce businesses in eastern Europe.


So fresh produce businesses over here, which are already finding it difficult to get young people to join our sector, could do worse than to identify the brightest and the best of these new migrants to help them take their businesses forward. 


After all, isn&rsquo;t this a sector that prides itself on people who know what it means to get their hands dirty?]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Enough to keep you awake</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2006-06-29T15:43:44+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/coffee_paradox.html#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/coffee_paradox.html#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Chris White


The next time you buy a cup of coffee, pause for a moment to contemplate &ldquo;the coffee paradox&rdquo; and to ponder its relevance to our own business in fresh fruits and vegetables.


According to a recent meeting of the International Coffee Organisation, global demand for coffee has doubled over the last 30 years.   Demand  continues to grow strongly, reaching a new high of some 119m sacks of the stuff in 2006.


Meanwhile, global supplies of coffee beans have kept pace with market demand, with a small surplus of some 120m sacks expected this year from the world&rsquo;s major coffee producing countries including Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Ivory Coast and Vietnam.


Yet inspite of this relatively narrow imbalance in supply and demand in the global coffee market, coffee prices have fallen through the floor, down by around a quarter since the start of this year alone.


As the author of a weekly commodities column in France&rsquo;s Le Monde newspaper explains, the exclusiveness of the coffee bean is part of its problem.   You see, the beans are good for making a cup of coffee and not for much else, not a problem for the world&rsquo;s other big commodities, such as sugar cane or corn maize, both of which are now tipped as an alternative fuel source for our motor cars in the years to come as oil reserves dry up.


Indeed, coffee&rsquo;s price position has got so bad that they failed to show signs of life on news that global coffee stocks have dropped to record lows in exporting and importing countries alike.


This disparity, which is the title of a new book that explains this so-called &ldquo;coffee paradox&rdquo; is most keenly felt when you look at the price you pay for your mocha or some other concoction whipped up at your local Starbucks or equivalent which characterises the coffee experience for consumers in places on the planet as different as Boston, Beijing and Bombay.


It seems that the money in the coffee business is being made at only one end of the supply chain.   The people who have most to do with the consumers are the ones who are coining it in. 


On the other hand, the coffee producers, those who merely pick the beans and pack them into sacks for sale, are beset by miserable returns that barely cover the production costs.


&ldquo;The coffee that&rsquo;s sold by the grower in Rwanda and enjoyed by the broker in Manhattan or Paris is not the same thing,&rdquo; explains Le Monde.   &ldquo;They&rsquo;re now paying for all sorts of extras, such as the comfortable cushions you sit on, the TV screens with the latest World Cup match to watch and the hi-speed internet connection you&rsquo;re now provided with.&rdquo;


So value in today&rsquo;s coffee business is being created and enjoyed almost exclusively by the people who retail the bitter, black drink.   What&rsquo;s more, they&rsquo;re also the ones setting the prices which, according to our coffee paradox, do not obey the laws of supply and demand.   And growers just don&rsquo;t get a look in.


Coffee aside, the paradox should be enough to keep fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers awake in their beds at night.   They&rsquo;re convinced that global oversupply is the real cause for the low market prices.   Correct this and the rest falls into place.


The consequences on price of supply and demand in the coffee business suggests otherwise.   Indeed, there are clear parallels for our business, especially for those growers who operate at the commodity end of the business.   Apple, citrus and table grape growers will know what we mean.


If there is money to be made in coffee nowadays, it&rsquo;s in those areas of the business supplying something different.   So next time go for a large, organic, fair trade latte with extra cream.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Hard to avoid the World Cup waistline trap</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Europe</category><dc:date>2006-06-29T15:24:10+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/world_cup_waistline.html#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/world_cup_waistline.html#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Caroline Pike


By the time this issue of Eurofruit Magazine lands on your desk (as eagerly awaited as the first snowdrops of spring, no doubt), the World Cup may well be over.   As I write this, however, I find myself in exactly the same position as I do every four years &ndash; wondering who the hell I&rsquo;m going to support for the next two weeks. 

This is usually because my beloved Scotland have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a nail-biting thriller against Latvia and failed, once again, to progress past the group stages.   This year, however, we did not even manage to qualify and, having drawn Italy and France in the qualifying stages of Euro2008, I fear it may be a long time until the Tartan Army will be seen, lifting their kilts and flashing their crown jewels, in a town near you.

But enough of my woes.   For many, the World Cup is proving to be something of a cash cow and the fruit industry is just one sector that appears to be benefiting.   UK supermarket chain Waitrose has reported a 50 per cent increase in sales of strawberries, cherries and peaches compared to the same week last year, a phenomenon the retailer is attributing to the desire of female footie fans to snack healthily during games.   I have to say, I am a little dubious about such claims.   I mean, how often do you hear the immortal words: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s get the jackfruit in - the football&rsquo;s about to start!&rdquo;?

According to Italian farmers&rsquo; association Coldiretti, the average armchair supporter will pile on around 5kg during the World Cup, thanks to a diet of beer, crisps, chocolate and more beer.   But weight-gain is not the only hazard that can be avoided if you reach for a plum instead of a pint.   Coldiretti claims that melons and lettuce can help combat high blood pressure and nerves.   However, the body also points out that melons contain &ldquo;modest laxative properties&rdquo; which could prove troublesome to say the least if you&rsquo;ve extra time and penalties to sit through.

For those of you with teams left in the competition, I wish you every success (except England of course).   And if your team doesn&rsquo;t quite manage to get its hands on the coveted trophy, remember there are many ways you can console yourselves.   After Scotland lost 3-0 to Morocco in Saint-Etienne during World Cup 1998, around 8,000 Scottish fans drowned their sorrows with approximately 125,000 litres of beer.    Bars ran dry, and fresh supplies had to be shipped in to quench the thirst of the disappointed Scots.   It makes you proud.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Basket Case: online grocery shopping</title><dc:creator>michael@fruitnet.com</dc:creator><category>Global</category><dc:date>2006-06-29T15:16:32+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/online_shopping.html#unique-entry-id-0</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.eurofruitmagazine.com/page0/files/online_shopping.html#unique-entry-id-0</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Laura Gould


If the thought of a spotty teenager unable to differentiate between an unripe avocado and a downright mouldy one choosing your shopping fills you with fear, then perhaps online grocery deliveries are not for you.


On the other hand, for those of us from the school of &ldquo;what we don&rsquo;t know can&rsquo;t hurt us&rdquo;, this latest intrusion of the internet into the humdrum routine of daily life is somewhat of a godsend.


Stranded in a dingy corner of North London with no car and the nearest supermarket a 10-15-minute walk away, I apprehensively made my first foray into the world of online grocery shopping a few weeks ago.   Imagine my delight when not only did the delivery arrive on time, but I had not been palmed off with the oldest fruits and vegetables in the warehouse.


Of course, there are drawbacks to the system &ndash; you&rsquo;re tied to the house during the  delivery time slot (which varies between one or two hours, depending on the retailer); sometimes products are substituted if what you requested is not available; there is the ubiquitous delivery charge; and of course you cannot choose your own fresh produce or meat.


Nevertheless, the impulse to buy junk food on a whim is removed, there is no contending with long check-out queues or surly assistants, and heavy shopping bags become a thing of the past. 


The online shopping concept is well underway in the UK, where cash-rich, time-poor consumers are eagerly latching on to the system.   The question remains as to whether shoppers in the rest of the world will embrace the idea with the same enthusaism?]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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