FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016: Berlin to be global fresh produce capital for three days

With 2,800 exhibitors from 84 countries, FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016 from 3-5 February 2016 will be the most important and most comprehensive industry event ever been staged for the global fresh produce trade. Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin GmbH: "It is fantastic to see that industry interest continues to grow by leaps and bounds. This year, even more countries will come together at FRUIT LOGISTICA than in the previous year. More than 65,000 buyers and trade visitors from 135 countries will benefit from the greatest diversity of international exhibitors ever to be assembled under one roof."

FRUIT LOGISTICA is not only the best business and information platform, it is also a stage for innovations. "Spotlight" is an online tool to help trade visitors find specific new products and services. The 77 innovations from 15 countries include 27 world premieres and 19 European premieres.

Egypt is official partner country

Egypt is the official partner country for FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016 and has announced an unprecedented number of exhibitors representing the country's most active exporters. The future of Egypt's export market is very promising with agricultural exports to 145 countries. Investments in the agricultural sector are high and will help ensure continuous market growth. Egyptian companies exported 743,000 tonnes to the European Union in the 2014/2015 season. Total exports in this period amounted to 3.53 million tonnes. This means that 21% of Egyptian agricultural production is exported to the EU. Egypt has increased its exports of agricultural goods by 226% over the last ten years. In the 2014/2015 season it exported more than USD 2 billion worth of fruit and vegetables (excluding rice).

Fresh produce market figures (global, EU, Germany)

According to the latest figures published by the AMI (agricultural market information service) in Bonn, some 1.05 billion tonnes of vegetables (excluding melons) and 830 million tonnes of fruit (including melons) were produced worldwide in 2015. Production figures for both fruit and vegetables have steadily increased in recent years. Almost 9% of global fruit production and nearly 4% of global vegetable production entered cross-border trade as fresh produce.

Compared to the previous year, the EU fruit crop decreased by 2% in 2015 to 38 million tonnes. With approximately 61 million tonnes, the EU vegetable harvest decreased by more than 3% compared to the previous year.

Following the record harvest in the previous year, German fruit production decreased by more than 12% to a level of around 1.3 million tonnes.  The commercial production of vegetables decreased in 2015 by almost 4% to just over 3.6 million tonnes, according to an estimate by the AMI.

Fruit and vegetable consumption by private German households in 2015

The average German private household purchased 155 kg of fresh fruit and vegetables in 2015. With an average of 85.5 kg per household, slightly more fresh fruit (up by 0.1%) was purchased. Consumption of fresh vegetables decreased by 1.1% to 69.6 kg per household.

The favourite fruits in Germany are apples, bananas and oranges. The most popular vegetables are tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers.

The average amount of fresh fruit purchased per private household in Germany in 2015 was 18.6 kg of apples, 15.7 kg of bananas, 9.4 kg of oranges, 6.0 kg of easy peelers, 5.3 kg of grapes, 4.8 kg of melons, 4.2 of strawberries, 3.1 kg of pears, 3.1 kg of nectarines and 1.9 kg of peaches.

The average amount of fresh vegetables purchased per private household in Germany in 2015 was 11.4 kg of tomatoes, 8.0 kg of carrots, 7.4 of cucumbers, 7.3 kg of onions, 5.9 kg of sweet peppers, 2.9 kg of iceberg lettuce, 2.2 kg of asparagus, 1.8 kg of cauliflower, 1.6 kg of leeks and 1.5 of courgettes.

Think Tank FRUIT LOGISTICA: Professional supporting programme

The 35th Fresh Produce Forum kicks off the supporting programme with a focus on "Climate change – The challenges for global production and procurement". (Tuesday, 2 February 2016, 15:00 – 18:30, Hall 7.3, Saal Berlin).

Four series of events address the current and future challenges facing the industry. Logistics Hub is a new event format offering producers, exporters and traders opportunities to find the information they need to help them take the right logistical decisions for the transport of their goods. The Future Lab at FRUIT LOGISTICA showcases innovative concepts that will transform the fresh produce industry in the coming years or enable significant optimisation across the added-value chain. The Hall Forums focus on current questions facing the industry and answers from experts. To highlight the importance of technical solutions for the industry, FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016 features the event format Tech Stage. An overview of all of the events in the supporting programme is available here.

Who will win the 2016 FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award?

"And the winner is …" are the words everyone is waiting to hear on 5 February 2016 at this year's FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award (FLIA) ceremony. Recognised as the fresh produce industry's most sought-after innovation prize, the FLIA honours outstanding new products and services that give fresh impetus to the fruit and vegetable sector. A panel of experts has selected ten finalists from the many entries received. Trade visitors to FRUIT LOGISTICA are invited to vote for their favourite on the first two days of the exhibition at the FLIA stand between Halls 20 and 21.