Quality counts at ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA

Asia’s premier continental fresh produce show advances on all fronts, with more business activity, strong participation in the Hall Forums, and even more high-quality visitors.
           
Hong Kong, 12 September 2018 – Trade visitors to ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA last week enjoyed the event’s highest quality edition to date.
 
“We’re delighted to have seen very healthy development in all aspects of show quality,” said Wilfried Wollbold, commercial director of event organiser Global Produce Events. “There’s been high business activity on the trade show floor, active participation in the Hall Forums, and high-profile trade visitors from over 70 countries, including buyers representing more than 20 key markets across Asia.”
Some 13,500 trade visitors poured through the doors of Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo Center on 5-7 September, marking a healthy increase in attendance on last year’s edition.
 
The vast majority (90 per cent) of trade visitors confirmed a positive impression of this year’s trade show, according to visitor survey results. The results also confirmed the high quality of trade visitors, with 89 per cent holding leading management positions in their companies, and 87 per cent closely involved in the purchasing and procurement decision-making process.

Visitors found an exhibition that had expanded again, with overall floor space growing by 10 per cent on last year’s edition. Exhibitor numbers saw a further increase to 826 companies representing 46 different countries and all continents. The number of national pavilions also increased this year, with some 27 countries featured.  
 
Close to half of all exhibitors at ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA came from Asia and Oceania. Europe accounted for 23 per cent of exhibitors, followed by the Americas with 16 per cent, and the Middle East and Africa (12 per cent).
While China remained the single-largest exhibiting country, Asian supplying nations such as Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia stepped up their presence.
 
South Africa, Canada and the UK also enlarged their presence significantly, while Algeria, Azerbaijan and Serbia exhibited for the first time.
 
ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA also attracted new exhibitors from the logistics, machinery and technology sectors, underlining the crucial role of such supply chain partners and service
providers for the business moving forward.
 
Hall Forums draw interest
 
These sectors were well represented at the ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA Hall Forums – ASIAFRUIT BUSINESS FORUM, COOL LOGISTICS ASIA and SMART HORTICULTURE ASIA. Taking place on the show floor, the Hall Forums were free to attend for all visitors, and provided valuable information and takeaways on a range of subjects.
 
At Hall Forum 1, ASIAFRUIT BUSINESS FORUM featured daily sessions offering practical ideas and solutions for better fresh produce marketing and business management.

Each morning at Hall Forum 2, COOL LOGISTICS ASIA offered a programme of workshops on perishable logistics and cold chain management. Each afternoon, the focus switched to hi-tech horticulture with SMART HORTICULTURE ASIA, which explored the latest disruptive technology and digitisation.
 
More than 10 per cent of all trade visitors to ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA attended the Hall Forums. Sessions on packaging, cold chain investments and blockchain attracted the highest numbers.
 
ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS celebrates 20 years in style
 
Taking place the day before ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA, ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS celebrated its 20th anniversary with a bumper crowd. More than 450 delegates from 41 different countries attended Asia’s premier conference event on 4 September, marking a 20 per cent increase on last year’s edition, and a record number since the event moved to AsiaWorld-Expo in 2012.
 
ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS kicked off with a look back on two decades of change in Asia’s fresh produce business with an expert panel including ANZ Bank’s Patrick Vizzone, Noel Shield of Joy Wing Mau Asia Holdings and Stemilt’s Bill Young. The diverse programme also covered current and future trends, from supplying Asia’s retail market of the future, to new opportunities in markets such as India, Indonesia and Korea.

Delegates to ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS received the first copies of the ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS STATISTICS HANDBOOK. The unique statistical guide to Asia’s fresh fruit and vegetable business covers 11 different markets and this year’s edition featured analysis of the volumes of fruit imported by each market compared with 20 years ago when ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS launched. To access a digital version of the ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS STATISTICS HANDBOOK, go tohttp://www.exacteditions.com/asiafruit/statshandbook2018.
            
ASIA FRUIT AWARD winners unveiled
 
The winners of the 2018 ASIA FRUIT AWARDS were also announced at the ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS.
 
Presented by ASIAFRUIT MAGAZINE and ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA to celebrate excellence in Asia’s fresh produce business, the ASIA FRUIT AWARDS recognise Asia’s best companies in the fields of marketing, importing and produce retailing. This year also saw the launch of the brand-new ‘Impact’ Award recognising significant contribution to developing the fresh fruit and vegetable business in Asia.
 
The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association and its Chilean Cherry Committee won the ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’ for their high-profile promotional campaign for Chilean cherries in China during 2017/18. Indian importer IG International took out the ‘Importer of the Year’ Award, Indonesia’s Ranch Market won the ‘Produce Retailer of the Year’ while the inaugural ‘Impact Award’ went to industry stalwart Dalton Thomas, who recently retired from Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers.
 
MEDIA STUDIO adds new dimension  

New for this year, the MEDIA STUDIO ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA added a fresh dimension to the show, featuring quick-fire interviews on the show floor with key industry figures on a range of exciting developments and innovations.
 
“With a clear focus on quality content and commercial engagements, we are pleased to have captured key voices from the trade in the MEDIA STUDIO videos. Videos are available online for those who were too busy on the trade show floor, or unable to join this year’s edition,” said Wollbold.
 
“We invite everyone to see more at the ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA YouTube channel and to stay connected with us on LinkedIn.”
 
With healthy development on all fronts, ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA confirmed its position as the unique continental platform for the growth of the fresh fruit and vegetable business across more than 20 key Asian consumer markets, Wollbold added.
 
“We’re best positioned in Hong Kong at the centre of the Asia region, which is expected to grow significantly over the next decade and make up over 50 per cent of consumer spending on fruit and vegetables worldwide by 2030.”
 
The next edition of ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA takes place on 4-6 September 2019 at AsiaWorld-Expo Center in Hong Kong. ASIAFRUIT CONGRESS takes place on 3 September at the same venue.
 
Print-quality photos of ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA 2018 are available here for downloading.
 
COMMENTS
 
Visitors  
 
Swasti Adicita Karim, chief operating officer, Java Fresh (Indonesia)
“This is one of the most important events for us to attend every year – as visitors, it’s so efficient. We get a lot of appointments and have a lot of deals to make. We did quite a significant deal during the show this year.”
 
Alisa Wongstianchai, produce buying manager, Tesco (Thailand)
“We’ve had back-to-back meetings with our global suppliers here and we’ve met many new suppliers. I am excited to see from the exhibition how our suppliers are improving their offerings and introducing new products to customers to cater to the latest market trends. We also find a number of packaging innovations here we can apply to our business.”
 
Hendry Sim, vice director, Laris Manis Utama (Indonesia)
“ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA is a one-stop point where we’re able to strengthen our relationships with suppliers and find new products to enhance our range.”
 
Drew Manusharow, chief sales officer, United Fruit International (US)
“This is our first year at the show and we’re blown away by the range of visitors and exhibitors.”
 
Exhibitors 
 
Steven Martina, CEO, The Greenery (Netherlands)
“ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA remains an important place for us to meet up with our main suppliers worldwide, be in contact with potential customers and of course existing ones, and to meet with industry colleagues from all over the world. It’s an important meeting point and an easy venue to visit. The potential here in Asia is huge, although this depends on the products and the country you want to supply – that’s all to do with regulation. For Dutch produce, it’s an important market now for pears and peppers, but it all depends on access, which takes a long time.”
 
Kelly Ku, assistant manager, fruits team, NH Trading (Korea)
“We can meet other buyers and for us it’s a very good opportunity. I think there are more people here from different countries this year and that the number of Chinese booths has increased since last year.”
 
David Goh, general manager Australia / New Zealand, Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
“For us and the team here at Singapore Airlines we’ve been very impressed with the quality. It’s been a very fruitful experience and a very educational one with a lot of opportunities; I know it’s an Asia-focused event but it’s very much global in nature. We definitely want to participate again next year.”
 
Fedie Mulia, director, Halo Fresh (Indonesia)
“The event has exceeded our expectations. We initially expected we would meet potential buyers only from Asian countries but actually we’ve found a much broader market representation here, which has given us lots of new information in areas like technology, logistics and shipping. It’s all in one place.”
 
Nils Angelike, business development manager, Unica Fresh (Spain)
“ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA is a unique opportunity to see new trends and products, meet very interesting contacts and meet with customers that we have in Asia. Above all, the convenience and snack products that we offer from Unica are a very interesting option for the Asian market.”
 
Ryan Smith, director, Valleyfresh Exports (Australia) 
“Everyone at Valleyfresh and Freshmax has had a very successful few days at ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA. It’s been incredibly busy for everyone and some of us have noticed the final day is becoming much busier than it has been in the past, which is great.”
 
Neil Denny, procurement manager, Richard Hochfeld (UK)
“The show has been really busy and we haven’t stopped. The event has improved every year and it seems there are more things to do this year, so we may bring more people next time. We’ve got a few leads and you can see there’s a huge market here in Asia that’s advancing very quickly. British is a good brand over here that represents tradition and quality you can trust.”
 
Tim Reid, owner, Reid Fruits (Australia)
“Once again it’s been a very positive show for us to attend. The event seems to be growing in visitor numbers and so has the quality of buyers.”
 
HyoSung Lee, general manager, Hyundai Merchant Marine (Korea)
“In our first year exhibiting here, ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA has been a very good opportunity for us to expand our relationships and increase our presence.”
 
Heath Wilkins, managing director, Golden Bay Fruit (New Zealand)
“It’s an imperative trip, a must-do on our calendar. We’ve been quite busy this year – most of this has been existing clients as we’ve built our customer base up quite a bit over recent years, particularly in Asia.”
 
Miguel Demaeght, sales manager, BelOrta (Belgium)
“ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA is becoming more and more important for the BelOrta cooperative. This year, five of our exporters have stands showing their products for this market, and we have our own stand to show visitors a wider range of the fruit and vegetables we produce in Belgium.”
 
Anne Kavai, sales manager, Keitt Exporters (Kenya)
“Keitt Exporters has been more active on the Asian market ever since we started exhibiting at ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA in 2014. Since then, our avocado exports have increased to Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Now there is no turning back.”
 
Frank Döscher, managing director, Elbe-Obst (Germany)
“It’s been a very interesting show this time around. This is our third appearance as an exhibitor at ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA and it’s really an important event, as is FRUIT LOGISTICA in Berlin. We feel the first day this year especially was even better than last year.”
 
Federico Milanese, international development manager, Jingold (Italy)
“This exhibition is a fundamental one for us for two reasons. Firstly, we have a strategic involvement in Asia, with an office in Shanghai, so we can meet all of the leading companies in China and neighbouring countries; and secondly, it’s well timed for the start of our commercial [kiwifruit] campaign, so we can make the first plans with our clients. It’s always an important place to meet future partners and customers.”
 
Richard Palmer, deputy chief executive, Horticulture New Zealand (New Zealand) 
“The New Zealand stand has been busy again. We’ve had lots of customers from Asia and other parts of the world too. We have a firm commitment to keeping this space and showcasing the best of New Zealand horticulture at this event for years to come.”
 
Alexis Contreras, sales executive, Asia, Berries Paradise (Mexico)
“ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA is not just a focus for Asian buyers but increasingly for buyers from all around the world. It’s a great meeting point for the industry.”
 
Scott Templeton, general manager, Proseal Australia (Australia)
“There’s been a really good mix of current and potential customers at the show. It’s a great networking opportunity and a chance to catch up with people we might not otherwise get to see.”
 
Linda Lubengu, export relations coordinator, Eastern Cape Development Corporation (South Africa)
“We are getting a lot of interest here at the show. For next year we would like to bring our farmers along so they can meet potential customers too.”
 
Emile Leudet, business development, Respack (Malaysia)
“We just opened a new facility and it’s our first year exhibiting at the show. So far I’ve been very satisfied with the interest from a range of countries.”
 
Fermín Sánchez, managing director, Gruventa (Spain)
“ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA is a great international fair, and without a doubt, a magnificent platform to promote Spanish fruit and vegetables in the Asian market. It is an unmissable event for the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector.”
 
Frank Cua, operations manager, Fresh Fruit Connection (Australia)
“We exhibited for the first time last year and we’ve found it’s the best place to meet our pre-existing clients along with new clients. We can meet all suppliers in one place, which is easier than travelling to each market individually.”
 
The brand family
 
ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA, the leading continental trade show for Asia’s fresh produce business, takes place on 4-6 September 2019 at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong.
 
FRUIT LOGISTICA, the leading global trade fair for the fresh produce business, takes place on 6-8 February 2019 at Berlin ExpoCenter City in Germany.
 
Following its highly successful launch last May, CHINA FRUIT LOGISTICA, China’s leading trade show for the fresh produce business, returns to Shanghai on 29-31 May 2019.