Dan Siekman

For the 2019 edition, Fruitnet journalists put together a wide-ranging event on February 5 that covered a lot of ground—doing an admirable job of surveying the contours of the fresh produce industry in the buildup to the February 6-8 Fruit Logistica show.

Ecuador originally gained market access to China for mangos at the end of 2016. But so far, all shipments to China have gone by air freight, which is expensive and greatly limits the volumes that can be shipped. It is estimated that for the 2018/19 season, only about 1,000 to 2,000 4kg boxes of Ecuadorean mangoes were sent to China.

If March 29 comes without an agreement and the so-called “No-Deal Brexit” comes to pass, fresh produce shortages could be among the earliest and most obvious fallout experienced by consumers in the UK, which imports over 10 billion euros worth of fruits and vegetables every year and depends on the EU for roughly 1/3 of its fresh fruit and vegetable supply.

The 2019 edition of Fruit Logistica, the world’s largest fresh produce industry trade exhibition and hub for Europe’s produce industry, kicks off today at the Messe Berlin fair grounds in Berlin. The show features more than 130,000m2 of floor space and exhibitors from every sector of the global fresh fruit and vegetable industry.