Fruit Logistica abuzz

Guten Tag! Greetings from Germany as a guest blogger to Tom's site.

The first two days of Fruit Logistica, which runs Feb. 8-10 in Berlin, were very active. The third day is slowing down quite a bit.

This is The Packer's first year to exhibit and my third year to attend. As always, I find there to be plenty of innovation in packaging and product presentation. From an outsider's perspective, it's a very appealing event that leaves you inspired.

Ironically, when visiting with an Italian yesterday, he told me he finds the Produce Marketing Association expo to be more useful. He said he thinks the innovations are more unique. I think it's further proof that the grass is always greener on the other side - the other side of the pond in this case.

There are 40,000+ attendees and more than 1,800 booths. Truly overwhelming.

Look in the Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 issues of The Packer for our official coverage. Or visit our Web site at www.thepacker.com to see updates.

Aufwiedersehen, until next year.

Lance Jungmeyer, Editor, The Packer

Water wars and getting to know Railex

Here is a link to a story about water wars in Idaho. The Idaho Supreme Court is expected to rule soon about a claim to water rights in the Magic Valley that could impact growers throughout the Snake River Aquifer.


Meanwhile, this piece from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. talks about the Railex facility and how growers in New York view it. It's perhaps expected that few New York or East Coast growers see opportunity in shipping to the West. Instead, they see the rail pipeline as competitive pressure from Northwest growers of apple, potatoes, onions, etc.
From the story is this passage about a meeting with Railex officials and New York growers:


Most attended to see what kind of opportunities Railex could offer Hudson Valley agribusinesses. Esposito told them Railex is awaiting and anticipating the opportunity to send goods back to the West. Bob Weybright, from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County, said the “trick” is to figure out: “What do we have to go to the West?” He said that it’s going to take a grower that’s innovative and forward-thinking to come up with an answer. Right now, Railex is mostly transporting the equivalent of 200 truckloads of apples, onions, potatoes, some citrus fruits and pears to the East each week.



TK: I will say that Eastern apples have a different flavor profile. John Rice of Rice Fruit Co. in Pennsylvania gave me three fujis when I visited his operation in January and they were outstanding. I'll bet Eastern growers do have some overlooked opportunities shipping their produce out West. But they surely won't trip over themselves in sending their produce out of the population heavy Northeast.