Key themes in the FRUIT LOGISTICA 2012 supporting programme

Key themes in the FRUIT LOGISTICA 2012 supporting programme

Berlin, 25. January 2012– Along with a complete market overview of products and services from across the fresh produce value chain, FRUIT LOGISTICA 2012 (8-10 Feb.) includes a first-class conference programme. It offers representatives from the international fresh produce trade in-depth information in a series of seminars and panel discussions focusing on current market issues, problems and industry trends. The 31st Fresh Produce Forum taking place at the ICC Berlin on the day before the trade fair opens (7 Feb.) will kick off the world's leading fresh produce industry event. This year's theme: "Sourcing 2020".

Six Hall Forums will be presented in Hall 26 during the three days of the trade fair. The topics of the lecture series organised by Fruchthandel Magazine (Düsseldorf) include: Optimising urban retail logistics (8.2.), How to handle crisis management (8.2.), The global citrus market (9.2.) The new banana business (9.2), Regional sourcing on an international scale (10.2.) and Innovation in the fresh produce business (10.2.).

The Andalusian Minister of Agriculture Clara Aguilera and Dr Robert Schaller from the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection have confirmed their participation at the Hall Forum “How to handle crisis management“.

Outstanding achievements in the fresh produce trade will be honoured with the following industry awards: "FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE Retail Award 2012" (7.2.) and the FRUIT LOGISTICA INNOVATION AWARD 2012 "FLIA" (10.2.).

Overview of FRUIT LOGISTICA 2012 supporting programme

31st FRESH PRODUCE FORUM
TUESDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2012
15.30 – 19.00 HRS, ICC Berlin, Saal 15.2

Sourcing 2020

The sourcing of high quality fresh produce will become a whole new challenge over the next decade. The food retail sector is making an effort to become more involved in the procurement process in order to ensure long-term supply, optimise costs and gain more influence on the products and specifications. In the face of a rapidly-growing world population, global production will be reorganised to some extent. At the same time, the role of conventional fruit suppliers is changing and they will need to once again demonstrate their expertise as providers. The focus of discussion will be on the following issues:

•    What effect will direct sourcing by the retail sector have?
•    How should producer organisations and fruit trading companies position themselves?
•    What impact will demographic trends and the expansion of economically powerful markets in Russia, the Middle East and Asia have on sourcing and trade flows?

International experts from the research, production, wholesale and retail sectors will analyse the situation and take a look into the future: 

•    Cindy van Rijswick, Industry Analyst Fruit, Vegetables and Floriculture, Rabobank International, Netherlands
•    Bernd Schröder, tegut, Germany
•    Dietmar Bahler, BayWa, Germany
•    Andrew Sharp, Fresca Group, UK
•    Andreas Allenspach, van Rijn Group, Netherlands

The Fruchthandel Magazine Retail Award 2012 will be presented by Fruchthandel Magazine in conjunction with this year's Fresh Produce Forum. One of the special features of this award is that consumers get to choose the most popular fruit and vegetable department in the German food retail sector. On behalf of Fruchthandel Magazine, consumer researchers at GfK Nürnberg surveyed 7,500 households across Germany to find their opinions about fruit and vegetable departments in the German retail sector. What opinion could be more significant than that of consumers, the target audience for all quality and marketing efforts? Following the award ceremony, Helmut Hübsch from the GfK will talk about the survey results – and offer interesting insight into the consumer mindset.

The Fresh Produce Forum will be simultaneously translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish. The participation fee is 85.00 Euro and includes a permanent pass for FRUIT LOGISTICA and FRESHCONEX. Registration and information updates are available on www.fruitlogistica.com/ Events. 

HALL FORUM PROGRAMME

WEDNESDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2012
11.00 – 12.00 HRS, FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE HALL FORUM, HALL 26

Optimising urban retail logistics
Urban areas suffer from increasing traffic congestion, noise and exhaust emissions. Delivery vehicles struggle to meet deadlines. Local supply logistics are in dire need of optimisation. The project presented here aims to save costs, reduce noise and CO2 emissions and optimise deliveries. One of the unique features: cooperation between competitors.
Speakers: Klaus Schnorr, DOEGO, Germany; Christiane Auffermann, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics , Germany; Stefan Grubendorfer, Rewe Grubendorfer, Germany.


WEDNESDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2012
15.00 – 16.00 HRS, FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE HALL FORUM, HALL 26

How to handle crisis management
Addressing a topic that is as timely today as it will be tomorrow, this Hall Forum presents strategies for exploring the right answers, approaches and solutions ahead of time in order optimally prepare for the worst-case scenario. What needs to be accomplished at the various trade levels? How should communications with consumers be organised?
Speakers: Clara Aguilera, Andalusian Minister of Agriculture, Spain; Dr. Robert Schaller, Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Germany. Raquel Izquierdo de Santiago, Freshfel Europe, Belgium.


THURSDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2012
11.00 – 12.00 HRS, FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE HALL FORUM, HALL 26

The global citrus market
This Hall Forum presents the current status and future trends in global citrus production and consumption in Europe, the southern hemisphere and other key supplier countries. The market is rapidly changing. Where will production increase? Where will it be cut back? What are the determining factors? What is the outlook for the future? How can trading companies adapt to the situation?
Speakers: Egle Eimontaite, International Trade Advisor, Freshfel Europe, Belgium; Francisco José Martínez Serrano, Comité de Cítricos, Spain; Betina Ernst, Top Info Marketing SA, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Justin Chadwick, Citrus Growers Association, South Africa.


THURSDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2012
15.00 – 16.00 HRS, FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE HALL FORUM, HALL 26

The new banana business
Bananas are among the most popular consumers products. Keeping them fresh involves a number of unique challenges. The market is highly competitive and consumer approval sometimes comes with a high price. What is the main focus today? How can products and services be improved? How can consumption be increased?
Speakers: Dr. Ulrike Bickelmann, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food / Head of Department, Department 413:  inspection procedures for plant products and marketing standards, Germany; Jörg Nürnberg, Univeg, Germany.


FRIDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2012
11.00 – 12.00 HRS, FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE HALL FORUM, HALL 26

Regional sourcing on an international scale
Regional sourcing is one of the key issues in the trade. The focus is on familiarity and trust between products, consumers and the POS. Many suppliers label their products sold on foreign and domestic markets with the country of origin and use this as a marketing focus. How can this successful concept be further expanded? How can cooperation be optimized across the entire supply chain? How can the fresh produce trade become more directly involved? Speakers: Emmanuel Descloux, Prince de Bretagne, France; Gerhard Dichgans, VOG South Tyrol, Italy; Hans-Jürgen Kirsch, Head of Product Management fruit & vegetable / flowers/ plants, Globus-SB-Warenhaus Holding, Germany.

FRIDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2012
13.00 – 14.00 HRS, FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE HALL FORUM, HALL 26

Innovation in the fresh produce business
What has become of the previous FRUIT LOGISTICA INNOVATION AWARD "FLIA" winners? Are these products successful in the market? Are they popular in the eyes of consumers? What can be learned from this? What makes an innovation successful?
Speakers: Jörg Werner, Rijk Zwaan, Netherlands; Dr. Hans Renia, Nunhems,  Netherlands.


FRIDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2012
14.30 – 15.00 HRS, FLIA-STAND, PASSAGE HALLS 20/21

Presentation of the FRUIT LOGISTICA INNOVATION AWARD 2012 "FLIA"

All events will be simultaneously translated into English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

This press release and information updates for the FRUIT LOGISTICA 2012 supporting programme are available on the Internet: www.fruitlogistica.com