The Global Coalition of Fresh Produce yesterday successfully held its first webinar for the global fresh produce industry, titled Economic sustainability in global supply chains for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Over 200 commercial operators, industry representatives, national and international officials and academics registered to attend the webinar, logging in from countries as diverse as Canada, Ecuador, Italy, Uganda and New Zealand, to name but a few.
The webinar was moderated by the Coalition’s Chair, Ron Lemaire of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, and featured presentations by experts in the global fresh produce industry, including Cindy van Rijswick, global strategist at Rabobank (highlighting global trends in supply chains for fruits and vegetables); Alan Renwick, professor of agricultural economics at Lincoln University (New Zealand) (discussing the power relations between suppliers of fruits and vegetables and retailers); and Niccolò Ciulli, advisor at Eurocommerce (focusing on consumers’ value perception and willingness to pay for fruits and vegetables).
Various Coalition’s members highlighted the impact that cost hikes during and after the COVID epidemic, for example for fertilizers, energy and shipping, continue to have on producers of fruits and vegetables the world over. According to a recent survey by the Coalition, the results of which were presented during the webinar, less than half of all fruits and vegetables sold worldwide are making a profit for producers.
However, despite these difficulties – which add to the challenges for producers that result from our increasingly variable and changing climate – panelists agreed that the global fresh produce industry is inherently dynamic and resilient; in addition, fruits and vegetables are key elements in the global shift towards healthier and environmentally sustainable diets. This will be the focus of the Coalition’s next two seminars, on environmental sustainability and on the consumption and promotion of fruits and vegetables (the dates of which are to be confirmed).
The recording of the webinar of 19 September is accessible to all at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVDbgDvswU0.
About the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce
The Global Coalition of Fresh Produce brings together fresh produce associations from around the world, based on their joint vision to create resilient global value chains for fruits and vegetables that bring a myriad of economic, environmental and societal benefits. The Coalition’s mission is to voice solutions to address disruptions in global supply chains for fresh produce, including – but not limited to – rising costs, and share and promote best practices. The Coalition’s current members are Afruibana, the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), AUSVEG, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA), the Committee Linking Entrepreneurship–Agriculture–Development (COLEAD), Freshfel Europe, the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC), the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE) and United Fresh New Zealand. To find out more about the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce, visit our website at www.producecoalition.net or contact us at info@producecoalition.net.
