Macfrut Meets The Polish Fruit And Vegetable Sector

Macfrut, the international show of the fruit and vegetable sector (Cesena, Italy) is in Warsaw to meet with representatives of the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association  – Macfrut next edition will be held from September 26 to September 28

MACFRUT is well known and appreciated in Poland also because it provides the perfect opportunity for businesses and professionals to interact more “directly”.

These are the words of Miroslaw Maliszewski, President of PAP (Polish Fruit Growers Association), who pointed out that Italian technologies in the agricultural sector rank among the best worldwide. He also stressed that Polish fruit and vegetable growers are more than willing to learn from the experience gathered by Italian Producers Organizations.

It is worth noticing that Poland is the first producer of apples in Europe, and with its 25 % of the overall production outranks Italy’s 20 %. Also, Poland is a leader in the production of blueberries in the Old Continent.

«We are very satisfied with our mission in Poland – says Domenico Scarpellini, President of MACFRUT – the acknowledgment we received and the wide and well qualified audience that attended the event, supports the validity of the decision we made a few years back, that is to integrate traditional promotional activities with more direct activities developed abroad, which are very useful to gather in-depth information on new markets and professionals».

As part of said promotional activities on Tuesday 29 May, Macfrut met in Warsaw the  Polish Fruit Growers Association (PAP) and, just like other initiatives, this event was very much appreciated by foreign professionals as it provided them with an opportunity to foster an open and direct dialogue by sharing experience and points of view on future scenarios.

Luciano Trentini, member of the Intergroup for Promotion of the European Commission, presented data on the fruit and vegetable sector in the EU- 27 and the Italian excellence which, however, is not enough to halt the current fall of consumption rates. It is no coincidence that the EU recently committed to promoting the “School Fruit Scheme” in different countries in order to raise the awareness of younger generations and develop a new food education able to fight obesity.

Enrico Turoni, President of the Italian consortium CERMAC, stressed the need to improve quality through the use of new technologies and the innovation of production processes.

Back from her “mission” to Poland, Valentina Piraccini, Macfrut Foreign Office, says: «Even in Warsaw people showed interest towards Macfrut as a meeting point among representatives of the fruit and vegetable sector from all over the world, thanks to its position in the Mediterranean Basin and its ability to gather the excellence and quality of the sector».

As regards current consumption levels and long-term trends, Mr. Maliszewski pointed out that a few days ago in Russia and Ukraine a campaign has been launched to promote the consumption of apples. This program, drafted by Poland, has been co-funded by the European Commission. It is a three-year promotional “campaign” that has already led to an increase of apple exports in the EU, mostly coming from Poland and Italy.