A well-known South African agriculturist, Professor Ferdi Meyer, has been added to the illustrious speaker line-up for the historic first annual Southern Hemisphere Fresh Fruit Trade congress featuring contributions from eight different countries.
Meyer, the director of the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, has 20 years’ experience in both the private and public sector. He specialises in agricultural market, trade, and policy analyses.
Registrations for the congress, to be held on Zoom, have just opened. Organisers say stakeholders from South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Peru and Uruguay will gather under the theme “Keeping the world supplied”.
Hosted by the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE), the congress is scheduled for Thursday, 25 March 2021.
It promises exclusive insights and market intelligence on the current production and trading situation for key-temperate fruit crop under Covid-19 pandemic conditions.
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The Southern Hemisphere jointly contribute 11 million tonnes of exported temperate fruit with a market value of $14 billion (nearly R208 billion rand).
SHAFFE says it will be the first time in the association’s history that market insights will be shared at the same event by all Southern Hemisphere exporting nations.
Programme highlights
The virtual congress will look at, inter alia, crop trends, production and trade outlook for the year ahead.
“We want to contribute towards more predictability and market know-how during these difficult times – and allow our trading partners in the Northern Hemisphere better planning for the year ahead,” says outgoing SHAFFE president Anton Kruger.
“We receive many requests to share our market intelligence with a broader public – something we normally had done individually during one of the many annual trade shows throughout the year.
“This year we are teaming up to show our common value and how we ensure supply security in our countries,” says Kruger.
Kruger is also the chief executive of the 20-year-old Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum in South Africa.
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Meanwhile SHAFFE secretary-general Nelli Hajdu says the association “operates in an incredibly unique and international environment – a challenge we are happy to take (on) for the congress!”
Globalised trading network
The congress programme will encompass outlook reflections from all SHAFFE member associations.
This includes Fruit South Africa, Fedecitrus, Argentinan Blueberry Committee, CAFI, Citrus Australia, Abrafrutas, Chilean Fruit Exporter Association, New Zealand Apple and Pears, ProCitrus and Upefruy.
To allow as many of their trading partners in the Northern Hemisphere to participate in the congress, SHAFFE will run two virtual streams per day: the first at 11:00 to target those in Asia, and the second at 17:00 to welcome partners in the US and Europe.
Organisers say these member associations will provide a detailed analysis of global temperate fruit trade developments and insights on changing consumer patterns for fruit consumption and purchase in key markets, such as the US, China, Germany, UK and Russia.
Click here to register for the Southern Hemisphere Fresh Fruit Trade congress.
