SHAFFE Congress Centers on ‘Keeping the World Supplied’ With Fruit

The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE) will hold its first Southern Hemisphere Fresh Fruit Trade Congress as an online event on March 25. The congress — the scheduling of which allows for convenient participation by fruit industry members from China — will feature information on crop trends, production prospects and trade flows of temperate fresh fruit production in eight Southern Hemisphere countries that together have an annual export volume of 11 million tons of fresh fruits worth $14 billion and accounting for a 25% share of the global produce export market.

The congress aims to bring the fruit industries of the Southern and Northern Hemispheres closer together to allow better planning over the coming year. It will be held under the theme of “Keeping the World Supplied” — a critical topic thrown into sharp focus in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Deputy Director General Beth Bechdol will deliver a keynote speech at the congress on the importance of the fruit industry to global agri-food systems, in line with the UN General Assembly’s designation of 2021 as the International Year of Fruit and Vegetables.

“We are more than honored to have secured such a high-level speaker for our conference, as this more than ever shows the importance of availability of fruit and vegetables as a key element to global nutrition and a healthy global society,” said Charif Christian Carvajal, marketing director for Europe and Asia for the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX), who was last month elected to serve as SHAFFE’s president for the 2021–23 term.

The congress program will include targeted market intelligence and discussion on trade flows and figures, crop trends and industry outlooks provided by experienced trade experts from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay. Presenters include Nathan Hancock from Citrus Australia, Federico Baya from the Argentinian Blueberry Committee, Luiz Eduardo Raffaelli from Abrafrutas, Ignacio Caballero from ASOEX, Alan Pollard from New Zealand Apple and Pears, Ricardo Polis from ProCitrus Peru, Prof. Ferdi Meyer from South Africa’s Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy and Carlos Maria Fraschini from Upefruy in Uruguay.

Fresh produce professionals in virtual attendance will receive valuable information on the counter-seasonal fresh fruit supply through the contributions from the SHAFFE members listed above, as well as market intelligence on consumer trends from leading global research agency IPSOS.

The congress will be held online at two different time slots with the aim of facilitating the participation of representatives from different parts of the world. The first version will be at 11 a.m. Central European Time (6 p.m. China Standard Time) to target trade participants in Asia and Oceania, while the second version will be at 5 p.m. Central European Time (12 a.m. China Standard Time) to allow for the participation of North American, European and Latin American partners.

Fresh produce industry professionals can register to participate in the Southern Hemisphere Fresh Fruit Trade Congress for free on the SHAFFE website.

About SHAFFE

The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters was founded in the early 1990s as an exchange network for major Southern Hemisphere temperate fresh fruit exporters and growers. In total, its member countries represent an export volume of 11 million tons of fresh fruits, with a market value of 14 billion dollars and a 25% share of the global produce export market.

During its almost 30 years of existence, SHAFFE has led important initiatives such as establishing the exchange of data on key crops among its members, as well as organizing global membership forums, developing joint research initiatives, analyzing and monitoring changes in procedures and policies in global markets, and facilitating exchange and learning among its members.

In the digital age, which has been accelerated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and an increasingly complex global business environment, the members of SHAFFE have taken on the task of strengthening cooperation, through a more innovative format and closer collaborations, in such a way as to connect the fresh fruit industry of the Southern Hemisphere through the exchange of knowledge, facilitating access to markets and promoting the global fruit trade.

With a renewed secretariat under the coordination of Nelli Hajdu and a new presidency team led by ASOEX’s Charif Christian Carvajal in the role of president and Upefruy’s Marta Bentancur in the role of vice president, SHAFFE is focused on strengthening the availability of resources for the industry, creating a supportive environment for the training of professionals in the fruit trade, developing closer collaborations with other similar industry trade associations, modernizing the exchange of information, and communicating the role of SHAFFE and its contributions to the global trade in fresh produce.

Image: SHAFFE