Contracts, contacts and new experiences: Ukrainian farmers participated in FRUIT LOGISTICA

The international trade fair of technologies for processing, storage and transportation of vegetables and fruits FRUIT LOGISTICA was held in Berlin From 5 to 7 February.

10 companies and two professional associations were represented at the Ukrainian national booth. These are producers and processors of F&V products from the south and the center of Ukraine: “Sady Dnipra”, “Frutlife”, “Danube Agrarian”, “Aurora”, “Agrocomplex Barsky”, “Agro-Patriot”, “Tavriya-Skif”, Fresh Family, Vladam and Euroservicegroup. As well as members of the Ukrainian Agrarian Export Association and the UKRSADVINPROM Association.

Companies are engaged in growing and processing various crops that are in demand in the EU market: apples, peaches, nuts, tomatoes, watermelons, melons, herbs, garlic and other products.

Another 5 companies participated in the trade fair with a study visit: Rodiuchist, Lyubokut, Agro Postavka, Fresh Salat and Demetralex.

Ukrainian delegation also participated in several activities planned in the visit program: seminar on EU market requirements for fresh fruit and vegetables, a visit to the Rijk Zwaan Retail Center, a visit to Fruchthof Berlin, a cooperative wholesale market for fresh produce in general, and a series of B2B meetings organized by ITS consultants.

What are the impressions of participating in FRUIT LOGISTICA and organizing a visit to Berlin? We asked Ukrainian farmers about it.

Dmytro Reznik, Agrokomplex-Barskiy LTD

This year our participation in FRUIT LOGISTICA was very productive. We had a very comfortable stand and place. Although the total number of visitors was lower than last year, there were more potential customers and stakeholders. The trade fair has just ended, and we have already contracted with one company and preparing to sign a contract with another. The fact that this year there is a deficit of apples in the world by less than 20% also has played a role.

During the fair has we also got acquainted with the clients we are already working with. We communicated only through e-mail and messengers, and now we have gotten to know each other and continue to work with them.

I thank the ITC Project team for organizing the trip, for accompanying the consultants during the B2B meetings, for the interesting program. A lot of useful information was learned at a seminar on the market of fresh vegetables and fruits in the EU and Switzerland.

Next year, I also plan to participate in FRUIT LOGISTICA.

Dana Striukova, Roduchist FE

It was the first time we visited FRUIT LOGISTICA. It was a bit of a shock for us because we had never attended professional events of this magnitude. Everything was organized at a high level, the participants were friendly, everyone is smiling, communicating, sharing ideas, achievements, suggestions, exchanging contacts.

There were many people at the Ukrainian stand. But we were there with a study visit, so spent a lot of time exploring other pavilions. We have gathering information for our products, about the cherry dryer. And we saw that there are already technological solutions that allow us to get the product we need in 8 hours, not in a few days. I was also interested in the anti-hail cover for our gardens.

During the trade fair, we exchanged contacts with many companies and already contacted them by email. In general, we have received a lot of information and now we better understand how to further position our products.

The trainings from the ITC Project about effective participation in trade fairs was not in vain.

Vladyslav Zhadan, Tavria-Skif FE

We participated in FRUIT LOGISTICA for the first time. It was a great experience for us. We looked at our product differently, analyzed it. Hope will no longer make some mistakes in packaging, sorting and other aspects.

We had many meetings with both Ukrainian partners and colleagues from CIS countries, Poland, Romania, Moldova. They talked about the peculiarities of their markets, the seasonal needs for different products so that we could export to these countries. There was an interesting visit to the Berlin market for fresh vegetables and fruits. We’ve got the necessary information about equipment for washing, drying, cleaning products.

We realized that participating in such trade fairs is a necessary component of development. Every meeting, every negotiation is an experience that allows to move forward, improve our product, sell not just raw materials, but finished properly presented product. Today, the buyer prefers what he likes visually, he, “buy with eyes”.

The visit is organized at a high level. We had a large delegation, someone for the first time, but a properly organized program, coordination, and consultation of participants allowed everyone to catch up, see and do a lot. We thank you for this visit and look forward to continued cooperation with the ITC Project in Ukraine.

The visit of the Ukrainian delegation to FRUIT LOGISTICA 2020 was made possible by the International Trade Center (ITC) Project “Linking Ukrainian SMEs in the Fruits and Vegetables Sector to Global and Domestic Markets and Value Chains”.

The project helps small and medium-sized producers and processors of fresh vegetables and fruits in the southern and central regions of Ukraine to increase their competitiveness, integrate into national and global value chains, and access new markets with a focus on EU markets.

The project is funded by the Swedish Government and implemented by ITC in close collaboration with the national partners of the Project.

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