The halls at the trade fair in Berlin were abuzz at this year’s Fruit Logistica, the leading trade fair for the global produce industry, where more than 63,000 visitors came from over 140 countries to learn about the latest produce industry trends. We held many fruitful conversations with current and prospective partners at our booth, which saw even more visitors than in years prior to the pandemic.
A packed press conference
We were thrilled to be able to share important updates with the crowd of journalists and stakeholders who attended our press conference on 9 February. The presentation featured the perspectives of producers and retailers from Costa Rica, Peru, Namibia, China, and Japan. GLOBALG.A.P. panelists Guy Callebaut (Chairman of the Advisory Board), Dr. Kristian Moeller (Managing Director), and Dr. Rene Capote (Senior Technical Expert) were joined on stage by Lorna T. Shikongo-Kuvare, General Manager: Regulations of the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB), Jinhong Wu, Chairman of China Ants Alliance (CAA), and Prof. Dr. Horst Lang, Head of QA, OSH and Environmental Issues of Globus. Jorge Sanchez, General Manager of Nicoverde, and Manuel Olaechea, COO of Sun Fruits Exports, joined the conference remotely.
Experts brought IFA v6 and sustainability into focus
GLOBALG.A.P. Managing Director Dr. Moeller highlighted version 6 of our flagship Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard. This updated version remains closely aligned with international frameworks such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and includes simpler, more focused, and smarter technology-based sustainability solutions that draw on our 25+ years of experience in the field.
While sustainability has always been an integral part of the IFA standard, version 6 features improved environmental principles and criteria in areas such as energy efficiency, eutrophication risk mitigation, and input optimization. It also adopts an outcome-oriented approach that focuses on results rather than prescriptive requirements, giving fruit and vegetable producers greater flexibility to demonstrate compliance with the standard.
BioDiversity and SPRING add-ons presented by Latin American panelists
Producers who adopt the BioDiversity add-on demonstrate their commitment to biodiversity management practices through an action plan, farm-specific biodiversity protection and restoration measures, and beneficial water and soil management practices. Jorge Sanchez, General Manager at Nicoverde, connected to the press conference remotely and described a successful pilot project using the BioDiversity add-on in Costa Rica. The add-on has been in the pilot stage among fruit and vegetable producers in Europe for the past year, so we are excited to see that producers from outside Europe are also putting this tool to work.
“Biodiversity loss poses an existential threat to our ecosystems,” explained Philipp Wagnitz, Director Ecology & Responsible Products at Lidl International. “In 2022, GLOBALG.A.P., Lidl, and other partners developed the BioDiversity add-on to address biodiversity-related risks and drive change in European fruit and vegetable supply chains. We are proud that more than 240 producers in Greece, Italy, Poland, and Spain have already been successfully assessed and many more are in the process of getting there. Preserving biodiversity is an important task for all companies. We are convinced that the BioDiversity add-on is an approach to scale up efforts in the production of fruits, vegetables, and potentially other crops.”
Manuel Olaechea from Sun Fruits Exports of Peru joined the conference remotely to speak about his company’s experience using the SPRING add-on. “SPRING has helped us protect our water sources and properly monitor our water consumption,” he explained.
This add-on is of special relevance to producers of water-intensive fruits and vegetables (e.g., avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers), who often produce their crops in regions with scarce water availability and poor water quality. Producers from around the world have shown a lot of enthusiasm for SPRING and the ways it has helped them maximize the efficient use of limited water resources.
GGN label: f irst adoption in Germany and rising interest in Asia
Our panelists also discussed the growth of the GGN label in the fresh fruits and vegetables product range. We are especially encouraged that this consumer-facing label for products originating from IFA-certified production processes is gaining traction in the fruits and vegetables sector in Asia. In a recorded message, that was played during the press conference, Mitsuko Tsuchiya, Executive Officer of Merchandising, and President and Representative Director at AEON, described the first GGN label pilot project in the Japanese market, where the new cross-category form of the label will be introduced.
Well-known produce wholesaler Chinese Ant Alliance (CAA), represented at the conference by CAA Chairman Jinhong Wu, has expressed interest in introducing the GGN label in their member stores in China. The adoption of the GGN label by such a trading powerhouse would be a strong statement on the value producers and consumers find in the assurance and transparency the label provides.
Globus was the first supermarket in Germany to adopt the GGN label for aquaculture and is now the first German retailer to additionally offer fruit and vegetable products bearing the GGN label. Using this label represents an extremely important step forward by Globus, as it allows each product to be traced back to its producer.
“Transparency has always been a priority for Globus when it comes to sourcing raw materials,” said Prof. Dr. Lang, Head of QA, OSH and Environmental Issues of Globus, in his remarks at the conference. “The GGN label makes certified, responsible farming within the fruit and vegetable supply chain visible to consumers. This is a major step forward in our communication with our customers, really making farm to fork visible!”
Click here to learn how the GGN label works.
You can download a PDF version of the press conference slides here.