Fruit Logistica 2016 marked the first time that the province of British Colombia (B.C.) had its own regional presence at the event. Six B.C. organizations co-exhibited in the B.C. and Canada Pavilion, supported by the Province of British Columbia, Ministry of International Trade. Funding for this project has been provided by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
Richie Santosdiaz, Trade and Investment Specialist for Europe for the Government of British Columbia, Canada, started working with the province in Europe over a year ago and appreciating the importance of Fruit Logistica in Berlin, he applied for funding for the event.
According to Santosdiaz, "People come to the show without having to do anything, so it wasn't difficult to fill up the B.C. stand. It is not a German or European show, it is global, so it is a great opportunity to keep up relationships with China, Asia, North America and other markets around the world, because they are all here."
"To understand what we have is to understand the province. B.C. has a varied climate, many people think that Canada is freezing, but B.C. is actually the warmest part of Canada. For example, the southwestern part of B.C. (the area around Vancouver and Victoria), are the warmest part of Canada. The winters there are very mild and there are various ranges of climates which allows us to grow various crops of vegetables and fruits."
B.C. is Canada’s largest producer of highbush blueberries, sweet cherries, raspberries, pears and apricots, and Canada’s second largest producer of cranberries, peaches, strawberries, plums and nectarines. B.C. also produces 30 different types of vegetables on more than 19,000 acres across the province. In addition to field crops such as potatoes, beans, and carrots, B.C. also produces some of the highest-quality greenhouse vegetables in the world using state-of-the-art facilities and production practices. In 2014, B.C. exported $146 million Cdn. of greenhouse-grown peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers.
There is also a large range of wild and cultivated mushrooms in B.C., varieties grown or harvested in the province include: pine (matsutake), morels, chanterelles, lobster, cremini, and many others. In 2014, B.C. exported $88 million Cdn. of mushrooms to buyers in Asia, Europe and North America.
"We anticipate the free trade agreement to come into force next year between Canada and the European Union (commonly known as CETA), we hope that Brand B.C. and brand Canada will gain more recognition not just in Europe but the rest of the world.” concludes Santosdiaz.
