“The Chinese e-commerce fresh produce industry is world-leading. Companies such as Alibaba and Amazon are setting best-practise examples. This is just one of the areas we want to showcase during our Fresh Connections China summit in Shanghai next month”, says Richard Owen, the vice-president of the Produce Marketing Association (PMA).
In the third week of March, the PMA will hold Fresh Connections China in Shanghai, a three day event on the Chinese fresh produce industry. The platform caters for both the Chinese and the international market in bringing participants together and sharing experiences and business insights. “Our Fresh Connections summit unites Chinese and international players in the fresh produce industry. It is an opportunity for participants to gather on an international platform. Global Connections is one of the pillars of the PMA. During the summit, our participants have the opportunity to meet new contacts, discover new market opportunities and gather consumer insights.”
Understanding the Chinese marketplace
“For international visitors, we want to paint a picture of what it takes to be successful in China. Our programme highlights sales channels, the cold chain supply system, differences between first, second and third tier cities and successful retail formats unique to the Chinese market. As part of this, on the Wednesday, we will offer optional industry tours including a visit to Shanghai's largest international wholesale market. We will pay a visit to a traditional wet market, several Chinese-owned supermarkets and a Walmart hypermarket. In addition, we will visit Pagoda, China's fastest growing fruit chain store with over 1,500 boutiques in the country. A business concept like this cannot be found anywhere else in the world, and it’s naturally suited for high-value branded imported fruits”
“For our Chinese participants it is an opportunity to meet and introduce themselves to an international audience. Companies can connect to potential customers, buyers and suppliers worldwide and create new business opportunities. Global food safety practises, production trends and varietal innovations are all hot topics in China. We invited a range of international experts that will discuss these, amongst other topics, during our conference on the Thursday.”
“The conference will start off on a high level, global, perspective. The first session, the State of the Global Fresh Produce Industry, will be led jointly by our PMA president Cathy Burns and CEO Bryan Silbermann. It is a well-designed presentation that will captures key trends around the world. Then PMA’s China market development representative will give an overview of the domestic market, focussing on its diverse infrastructure and distribution channels.
Thinking like a Global CEO
“In the afternoon, Bryan Silbermann will host Thinking Like a Global CEO. During this session, Liu Mau Wah, the co-chairman of Joyvio-Golden Wing Mau (China), Steve Barnard, CEO of Mission Produce (USA), Shawn Harris, CEO of Nature's Pride (Netherlands) and Michael Simonetta, CEO of Perfection Fresh Australia, will discuss what is required to be competitive in a global market and in a demanding market such as China. This session I expect to be a big hit.”
On Friday the 18th of March, the PMA will organise optional Business Roundtables, providing buyer representatives from China to meet with global and domestic suppliers in short meetings. Just a few of the confirmed buyers are Shanghai Yiguo E-commerce, Kingo Fruits, Fruitday.com and Shanghai Nongfu Fruit Company.
