From 16th to 18th May, the city of Curitiba in Brazil hosted the Hortifruti Brasil Show 2013, an event which the state of Paraná associated to its own image of a producer of high-quality, safe, traceable and local agri-food products.
The event was divided into product display, services and technologies for fruit, vegetables and flowers, International forum with meetings on technical and commercial issues and Sebrae and Emater B2B meetings and workshops to spread the technical knowledge regarding the fresh produce market.
According to Luiz Dámaso Gusi, chairman of Ceasa Centrais de Abastecimento in Paraná gathering all Brasilian markets, in the next few years many wholesalers will have to modernise and build new terminals. The renovation process has in fact already started in Ceasa with the construction of new centres in Maringa and Curitiba.
According to Gusi, the modernisation process must include producers as well, and that's why technological innovations and instruments to improve productivity and quality were also presented during Hortifruti.
Hortifruti Brasil Show had the support of Sebrae Paraná and of the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy in order to make Ceasa a modern agri-food centre and a platform able to promote the whole fruit and vegetable chain within the Brasil Proximo project.
Enrico Turoni was among the Italians who attended Hortifruti, and he took part both as entrepreneur - he is the owner of TR Turoni, a company which, together with the Tree Crop Department of the University of Bologna, created the DA-Meter and now distributes it at an international level - and as the chairman of Cermac, the Consortium gathering Italian producers of machinery, accessories and equipment for agriculture, zootechnics and agro-industry.
During day two, at the International forum on technologies in the fruit and vegetable sector (in the photo below), Turoni presented new instruments to define and improve quality; Roberto Piazza, director of Fedagromercati Acmo Bologna, explained the activities of the Caab Centro agroalimentare di Bologna and the main products from Emilia-Romagna such as pears and kiwis, whereas Giulio Benvenutifrom Legacoop Emilia-Romagna talked about the needs of the retail market in Italy.
During day two, at the International forum on technologies in the fruit and vegetable sector (in the photo below), Turoni presented new instruments to define and improve quality; Roberto Piazza, director of Fedagromercati Acmo Bologna, explained the activities of the Caab Centro agroalimentare di Bologna and the main products from Emilia-Romagna such as pears and kiwis, whereas Giulio Benvenutifrom Legacoop Emilia-Romagna talked about the needs of the retail market in Italy.
Left to right, José Roberto Ricken, superintendent of Ocepar Paraná, Enrico Turoni, chariman of Consorzio Cermac, Luiz Dâmaso Gusi, chairman of Ceasa/Paraná,Roberto Piazza, director of Fedagromercati Bologna and Julio Cezar Agostini, director of Operations at Sebrae/Paraná.
Giuseppe De Angelis, De Angelis Group and counselor of Fedagromercati Acmo Bologna, had the task of connecting Brasilian wholesalers in a B2B exchange.
Interviewed by FreshPlaza, Turoni declared that "it was the first edition of the fair, but the market is very interesting and there's potential to grow. In fact, it has been organised with the patronage of Sebrae Paraná and the strategic support of Ceasa. The presence of Brasilian markets is important for those producers who want to export over here, as they will have to deal with these centres."
Roberto Piazza added that "markets are places where products are qualified, where all of the supply is gathered and where even small producers - there are many of these in Brasil - can find a place. In mid-June, a Brasilian Ceasa delegation will come to Bologna and we will consider a twinning with our Caab."
The event was also the ideal occasion to create a partnership with Macfrut in Cesena and for some Italian companies to get to know and reach the Ceasa systems of Brasil's 27 states.