4-6 June, 2014:
UK: PICO to highlight new fruit, veg varieties at London produce showcase
Avocados, mangos and pomegranates will be among the new product lines featured by major Egypt-based fruit exporter PICO at a new event for the international fresh produce sector, the London Produce Show, from 4-6 June.
The Egyptian company, which described the UK as its single most important export market, will be showcasing a new, expanded product range at the conference and exhibition, which will be staged at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel next month.
The new additions to PICO’s range – Wonderful pomegranates, mangos and several varieties of avocados – are just some of the recent product launches from the company, with other introductions including cherry, plum and mini plum tomatoes, and organic herbs.
With the Cairo-based company in the middle of its current table grape export season, PICO will also be using the occasion to highlight new varieties being trialled1, while also showcasing the vast range of grapes that it already has in commercial production, including Sugraone, Superior and Red Globe2.
As the company’s Heike Hagenguth explained, PICO will be attending at the London Produce Show as part of the Sun World presence, appearing during the three-day show at the US company’s stand. “Being part of the Sun World stand, we will of course speak about the Sun World grape and stonefruit varieties that we produce under license, while also introducing other crop and varietal developments that belong to other breeders3,” she said. “We are also interested in speaking about new additions to our fruit basket like avocados, mangoes, pomegranates.”
UK opportunities
The UK is at present PICO’s largest overseas market, with approximately 45% of the Egyptian company’s total export production – principally accounted for by strawberries, grapes and stonefruit – transported by sea and air to British clients.
However, despite the highly developed nature of the UK market, Hagenguth said there were plenty of opportunities for further growth still to be realised by exporters such as PICO.
“We definitely see room for further growth through greater export specialisation – for example varietal developments in close cooperation with grocery retailers – and by being able to implement client requirements in terms of certification, logistics, packaging, labelling and so on,” she said.
Hagenguth said PICO hoped to highlight these and other topics at the upcoming London Produce Show, which despite being a newcomer to the international trade fair calendar would enable the Egyptian company to make direct contact with clients in the UK market.
“We believe that the event – although it cannot compare to the big trade shows – will have a good coverage and impact in the UK market, and expect that the networking will bring a lot of benefits,” she added.
For more information:
Steven Maxwell
Fresh Position
Tel: +44 7796 948491
Email: [email protected]
www.freshposition.com
