The attendance and exhibitors at Medfel 2014 which is kept in Perpignan from 13 till 15 May 2014 increased 10% with 5,315 visitors against 4,894 (in 2013). Beyond figures, the first testimonies collected in Perpignan at the end of 4,000 BtoB meetings let think that the level of the business was very good too. The debates of Medfel were also very followed and are to be found on the site of medFEL with all the European harvest forecasts.
Poland’s Tropicana a big citrus buyer
From Tropicana in Poland, board president Wojciech Guzik was visiting Medfel mainly to seek new fruit suppliers. The importer and export of fruit and vegetables said he was looking for all kinds of products but, in terms of volume, mainly oranges. Greece and Spain are currently Tropicana’s main origins for oranges, though it now also buys from Turkey, Egypt and Morocco. It sources another of its high volume imports, bananas, mainly from Colombia and Costa Rica. Supplying small local greengrocers makes up about 80% of Tropicana’s business, and 20% is sales to retailers. The company’s focus is on imports but it also exports, such as selling Polish apples to distributors in France and cauliflower in the UK.
Saudi Arabian buyers at Medel for better fruit
Several Middle East buyers like Saudi Arabian importer Moatasem A. Abuzinadah were hosted at Medfel for the second consecutive year and looking to buy fruit including stone fruit, particularly cherries, apples and citrus fruit, as well as tomatoes.
General manager of Al Moatasem Trading Corp. and acting head auctioneer at the Jeddah wholesale fruit and vegetable market, Abuzinadah said last year he did some good deals with orange and apple suppliers from Spain and Egypt while at the fair. “Medfel is even better this year, with more visitors of different nationalities, and I’m hoping to find more new suppliers.”
Indonesian retail supplier at Medfel
Apples, pears and grapes were the main fruits, and carrots and onions the vegetables Jakarta-based fresh fruit importer and distributor Hendry Sim was most interested in at Medfel. Vice director of P.T. Laris Manis Utama, a company that mainly supplies retail chains, Sim said the US is its main source, particularly for apples and grapes from California, but China is also a big supplier, particularly of pears, and it also buys from Australia and Thailand.