The companies participated in trade fairs such as ProdExpo, in Moscow (February 10-14) and Gulfood, in Dubai (February 16-20) as well as in business promotion activities such as that in India (February 19-21).
In Russia were Frutexsa, Good Valley and Prunesco. Sebastian Plaza, from Frutexsa, comments that the visit to Russia responds to the country being “a very important market for us as great consumers of our products, not only prunes, but also nuts, raisins and almonds”.
The executive adds that ProdExpo is a fair that has visited the last 4 years, being very interesting the date, since it is when you start to have a little clarity as to the volumes and prices for the new season.
“Our goal was to visit the importers we already work with, comment on what was the 2019 season and start organizing the programs for the new 2020 season. The results were quite good, as there is interest in maintaining last season’s volumes and in some cases increasing them. The economic tension of the coronavirus has not yet affected the market,” Plaza adds.
Pedro Monti, from Prunesco, reinforces the above by adding that Russia is one of the main markets for the export of Chilean prunes, “there is a constant renewal of companies, some that leave the market and others that enter, so it is very important to be present in order to make themselves known and have a space to meet both current customers as well as with those potentials.”
India was also a destination for these first weeks of the year. José Antonio Soffia, from Superfruit, comments that this country was an “initiative that we took as a group to promote the consumption of our products (pork, wine, prunes and nuts). The idea was, together with the support of ProChile and the embassy in New Delhi, to hold B2B meetings with some importers, who could get to know the companies and have a tasting of the products. It was a prospecting tour to begin business relations.”
“India is a giant market that gradually has to put chips on it,” he adds.
A must-: Gulfood
The fair in Dubai, Gulfood 2020, is a very important event because of the relevance of the public that visits and also for matching the harvest and opening of commercial season of the exporters, many of them associated with Chie Prunes such as Frutexsa, Pacific Nut, Prunesco, Silvestres, and Superfruit.
Pedro Monti says that while the fair had fewer visits from Asia, especially From China as a result of coronavirus, the presence of representatives from Russia, Lithuania, India, Pakistan, the United States and others, with whom business is maintained on a regular basis, increased.
The Gulfood Fair is one of the most important events of the year in the world in food products, beverages, retail, equipment, inputs and services for the food service industry, receives around 100 thousand professionals, so it is important to be there to be there to be with the people of the industry, to see estimates, how much is sent fresh and where markets open.
José Antonio Soffia confirms: today, it is considered one of the most important fairs for the nut industry, because it is when the prunes are being harvested and very close to that of the nuts, is when you start to see the prices of both products and the first contracts of the year begin to close. “Like every year, Gulfood, serves a lot to venture into what will be the new season; this year felt a little slower because of less pressure from buyers to close contracts at the fair itself, but if you see closures after it. As always, positively balance participation in this,” adds The Superfruit executive.
In our case, adds Pedro Monti, the objective was to analyze the situation of demand by the markets, talk with customers about the first programs of the year, meet new customers, establish relationships and understand the situation of availability and production of other areas such as Argentina. “It has been a very productive journey that allows us to understand in a good way the beginning of the season, the stock situation in the destination countries and the fruit need of the new harvest,” he says.
Companies in the prunes industry are extremely active in maintaining their markets and prospecting new customers, both individually, at fairs under the wings of ProChile, or by participating in the commercial tours that we organize as a guild which are increasingly focused on prospecting new markets says María Paz Soto , ceo of Chile Prunes.